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LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON.  N.  J. 


^.;-pi*E  S  E  N  T  ED>B  Y 

BS  2505  .C65  1898 
Conybeare,  William  John, 

1815-1857. 
The  life  and  epistles  of 

Saint   Paul 

Section 


i5 


PEOPLE'S   EDITION. 


8  1915 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES 


Saint  Paul. 


BY 

THE  REV.  W.  J.   CONTBEAKE,  M.A., 

LATE  FEIiLOW  OF  TRINITY  COLLEGE,  CAMBRIDGE; 


THE  REV.  J.   S.  HOWSON,   D.D., 

PRINCIPAL  OF  THE  COLLEGIATE  INSTITUTION,  LIVERPOOL. 


A      PRELIMINARY      DISSERTATION      BT 

THE    EEV.    LEONARD    BACON,    D.  D., 

PROFESSOR  OF  REVEALED  THEOLOGY  IN  YALE  COLLEOS. 


HARTFORD,    CONK: 

S.    S.    SORAI^TO]:^    &    CO, 

1898. 


PREFACE 


«o 


THE   PEOPLE^S   EDITIOJS'. 


nn HOUGH  the  death  of  one  of  the  writers  of  this  book  has 
-■-    now  thrown  the  sole  responsibility  of  revision  on  the  sur- 
vivor, the  plan  of  a  "  People's  Edition  "  was  contemplated  by  both 
writers  from  the  time  when  the  first  edition  was  publivshed. 

The  survivor,  in  doing  his  best,  while  his  life  was  yet  spared, 
to  prepare  for  a  wider  circle  of  readers  a  book  which  has  been 
received  with  remarkable  favor,  has  found,  however,  the  execu- 
tion of  the  plan  beset  with  peculiar  difficulties.  The  simplest 
course  would  have  been  to  give  the  text  of  the  work  without 
the  notes ;  but  it  was  soon  seen  that  many  parts  of  the  narrative 
would  thus  have  been  left  destitute  of  important  illustration,  and 
many  passages  of  the  Epistles  would  have  embarrassed,  rather 
than  helped,  the  mere  English  reader.  On  the  assumption,  then, 
that  some  of  the  notes  must  be  retained,  a  question  arose  as  to 
the  selection.  The  writer  of  this  preface  might  easily  have  cut 
down  his  own  notes  to  a  very  narrow  compass ;  but  how  was  he 
to  deal  with  the  notes  of  a  friend  whom  he  could  not  consult  ? 
To  have  omitted  nearly  all  the  former,  and  to  have  retained  all 
the  latter,  would  have  been  to  disturb  the  whole  symmetry  of 
the  book.     Then  came  the  further  difficulty,  —  that,  so  far  as  the 


▼I  PREFACE    TO    THE    PEOPLE'S    EDITION. 

notes  were  criticisms  of  passages  in  the  New  Testament,  they 
were,  in  the  two  former  editions,  based  on  the  original  text  Ex- 
clusion or  adaptation  in  all  such  cases  was  necessary  for  the  reader 
who  is  presumed  not  to  know  Greek.  But  criticisms  of  this  kind 
are,  of  course,  by  far  the  most  frequent  in  the  notes  on  the 
Epistles,  which  were  not  translated  by  the  present  editor :  so  that 
some  change  was  most  required  precisely  where,  to  him,  adaptor 
tion  was  most  difficult  of  execution,  or  where  he  was  naturally 
most  unwilling  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  exclusion. 

It  is  hoped,  that,  under  all  these  circumstances,  general  appro 
bation  will  be  secured  for  the  arrangement  which  has  been 
adopted.  Those  readers  have  throughout  been  kept  in  view, 
who,  though  well  educated,  would  not  find  it  easy  to  refer  to 
Greek  or  German  books.  Some  few  technical  Greek  terms  are 
retained ;  and  here  and  there  there  is  a  reference  to  classical 
authors,  which  has  seemed  peculiarly  important,  or  which  it  was 
hardly  worth  while  to  remove :  but,  on  the  whole,  there  are  few 
citations  except  from  books  which  are  easily  within  reach.  The 
references  to  Scripture  are  very  frequent ;  and  it  is  believed  that 
such  references  can  hardly  be  too  frequent.  It  is  presumed  that 
the  reader  has  the  Authorized  Version  before  him ;  at  the  same 
time,  it  is  hoped  that  the  notes  will  continue  to  be  useful  to  stu- 
dents of  the  Greek  New  Testament  Some  criticisms  must 
necessarily,  however,  be  taken  for  granted ;  and,  in  such  cases, 
occasional  reference  has  been  made  to  the  two  larger  editions.^ 
In  Mr.  Conybeare's  part  of  the  work,  no  alteration  whatever  has 
been  made,  except  as  regards  the  verbal  adjustments  requisite 
for  leaving  out  the  Greek.''     It  is  impossible  to  know  whether  his 

*  The   first  edition,  in  quarto,  and  with  course  of  a  thorough  reperusal :   but,  besides 

very  numerous  illustrations,  was  completed  in  the  modifications  mentioned  above,  the  notes 

1852  :  the  second,  with  fewer  illustrations,  but  in  the  narrative  portion  are  very  considerably 

after  careful  revision,  was  published  in  1856.  retrenched.     Thus  each  of  the  three  editions 

In  this  edition,  the  illustrations  are  still  few-  has  a  character  of  its  own. 
er;  the  text  is  unaltered,  with  the  exception  '^  This  remark  applies  to  the  general  bod,^ 

of   slight    verba!   changes    suggested    in   the  of  the  work.     The  Appendices,  written  by  Mr 


PREFACE    TO    THE    PEOPLE'S    EDITION.  vn 

translation  of  some  phrases  and  his  interpretation  of  some  texts 

might  have  been  modified  if  he  had  taken  part  in  the  revision. 

Wherever  it  has  been  thought  worth  while  to  express  a  difference 

of  opinion,  this  is  separately  indicated.^     Such  cases  are  very  few. 

The  separate  responsibilities  of  the  whole  work  are  clearly  stated 

in  the  Postscript  to  the  Introduction. 

The  present  writer  is  far  from  satisfied  with  the  result  of  what 

he  has  done,  in  this  edition,  with  considerable  labor,  and  to  the 

best  of  his  judgment  and  ability;  but  this  he  can  say  with  truth, 

that,  while  he   feels  the  imperfection  of  his  own  work,  this  last 

revision  has  left  in  his  mind  a  higher  estimate  than  ever  of  the 

part^  written  by  his  fellow-laborer  and  friend. 

J.  S.  H. 

Conybeare,  have  been  abbreviated  in  conformity  and  other  retrenchments  have  been  made  here 

with  the  principles  stated  above.     Such  ques-  in    accordance  with   the  special   aim  of  this 

tions  as  the  verbal  peculiarities  of  the  Pastoral  edition. 

Epistles  could  hardly  be  presented  with  clear-  i  By  notes  in  square  brackets,  distinguished 

OBM  to  those  who  have  no  knowledge  of  Greek ;  by  the  letter  h. 


INTRODUCTION.* 


TH£i  purpose  of  this  work  is  to  give  a  living  picture  of  St.  Paul  himself,  and  of  th« 
circumstances  by  which  he  was  surrounded. 

The  biography  of  the  Apostle  must  be  compiled  from  two  sources :  first,  his  own  let- 
ters ;  and,  secondly,  the  narrative  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  The  latter,  after  a  slight 
sketch  of  his  early  history,  supplies  us  with  fuller  details  of  his  middle  life ;  and  his  Epis- 
tles afford  much  subsidiary  information  concerning  his  missionary  labors  during  the  same 
period.  The  light  concentrated  upon  this  portion  of  his  course  makes  darker  by  contrast 
the  obscurity  which  rests  upon  the  remainder ;  for  we  are  left  to  gain  what  knowledge  we 
can  of  his  later  years  from  scattered  hints  in  a  few  short  letters  of  his  own,  and  from 
a  single  sentence  of  his  disciple  Clement. 

But,  in  order  to  present  any  thing  like  a  living  picture  of  St.  Paul's  career,  much 
more  is  necessary  than  a  mere  transcript  of  the  scriptural  narrative,  even  where  it  is  full- 
est. Every  step  of  his  course  brings  us  into  contact  with  some  new  phase  of  ancient  life, 
unfamiliar  to  our  modem  experience,  and  upon  which  we  must  throw  light  from  other 
sources,  if  we  wish  it  to  form  a  distinct  image  in  the  mind.  For  example,  to  comprehend 
the  influences  under  which  he  grew  to  manhood,  we  must  realize  the  position  of  a  Jewish 
family  in  Tarsus ;  we  must  understand  the  kind  of  education  which  the  son  of  such  a 
family  would  receive  as  a  boy  in  his  Hebrew  home,  or  in  the  schools  of  his  native  city, 
and  in  his  riper  youth  "  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel "  in  Jerusalem  ;  we  must  be  acquainted 
with  the  profession  for  which  he  was  to  be  prepared  by  this  training,  and  appreciate  the 
station  and  duties  of  an  expounder  of  the  Law.  And,  that  we  may  be  ftiUy  qualified  to 
do  all  this,  we  should  have  a  clear  view  of  the  state  of  the  Roman  Empire  at  the  time, 
and  especially  of  its  system  in  the  provinces ;  we  should  also  understand  the  political 
position  of  the  Jews  of  the  "  Dispersion  ; "  we  should  be  (so  to  speak)  hearers  in  their 
synagogues ;  we  should  be  students  of  their  Rabbinical  theology.  And  in  like  ir  nner, 
as  we  follow  the  Apostle  in  the  different  stages  of  his  varied  and  adventurous  cai  r,  we 
must  strive  continually  to  bring  out  in  their  true  brightness  the  half-effaced  fori .    and 

I  [It  has  been  thought  better  to  leave  this  Intro-  latisg  to  views  and  Illustrations  are  not  strioOy 
daction  quite  untouched,  though  the  passages  re-        applicable  to  the  present  edition.  —  H.] 

ix 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

coloring  of  the  scene  in  which  he  acts ;  and  while  he  "  becomes  all  things  to  all  men,  that 
he  might  by  aU  means  save  some,"  we  must  form  to  om'selves  a  living  likeness  of  the 
things  and  of  the  men  among  which  he  moved,  if  we  would  rightly  estimate  his  work. 
Thus  we  must  study  Christianity  rising  in  the  midst  of  Judaism ;  we  must  realize  the 
position  of  its  early  churches  with  their  mixed  society,  to  which  Jews,  Proselytes,  and 
Heathens  had  each  contributed  a  characteristic  element ;  we  must  qualify  ourselves  to  be 
umpires  (if  we  may  so  speak)  in  their  violent  internal  divisions ;  we  must  listen  to  the 
f^Tife  of  their  schismatic  parties,  when  one  said,  "I  am  of  Paul;  and  another,  I  am  of 
ApoUos ; "  we  must  study  the  true  character  of  those  early  heresies  which  even  denied 
the  resurrection,  and  advocated  impurity  and  lawlessness,  claiming  the  right  "  to  sin  that 
grace  might  abound,"  ^  "  defiling  the  mind  and  conscience  "  '  of  their  followers,  and  mak- 
ing them  "abominable  and  disobedient,  and  to  ever)'  good  work  reprobate;"*  we  must 
trace  the  extent  to  which  Greek  philosophy,  Judaizing  formalism,  and  Eastern  supersti- 
tion, blended  their  tainting  influence  with  the  pure  fermentation  of  that  new  leaven  which 
was  at  last  to  leaven  the  whole  mass  of  civilized  society. 

Again :  to  understand  St.  Paul's  personal  history  as  a  missionary  to  the  Heathen,  we 
must  know  the  state  of  the  different  populations  which  he  visited ;  the  character  of  the 
Greek  and  Roman  civilization  at  the  epoch ;  the  points  of  intersection  between  the  politi- 
cal history  of  the  world  and  the  scriptural  narrative ;  the  social  organization  and  grada- 
tion of  ranks,  for  which  he  enjoins  respect ;  the  position  of  women,  to  which  he  specially 
refers  in  many  of  his  letters ;  the  relations  between  parents  and  children,  slaves  and  mas- 
ters, which  he  not  vainly  sought  to  imbue  with  the  loving  spirit  of  the  gospel ;  the  quality 
and  influence,  under  the  early  Empire,  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  religions,  whose  effete 
corruptness  he  denounces  with  such  indignant  scorn ;  the  public  amusements  of  the  peo- 
ple, whence  he  draws  topics  of  warning  or  illustration  ;  the  operation  of  the  Roman  law, 
imder  which  he  was  so  frequently  arraigned ;  the  courts  in  which  he  was  tried,  and  the 
magistrates  by  whose  sentence  he  suffered;  the  legionary  soldiers  who  acted  as  hia 
guards ;  the  roads  by  which  he  travelled,  whether  through  the  mountains  of  Lycaonia 
or  the  marshes  of  Latium  ;  the  course  of  commerce  by  which  his  journeys  were  so  oflen 
regulated ;  and  the  character  of  that  imperfect  navigation  by  which  his  life  was  so  manj 
times  *  endangered. 

While  thus  trying  to  live  in  the  life  of  a  bygone  age,  and  to  call  up  the  figure  of  the 
past  from  its  tomb,  duly  robed  in  all  its  former  raiment,  every  help  is  welcome  which  en- 
ables us  to  fill  up  the  dim  outline  in  any  part  of  its  reality.  Especially  we  delight  to  look 
upon  the  only  one  of  the  manifold  features  of  that  past  existence  which  still  is  living. 
We  remember  with  pleasure  that  the  earth,  the  sea,  and  the  sky  still  combine  for  us  in 
the  same  landscapes  which  passed  before  the  eyes  of  the  wayfaring  Apostle.  The  plain 
of  Cilicia ;  the  snowy  distances  of  Taurus ;  the  cold  and  rapid  stream  of  the  Cydnus ; 
the  broad  Orontes  under  the  shadow  of  Its  steep  banks,  with  their  thickets  of  jasmine  and 

»  Rom.  vl.  1.  *  "  Thrice  have  I  suffered  shipwreck,"  2  Cor.  xi. 

1  Tit.  1. 16.  26;   and  thl«  was  before   he  was   wrecked   upon 

•  Tit.  i.  16.  Melita. 


TNTEODITCTIOW.  XI 

e  mnder;  the  hills  which  "stand  about  Jerusalem,"'  the  "arched  fountains  cold"  hi  the 
ravines  below,  and  those  "  flowery  brooks  beneath  that  wash  their  hallowed  feet ; "  the 
capes  and  islands  of  the  Grecian  Sea ;  the  craggy  summit  of  Areopagus ;  the  land-locked 
harbor  of  Syracuse ;  the  towering  cone  of  ^tna ;  the  voluptuous  loveliness  of  the  Cam- 
pauian  shore,  —  all  these  remain  to  us,  the  imperishable  handiwork  of  Nature.  We  can 
still  look  upon  the  same  trees  and  flowers  which  he  saw  clothing  the  mountains,  giving 
color  to  the  plains,  or  reflected  in  the  rivers ;  we  may  think  of  him  among  the  palms  of 
Syria,  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  the  olives  of  Attica,  the  green  Isthmian  pines  of  Corinth, 
whose  leaves  wove  those  "  fading  garlands  "  which  he  contrasts  *  with  the  "  incorruptible 
crown,"  the  prize  for  which  he  fought.  Nay,  we  can  even  still  look  upon  some  of  the 
works  of  man  which  filled  him  with  wonder,  or  moved  him  to  indignation.  The  "  tem- 
ples made  with  hands  "  *  which  rose  before  him  —  the  very  apotheosis  of  idolatry  —  on 
tlie  Acropolis,  still  stand  in  almost  undiminished  majesty  and  beauty.  The  mole  on  which 
he  landed  at  Puteoli  still  stretches  its  ruins  into  the  blue  waters  of  the  bay.  The  remains 
of  the  Baian  villas,  whose  marble  porticoes  he  then  beheld  glittering  in  the  sunset,  —  his 
first  specimen  of  Italian  luxury,  —  still  are  seen  along  the  shore.  We  may  still  enter 
Rome  as  he  did  by  the  same  Appian  Road,  through  the  same  Capenian  Gate,  and  wander 
among  the  ruins  of  "  Caesar's  palace  "  *  on  the  Palatine,  while  oiu-  eye  rests  upon  the  same 
aqueducts  radiating  over  the  Campagna  to  the  unchanging  hills.  Those  who  have  visited 
these  spots  must  often  have  felt  a  thrill  of  recollection  as  they  trod  in  the  footsteps  of  the 
Apostle ;  they  must  have  been  conscious  how  much  the  identity  of  the  outward  scene 
brought  them  into  communion  with  him,  while  they  tried  to  image  to  themselves  the  feel- 
ings with  which  he  must  have  looked  upon  the  objects  before  them.  They  who  have  ex- 
perienced this  will  feel  how  imperfect  a  biography  of  St.  Paul  must  be  without  faithful 
representations  of  the  places  which  he  visited.  It  is  hoped  that  the  views  *  which  are 
contained  in  the  present  work  (which  have  been  diligently  collected  from  various  sources) 
will  supply  this  desideratum.  And  it  is  evident,  that,  for  the  purposes  of  such  a  biogra- 
phy, nothing  but  true  and  faithful  representations  of  the  real  scenes  will  be  valuable ; 
these  are  what  is  wanted,  and  not  ideal  representations,  even  though  copied  from  the 
works  of  the  greatest  masters :  for  as  it  has  been  well  said,  "  Nature  and  reality  painted 
at  the  time,  and  on  the  spot,  a  nobler  cartoon  of  St.  Paul's  preaching  at  Athens  than  the 
immortal  Rafaelle  afterwards  has  done."  * 

For  a  similar  reason,  maps  have  been  given  (in  addition  to  carefiil  geographical  de- 
scriptions), exhibiting  with  as  much  accuracy  as  can  at  present  be  attained  the  physical 
features  of  the  countries  visited,  and  some  of  the  ancient  routes  through  them,  together 
with  plans  of  the  most  important  cities,  and  maritime  charts  of  the  coasts  and  harbors 
where  they  were  required. 

I  "  The  hills  stand  about  Jemsalem : "  even  so  sentence  in  the  text  applies  in  strictness  only  to  the 

"  Btandeth  the  Lord  round  abou<  his  people."    Ps.  quarto  edition.    In  the  Intermediate  edition,  it  wa« 

fxxy.  2.  remarked  in  a  note,  that,  even  there,  "  most  of  the 

*  1  Cor.  Ix.  25.  larger   engravings    were   necessarily   omitted,   on 

>  Acts  xvii.  24.  «  Phil.  1.  13.  account  of  their  size."  — H.] 

fSee  note  on  p.  ix,  and  the  Preface.     The  »  Wordsworth's  Athens  and  Attica,  p.  76. 


xn  INTEODUCTION. 

While  thus  endeavoring  to  represent  faithfully  the  natural  objects  and  architectural 
remains  connected  with  the  narrative,  it  has  likewise  been  attempted  to  give  such  Ulus 
trations  as  were  needful  of  the  minor  productions  of  human  art  as  they  existed  in  the  firffl. 
century.  For  this  purpose,  engravings  of  coins  have  been  given  in  all  cases  where  they 
seemed  to  throw  light  on  the  circumstances  mentioned  in  the  history ;  and  recourse  has 
been  had  to  the  stores  of  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum,  to  the  columns  of  Trajan  and  Anto- 
ninus, and  to  the  collections  of  the  Vatican,  the  Louvre,  and  especially  of  the  British 
Museum. 

But,  afler  all  this  is  done,  —  afler  we  have  endeavored,  with  every  help  we  can  comr 
mand,  to  reproduce  the  picture  of  St.  Paul's  deeds  and  times, — how  small  would  our  knowl- 
edge of  himself  remain  if  we  had  no  other  record  of  him  left  us  but  the  story  of  his  adven- 
tures !  If  his  letters  had  never  come  down  to  us,  we  should  have  known  indeed  what  he 
did  and  suffered ;  but  we  should  have  had  very  little  idea  of  what  he  was.*  Even  if  we 
could  perfectly  succeed  in  restoring  the  image  of  the  scenes  and  circumstances  in  which 
he  moved ;  even  if  we  could,  as  in  a  magic  mirror,  behold  him  speaking  in  the  school  of 
Tyrannus,  with  his  Ephesian  hearers  in  their  national  costume  around  him,  —  we  should 
still  see  very  little  of  Paul  of  Tarsus.  We  must  listen  to  his  words,  if  we  would  leam  to 
know  him.  If  Fancy  did  her  utmost,  she  could  give  us  only  his  outward,  not  his  inward 
life.  "  His  bodily  presence  "  (so  his  enemies  declared)  "  was  weak  and  contemptible ;  " 
but  "  his  letters  "  (even  they  allowed)  "  were  weighty  and  powerful." '  Moreover,  an  ef- 
fort of  imagination  and  memory  is  needed  to  recall  the  past ;  but,  in  his  Epistles,  St.  Paul 
is  present  with  us.  "  His  words  are  not  dead  words ;  they  are  living  creatures  with  hands 
and  feet,"  *  touching  in  a  thousand  hearts  at  this  very  hour  the  same  chord  of  feeling 
which  vibrated  to  their  first  utterance.  We,  the  Christians  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
can  bear  witness  now,  as  fully  as  could  a  Byzantine  audience  foiuteen  hundred  years  ago, 
to  the  saying  of  Chrysostom,  that  "  Paul  by  his  letters  still  lives  in  the  mouths  of  men 
throughout  the  whole  world  :  by  them  not  only  his  own  converts,  but  all  the  faithful  even 
onto  this  day,  yea,  and  all  the  saints  who  are  yet  to  be  born  until  Christ's  coming  again, 
both  have  been  and  shall  be  blessed."  His  Epistles  are  to  his  inward  life  what  the  moim- 
tains  and  rivers  of  Asia  and  Greece  and  Italy  are  to  his  outward  life,  —  the  imperishable 
part  which  still  remains  to  us  when  all  that  time  can  ruin  has  passed  away. 

It  is  in  these  letters,  then,  that  we  must  study  the  true  life  of  St.  Paul,  fi*om  its  inmost 
depths  and  springs  of  action,  which  were  "  hidden  with  Christ  in  God,"  down  to  its  most 
minute  developments  and  peculiar  individual  manifestations.  In  them  we  leam  (to  use 
the  language  of  Gregory  Nazianzene)  "  what  is  told  of  Paul  by  Paid  himself."  Their 
most  sacred  contents,  indeed,  rise  above  all  that  is  peculiar  to  the  individual  writer ;  for 
they  are  the  communications  of  God  to  man  concerning  the  faith  and  life  of  Christians, 
which  St.  Paul  declared  (as  he  often  asserts)  by  the  immediate  revelation  of  Christ  him- 

»  For  his  Bpeeches  recorded  in  the  Acts,  charac-  by  his  Epistles,  they  become  an  important  part  of 

terlstlc  as  they  are,  would  by  themselves  have  been  his  personal  biography.  »  2  Cor.  x.  10. 

too  few  and  too  short  tb  add  much  to  our  knovf  1-  »  Luther,  as  quoted  In  Archdeacon  Ilare's  jlfw- 

edge  of  St.  Paul;   but,  Q  wtrated  as  they  now  are  sion  of  the  Comforter,  p.  449. 


intkoductiojn.  xin 

self.  But  his  manner  of  teaching  these  eternal  truths  is  colored  by  his  human  character, 
and  peculiar  to  himself.  And  such  individual  features  are  naturally  impressed  much 
more  upon  epistles  than  upon  any  other  kind  of  composition  :  for  here  we  have  not  trea- 
tises or  sermons,  which  may  dwell  in  the  general  and  abstract,  but  genuine  letters,  writ- 
ten to  meet  the  actual  wants  of  living  men  ;  giving  immediate  answers  to  real  questions, 
and  warnings  against  pressing  dangers ;  full  of  the  interests  of  the  passing  hoiur.  And 
this,  which  must  be  more  or  less  the  case  with  all  epistles  addressed  to  particular  church- 
es, is  especially  so  with  those  of  St.  Paul.  In  his  case,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  his 
letters  are  himself,  —  a  portrait  painted  by  his  own  hand,  of  which  every  feature  may  be 
"  known  and  read  of  all  men." 

It  is  not  merely  that  in  them  we  see  the  proof  of  his  powerful  intellect,  his  insight  into 
the  foundations  of  natural  theology  ^  and  of  moral  philosophy ; '  for  in  such  points, 
though  the  philosophical  expression  might  belong  to  himself,  the  truths  expressed  were 
taught  him  of  Grod.  It  is  not  only  that  we  there  find  models  of  the  sublimest  eloquence 
when  he  is  kindled  by  the  vision  of  the  glories  to  come,  the  perfect  triumph  of  good  over 
evil,  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  Grod,  and  their  transformation  into  God's  likeness, 
when  they  shall  see  him  no  longer*  "  in  a  glass  darkly,  but  face  to  face,"  —  for  in  such  strains 
as  these  it  was  not  so  much  be  that  spake  as  the  Spirit  of  God  speaking  in  him,*  —  but  in 
his  letters,  besides  all  this  which  is  divine,  we  trace  every  shade,  even  to  the  faintest,  of 
his  human  character  also.  Here  we  see  that  fearless  independence  with  which  he  "  withstood 
Peter  to  the  face ;  "'  that  impetuosity  which  breaks  out  in  his  apostrophe  to  the  "  foolish 
Galatians ;  "  •  that  earnest  indignation  which  bids  his  converts  "  beware  of  dogs,  beware  of 
the  concision,"  ^  and  pours  itself  forth  in  tbe  emphatic  "  God  forbid  "  *  which  meets  every 
Antinomian  suggestion ;  that  fervid  patriotism  which  makes  him  "  wish  that  he  were  him- 
self accursed  from  Christ  for  his  brethren,  his  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh,  who  are  Is- 
raelites ; "  •  that  generosity  which  looked  for  no  other  reward  than  "  to  preach  the  Glad- 
Tidings  of  Christ  without  charge," *°  and  made  him  feel  that  he  would  rather  "die  than 
that  any  man  should  make  this  glorying  void ; "  that  dread  of  officious  interference  which 
led  him  to  shrink  from  "building  on  another  man's  foundation; ""  that  delicacy  which 
shows  itself  in  his  appeal  to  Philemon,  whom  he  might  have  commanded,  "  yet  for  love's 
sake  rather  beseeching  him,  being  such  an  one  as  Paul  the  aged,  and  now  also  a  prisoner 
of  Jesus  Christ,"  "  and  which  is  even  more  striking  in  some  of  his  farewell  greetings,  as 
(for  instance)  when  he  bids  the  Romans  "  salute  Rufus,  and  his  mother,  who  is  also  mine  ;  "  ** 
that  scrupulous  fear  of  evil  appearance  which  "  would  not  eat  any  man's  bread  for 
nought,  but  wrought  with  labor  and  travail  night  and  day,  that  he  might  not  be  charge- 
able to  any  of  them ; "  ^*  that  refined  courtesy  which  cannot  bring  itself  to  blame  till  it  has 

>  Bom.  1. 20.  *         express  the  force  of  fhe  original  by  any  otber  Kn4> 

»  Rom.  li.  14, 16.  liBh  phrase. 

«  1  Cor.  xiU.  12.  »  Rom.  Ix.  3. 

*  Matt.  X.  20.  10  1  Cor.  Ix.  16  and  1». 

»  Gftl.  II,  11.  u  Rom.  XV.  20. 

'  Gal.  Hi.  1.  13  Philemon  9. 

'  Phil.  ill.  2.  ,    13  Rom.  xvi.  13. 

l!  Rom.  v^  2;  1  Oor.  yl.  16,  Stc.    It  U  difficult  to  "1  Theaa.  U.  9. 


xrv  LNTRODTTCTION. 

first  praised,'  and  which  makes  him  deem  it  needful  almost  to  apologize  for  the  fireedcnn 
of  giving  advice  to  those  who  were  not  personally  known  to  him  ;  *  that  self-denying  love 
which  "  will  eat  no  flesh  while  the  world  standeth,  lest  he  make  his  brother  to  offend ;  "  * 
that  impatience  of  exclusive  formalism  with  which  he  overwhelms  the  Judaizers  of  Galatia, 
joined  with  a  forbearance  so  gentle  for  the  innocent  weakness  of  scrupulous  consciences ;  *■ 
that  grief  for  the  sins  of  others,  which  moved  him  to  tears  when  he  spoke  of  the  enemies 
of  the  cross  of  Christ, "  of  whom  I  tell  you  even  weeping ; "  *  that  noble  freedom  from  jeal- 
ousy with  which  he  speaks  of  t4iose,  who,  out  of  rivalry  to  himself,  preach  Christ  even  of 
envy  and  strife,  supposing  to  add  affliction  to  his  bonds,  —  "  What  then  ?  notwithstanding 
every  way,  whether  in  pretence  or  in  truth,  Christ  is  preached ;  and  I  therein  do  rejoice, 
yea,  and  will  rejoice  ; "  *  that  tender  friendship  which  watches  over  the  health  of  Timothy 
even  with  a  mother's  care ; '  that  intense  sympathy  in  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  his  converts 
■whio,h  could  say  even  to  the  rebellious  Corinthians,  "  Ye  are  in  our  hearts,  to  die  and 
live  with  you ;  "  •  that  longing  desire  for  the  intercourse  of  affection,  and  that  sense  of 
loneliness  when  it  was  withheld,  which  perhaps  is  the  most  touching  feature  of  all,  b©- 
cause  it  approaches  most  nearlv  to  a  weakness,  —  "  When  I  had  come  to  Troas  to  preach 
the  Qlad-Tidings  of  Christ,  and  a  door  was  opened  to  me  in  the  Lord,  I  had  no  rest  in  my 
spirit  because  I  found  not  Titus  my  brother ;  but  I  parted  from  them,  and  came  frttrn 
thence  into  Macedonia."  And,  "  when  I  was  come  into  Macedonia,  my  flesh  had  no  rest, 
but  I  was  troubled  on  every  side  :  without  were  fightings,  within  were  fears.  But  God, 
who  comforts  them  that  are  cast  down,  comforted  me  by  the  coming  of  Titus."  *  "  Do 
thy  utmost  to  come  to  me  speedily :  for  Demas  hath  forsaken  me,  having  loved  this  pres- 
ent world,  and  is  departed  to  Thessalonica ;  Crescens  to  Galatia,  Titus  to  Dalmatia ;  only 
Luke  is  with  me."  " 

Nor  is  it  only  in  the  substance,  but  even  in  the  style,  of  these  writings,  that  we  recog- 
nize the  man  Paul  of  Tarsus.  In  the  parenthetical  constructions  and  broken  sentences, 
we  see  the  rapidity  with  which  the  thoughts  crowded  upon  him,  almost  too  fast  for  utter* 
ance  ;  we  see  him  animated  rather  than  weighed  down  by  "  the  crowd  that  presses  on  him 
daily,  and  the  care  of  all  the  churches,"  "  as  he  pours  forth  his  warnings  or  his  arguments 
in  a  stream  of  eager  and  impetuous  dictation,  with  which  the  pen  of  the  faithful  Tertios 
can  hardly  keep  pace."  And,  above  all,  we  trace  his  presence  in  the  postscript  to  every 
letter,  which  he  adds  as  an  authentication,  in  his  own  characteristic  handwriting,"  "  which 
is  a  token  in  every  epistle :  thus  I  write."  "  Sometimes,  as  he  takes  up  the  pen,  he  is 
moved  with  indignation  when  he  thinks  of  the  false  brethren  among  those  whom  he 
addresses :   "  The  salutation  of  me  Paul  with  my  own  hand :  if  any  man  love  not  the 

>  Compare  the  laudatory  ezpreMiouB  In  1  Oor.  '  1  Tim.  v.  23. 

L  6-7,  and  2  Cor.  1.  6,  7,  with  the  heavy  and  aknost              •  2  Cor.  vll.  3. 

nnmlngled  censure  conveyed  In  the  whole  anhM-               •  2  Cor.  11. 13,  and  vll.  6. 

qaent  part  of  these  BpisUea.  "  2  Tim.  Iv.  9.                                "  «  Oor.  xL  ». 

»  Rom.  XV.  14, 16.  "  Bom.  xvi.  22.    "I  Tertlns,  who  wrote  tU« 

»  1  Oor.  vill.  13.  Eplatle,  salute  yon  In  the  Lord." 

*  1  Cor.  vill.  12,  and  Bom.  xlv.  21.  "  Gal.  vl.  11.    "  See  tlie  $ize  of  the  characUn  In 
»  Phil.  111.  18.  ,     which  I  write  to  you  with  my  own  hand." 

•  Phil.  i.  16.  "  2  Theis.  ill.  17. 


INTKODUCTION.  XV 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  accursed."  *  Sometimes,  as  he  raises  his  hand  to  write,  he 
feels  it  cramped  by  the  fetters  which  bind  him  to  the  soldier  who  guards  him : '  "  I  Paul 
salute  you  with  my  own  hand  :  remember  my  chains."  Yet  he  always  ends  with  the  same 
blessing,  —  "  llie  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  ;  "  to  which  he  sometimes 
adds  still  further  a  few  last  words  of  affectionate  remembrance,  —  "  My  love  be  with  you 
all  in  Christ  Jesus."* 

But,  although  the  letters  of  St.  Paul  are  so  essential  a  part  of  his  personal  biography, 
it  is  a  difficult  question  to  decide  upon  the  form  in  -which  they  should  be  given  in  a  work 
like  this.  The  object  to  be  sought  is,  that  they  may  really  represent  in  English  what  they 
were  to  their  Greek  readers  when  first  written.  Now,  this  object  would  not  be  attained 
if  the  Authorized  Version  were  adhered  to ;  and  yet  a  departure  fi-om  that  whereof  so 
much  is  interwoven  with  the  memory  and  deepest  feelings  of  every  religious  mind  should 
be  grounded  on  strong  and  sufficient  cause.  It  is  hoped  that  the  following  reasons  may 
be  held  such :  — 

1st,  The  Authorized  Version  was  meant  to  be  a  standard  of  authority  and  ultimate 
appeal  in  controversy :  hence  it  could  not  venture  to  depart,  as  an  ordinary  translation 
would  do,  from  the  exact  words  of  the  original,  even  where  some  amplification  was  abso- 
lutely required  to  complete  the  sense.  It  was  to  be  the  version  unanimously  accepted  by 
all  parties,  and  therefore  must  simply  represent  the  Greek  text  word  for  word.  This  it 
does  most  faithfully,  so  far  as  the  critical  knowledge  of  the  sixteenth*  century  permitted. 
But  the  result  of  this  method  is  sometimes  to  produce  a  translation  unintelligible  to  the 
English  reader.*  Also,  if  the  text  atlmit  of  two  interpretations,  our  version  endeavors,  if 
possiV  le,  to  preserve  the  same  ambiguity,  and  effects  this  often  with  admirable  skill ;  but 
such  indecision,  although  a  merit  in  an  authoritative  version,  would  be  a  fault  in  a  trans- 
lation which  had  a  different  object. 

2d,  The  imperfect  knowledge  existing  at  the  time  when  our  Bible  was  translated  made 
it  inevitable  that  the  translators  should  occasionally  render  the  original  incorrectly ;  and 
the  same  cause  has  made  their  version  of  many  of  the  argumentative  portions  of  the 
Epistles  perplexed  and  obscure. 

3d,  Such  passages  as  are  affected  by  the  above-mentioned  objections,  might,  it  is  true, 
have  been  recast,  and  the  authorized  translation  retained  in  all  cases  where  it  is  correct 
and  clear ;  but,  if  this  had  been  done,  a  patchwork  effect  would  have  been  produced  like 
that  of  new  cloth  upon  old  garments  :  moreover,  the  devotional  associations  of  the  reader 
would  have  been  offended  ;  and  it  would  have  been  a  rash  experiment  to  provoke  such  a 
contrast  between  the  matchless  style  of  the  Authorized  Version  and  that  of  the  modem 
translator,  thus  placed  side  by  side. 

4th,  The  style  adopted  for  the  present  purpose  should  not  be  antiquated ;  for  St.  Paul 
was  writing  in  the  language  used  by  his  Hellenistic  readers  in  every-day  life. 

»  1  Cor.  xvl.  22.  «  Yet,  had  any  other  coarse  been  adopted,  every 

•  C0I088.  IV.  18.  »  1  Cor.  xvl.  24.       sect  would  have  had  Its  own  Bible :  as  It  is,  this  one 

*  Being  executed  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  translation  has  been  all  but  nnanlmonely  received 
■trventeenth.  for  three  centuries. 


XVI  INTEODUCTION. 

5th,  In  order  to  give  the  true  meaning  of  the  original,  sometMng  more  than  a  mere 
verbal  rendering  is  often  absolutely  required.  St.  Paul's  style  is  extremely  elliptical,  and 
the  gaps  must  be  filled  up.  And,  moreover,  the  great  difficulty  in  understanding  his  argu- 
ment is  to  trace  clearly  the  transitions '  by  which  he  passes  from  one  step  to  another. 
For  this  purpose,  something  must  occasionally  be  supplied  beyond  the  mere  literal  ren- 
dering of  the  words. 

In  fact,  the  meaning  of  an  ancient  writer  may  be  rendered  into  a  modem  language  in 
three  ways :  either,  first,  by  a  literal  version ;  or,  secondly,  by  a,  free  translation  ;  or,  thirdly, 
by  a  paraphrase.  A  recent  specimen  of  the  first  method  may  be  found  in  the  corrected 
edition  of  the  Authorized  Version  of  the  Corinthians,  by  Prof.  Stanley ;  of  the  Galatians 
and  Ephesians,  by  Prof  Ellicott ;  and  of  the  Thessalonians,  Galatians,  and  Romans,  by 
Prof.  Jowett ;  all  of  which  have  appeared  since  the  first  edition  of  the  present  work 
The  experiment  of  these  translations  (ably  executed  as  they  are)  has  confirmed  the  view 
above  expressed  of  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of  such  a  literal  rendering ;  for  it  cannot  be 
doubted,  that  though  they  correct  the  mistakes  of  the  Authorized  Version,  yet  they  leave 
an  English  reader  in  more  hopeless  bewilderment  as  to  St.  Paul's  meaning  than  that  ver- 
sion itself.  Of  the  third  course  (that  oi  paraphrase),  an  excellent  specimen  is  to  be  found 
in  Prof  Stanley's  paraphrases  of  the  Corinthian  Epistles.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  better 
way  than  this  of  conveying  the  general  meaning  of  the  Epistles  to  an  English  reader ; 
but  it  would  not  be  suitable  for  the  biography  of  St.  Paul,  in  which  not  only  his  general 
meaning,  but  his  every  sentence  and  every  clause,  should,  so  far  as  possible,  be  given 
There  remains  the  intermediate  course  of  a,  free  translation,  which  is  that  adopted  in  the 
present  work :  nor  does  there  seem  any  reason  why  a  translation  of  St.  Paul  should  be 
rendered  inaccurate  by  a  method  which  would  generally  be  adopted  in  a  translation  of 
Thucydides. 

It  has  not  been  thought  necessary  to  interrupt  the  reader  by  a  note  *  in  every  instance 
where  the  translation  varies  from  the  Authorized  Version.  It  has  been  assumed  that  the 
readers  of  the  notes  will  have  sufficient  knowledge  to  understand  the  reason  of  such  varia- 
tions in  the  more  obvious  cases.  But  it  is  hoped  that  no  variation  which  presents  any  real 
difficulty  has  been  passed  over  without  explanation. 

It  should  further  be  observed,  that  the  translation  given  in  this  work  does  not  adhere 
to  the  Textus  Receptus,  but  follows  the  text  authorized  by  the  best  MSS.  Yet,  though 
the  Textus  Receptus  has  no  authority  in  itself,  it  seems  undesirable  to  depart  from  it 
without  necessity,  because  it  is  the  text  familiar  to  English  readers.  Hence  the  translator 
has  adhered  to  it  in  passages  where  the  MSS.  of  highest  authority  are  equally  divided 

1  In  the  translation  of  the  Epistles  given  In  the  stroyed  by  such  Inattention  in  the  Authorized  Ver- 

present  work,  it  has  been  the  especial  aim  of  the  sion  1  —  "  Who  hath  believed  our  report  7    So,  then, 

translator  to  represent  these  transitions  correctly.  faith  cometh  by  hearing.''' 

They  very  often  depend  upon  a  word  which  sug-  »  [See  again  note  on  p.  IX,  and  the  Preface.    In 

gests  a  new  thought,  and  are  quite  lost  by  a  want  this  edition,  no  note  appended  to  the  translations  ha< 

of  attention  to  the  verbal  coincidence.    Thus,  for  been  altered  In  meaning.     Only  such  changes  are 

Instance,  in  Rom.  x.  16,  17, —  "Who  hath    given  made    as  is  required   by  the   omisBion  ol    Oreek 

faith  to  our  teaching  7    So,  then,  faith  cometh  by  words. —  H.} 
teaching,"  —  how  completely  is  the  connection  da- 


INTBODUCTION.  XVn 

between  its  reading  and  some  other,  and  also  in  some  cases  where  the  difference  between 

H  and  the  true  text  is  merely  verbal. 

The  authorities  consulted  upon  the  chronology  of  St.  Paul's  life,  the  reasons  for  the 
views  taken  of  disputed  points  in  it,  and  for  the  dates  of  the  Epistles,  are  stated  (so  far 
as  seems  needful)  in  the  body  of  the  work  or  in  the  Appendices,  and  need  not  be  further 
referred  to  here. 

In  conclusion,  the  authors  would  express  their  hope  that  this  biography  may,  in  its 
measure,  be  useful  in  strengthening  the  hearts  of  some  against  the  peculiar  form  of  unbe- 
Uef  most  current  at  the  present  day.  The  more  faithfully  we  can  represent  to  ourselves 
the  life,  outward  and  inward,  of  St.  Paul,  in  all  its  fulness,  the  more  unreasonable  must 
appear  the  theory,  that  Christianity  had  a  mythical  origin  ;  and  the  stronger  must  be  our 
ground  for  believing  his  testimony  to  the  divine  nature  and  miraculous  history  of  our  Re- 
deemer. No  reasonable  man  can  learn  to  know  and  love  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles 
without  asking  himself  the  question,  "  What  was  the  principle  by  which,  through  such 
a  life,  he  was  animated  ?  What  was  the  strength  in  which  he  labored  with  such  immense 
results  ?  "  Nor  can  the  most  sceptical  inquirer  doubt  for  one  moment  the  full  sincerity  of 
St.  Paul's  belief,  that  "  the  life  which  he  lived  in  the  flesh,  he  lived  by  the  faith  of  the  Son 
of  God,  who  died  and  gave  himself  for  him."  ^  "  To  believe  in  Christ  crucified  and  risen, 
to  serve  him  on  earth,  to  be  with  him  hereafter,  —  these,  if  we  may  trust  the  account  of 
his  own  motives  by  any  human  writer  whatever,  were  the  chief  if  not  the  only  thoughts 
which  sustained  Paul  of  Tarsus  through  all  the  troubles  and  sorrows  of  his  twenty-years' 
conflict.  His  sagacity,  his  cheerfulness,  his  forethought,  his  impartial  and  clear-judging 
reason,  all  the  natural  elements  of  his  strong  character,  are  not,  indeed,  to  be  over- 
looked :  but  the  more  highly  we  exalt  these  in  om*  estimate  of  his  work,  the  larger  share 
we  attribute  to  them  in  the  performance  of  his  mission,  the  more  are  we  compelled  to 
believe  that  he  spoke  the  words  of  truth  and  soberness  when  he  told  the  Corinthians, 
that, '  last  of  all,  Christ  was  seen  of  him  also ; ' '  that '  by  the  grace  of  God  he  was  what 
he  was  ; '  that, '  whilst  he  labored  more  abundantly  than  all,  it  was  not  he,  but  the  grace 
of  God  that  was  in  him."" 

<  Qal.  11.  ao.  *  1  dor.  zr.  8.  *  Stflnley'a  Sermona  on  the  Apostolio  Age,  p  188. 


POSTSCRIPT. 


IT  may  be  well  to  add,  that,  while  Mr.  Conybeare  and  Dr.  Howson  have  tmdertaken 
the  joint  revision  of  the  whole  work,  the  translation  of  the  Epistles  and  Speeches  of 
St.  Paul  is  contributed  by  the  former ;  the  historical  portion  of  the  work  principally,  and 
the  geographical  portion  entirely,  by  the  latter :  Dr.  Howson  having  written  Chapters  L, 

n.,  m.,  IV.,  v.,  VI.,  vn.,  vm.,  ix.,  x.,  xi.,  xn.,  xiv.,  xvi.,  xx.,  xxi.  (except  the 

earlier  portion),  XXII.  (except  some  of  the  later  part),  XXIII.,  XXIV.,  the  latter  pages  of 
XV 11.,  and  the  earlier  pages  of  XXVI.,  with  the  exception  of  the  Epistles  and  Speeches 
therein  contained  ;  and  Mr.  Conybeare  having  written  the  Introduction  and  Appendices, 
and  Chapters  XHI.,  XV.,  XVH.  (except  the  conclusion),  XVm.,  XIX.,  XXV.,  XXVL 
(except  the  introductory  and  topographical  portions),  XXVTI.,  XXVlll.,  the  earlier 
pages  of  XXI.,  and  some  of  the  later  pages  of  XXli 


This  seems  the  proper  place  for  explaining 
the  few  abbreviations  used.  T.  R.  stands  for 
Textus  Receptus ;  0.  T.  for  Old  Testament ;  N.  T. 
for  New  Ttstament ;  A.  V.  for  Authorised  Ver- 
sion; and  LXX.  (after  a  quotation  from  the  Old 
Testament)  means  that  tlie  quotation  is  cited  by 
St.    Paul,  according  to  the  Septuagint  transla- 


tion. In  such  references,  however,  the  num- 
bering of  verses  and  chapters  according  to  the 
Authorised  Version  (not  according  to  the  Sep- 
tuagint) has  been  retained,  to  avoid  the  causing 
of  perplexity  to  English  readers  who  may  at- 
tempt to  verify  the  references. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER     I. 

Qreat  Men  of  Great  Periods.  —  Period  of  Christ's  Apostles. — Jews,  Greeks,  and  Ro- 
mans. —  Religious  Civilization  of  the  Jews.  —  Their  History,  and  its  Relation  to  that  of 
the  World.  —  Heathen  Preparation  for  the  Gospel.  —  Character  and  Language  ot  the 
Greeks.  —  Alexander.  —  Antioch  and  Alexandria.  —  Growth  and  Government  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  —  Misery  of  Italy  and  the  Provinces.  —  Preparation  in  the  Empire  for 
Christianity.  —  Dispersion  of  the  Jews  in  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe.  —  Proselytes.  — 
Provinces  of  Cilicia  and  Judaea.  —  Their  Geography  and  History.  —  Cilicia  under  the 
Romans.  —  Tarsus.  —  Cicero.  —  Political  Changes  in  Judaea.  —  Herod  and  his  Fami- 
ly. —  The  Roman  Governors.  —  Conclusion I 

CHAPTER    n. 

Jewish  Origin  of  the  Church.  —  Sects  and  Parties  of  the  Jews.  —  Pharisees  and  Sad- 
dacees.  —  St.  Paul  a  Pharisee.  —  Hellenists  and  Aramaeans.  —  St.  Paul's  Family  Hel- 
lenistic, but  not  Hellenizing.  —  His  Infancy  at  Tarsus.  —  The  Tribe  of  Benjamin.  — 
His  Father's  Citizenship.  —  Scenery  of  the  Place.  —  His  Childhood.  — ^  He  is  sent  to 
Jerusalem.  —  State  of  Judaea  and  Jerusalem.  —  Rabbinical  Schools.  —  Gamaliel.  — 
Mode  of  Teaching.  —  Synagogues.  —  Student-Life  of  St.  Paul.  —  His  early  Man- 
hood.—  First  Aspect  of  the  Church.  —  St.  Stephen.  —  The  Sanhedrin.  —  St.  Stephen 
the  Forerunner  of  St.  Paul.  —  His  Martyrdom  and  Prayer M 

CHAPTER    m. 

Funeral  of  St.  Stephen.  —  Saul's  continued  Persecution.  —  Flight  of  the  Christians.  — 
Philip  and  the  Samaritans.  —  Saul's  Journey  to  Damascus.  —  Aretas,  King  of  Petra.  — 
Roads  from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus.  —  Neapolis.  —  History  and  Description  of  Damas- 
cus. —  The  Narratives  of  the  Miracle.  —  It  was  a  real  Vision  of  Jesus  Christ  —  Three 
Days  in  Damascus. — Ananias.  —  Baptism  and  first  Preaching  of  Saul.--^He  retires 
into  Arabia.  —  Meaning  of  the  Term  "  Ambia."  —  Petra  and  the  Desert.  —  Motives  to 
Conversion.  —  Conspiracy  at  Damascus. -^Escape  to  Jerusalem.  —  Barnabas.  —  Fort- 
night with  St.  Peter.  —  Conspiracy.  —  Vision  in  the  Temple.  —  Saul  withdraws  to 
Syria  and  Cilicia  71 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Wider  Diffusion  of  Christianity.  —  Antioch.  —  Chronology  of  the  Acts.  —  Reign  of  Caligu- 
la. —  Claudius  and  Herod  Agrippa  I.  —  The  Year  44.  —  Conversion  of   the  Gen- 


XXn  CONTENTS. 

tiles.  —  St  Peter  and  Cornelius. — Joppa  and  Csesarea.  —  St.  Peter's  Vision.  —  Ba|>- 
tism  of  Cornelius.  —  Intelligence  from  Antioch.  —  Mission  of  Barnabas. — Baul  with 
Barnabas  at  Antioch.  —  The  Name  "  Christian."  —  Description  And  History  of  Anti- 
och. —  Character  of  its  Inhabitants.  —  Earthquakes.  —  Famine.  —  Barnabas  and  Saul 
at  Jerusalem.  —  Death  of  St.  James  and  of  Herod  Agrippa.  —  Return  with  Mark  to 
Antioch.  —  Providential  Preparation  of  St.  Paul.  —  Results  of  his  Mission  to  Jerusa- 
lem      !• 


CHAPTER    V. 

Second  Part  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  —  Revelation  at  Antioch.  —  Public  Devotions.— 
Departure  of  Barnabas  and  Saul.  —  The  Orontes.  —  History  and  Description  of  Selu- 
cia.  —  Voyage  to  Cyprus.  —  Salamis.  —  Roman  Provincial  System.  —  Proconsuls  and 
Propraetors.  —  Sergius  Paulus.  —  Oriental  Impostors  at  Rome  and  in  the  Provinces.  — 
Elymas  Baijesns.  —  History  of  Jewish  Names.  —  Saul  and  Paul      .        .        .        .        Ill 

CHAPTER     VI. 

Old  and  New  Paphos.  —  Departure  from  Cyprus.  —  Coast  of  Pamphylia.  —  Perga.  — 
Mark's  Return  to  Jerusalem.  —  Mountain-Scenery  of  Pisidia.  —  Situation  of  Anti- 
och, —  The  Synagogue.  —  Address  to  the  Jews.  —  Preaching  to  the  Gentiles.  —  Perse- 
cution by  the  Jews.  —  History  and  Description  of  Iconium.  — Lycaonia.  —  Derbe  and 
Lystra.  —  Healing  of  the  Cripple.  —  Idolatrous  Worship  offered  to  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas. —  Address  to  the  Gentiles.  —  St.  Paul  stoned.  —  Timotheus.  —  The  Apostles  re- 
trace their  Journey.  —  Perga  and  Attaleia.  —  Return  to  Syria ISt 

CHAPTER    Vn. 

Controveiuy  in  the  Church.  —  Separation  of  Jews  and  Grentiles.  —  Difficalty  in  the  Narra- 
tive. —  Discontent  at  Jerusalem.  —  Intrigues  of  the  Judaizers  at  Antioch.  —  Mission  of 
Paul  and  Barnabas  to  Jerusalem.  —  Divine  Revelation  to  St.  Paul.  —  Titus.  —  Private 
Conferences.  —  Public  Meeting.  —  Speech  of  St.  Peter.  —  Narrative  of  Barnabas  and 
Paul. Speech  of  St.  James.  —  The  Decree.  —  Public  Recognition  of  St.  Paul's  Mis- 
sion to  the  Heathen.  —  St.  John.  —  Return  to  Antioch  with  Judas,  Silas,  and  Mark.  — 
Reading  of  the  Letter.  —  Weak  Conduct  of  St.  Peter  at  Antioch.  —  He  is  rebuked  by 
St.  Paul.  —  Personal  Appearance  of  the  two  Apostles.  —  Their  Reconciliation        .        17« 

CHAPTER    Vm. 

Political  Divisions  of  Asia  Minor.  —  Difficulties  of  the  Subject.  —  Provinces  in  the  Reigns 
of  Claudius  and  Nero.  —  I.  ASIA.  —  II.  BITHYNIA.  —  HI.  PAMPHYLIA.  —  IV. 
GALATIA.  — V.  PONTUS.  — VI.  CAPPADOCIA.  — VH.  CILICIA.  —  Visitation 
of  the  Churches  proposed.  —  Quarrel  and  Separation  of  Paul  and  Barnabas.  —  Paul 
and  Silas  in  Cilicia.  —  They  cross  the  Taurus.  —  Lystra.  —  Timothy.  —  His  Cir- 
cumcision.—  Journey  through  Phrygia.  —  Sickness  of  St.  Paul.  —  His  Reception  in 
Galatia.  —Journey  to  the  .^Egean.  —  Alexandria  Troas.  —  St.  Paul's  Vision  .        .        201 

CHAPTER     IX. 

Voyage  by  Samothrace  to  Neapolis.  —  Philippi.  — Constitution  of  a  Colony.  —  Lydia. — 
The  Demoniac  Slave.  —  Paul  and  Silas  arrested.  —  The  Prison  and  the  Jailer.  —  The 
Magistrates.  — Departure  from  Philippi.  — St.   Luke.  —  Macedonia    described.  —  Iti 


CONTENTS.  XXUI 

Condition  as  a  Province.  —  The  Via  Egnatia.  —  St.  Paul's  Journey  through  Amphipo- 
lis  and  Apollonia.  —  Thessalonica.  —  The  Synagogue.  —  Subjects  of  St.  Paul's  Preach- 
ing. —  Persecution,  Tumult,  and  Flight.  —  The  Jews  at  Beroea.  —  St  Paul  again  perse- 
cuted. —  Proceeds  to  Athens ...        246 

CHAPTER    X. 

Aniyal  on  the  Coast  of  Attica.  —  Scenery  round  Athens.  —  The  Piraeus  and  the  "  Long 
Walls."  —  The  Agora.  —  The  Acropolis.  —  The  "  Painted  Porch  "  and  the  "  Gar- 
den." —  The  Apostle  alone  in  Athens.  —  Greek  Religion.  —  The  unknown  Grod.  — 
Greek  Philosophy,  —  The  Stoics  and  Epicureans.  —  Later  Period  of  the  Schools.  — 
St.  Paul  in  the  Agora.  —  The  Areopagus.  —  Speech  of  St.  Paul.  —  Departure  from 
Alhens 298 

CHAPTER    XI. 

Letters  to  Thessalonica  written  from  Corinth.  —  Expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  Rome.  — 
Aquila  and  Priscilla.  —  St.  Paul's  Labors.  —  Arrival  of  Timothy  and  Silas.  —  Firtt 
Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians.  —  St.  Paul  is  opposed  by  the  Jews,  and  turns  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. —  His  Vision.  —  Second  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians.  —  Continued  Residence  in 
Corinth 333 

CHAPTER    Xn. 

The  Isthmus  and  Acrocorinthus.  —  Early  History  of  Corinth.  —  Its  Trade  and  Wealth.  — 
Corinth  under  the  Romans.  —  Province  of  Achaia.  —  Gallio  the  Governor.  —  Tumnlt  at 
Corinth.  —  Cenchrea.  —  Voyage  by  Ephesus  to  Caesarea.  —  Visit  to  Jerusalem.  — 
Antioch     ...  3S7 

CHAPTER    Xm. 

The  Spiritual  Gifts,  Consntation,  Oramances,  Divisions,  and  Heresies  of  the  Primitive 
Church  in  the  Lifetime  of  St.  Paul 372 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Departure  from  Antioch.  —  St.  Paul's  Companions.  —  Journey  through  Phrygia  and  Gala- 
tia.  —  Apollos  at  Ephesus  and  Corinth.  —  Arrival  of  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus.  — Disciples 
of  John  the  Baptist.  —  The  Synagogue.  —  The  School  of  Tyrannns.  —  Ephesian 
Magic.  —  Miracles.  —  The  Exorcists. — Burning  of  the  Books  ....        402 

CHAPTER    XV. 

Bt.  Paul  pays  a  short  Visit  to  Corinth.  —  Returns  to  Ephesus.  —  Writes  a  Letter  to  the 
Corinthians,  which  is  now  lost.  —  They  reply,  desiring  further  Explanations.  —  State 
of  the  Corinthian  Church    —  St.  Paul  writes  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians        .        418 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

Description  of  Ephesus.  —  Temple  of  Diana :  her  Image  and  Worship.  —  Political  Consti- 
tution of  Ephesus.  —  The  Asiarchs.  —  Demetrius  and  the  Silversmiths.  —  Tumult  in 
the  Theatre.  —  Speech  of  the  Town-Clerk.—  St.  Paul's  Departure    .        .        .        .        4ftl 


XXIV  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEE    XVn. 

St.  Paul  at  Troas.  —  He  passes  over  to  Macedonia.  —  Causes  of  his  Dejection.  —  He  meets 
Titus  at  Philippi.  —  Writes  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  —  Collection  for  the 
poor  Christians  in  Judaea.  —  Liberality  of  the  Macedonians.  —  Titus.  —  Journey  by 
niyricum  to  Greece 478 

CHAPTER    XVni. 

St.  Paul's  Return  to  Corinth.  —  Contrast  with  his  First  Visit.  —  Bad  news  from  Galatia.  — 

He  writes  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians 518 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

St.  Paul  at  Corinth.  —  Punishment  of  contumacious  Offenders.  —  Subsequent  Character  of 
the  Corinthian  Church.  —  Completion  of  the  Collection.  —  Phoebe's  Journey  to  Rome. 

—  She  bears  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans 539 

CHAPTER    XX. 

Tsthmian  Games.  —  Route  through  Macedonia.  —  Voyage  from  Philippi.  —  Sunday  at 
Troas.  —  Assos.  —  Voyage  by  Mitylene  and  Trogyllium  to  Miletus.  —  Speech  to  the 
Ephesian  Presbyters.  —  Voyage  by  Cos  and  Rhodes  to  Patara.  —  Thence  to  Phoenicia. 

—  Christians  at  Tyre.  —  Ptolemais.  —  Events  at  Caesarea.  —  Arrival  at  Jerusalem  .        585 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

Reception  at  Jerusalem.  —  Assembling  of  the  Presbyters.  —  Advice  given  to  St.  Paul.  — 
The  Four  Nazarites.  —  St.  Paul  seized  at  the  Festival.  —  The  Temple  and  the  Garri- 
son.—  Hebrew  Speech  on  the  Stairs.  —  The  Centurion  and  the  Chief  Captain.  —  St 
Paul  before  the  Sanhedrin.  — The  Pharisees  and  Sadducees.  —  Vision  in  the  Castle. — 
Conspiracy.  —  St.  Paul's  Nephew.  —  Letter  of  Claudius  Lysias  to  Felix.  —  Night 
Journey  to  Antipatris.  —  Caesarea 620 

CHAPTER    XXn. 

History  of  Judeea  resumed.  —  Roman  Governors.  —  Felix.  —  Troops  quartered  in  Palestine. 

—  Description  of  Caesarea.  —  St.  Paul  accused  there.  —  Speech  before  Felix.  —  Con- 
tinued Imprisonment.  —  Accession  of  Festus.  —  Appeal  to  the  Emperor.  —  Speech  be/ore 
Agrippa 652 

CHAPTER    XXin. 

Ships  and  Navigation  of  the  Ancients.  —  Roman  Commerce  in  the  Mediterranean.  —  Corn- 
Trade  between  Alexandria  and  Puteoli.  —  Travellers  by  Sea.  —  St.  Paul's  Voyage  from 
Caesarea,  by  Sidon,  to  Myra.  —  From  Myra,  by  Cnidus  and  Cape  Salmonc,  to  Fair 
Havens.  —  Phoenix.  —  The  Storm.  —  Seamanship  during  the  Gale.  —  St.  Paul's  Vision. 

—  Anchoring  in  the  Night.  —  Shipwreck.  —  Proof  that  it  took  Place  in  Malta. —  Win- 
ter in  the  Island.  —  Objections  considered. — Voyage,  by  Syracuse  and  Ehegium,  to 
Puteoli 677 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

The  Appian  Way.  —  Appii  Forum  and  the  Three  Taverns.  —  Entrance  into  Rome.  —  The 
Pra;torian  Prefect.  —  Description  of  the  City.  —  Its  Population.  —  The  Jews  in  Rome. 

—  The  Roman  Church.  —  St.  Paul's  Interview  with  the  Jews.  —  His  Residence  in 
Rome  .        .        7M 


CONTENTS.  XXV 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

Delay  of  St.  Patil's  Trial.  —  His  Occupations  and  Companions  during  his  Imprisonment.  — 
He  writes  the  Epistle  to  Philemon,  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  and  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians  (so  called) .        744 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

The  PrsBtorium  and  the  Palatine.  —  Arrival  of  Epaphroditus.  — Political  Events  at  Rome. 

—  Octavia  and  Poppsea.  —  St.  Paul  writes  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians.  —  He  makes 
Converts  in  the  Imperial  Household 779 

CHAPTER    XXVn. 

Authorities  for  St.  Paul's  subsequent  History.  —  His  Appeal  is  heard.  —  His  Acquittal.  — 
He  goes  from  Rome  to  Asia  Minor.  —  Thence  to  Spain,  where  he  resides  two  Years. 

—  He  returns  to  Asia  Minor  and  Macedonia.  —  Writes  the  First  Epistle  to  Timotheus.  - 
Visits  Crete.  —  Writes  the  Epistle  to  Titus.  —  He  winters  at  Nicopolis.  —  He  is   again 
imprisoned  at  Rome.  —  Progress  of  his  Trial.  —  He  writes  the  Second  Epistle  to  Timo- 
theus. —  His  Condemnation  and  Death 799 


CHAPTER    XXVin. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  —  Its  Inspiration  not  affected  by  the  Doubts  concerning  its  Au- 
thorship. —  Its  Original  Readers.  —  Conflicting  Testimony  of  the  Primitive  Church 
concerning  its  Author.  —  His  Object  in  writing  it.  —  Translation  of  the  Epistle        .        848 

APPENDICES. 

Affeitdix  I.  —  (On  the  Chronology  of  Gal.  ii.) 

Appendix  n.  —  (On  the  Date  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles) 

AfpbmdixIIL  — (Chronological  Table  and  Notes) 

INDEX 


PEELIMINAEY  DISSERTATION. 


IT  is  not  because  this  troly  great  work  needs  any  commendation  from  me 
that  I  consent  to  stand,  as  it  were,  for  a  little  while  between  the  learned 
authors  and  their  readers,  but  because  I  have  ventured  to  hope  that  what  I  have 
to  say  by  way  of  introduction  may  be  accepted  as  a  humble  contribution  to  the 
usefulness  of  "The  People's  Edition."  This  Life  of  Paul  the  Apostle,  with 
his  writings  incorporated  as  biographical  documents  in  a  free  but  conscientious 
translation,  was  designed  originally  for  the  use  of  scholars  conversant  in  some 
degree  with  the  sources  of  the  affluent  and  various  learning  by  which  the  narra- 
tive is  enriched  and  illustrated ;  but  in  a  People's  Edition  it  will  find,  I  doubt 
not,  many  intelligent  readers  to  whom  the  facts  and  considerations  offered  in 
these  few  pages  may  be  helpful. 

Even  an  unbeliever,  if  he  be  at  all  intelligent,  must  admit  that  the  Christian 
religion  is,  at  this  moment,  one  of  the  most  important  facts  in  the  condition  of 
the  civilized  world ;  and  that,  ever  since  its  first  appearance  in  history,  it  has 
been  one  of  the  most  powerful  among  the  forces  that  have  impelled  or  controlled 
the  world's  progress.  The  year  which  was  fixed  upon,  fourteen  hundred  years 
ago,  as  that  in  which  Jesus  Christ  was  bom,  has  become,  by  the  general  consent 
of  civilized  nations,  the  point  from  which  all  time  is  measured,  backward  to  the 
dimmest  antiquity,  and  forward  into  the  yet  unknown  future.  In  other  words, 
the  importance  of  Christianity  as  a  fact  and  a  force  in  history  is  recognized 
in  the  recognition  of  the  Christian  era.  Any  other  method  of  dating,  as,  for 
example,  in  the  British  Empire,  from  the  accession  of  the  reigning  sovereign,  or, 
in  our  country,  from  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  is  more  for  form  than 
for  use.  The  attempt  of  revolutionary  France  to  abolish  the  Christian  era,  and 
to  substitute  for  it  the  era  of  the  Republic,  was  as  futile  as  the  simultaneous 

attempt  to  abolish  the  division  of  time  into  weeks,  and  is  already  remembered 

xxvu 


XSVUl  PEELIMUSTAKY    DISSERTATION. 

only  as  a  curiosity  of  history.  Nothing  future  is  more  certain  than  that,  in  the 
progress  of  civilization  and  of  international  intercourse,  making  the  knowledge 
and  the  arts  of  Christendom  a  common  possession  for  mankind,  all  nations  will 
learn  to  count  their  years  and  centuries  from  the  supposed  hirthday  of  Christ. 
So  signally  has  this  Christian  religion  inserted  itself  into  the  world's  history. 
It  is  not  only  a  marvellous  fact;  it  is  a  transcendent  power :  its  beginning  is  the 
one  epoch  from  which  all  the  centuries  before  and  after  must  be  measured. 

No  thoughtful  man,  then,  can  fail  to  be  deeply  interested  in  the  inquiry  con-^ 
cerning  the  origin  of  Christianity,  however  he  may  doubt  or  deny  its  authori- 
ty as  a  revelation  from  God.  When,  where,  and  how  did  this  religion  begin  ?  It 
appears  to-day  under  various  forms  and  aspects,  but  always  resting  on  the  same 
basis  of  alleged  facts.  In  its  dogmas,  in  its  ritual,  in  its  external  discipline,  it 
has  been  modified  from  age  to  age ;  at  one  time  gradually  corrupted  by'enthusi- 
asms  or  superstitions,  at  another  time  reformed.  What  was  it  in  its  beginning  ? 
What  were  the  ideas  and  sentiments,  the  faith,  the  expectations,  the  practices, 
and  the  character,  of  those  who  were  first  called  Christians  ?  Such  questions, 
surely,  even  if  considered  as  historical  questions  only,  are  profoundly  interesting 
to  a  thoughtful  mind.  What  sources  of  information  are  there  from  which  we 
may  obtain  a  satisfactory  answer  to  such  questions  ? 

Apart  from  that  little  collection  of  writings  which  we  call  the  New  Testament, 
we  have  really  no  information  concerning  the  origin  of  Christianity.  The  great- 
est of  aU  revolutions  in  human  thinking  and  in  human  affairs  began,  and  passed 
through  the  earliest  stage  of  its  progress,  in  an  obscurity  beneath  the  notice  of 
philosophers  and  historians.  When  it  first  comes  into  recognition  in  secular 
literature,  its  existence  is  already  a  mystery  to  be  accounted  for,  and  no  light 
appears  in  regard  to  its  origin.  Yet  that  was  not  a  barbarous  age.  It  was  just 
the  age  in  which  the  old  civilization  had  reached  its  highest  advancement.  Over 
the  wide  extent  of  the  empire  that  called  itself  the  world,  literature  and  the  arts 
were  in  their  glory.  Grecian  culture  and  the  Grecian  spirit  of  speculation  had 
been  superinduced  upon  the  sterner  qualities  of  the  Koman  race ;  and  many  a 
provincial  city,  as  well  as  the  great  centre  of  dominion,  had  its  literary  men,  and 
its  institute  or  college,  in  which  accomplished  teachers  gave  instruction  in  philoso- 
phy and  rhetoric  to  crowds  of  pupils.  But  the  literature  of  that  age  took  no 
careful  notice,  and  made  no  deliberate  record,  of  a  movement,  which,  as  we  now 
see,  was  destined  to  change  the  history  of  the  world.  Three  eminent  Roman 
authors,  who  lived  near  the  close  of  the  first  century  and  in  the  beginning  of 
the  second,  and  they,  only,  mention  distinctly  the  fact  of  Christianity  as  a  new 
religion ;  but  they  give  no  intelligent  report  of  how  it  came  into  being. 


PRELIMLNABY    DISSERTATION.  XXIX 

It  happens  that  those  three  authors  were  related  to  each  other  as  friends. 
l\«e  oldest  of  them,  Caius  Cornelius  Tacitus,  was  horn  about  the  year  55  of 
the  Christian  era,  Caius  Plinius  C^cllius  Secundus,  commonly  called  in 
English  the  younger  Pliny,  was  bom  in  61  or  62.  Caius  Suetonius  Tban- 
QUILLUS  was  bom  about  the  year  70,  or  two  years  before  the  fall  of  Jerusalem. 
They  were  all  eminent  men,  of  rare  talents,  accomplished  by  the  best  culture 
which  the  time  could  give,  personally  conversant  with  public  affairs,  employed 
in  various  ofGices  of  great  responsibility,  honored  with  the  friendship  of  such  an 
emperor  as  Trajan,  yet  more  desirous  of  winning  celebrity  with  future  ages  by 
literary  achievements  than  by  rising  to  the  highest  honors  in  the  forum  or  in  the 
imperial  court.  Two  of  them  were  historians,  recording  with  exquisite  art,  and 
with  something  of  philosophic  sagacity,  the  events  of  their  own  age  and  of  the  age 
immediately  preceding.  The  other  survives  in  a  voluminous  collection  of 
familiar  letters  to  his  friends,  — just  such  memorials  of  men  and  times  as  the  stu- 
dent of  history  most  delights  in.  What  information,  then,  do  these  three  illus- 
trious authors  give  us  concerning  that  most  important  theme  in  the  history  of 
their  century,  the  origin  and  early  progress  of  the  Christian  religion  ? 

The  great  work  of  Suetonius  is  his  "  Lives  of  the  Twelve  Caesars,"  beginning 
with  Julius,  and  ending  with  Domitian.  In  his  "  Life  of  Claudius  Csesar,"  whose 
reign  began  a.d.  42,  and  continued  about  eight  years,  there  is  one  sentence 
which  is  commonly  understood  as  referring  to  disturbances  occasioned  by  Jewish 
hostility  to  the  belief  in  Jesus  as  the  Christ :  "  He  [Claudius]  expelled  from 
Home  the  Jews,  who  were  continually  raising  tumults  at  the  instigation  of 
Chrestus."  ^  That  brief  sentence,  as  the  reader  of  this  volume  will  have  occa- 
sion to  observe,  describes,  no  doubt,  the  expulsion  which  brought  the  Christian 
Jew  Aquila  and  his  wife  PriscUla  from  Italy  to  Corinth.''  Bnt  at  present  we 
need  only  observe  how  meagre  and  unsatisfactory  is  the  notice  of  a  fact  about 
which  our  curiosity  in  this  nineteenth  century  demands  full  information.  If 
the  historian  heedlessly  wrote  Chrestus  for  Christies,  without  inquiring  what 
any  person  of  that  name  had  to  do  with  the  riots,  then  the  Christian  religion, 
some  time  after  the  year  42,  and  before  the  year  50,  had  become  a  subject  of  con- 
troversy among  the  Jews  at  Rome,  and  its  enemies  had  attempted  to  suppress  it 
by  violence ;  and  farther  this  witness  has  nothing  to  say. 

But  in  his  "Life  of  Nero,"  the  successor  of  Claudius,  there  is  another  passage, 
more  explicit.  Describing  summarily  those  things  done  by  Nero  which  were 
in  part  blameless  and  in  part  praiseworthy,  before  touching  upon  the  crimes 

1  •<  JndsoB  impuLBore  Chresto  asaidne  tnmnlta-  *  Aeta  xriil.  2.    Bee  pp.  836,  836,  of  thia  toIud*. 

•Dtae  Boma  ezpallt."  —  Suetonius,  Olaad.  26. 


PBFiTiTMTNABY    DISSERTATION. 

which  have  made  that  name  forever  infamous,  he  says,  "  The  Christians,  a  sorl 
of  men  of  a  new  and  mischievous  superstition,  were  severely  punished."  *  It 
seems,  then,  there  were  Christians  at  Rome  when  Nero  was  emperor.  Their  reli- 
gion was  at  that  time  new,  and  was  considered  (then,  and  forty  or  fifty  years 
later,  when  Suetonius  told  the  story)  a  mischievous  superstition.  They  were 
severely  punished  for  being  Christians ;  and,  in  the  opinion  of  the  historian,  one 
of  the  good  things  which  Nero  did,  or  at  least  one  of  the  things  ia  that  reign 
which  deserve  no  reprehension,  was  the  fact  that  Christians  were  thus  punished. 
But  why  did  he  not  tell  us  something  more  about  those  Christians  ?  Surely  he 
might  have  told  us  (had  he  thought  it  worth  the  telling)  what  their  new  super- 
stition was,  whence  it  came,  what  mischievous  practice  or  tendency  there  was 
in  it.  Could  he  have  had  only  the  faintest  anticipation  of  what  was  to  be 
about  two  hundred  years  from  the  date  of  his  writing,  —  a  Christian  Csesar  in 
the  place  of  Nero,  and  that  "  new  superstition  "  everywhere  triumphant  over  the 
old  religion,  —  surely  he  would  have  taken  pains  to  find  out  and  to  report  some 
authentic  particulars  concerning  the  origin  and  early  progress  of  a  movement 
that  was  to  bring  about  so  great  a  change. 

Of  what  Tacitus  wrote,  much  has  been  lost;  but  there  is  one  memorable  pas- 
sage in  which  he  speaks  distinctly  of  the  Christian  religion.  His  "  Annals  "  gave 
the  succession  of  leading  events  in  the  empire,  from  the  death  of  Augustus, 
A.D.  14,  to  the  death  of  Nero,  a.d.  68 ;  and  only  about  one-third  of  the  great 
work  has  been  lost.  In  the  composition  of  such  a  work,  nothing,  it  would  seem, 
could  be  more  natural  than  that  he  should  find  occasion  to  describe  with  some 
degree  of  minuteness,  and  with  careful  attention,  the  beginning  and  the  early 
propagation  of  Christianity.  Such  an  occasion  occurred  to  him.  He  could  not 
avoid  speaking  of  the  new  religion ;  but  his  account  of  it  is  very  unsatisfactory 
to  us,  who  know  the  historic  importance  of  the  facts  which  he  ought  to  have 
described.  Having  narrated  with  picturesque  effect  the  great  conflagration  of 
Rome  in  the  reign  of  Nero,  and  the  efforts  which  the  emperor  made  to  efface 
from  the  minds  of  men  the  suspicion  that  he  was  himself  the  author  of  that 
destruction,  Tacitus  says,  "  Therefore  Nero,  to  get  rid  of  the  rumor,  substituted 
as  the  criminals,  and  punished  with  most  exquisite  tortures,  those  persons,  odious 
for  shameful  practices,  whom  the  vulgar  called  Christians.  Christ,  the  author  of 
that  name,  was  punished  by  the  procurator  Pontius  Pilate  in  the  reign  of  Tibe- 
rius ;  and  the  deadly  superstition,  repressed  for  a  while,  broke  out  again  not  only 

1  "  AflBlctl  BuppUclla  Chrtstlanl,  genus  hominmn  medlocri  laude  dlgna,  In  imam  eontnli :  ut  Mcem^ 
■up«r«tltloiil«  novoB  ac  male&cBB."  —  Suet.,  Nero,  16.  rem  a  probrU  ao  Bceleribos  eju»,  de  qoibiu  dehins 
•♦H»c  partim  nulla  reprehenelone,  partlm  etiam  non       dlcam."  — Ibid.  19. 


PBBLIMINABY   DISSERTATION. 

thiongh  Judsea,  the  original  seat  of  that  evil,  but  through  the  city  also,  whither, 
firom  every  side,  all  things  horrible  or  shameful  flow  together  and  come  into  vogue. 
First,  some  were  arrested  who  made  confession ;  then,  by  the  information  obtained 
from  them,  a  great  multitude  were  found  guilty,  not  so  much  of  burning  the  city 
as  of  a  hatred  of  the  human  race.  Even  in  their  dying,  they  were  made  sport 
of, — some  covered  with  skins  of  beasts,  that  they  might  be  mangled  to  death  by 
dogs ;  others  nailed  to  crosses ;  others  condemned  to  the  flames,  and,  when  the 
day  went  down,  they  were  burned  for  illumination  in  the  night.  Nero  had  offered 
his  own  gardens  for  that  spectacle,  and  gave  at  the  same  time  a  circus  exhibition, 
going  about  himself  among  the  rabble  in  the  dress  of  a  charioteer,  or  actually 
driving  a  chariot.  The  consequence  was,  that  although  the  sxifferers  were 
wicked,  and  worthy  of  extreme  punishment,  commiseration  was  awakened,  as  if 
they  suffered  not  from  any  consideration  of  the  public  welfare,  but  for  the  grati- 
fication of  one  man's  cruelty."  ^ 

Tacitus,  then,  making  his  record  of  public  events,  was  compelled  to  take 
notice  of  the  Christian  religion  as  a  fact  in  the  reign  of  Nero.  He  describes 
more  at  length,  what  Suetonius  mentions  so  briefly,  the  persecution  of  the 
Christians  at  Rome  by  that  emperor.  He  tells  us  that  it  followed  the  great  con- 
flagration, which  is  known  to  have  been  A.D.  64.  From  him  we  learn,  in  addition 
to  what  Suetonius  has  told  us,  the  occasion  and  motive  of  the  persecution,  and 
what  cruelties  were  inflicted  on  the  sufferers.  He  even  gives  some  information 
concerning  the  origin  of  that  new  religion ;  that  it  arose  in  Judaea  under  the 
reign  of  Tiberius,  which  extended,  as  we  know,  from  a.d.  14  to  a.d.  37 ;  that 
its  name  was  derived  from  Christ,  who  was  punished  by  the  procurator  Pilate, 
whose  term  of  office  began,  as  is  ascertained  from  other  sources  of  information, 
in  the  twelfth  year  of  that  reign ;  that,  instead  of  being  suppressed  by  the  pun- 
ishment inflicted  on  its  author,  it  spread  through  Judaea,  and  through  Kome  itsel£ 
Yet  the  description  which  he  gives  of  Christianity  is  no  more  satisfactory  to 
our  reasonable  curiosity  than  the  more  compendious  statement  given  by  Suetonius. 
The  great  conflagration,  and  the  torture  of  Christians  in  Nero's  gardens,  were 

*  "  Ergo  abolendo  mmorl  Nero  inbdldlt  reoB,  et  addlta  Indlbria,  nt  ferarum  tergla  contectl  lanlata 

qnaBBitissimls  pcenls  adfecit,  qnoa  per  flagitia  IdtI-  canam  interirent,  ant  crucibas  affix!,  aut  flammandl 

•08,  yq1|;u8  Cbristianos  appellabat.    Anctor  uominis  atqne  ubi  deflcisset  dies  in  usum  noctumi  lominia 

ejus  ChriBtus,  Tiberio  Imperitante,  per  procuratorem  nrerentur.    Hortos  suos  ei  spectaculo  Nero  obtule- 

Pontium  Pilatum,  supplicio  affectus  erat.    Repres-  rat,  et  Circense  ludlcrum  edebat,  habitu  aurigae  per- 

•aque  in  praesens  ezltiabilis  superstitio  rursils  erum-  mixtus  plebi,  vel  curriculo  insistens.    Unde  qut  n- 

pebat    n«n  modb  per  Judaeam,  originem  ejus  mall,  quam  adversussonteg,  etnovisalmaexempiameritos, 

sed  per  arbem  etiam  qu6  cnncta  undique  atrocia  aut  miseratio  oriebatur,  tahquam  non  utilitate  publica, 

pndenda  confluunt,  colebranturque.    Igltur  prlmiun  sed  in  saevitiam  unius  absumerentur." — Tacit.,  Aim. 

oorrepti,  qui  fatebantur,  deinde,  indicio  eorum  muld-  xv.  44. — The  translation  which  I  have  given  is  as 

tado  iagens,  hand  perinde  in  crimine  incendii,  quam  nearly  literal  as  the  difference  of  the  two  languages 

odio  hamanl  generis  convlctl  sunt.    Et  pereuntibos  and  the  sententioos  brevity  of  the  author  w^  11  permit. 


PRELIMINAEY   DISSERTATION. 

within  the  reach  of  the  historian's  personal  memory.  As  a  child,  he  might  have 
seen  what  he  describes  so  vividly.  Forty  years  had  passed,  and  he  was  writing 
about  Nero  in  the  reign  of  Trajan ;  but  he  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  recon- 
sider what  he  had  received  in  childhood  as  the  common  opinion  about  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  Any  inquiry  concerning  its  principles  or  practices  seemed  to  him 
beneath  the  dignity  of  an  historian.  So,  instead  of  telling  us  any  thing  which  an 
historical  inquirer  at  this  day,  tracing  the  greatest  of  revolutions  to  its  origin, 
would  be  most  eager  to  know,  he  dismisses  the  subject  with  a  few  bitter  and 
contemptuous  phrases.  Christianity  —  the  very  name  of  it  was  "  vulgar : "  per- 
sons of  his  rank  and  culture  rarely  had  occasion  to  mention  the  "odious"  thing; 
it  was  a  "  deadly  superstition."  The  wretches  who  in  Nero's  gardens  were  torn 
to  pieces  by  dogs  for  the  amusement  of  the  public,  or  were  set  up  on  crosses 
that  bystanders  might  enjoy  the  excitement  of  seeing  so  exquisite  a  form  of 
mortal  agony,  or  were  covered  with  combustible  matter,  and  burned,  to  give  light 
as  evening  came  on,  deserved  what  they  suffered ;  though  the  populace  held  fast 
the  opinion  that  Nero  was  the  great  incendiary,  and  began  to  pity  the  wicked 
sufferers,  and  to  deem  them  the  objects  not  so  much  of  imperial  justice  as  of 
imperial  cruelty.  From  this  historian,  then,  we  obtain  only  the  scantiest  infor- 
mation which  he  could  give  without  failing  to  record  what  he  recognized  as  a 
significant  incident  in  the  reign  of  Nero. 

Not  far  from  the  time  when  Tacitus  was  writing  his  "  Annals,"  and  Suetonius 
his  "  Lives  of  the  Caesars,"  Pliny,  the  intimate  friend  of  both,  was  administering 
the  government  of  a  province  on  the  southern  coast  of  the  Black  Sea.  He  had 
been  appointed  Propraetor  of  Bithynia  and  Pontus  by  the  Emperor  Trajan,  a.d. 
103, — about  forty  years  after  the  persecution  described  by  Tacitus.  The  last  of 
the  ten  books  of  his  collected  epistles  contains  his  correspondence  with  Trajan, 
mostly  official.  One  of  his  despatches  to  the  emperor  gives  some  of  that  infor- 
mation concerning  Christianity  which  the  great  historians  disdained  to  give ; 
ftnd  it  has  been  preserved,  not  because  the  author  thought  that  distant  genera- 
tions would  desire  to  know  what  he  had  happened  to  learn  about  that  strange 
religion,  but  only  because  he  thought  that  the  letter,  like  other  letters  of  his  about 
matters  of  slight  importance,  would  be  valued  for  its  literary  merit.  It  was  im- 
possible for  him  to  conceive,  that,  of  all  his  epistles,  the  one  which  in  after-ages 
would  be  most  thought  of,  and  which  would  make  him  known  to  millions  of 
readers,  who,  but  for  that,  would  never  hear  his  name,  was  his  business-like  com- 
munication to  the  emperor  on  the  question,  what  to  do  with  Christians. 

A  close  translation,  with  no  attempt  to  represent  the  literary  merit  of  the 
original,  will  answer  the  purpose  of  laying  before  the  reader  just  what  Pliny 


PKELlAlINAIiY   DISSERTATION.  TTTrm 

reported  officially  to  the  emperor  about  Christianity  in  Pontus  and  Bithynia, 
some  time  within  the  first  ten  years  of  the  second  century  :  ^  — 

"  It  is  my  custom,  sir,  to  refer  every  thing  about  which  I  am  in  doubt  to  you ; 
for  who  can  better  direct  my  hesitation,  or  remove  my  ignorance  ? 

"  I  have  never  been  present  at  any  judicial  examination  of  Christians,  so  that  I 
am  ignorant  in  what  manner  and  to  what  extent  it  is  usual  to  punish  them  or 
to  examine  them.  I  have  also  been  quite  unable  to  decide  whether  there  is 
any  discrimination  on  account  of  difference  in  age,  or  those  who  are  of  tender 
age  are  treated  in  the  same  way  with  the  more  robust;  whether  pardon 
is  given  to  those  who  repent;  or,  if  one  has  been  at  any  time  a  Christian, 
it  is  nothing  in  his  favor  that  he  has  ceased  to  be  such ;  whether  the  mere 
name  is  punished,  or  only  those  shameful  practices  which  are  connected  with 
the  name. 

"  Meanwhile,  in  the  case  of  those  who  have  been  accused  before  me  of  being 
Christians,  I  have  taken  this  course,  —  I  have  put  the  question  to  them,  whether 
they  were  Christians.  To  those  who  confessed  I  put  the  question  again,  and  the 
third  time,  threatening  them  with  punishment.  Those  who  persevered  in  that 
confession  I  ordered  to  be  taken  to  execution ;  for  I  did  not  doubt,  that,  whatever 
the  nature  of  their  confession  might  be,  the  pertinacity  and  inflexible  obstinacy 
ought  to  be  punished.  There  have  been  some  possessed  with  that  sort  of  mad- 
ness, whom,  because  they  were  Roman  citizens,  I  have  set  down  in  the  list  of 
persons  who  must  be  sent  to  Rome.' 

"Soon,  as  often  happens,  the  proceedings  having  caused  the  accusation  to 
spread  in  all  directions,  there  came  to  be  many  sorts  of  cases."  An  anonymous 
indictment  was  offered  containing  many  names.  I  have  thought  proper  to  dis- 
charge those  who  deny  that  they  are  or  have  been  Christians,  when  they  repeated 
after  me  a  prayer  to  the  gods,  and  offered  worship,  with  incense  and  wine,  to  your 
statue  (which,  for  that  purpose,  I  had  ordered  to  be  brought  with  the  images  of 
the  deities),  and,  besides  all  that,  reviled  Christ ;  which  things  they  who  are  really 
Christians  cannot,  it  is  said,  be  forced  to  do.  Others,  named  by  an  informer,* 
said  that  they  were  Christians,  and  immediately  denied  it :  they  said  that  they 
had  been,  but  had  ceased  to  be,  Christians ;  some  three,  some  more,  and  a  few  even 
twenty  years  ago.    These  all  venerated  your  statue  and  the  images  of  the  gods 


*  Plin.,  Bp.  z.  96.    The  despatch  and  the  empe-  •  DiffkmdentA  M  orimlne  pinna  species  Ineld* 
ror's  reply  are  given  at  full  length  in  the  original,  nmt. 

accompanied  with   Melmoth's  tranelatioh,  by  Dr.  *  "Indloc,"— perhaps  the  same  anonymous  te 

Lyman  Coleman,  Chr.  Antiquities,  pp.  20-30.  fomer. 

*  Compare  Acts  zri.  87,  xzll.  2&-2T,  zzr.  11,  IS, 
tl,27. 


XZXIT  PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION. 

they  also  reviled  Christ.  But  they  affirmed  that  the  sum  whether  of  their  crime 
or  of  their  error  was  this,  —  that  they  used  to  meet  on  a  stated  day  before  light, 
and  to  sing  among  themselves,  in  turn,  a  hymn  to  Christ  as  to  a  god,  and  to 
bind  themselves  by  an  oath,  not  to  any  wickedness,  but  that  they  would  never 
commit  theft,  robbery,  nor  adultery ;  that  they  would  never  break  their  word ; 
that  they  would  never  deny  a  trust  when  called  to  give  it  up :  and,  after  these 
performances,  their  way  was  to  separate,  and  then  meet  again  to  partake 
of  food,  but  only  of  an  ordinary  and  harmless  kind.^  Even  this  they  said  they 
had  given  up  after  my  edict,  by  which,  according  to  your  orders,  I  had  pro- 
hibited clubs.^ 

"  Having  heard  so  much,  I  deemed  it  the  more  necessary  to  ascertain  the 
truth  by  putting  to  the  torture'  two  women-servants  who  were  called  dea- 
conesses ;  *  but  I  found  nothing  more  than  a  perverse  and  excessive  superstition. 
Therefore,  having  postponed  the  investigation,  I  betake  myself  to  you  for  advice ; 
for  the  affair  seems  to  me  to  require  such  consultation,  especiaUy  because  of  the 
number  of  persons  implicated :  for  many  of  every  age,  of  every  rank,  and  of 
both  sexes  also,  are  summoned  to  trial,  and  will  be  summoned ;  for  the  contagion 
of  that  superstition  has  pervaded  not  only  cities,  but  villages  and  also  farms.  It 
can  be,  I  think,  resisted  and  corrected.  At  least,  it  is  evident  enough  that  the 
temples,  which  a  little  while  ago  were  forsaken,  have  begun  to  be  frequented, 
and  sacred  observances  long  intermitted  are  renewed ;  and  the  flesh  of  sacrifices, 
for  which,  of  late,  a  purchaser  coidd  rarely  be  found,  is  now  sold  everywhere.* 
And  this  makes  it  easy  to  think  how  many  might  be  reformed  if  repentance  can 
gain  pardon." 

The  sententious  reply  of  Trajan  to  this  letter  adds  nothing  to  the  information 
given  in  the  letter  itself.  The  emperor  approves  what  Pliny  has  done.  He 
Bays  that  no  fixed  rule  of  proceeding  in  such  cases  can  be  given.  At  the  same 
time,  he  says  that  there  should  be  no  effort  to  find  out  Christians.  If  any  are 
accused  and  convicted,  thv^y  must  be  punished ;  yet  if  any  man,  being  accused, 
• 

I  <'  Ad  capiendam  clbom,  promlscnam  tamen  et  for  any  other  purpose.    It  will  not  be  difiScuIt  to 

tenoxlum."    The  word  "  promlecuum  "  may  signify  keep  watch  over  so  few."    Trajan,  In  reply,  adverted 

that  the  food  was  distributed  to  all  alike;  yet  Tacl-  to  tlie  factious  character  of  the  province,  and  espe- 

tns  uses  it  to  signify  that  which  Is  ordinary.  daily  of  its  cities;  and  said  that  organized  societies 

»  This  English  word  seems  to  represent  fairly  there,  of  whatever  name,  and  for  whatever  object, 

the  word  "  hetserias."    In  a  former  despatch  (x.  42),  would  certainly  become  in  a  short  time  hetaeriae,  or 

Pliny,  having  reported  to  the  emperor  a  conflagra-  eodalitics.    One  characteristic  of  the  Roman  sodall- 

tlon  at  Nicomedia,  which  had  been  very  destructive  ties  was  that  they  were  festive  clubs,  or  lodges,  and 

for  want  of  a  competent  fire-department,  asked  his  were  therefore  easily  perverted  to  political  or  fa«- 

advice  about  incorporating  a  tire-company  of  at  least  tlous  uses, 
a  hundred  and  fifty  mechanics.    "  I  will  take  care,"  •  Compare  Acts  xxll.  24. 

ke  said,  "  that  none  but  a  mechanic  shall  be  a  mem-  *  "  Ministrse." 

k«r,  ftud  that  the  privilege  conceded  shall  not  be  oaed  *  C!ompare  1  Oor.  tUI.  4r-lS,  Acta  XT.  20. 


PRELIMINARY     DISSERTATION,  JiTT 

shall  deny  that  he  is  a  Christian,  and  shall  confirm  his  denial  by  woru«  ipping 
the  Roman  gods,  however  suspected  his  former  conduct  may  hare  been,  let  his 
recantation  clear  him.     Anonymous  accusations  are  to  be  disregarded. 

How  much  information  concerning  the  early  history  of  Christianity  can  we 
gather  from  this  correspondence  ?  The  question,  at  present,  is,  not  what  ligl  t 
Pliny's  letter  throws  on  information  derived  from  other  sources,  but  only  how 
much  we  should  know  if  the  incidental  revelations  made  in  this  despatch,  to- 
gether with  what  Suetonius  and  Tacitus  tell  us,  were  all  our  knowledge  on  the 
subject.  Suppose  the  statesmanship  of  Trajan  and  Pliny  had  extirpated  that 
"perverse  and  excessive  superstition,"  and  this  correspondence  had  come 'down 
to  tell  us  about  an  extinct  and  forgotten  religion :  how  much  information  would 
it  give  us  ? 

1.  In  the  tenth  year  of  the  second  century,  or  earlier,  the  people  called  Chris- 
tians had  become  very  numerous  in  Pontus  and  Bithynia,  —  so  nimierous,  that, 
by  their  influence,  the  resort  to  the  temples  of  the  established  religion  had  been 
seriously  diminished.  Nor  had  that  new  religion  then  for  the  first  time  invaded 
the  region.  Some  persons  are  mentioned  who  had  not  only  accepted  it,  but  had 
afterwards  apostatized  from  it,  as  far  back  as  a.d.  90. 

2.  The  Christian  religion  was  regarded  and  treated  by  the  Eoman  Govern- 
ment as  unlawful.  It  was  a  crime  to  be  a  Christian.  At  Rome,  there  had  been, 
in  times  then  recent,  prosecutions  and  trials  of  persons  charged  with  that  crime ; 
for  so  much  is  very  distinctly  implied  when  Pliny  says,  by  way  of  apology 
for  asking  advice,  that  he  had  never  attended  at  such  trials. 

3.  It  had  become  well  understood  that  one  who  was  really  a  Christian  might 
be  expected  to  die  rather  than  to  speak  ill  of  Christ,  or  to  comply  with  the  estab- 
lished religion  in  an  act  of  worship.  No  such  notion  could  have  obtained  cur- 
rency, unless  the  attempt  had  been  made  often  and  unsuccessfully  to  break 
down  the  obstinacy  of  Christians  in  that  respect.  In  this  way,  it  was  settled  by 
the  good  sense  of  Pliny,  and  by  the  approval  of  Trajan,  that,  in  the  case  of  any 
person  accused  of  Christianity,  the  question  whether  he  was  guilty  might  be 
peremptorily  decided  by  calling  upon  him  to  perform  an  act  of  worship  to  the 
gods  of  the  established  religion,  and  to  pronounce  a  malediction  against  Christ. 

4.  Ample  testimony  is  given  to  the  moral  character  of  the  Christians  at  that 
time  in  Pontus  and  Bithynia.  Reluctant  to  punish  men  for  a  mere  name, 
Pliny,  when  men  and  women  were  brought  before  him  charged  with  being  Chris- 
tians, thought  it  necessary  to  prove  against  them  some  of  the  shameful  practices 
associated  with  that  name  in  the  common  belief;  but  he  could  find  no  evidence 
to  convict  them  of  any  thing  shameful.     He  received  the  testimony  of  renegade* 


XXXVI  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

who  escaped  punishment  by  renouncing  their  religion ;  and  thf'ir  testimo^  y  was, 
that  the  Christians  were  bound  by  a  sacred  covenant  to  do  nothing  wrong,  and 
that,  in  their  assemblies,  there  was  nothing  worse  than  innocently  eating  together. 
Not  satisfied  with  this,  he  used  his  power  as  a  magistrate  to  extort  the  truth 
from  those  who  were  supposed  to  be  keeping  it  back.  He  selected  from  among 
the  accused  two  female  slaves  who  seemed  to  liold  some  sort  of  an  office  in  the 
Christian  community ;  and,  having  never  thought  that  slaves  could  have  any 
rights  which  Roman  chivalry  was  bound  to  respect,  he  examined  them  by  tor- 
ture :  but  they  could  only  tell  him  the  particulars  of  what  he  called  a  perverse 
and  unbounded  superstition. 

5.  Who  would  not  like  to  read,  at  this  day,  the  questions  which  were  put  to 
those  two  slave  deaconesses  on  the  rack,  and  the  answers  which  they  gave  ? 
History  ought  to  know  what  that  superstition  was.  Neither  Suetonius  nor  Taci- 
tus told  what  it  was :  nor  does  Pliny  tell  us  any  thing  more  than  what  the  rene- 
gades told  him ;  which  was,  that  the  Christians  had  a  custom  of  meeting  on  a 
certain  day,  at  a  very  early  hour,  and  singing  a  hymn  to  Christ  as  if  he  were  a 
god.  Concerning  the  beliefs  and  tenets  of  the  Christians,  the  origin  of  their 
superstition,  the  methods  in  which  it  had  been  propagated,  and  the  secret  of  the 
tenacity  with  which  it  had  maintained  itself  for  more  than  forty  years  since 
Nero  undertook  to  suppress  it  at  Rome,  this  correspondence  gives  no  information. 

We  have  been  inquiring  what  the  contemporaneous  literature  of  the  world 
can  tell  us  concerning  the  origin  and  early  progress  of  the  Christian  religion,  and 
we  have  found  little  more  than  a  careless  recognition  of  Christianity  as  a  fact 
that  was  beginning  to  attract  the  hostile  attention  of  the  Roman  Government 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  first  century  and  the  beginning  of  the  second.  We 
learn  from  one  author,  that,  about  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
years  ago,  it  had  a  great  multitude  of  adherents  in  that  part  of  Asia  Minor 
which  borders  on  the  Black  Sea ;  from  two  others,  that  it  was  severely  perse- 
cuted at  Rome  about  forty-six  years  earher ;  and,  from  one  of  the  two,  that  it 
had  its  beginning  in  Judaea  under  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  whose  officer,  Pontius 
Pilate,  punished  its  author,  Christ.  By  vestiges  so  few  and  faint,  we  trace  it 
back  to  about  the  thirtieth  year  of  the  Christian  era,  with  regret  that  philoso- 
phers and  historians  who  saw  the  fact  of  the  new  religion  did  not  suspect  how 
important  the  fact  was.  A  few  years  only  after  the  date  of  Pliny's  despatch 
to  Trajan,  the  new  religion  begins  to  make  a  larger  figure  in  the  literature  of 
the  Roman  Empire ;  and  at  the  same  time  it  begins  to  have  a  copious  literature 
of  its  own,  from  which  we  may  ascertain,  quite  satisfactorily,  what  it  then  was, 
not  only  in  its  doctrines  and  spirit  and  its  morals,  but  also  in  its  traditions  con- 
cerning its  own  origin. 


PKELIMINARY  DISSEETATIOJN.  XXXVn 

Now,  that  Christian  literature,  commencing  not  long  before  the  middle  of  the 
second  century,  is  full  of  references  to  what  we  may  call  a  more  primitive  Chris- 
tian literature,  —  the  writings  not  indeed  of  Christ  himself,  but  of  his  apostles 
and  earliest  disciples.  Those  writings  were  held  in  great  veneration,  as  giving 
the  original  and  authentic  report  of  what  Christ  was,  of  what  he  said  and  did, 
of  the  truth  which  he  brought  into  the  world,  of  a  reconciliation  to  be  effected 
through  him  between  human  souls  and  God,  and  of  the  plan  and  hope  which  he 
inaugurated  for  the  renovation  of  the  world.  We  may,  without  any  absurdity 
or  contradiction,  suppose  those  primitive  writings  to  have  been  lost,  and  the  re- 
ligion of  which  they  were  the  original  and  authentic  record  to  have  come  down 
to  us  in  the  living  tradition  of  the  Church,  in  formularies  of  doctrine  or  of  wor- 
ship, in  rules  of  government  and  discipline,  and  in  the  writings  of  the  Christian 
fathers  from  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century.  But  what  a  loss  would  that 
have  been !  what  a  loss  to  history !  what  a  loss  to  Christianity !  How  diligent- 
ly would  old  libraries  in  Europe,  and  older  monasteries  in  Arabian  and  Lybian 
deserts,  be  explored  and  ransacked  in  the  hope  of  finding  those  primitive  docu- 
ments of  the  Christian  religion !  History,  patiently  tracing  back  the  greatest 
of  all  revolutions  to  its  origin,  would  say,  "  We  can  spare  the  lost  books  of  Livy 
and  of  Tacitus ;  but  give  us  those  lost  books  in  which  the  '  perverse,  unbounded, 
deadly  superstition,'  as  the  Romans  called  it,  portrayed  itself  at  its  beginning, 
and  recorded  its  own  earliest  conflicts  and  victories."  Earnest  and  inquiring 
believers  would  say,  "  Give  us  those  lost  books ;  let  us  have  our  Christianity, 
not  from  the  fathers,  but  from  those  apostles  and  evangelists  to  whose  writings 
the  fathers  are  continually  referring  us,  not  as  defined  and  wrought  into  sys- 
tems by  theologians,  nor  as  formulated  by  councils,  but  as  it  was  first  received 
from  Christ  himself,  as  it  was  first  revealed  in  the  story  of  his  life  and  of  hia 
death,  as  it  was  first  written  down  by  men  whom  he  had  personally  taught  and 
commissioned." 

Suppose  now,  that,  as  has  happened  in  respect  to  other  books  long  lost,  those 
books,  the  primitive  documents  of  Christianity,  after  having  been  lost  for  cen- 
turies, are  at  last  recovered.  Only  a  few  years  ago,  an  enthusiastic  scholar, 
travelling  in  search  of  ancient  manuscripts,  was  so  happy  as  to  find  in  a  convent 
on  Mount  Sinai  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament,  written,  as  indubitable  indica- 
tions prove,  full  fifteen  hundred  years  ago,  —  a  volume  so  ancient,  that  the  eyes 
of  Constantine  or  of  Athanasius  might  have  looked  upon  it.  If  that  '•'  Sinaitic 
manuscript,"  when  discovered,  had  been  the  only  extant  copy  of  the  primiti^io 
Christian  documents,  it  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  what  would  have  been  th«> 
importance  of  the  discovery,  both  v\  its  relation  to  the  earliest  history  of  Chris- 


iXVm  ^  PRELIMIKAJRY    DISSERTATION. 

tianity,  and  in  its  relation  to  Christianity  itself  as  a  divinelj  revealed  religion. 
Think  with  what  carefulness  the  precious  book  would  be  transcribed  and  edited 
for  scholars !  how  many  translations  of  it  would  be  made,  that  Christians  every- 
where might  read,  every  man  in  his  own  language,  the  original  and  authentic 
record  concerning  Christ  and  his  work  and  kingdom !  what  treasures  of  learn- 
ing would  be  expended  in  the  illustration  of  it !  what  commentaries  would  be 
made  for  all  sorts  of  readers,  and  for  various  uses,  historical,  doctrinal,  practical, 
and  devotional !  Think  how  the  venerable  writings  of  the  fathers,  from  Justin 
Martyr  downward,  would  be  compared  with  these  more  venerable  writings,  so 
much  nearer  to  the  head-spring  of  the  river  of  the  water  of  life !  how  the  theo- 
logical systems  of  this  nineteenth-century  Christianity  would  be  brought  into 
comparison  with  what  Paul  and  John  and  Peter  and  the  Master  himself  taught 
concerning  God  and  the  way  of  life!  what  identities  and  resemblances  would 
be  traced  out,  or  what  contrasts  would  be  shown,  between  the  various  fabrics  of 
church  polity  now  extant,  and  the  societies  of  "  holy  persons  in  Christ  Jesus,  with 
the  overseers  and  servants,"  when  Christianity  was  new !  how  the  accepted  max- 
ims of  Christian  morality,  and  the  ordinary  standards  of  Christian  character,  would 
be  tested  by  comparing  them  with  what  was  expected  and  what  was  demanded  of 
those  who  were  called  Christians  in  the  reigns  of  Claudius  and  of  Nero !  what 
diligence  would  be  employed  to  ascertain  how  far  the  Christian  consciousness  in 
our  day,  with  all  that  believing  souls  now  experience  of  the  power  of  godliness, 
is  accordant  with  the  Christian  consciousness  of  the  apostles,  and  with  their 
experience  of  what  they  preached  as  the  power  of  God  to  salvation  ! 

Just  such  is  the  actual  value,  such  the  use  we  ought  to  make,  and  are  making, 
of  the  writings  included  in  the  New  Testament ;  for  our  supposition  only  helpp 
as  to  realize  more  freshly  a  very  familiar  fact.  These  writings  purport  to  give 
us  the  testimony  of  personal  witnesses  concerning  the  origin  of  what  is  to-day 
one  of  the  most  important  elements  in  the  history  and  condition  of  the  world. 
With  these  writings  in  our  hands,  we  know  how  and  where  the  Christian  religion 
had  its  beginning ;  what  obstacles  it  encountered  and  overcame ;  by  what  means, 
and  by  what  concurrent  forces  in  the  providence  of  God,  it  was  diffused  through 
the  civilized  world ;  how  it  happened  to  attract  so  early  the  attention  of  the 
Roman  Government ;  and  what  its  relations  were  to  the  Jewish  people,  and  to 
their  immemorial  and  most  peculiar  religion.  Thus  the  few  documents  contained 
in  the  New  Testament  enable  us  to  fill  up  what,  without  them,  would  have  been 
a  mysterious  and  hopeless  blank  in  the  history  of  mankind.  At  the  same  time, 
they  have  for  us  another  and  greater  value.  They  bring  us  historically  nearer  to 
the  nerson  of  Christ  than  we  can  be  brought  by  any  possible  help  without  them. 


PKEJ.IMINARY   DISSEBTATION.  XXXIX 

They  give  us  his  words  as  his  nearest  friends  and  daily  companions  caught  them 
from  his  lips.  They  show  us  what  impression  his  unique  person  made  on  his 
immediate  disciples,  both  by  all  that  they  heard  from  him,  and  by  all  that  they 
saw  in  him ;  what  place  he  held  in  their  religious  consciousness,  and  in  all  their 
thinking  about  the  reconciliation  between  God  and  men ;  what  place  he  held  in 
their  most  reverent  yet  most  tender  affection,  in  their  self-sacrificing  zeal,  in  their 
immortal  hope ;  what  they  thought  of  him,  and  what  they  said  about  him,  when 
he  had  passed  away  from  among  them.  As  we  read  these  writings,  we  find  our- 
selves brought  into  the  circle  nearest  to  Christ,  among  his  earliest  disciples. 
We  sit  among  those  who  listened  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  We  are  with 
the  twelve  as  they  learn  from  his  parables,  so  slowly,  what  he  teaches  so  patiently 
concerning  the  kingdom  of  God  among  men.  We  are  with  them  on  the  Lake  of 
Galilee,  at  Jacob's  Well,  in  the  house  of  the  sisters  at  Bethany,  in  the  grand 
porches  of  the  Temple.  We  sit  with  them  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  overlooking 
the  city  while  he  foretells  its  destruction.  We  are  with  them  in  the  upper 
room  where  he  keeps  his  last  passover;  and  we  go  out  with  them,  under  the 
full  moon,  into  the  garden.  We  look  through  their  eyes  upon  his  cross  and  his 
tomb.  We  share  in  their  amazement  at  his  resurrection.  We  stand  with  them, 
gazing  upward,  while  a  cloud  receives  him  out  of  their  sight.  Then  we  are  with 
them  in  their  consultations,  waiting  and  praying,  till  they  are  summoned  to  their 
work  so  humble,  and  yet  so  august.  As  we  follow  them,  we  presently  lose  sight 
of  them.  The  work  they  are  doing  is  greater  than  they  are :  it  overshadows  them, 
and  they  disappear.  It  is  not  for  their  sake  that  the  story  is  told,  but  for 
Christ's  sake.  It  is  of  little  moment  to  us  that  the  New  Testament  gives  no 
complete  biography  of  any  apostle,  —  never  tells  us  where  Paul  died,  or  Peter, 
or  John,  or  any  of  the  twelve,  save  Judas  the  betrayer,  and  James  the  son  of 
Zebedee ;  but,  what  is  of  great  moment  to  us,  it  does  tell  us  what  they  thought 
of  Jesus,  and  what  the  gospel  was  which  he  gave  them  for  the  world.  We 
might  like  to  know  aU  about  the  apostles,  where  they  severally  labored,  and  how 
they  died,  as  apocryphal  legends  falsely  report ;  but  what  the  New  Testament 
teUs  is  far  better  than  any  thing  could  be  which  it  does  not  tell. 

We  may  use  a  story  as  an  illustration,  without  vouching  for  it  as  true.  Many 
years  ago,  it  is  said,  there  was  published  in  Ireland,  with  the  design  of  making 
an  impression  on  Roman-Catholic  readers,  a  little  tract  purporting  to  be  "A 
Genuine  Letter  from  St.  Peter."  It  was  read  by  many,  and  heard  by  many  who 
could  not  read,  with  eager  and  reverent  curiosity.  Nor  was  there  any  deception 
in  the  case.  The  little  tract  was  just  what  it  purported  to  be,  "  A  Genuine  Letter 
from  St.  Peter."     It  was  simply  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter,  taken  from  the  New 


XL  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

Testament ;  and  the  reading  or  hearing  of  it  was  ahnost  like  sitting  down  with 
the  holy  apostle  himself  to  hear  him  talk  to  Christians  about  Christ  and  salva- 
tion. Just  such  is  the  privilege  which  we  have  in  reading  the  primitive  docu- 
ments of  Christianity.  Would  you  count  it  a  privilege  to  hear  fron^  John  the 
apostle  ?  You  have  before  you  three  very  characteristic  letters  from  him,  one 
of  them  quite  extended ;  and,  what  is  more,  he  has  written  down  for  you  in  his 
old  age,  and  you  have  received  from  him,  his  oft-repeated  stories  of  things  which 
he  remembered  about  Jesus,  but  which  had  not  till  then  been  written.  In  like 
manner,  you  have  two  letters  from  Peter,  "  epistles  general,"  or  "  catholic,"  they 
are  called,  —  one  of  them  addressed,  comprehensively,  to  the  "strangers"  or 
sojourners,  "chosen,"  "sanctified,"  "obedient,"  and  "sprinkled  with  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ,"  who  were  dispersed  through  those  northern  districts  of  Asia 
Minor,  where  Pliny,  forty  years  afterward,  found  so  many  Christians ;  the  other 
inscribed  in  yet  more  general  terms  "  to  them  who  have  obtained  like  precious 
%ith  with  us."  We  need  not  name  all  the  writers  whom  this  one  little  volume 
n£  the  New  Testament  brings  into  direct  communication  with  us ;  but  we  can- 
not refrain  from  mentioning  distinctly  the  characteristic  letters  of  Paul,  that 
great  apostle,  whose  labors  were  so  abundant,  whose  missionary  journeys  had  so 
wide  a  circuit,  and  whose  writings,  whether  addressed  to  individual  friends  or 
to  communities  of  Christians,  are  so  full  of  his  individual  life,  throbbing,  as  it 
were,  in  every  sentence,  with  the  intensity  of  his  Christian  thought  and  feeling. 

But  are  these  docvmients  really  what  they  are  supposed  to  be  ?  Intelligent 
readers  are  aware  that  this  question  has  been  discussed  with  great  learning  and 
diligence  on  both  sides,  and,  on  the  part  of  some  writers,  with  great  audacity  of 
conjecture  and  assertion.  A  fuU  consideration  of  the  evidences  which  go  to 
prove  that  we  have  in  the  New  Testament  the  primitive  and  authentic  docu- 
ments of  the  Christian  religion,  and  that  such  documents  taken  together,  as 
we  find  them,  could  not  have  come  into  being  otherwise  than  contemporaneously 
with  the  origin  of  that  religion,  would  be  impracticable  within  the  limits  of  this 
Preliminary  Dissertation.  Yet  a  few  thoughts  may  be  suggested  which  the 
readers  of  "  The  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul "  will  find  occasion  to  appreciate 
and  to  verify. 

I.  First  of  all,  the  remarkable  fact,  already  referred  to,  that  these  documents 
do  not  give  us  the  means  of  tracing  the  life  of  any  apostle  to  its  end,  and  that 
neither  Paul  nor  any  one  of  the  original  twelve  (save  Judas,  and  James  the 
brother  of  John)  is  mentioned  or  alluded  to  in  the  New  Testament  as  dead, 
cannot  but  impress  an  imprejudiced  mind.     The  earliest  authentic  Christian 


PEELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  XUt 

writing,  outaide  of  the  New  Testament  (a  letter  from  the  church  at  Borne  to  the 
church  at  Corinth,  written  by  Clement,  "  whose  name  is  in  the  book  of  life ")/ 
mentions  the  deaths  of  Paul  and  Peter  in  a  very  natural  way.*  How  does  it  hap- 
pen that  neither  the  death  of  Paul  nor  that  of  Peter  is  mentioned  in  any  of  the 
New-Testament  writings  ?  We  may  raise  a  more  particular  question  on  this  point. 
It  has  been  said  that  the  historical  book  called  "  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  "  was 
not  written  by  Luke,  the  companion  of  Paul,  but  was  put  together  by  some 
unknown  compiler  of  traditions  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second  century ;  and 
that  the  "  most  excellent  Theophilus,"  to  whom  it  is  inscribed,  was  none  other 
than  Theophilus,  Bishop  of  Antioch  from  a.d.  168  to  a.d.  183.  But,  on  that 
supposition,  how  does  it  happen  that  the  book  terminates  abruptly,  leaving  Paiil 
still  a  prisoner  in  his  own  hired  house  at  Kome  two  years  after  his  arrival  there  ? 
Could  not  the  compiler  of  traditions,  when  that  apostle  had  been  dead  a  hundred 
years,  find  some  tradition  that  would  enable  him  to  carry  on  the  story  ?  What 
became  of  the  appeal  to  Caesar  ?  Did  the  appellant  have  a  trial  ?  or  did  he 
remain  a  prisoner  tiQ  his  death  ?  Surely  such  a  termination  of  the  story  would 
have  been  impossible  at  any  date  subsequent  to  the  death  of  Paul.  But  if  the 
book  was  written,  as  it  purports  to  have  been,  by  one  who  was  with  Paul  on  the 
journey,  and  arrived  with  him  at  E-ome ;  and  if  the  Gospel  accordiog  to  Luke, 
and  then  this  book,  its  sequel,  were  written  while  the  prisoner  was  waiting  for 
ais  trial,  —  there  is  the  best  possible  reason  for  such  a  breaking-off  without  ending 
the  story ;  and  that  is  the  only  reason  that  can  be  conceived  of  without  violating 
all  probability.  The  narrative  is  brought  down  to  a  point  very  near  the  date  at 
which  the  writing  was  ended. 

May  not  the  fact,  then,  that  in  these  collected  writings  the  apostles  disappear 
without  our  knowing  what  became  of  them,  be  taken  as  proof  that  they  were, 
in  their  origin,  contemporaneous  with  the  apostles  ?  Had  there  been  time  for 
tradition  concerning  the  apostles  to  grow  into  fable,  and  for  a  halo  of  myth  to 
form  itself  around  each  saintly  name,  the  story  of  what  they  did,  and  whither 
they  went,  and  where  and  how  they  died,  could  not  have  been  left  so  imperfect 
as  we  have  it  in  the  New  Testament. 

II.  The  attention  of  biblical  scholars  was  long  ago  arrested  by  a  certain 
peculiarity  of  language  or  style,  which,  in  one  degree  or  another,  characterizes 
all  the  New-Testament  writings.  It  can  hardly  be  denied  that  the  entire  volume 
was  written  by  Hellenist  Jews ;  that  is,  by  persons  who  used  the  Greek  language 
with  Hebrew  idioms.  Of  course,  then,  it  was  written  when  the  Christian 
coromunity,  for  whose  use  at  the  first  these  writings  were  designed,  consisted 

1  Phil.  iv.  3.  *  aem.  Rom.  i.  5, 


run  PKELIMLNAKY    DISSERTATION. 

largely  of  Jewish  converts,  and  when  its  leaders  especially  were  men  of  Jewist 
birth  and  training.  Accordingly,  the  Hellenistic  style  or  dialect  is  peculiar  to 
the  New  Testament.  If  we  find  any  thing  of  it  in  the  fathers,  even  in  the 
earliest  of  them,  we  cannot  but  ascribe  the  phenomenon  to  a  conscious  or 
unconscious  imitation  of  what  is  called  the  biblical  or  scriptural  style,  which  i» 
really  nothing  else  than  the  Hebrew  style. 

III.  Another  characteristic  of  the  New  Testament  is  much  more  to  oujr 
purpose.  Its  contents  are  an  indication  of  its  date.  Some  of  the  questions 
which  the  Epistles,  especially,  touch  upon  distinctly  as  the  live  questions  of 
their  time,  are  questions  which,  in  a  few  years  after  the  apostolic  age,  had 
ceased  to  be  controverted  or  agitated  among  Christians.  In  particular,  the 
question  whether  a  Gentile  could  be  a  Christian,  partaking  in  the  privileges  and 
hopes  of  Christ's  kingdom,  without  first  becoming  a  Jew,  was  never  a  contro- 
verted question  in  the  Christian  community  for  any  considerable  time  after  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem.  On  the  contrary,  when  the  separation  of  the  new  kingdom 
of  God  from  the  old  Mosaic  institutions  had  been  visibly  completed,  the  tables 
were  turned ;  and  the  question  then  was,  rather,  whether  a  Jew  could  be  a 
Christian  without  renouncing  his  nationality.  But  the  New  Testament  wa.s 
written,  as  almost  every  page  of  it  testifies,  at  a  time  when  Christianity  had  not 
yet  been  completely  detached  from  Judaism,  but  was  still,  in  the  view  of  Syna- 
gogue and  Sanhedrin,  of  procurators  and  proconsuls,  and  of  mobs  at  Philippi, 
at  Ephesus,  and  at  Jerusalem,  a  Jewish  sect  or  schism.  It  shows  upon  its 
surface  the  slow  progress  of  conviction  on  that  subject  in  the  minds  of  the 
apostles  themselves ;  how,  while  their  Master  was  personally  teaching  them, 
they  never  grasped  the  breadth  of  his  conception ;  how  the  day  of  Pentecost  did 
not  quite  emancipate  them  from  their  Jewish  narrowness ;  how  even  Peter's 
vision  at  Joppa,  and  the  interpretation  forced  upon  him  at  Caesarea,  did  not 
perfectly  enlighten  them ;  and  how,  at  last,  the  deputation  from  Antioch,  with 
their  report  of  what  Christianity  was  doing  in  the  great  city  where  it  first 
received  its  name,  brought  them  to  commit  themselves  in  the  most  formal  way 
for  the  gospel  of  a  kingdom  of  heaven  in  which  there  is  neither  Jew  nor  Gentile. 
That  "  mystery,"  hid  from  foregoing  ages,  but  revealed  at  last,  crops  out  in  the 
Gospels ;  for  it  underlies  them.  It  gives  unity  to  the  story  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles;  it  shines  forth  everywhere  in  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  whose  "false 
brethren,"  Jews  professing  to  believe  in  Christ,  and  trying  to  make  the  gospel  a 
monopoly  for  Judaism,  were  his  most  vexatious  adversaries.  Can  any  reader  of 
those  writings  believe  that  the  New  Testament,  so  full  of  that  essentially  tran- 
sient question,  was  forged,  or  somehow  grew,  as  a  myth  grows,  after  that  question 
had  begun  to  be  forcrotten  ? 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  ILm 

IV.  We  who  receive  these  writings  as  not  only  apostolic  hut  divinely  inspired 
encounter  a  serious  difficulty  in  our  interpretation  of  them.  If  they  are  what 
they  purport  to  he,  they  seem  to  show  that  the  first  Christians,  under  the 
teaching  of  the  apostles  who  reported  to  them  the  words  of  Christ,  were  expect- 
ing what  is  now  called  Christ's  second  advent,  as  an  event  that  was  to  take 
place  hefore  that  generation  should  have  passed  away;  and  that,  with  that 
expected  coming  of  Christ,  they  generally  associated  in  their  thoughts  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  the  final  judgment,  and  the  end  of  the  world.  Yet 
to-day,  at  the  end  of  eighteen  hundred  years,  Christ  has  not  come  again  in 
manner  and  form  as  he  was  expected  to  come  in  the  lifetime  of  the  apostles. 
We  recognize  the  difficulty,  though  we  hold,  that,  in  one  way  or  another,  it  can 
be  solved  without  impairing  our  reverence  for  these  Scriptures.  There  is  no 
need  of  our  pausing  here  to  show  how  it  can  be  solved ;  for  at  present  we  have  to 
do  with  it  as  a  fact  rather  than  with  the  solution  of  it.  Indeed,  if  the  difficulty 
should  even  be  pronounced  incapable  of  any  solution  consistent  with  the  inspi- 
ration of  these'  Scriptures,  the  fact  that  there  is  such  a  difficulty  would  be  only 
80  much  the  more  conclusive  in  its  bearing  on  the  question  now  before  us.  Are 
these  collected  writings,  as  they  purport  to  be,  the  primitive  records  of  Chris- 
tianity, contemporaneous  with  its  origin  ?  If  they  are  not,  but  were  forged  at 
some  later  date  (even  though  it  were  only  a  few  years  later)  by  writers  who 
thought  that  the  pious  fraud  of  personating  the  apostles  was  a  service  acceptable 
to  God,  how  was  it  possible  for  those  pious  forgers,  after  the  apostles,  and,  with 
them,  all  the  men  of  the  apostolic  age,  were  dead,  not  to  beware  of  creating  such 
a  difficulty  ?  Is  it  less  than  absurd  to  suppose  that  they  deliberately  put  into 
the  documents  they  were  forging  what  was  likely  to  pass  for  evidence  that  the 
apostles  were  in  error  about  the  day  of  the  Lord?  Would  they  not  have 
distinguished  more  carefully  between  Christ's  coming  to  judge  all  nations,  and 
his  coming  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  of  the  Temple  ?  —  between  the 
end  of  the  world  and  the  end  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation  ? 

V.  Any  contriver  of  an  hypothesis  to  account  for  the  existence  of  the  New- 
Testament  documents,  without  admitting  their  historic  value  as  contemporaneous 
with  the  origin  of  Christianity,  ought  to  show  us  where  or  by  whom,  prior  to  the 
beginning  of  the  third  century,  such  writings  could  have  been  produced.  Let 
him  compare  them  with  what  genuine  remains  we  have  of  Christian  authorship 
in  the  age  immediately  following  the  apostles,  —  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  the 
Shepherd  of  Hermas,  the  Epistles  of  Ignatius.  The  man  who  could  write  the 
fourth  Gospel,  without  having  been  a  personal  disciple  of  Jesus,  must  have  been 
a  man  of  mark  in  his  time.     To  fabricate  that  book  out  of  loose  and  mythical 


XLIV  PBELIMINABY    DISSEBTATION. 

traditions  must  have  been  a  much  greater  achievement  of  genius  than  to  write 
it  from  long-cherished  recollections  of  a  dear  and  intimate  friendship  with  Jesus, 
though  it  is  a  wonderful  book  to  be  produced  even  in  that  simple  manner.  In 
which  of  three  or  four  generations  next  after  the  apostles  are  we  to  look  for  a 
Christian  author  capable  of  such  a  work  ?  Could  a  man  like  Ignatius,  or  like 
the  author  of  the  epistle  which  bears  the  name  of  Barnabas,  or  like  Hermas,  or 
even  like  the  literary  Justin  Martyr,  so  personate  Paul  as  to  produce  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans  ?  The  man  with  genius  enough  to  do  that  had  a  dramatic  power 
that  might  have  produced  a  play  like  one  of  Shakspeare's.  Who  was  there  in 
those  three  or  four  generations  that  could  have  written  even  the  First  Epistle  of 
Peter?  We  might  ask  the  same  question  in  reference  to  almost  every  book 
of  the  collection.  But,  instead  of  that,  let  us  ask,  once  for  all,  If  the  age  which 
produced  Christianity  was  not  competent  to  produce  these  Scriptures,  in  what 
later  generation  could  they  have  been  produced  ? 

In  brief,  this  wide  difference  between  the  primitive  Christian  literature  which 
we  find  collected  and  canonized  in  the  New  Testament,  and  the  Christian 
literature  of  the  next  following  ages,  —  apostolical  fathers,  apostolical  canons 
and  constitutions,  apocryphal  gospels,  and  every  thing  of  that  sort,  —  is  little 
less  than  demonstration,  not  only  that  the  Christians  of  those  early  ages  were 
capable  of  distinguishing  the  genuine  from  the  spurious,  and  were  careful  to 
exclude  from  among  their  Holy  Scriptures  every  thing  not  authenticated,  but 
also,  and  quite  independently  of  their  verdict,  that  the  New  Testament  is  what 
it  purports  to  be.  Aside  from  the  difference  in  style  and  idiom,  and  in  the 
bearing  on  questions  peculiar  to  the  apostolic  age,  there  is  a  difference  in  tone 
and  spirit,  a  difference  in  respect  to  plain  and  sturdy  common  sense  as  opposed 
to  feeble  sentimentalism,  a  difference  in  respect  to  healthiness  of  conscience  as 
opposed  to  morbid  scrupulousness  or  enthusiastic  exaggerations  of  self-sacrifice; 
and  such  differences  show  us  convincingly,  that,  in  the  New  Testament,  we 
have  not  the  work  of  nobody  knows  who  in  some  post-apostolic  age,  but  the 
really  primitive  documents  of  the  Christian  religion. 

VI.  All  the  foregoing  suggestions  will  find  ample  illustration  in  the  study  of 
these  documents,  with  such  aids  as  are  now  more  and  more  within  the  reach, 
not  of  privileged  scholars  only,  but  of  "  the  people."  This  excellent  work  on 
"  The  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul "  is  eminently  valuable  for  the  light  which 
V  throws  incidentally  upon  almost  every  topic  of  the  evidence  given  by  the 
Npw  Testament  itself  in  proof  of  its  own  authenticity.  But  the  most  copious 
illustration  of  that  general  argument  is  on  a  topic  not  yet  mentioned ;  namely, 
the  coincidences  between  the  historical  and  geographical  references  in   these 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  XLV 

wTitinga,  and  that  luiowledge  of  facts  which  we  are  enabled  to  gain  from  other 
aources. 

One  of  the  most  charming  as  well  as  convincing  books  of  argumentation  in 
the  English  language,  or  in  any  other,  is  Paley's  "  Horae  Paulinse."  Taking 
that  portion  of  Paul's  personal  history  which  is  given  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles, and  comparing  it  with  the  collection  of  epistles  bearing  his  name,  if  we 
find,  at  one  point  and  another,  an  irreconcilable  discrepancy  between  the  two, 
we  infer  with  great  certainty  that  either  the  history  is  at  those  points  false,  and 
therefore  is  generally  not  worthy  of  confidence,  or  the  epistles  are  forgeries.  If 
we  find  a  close  and  obviously  careful  coincidence  at  every  point,  we  can  hardly 
avoid  the  suspicion  that  either  the  history  was  compiled  from  the  letters,  or  the 
letters  were  composed  as  imaginary  illustrations  of  the  history.  But  if  the 
coincidences  are  of  such  a  sort  as  to  exclude  the  supposition  of  their  having 
been  contrived ;  if  there  are  seeming  and  obvious  discrepancies,  which,  upon 
closer  examination,  are  reconciled  by  the  discovery  of  a  latent  and  undesigned 
coincidence ;  if  a  fact  mentioned  in  the  one  is  illustrated  by  some  obscure  allusion 
incidentally  occurring  in  the  other ;  if  these  latent  and  manifestly  undesigned 
coincidences  are  multiplied  as  we  proceed  in  our  study  of  the  documents,  —  the 
argument  accumulates  in  its  progress,  and  we  arrive  at  the  firmest  sort  of  a 
conviction  that  the  history  is  true,  and  the  letters  genuine.  Nor  shall  we  be 
moved  from  that  conviction  if  some  apparent  discrepancies  remain.  We  may 
suppose,  that,  if  we  had  one  or  two  facts  not  mentioned  on  either  side,  the 
seeming  disagreement  would  be  reconciled.  We  may  even  admit,  that,  just  there, 
the  historian  was  mistaken,  or  that  the  writer  of  the  letters  made  an  inaccurate 
allusion ;  but  the  accumulated  strength  of  the  argument  for  the  credibility  of 
the  historian  and  the  genuineness  of  the  letters  wiU  not  be  seriously  impaired. 

Other  writers  have  applied  the  same  method  of  examination  to  other  portions 
of  the  New  Testament.  For  example,  a  similar  argument  has  been  made  by 
tracing  out  the  latent  coincidences  between  the  four  Gospels  and  the  writings  of 
the  Jewish  historian  Josephus.  The  field  of  inquiry  and  of  argument  into 
which  Paley  introduces  us  is  wide  and  fruitful ;  and  the  evidence  thus  obtained 
is  always  cumulative.  Coincidences  that  might  have  been  contrived,  and  that 
obtrude  themselves  upon  the  reader,  add  little  to  the  argument ;  but  every 
latent  and  undesigned  coincidence  which  we  detect  between  one  portion  of  the 
New  Testament  and  another,  or  between  any  book  of  the  New  Testament  and 
any  other  authentic  source  of  information,  is  an  additional  strand  twisted  into 
the  cable  that  holds  us  to  our  anchor  in  the  trustworthiness  of  these  documents 
as  the  original  records  of  the  Christian  faith. 


tLVI  PRELIMINAiiY    DISSERTATION. 

The  authors  of  the  work,  which,  in  this  edition,  is  offered  to  "  the  people,** 
have  not  made  it  any  part  of  their  design  to  reproduce  or  to  extend  the  beauti- 
ful argumentation  of  Paley.  But  the  ingenuous  reader  cannot  but  be 
impressed  with  the  fact,  that  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  the  Epistles  of  Paul, 
while  they  do  by  no  means  repeat  each  other,  are  marvellously  supplementary  to 
each  other  (the  history  illustrating  the  epistles,  and  the  epistles  illustrating 
the  history) ;  every  letter,  by  perfectly  incidental  indications  of  time  and 
locality,  finding  its  place  in  the  history,  and  the  history  often  explaining  with 
great  felicity  allusions  in  the  letters  which  would  otherwise  have  been  obscure. 
But  the  argument  from  coincidences  is  not  exhausted  by  even  a  complete  exhibi- 
tion of  these  instances.  The  principle  has  a  wider  reach ;  and  the  work  of 
Conybeare  and  Howson  is  one  great  repository  of  discovered  coincidences 
between  the  New  Testament  and  all  that  we  can  learn  from  other  sources  con- 
cerning the  age  in  which  it  purports  to  have  been  written. 

Briefly  the  principle  of  the  argument  is  this :  If  the  seemingly  historical 
documents  of  the  New  Testament  were  fictions  of  the  second  century,  or  were 
produced,  like  the  apocryphal  gospels,  by  a  mythical  tendency  in  the  ages  fol- 
lowing the  origin  of  Christianity,  they  would  not  be  found  to  harmonize  with 
the  authentic  history  of  the  age  which  they  pretend  to  represent,  nor  (if  they 
were  composed  elsewhere)  with  the  geography  of  the  country  or  countries  in 
which  the  scene  is  laid.  Such  is  the  fact  with  the  apocryphal  gospels,  as  it  is 
also  with  the  fictitious  Book  of  Judith  in  the  Old-Testament  apocrypha.  If  the 
historical  documents  collected  in  the  New  Testament  were  of  that  sort,  it  would 
be  impossible  to  make  them  fit  into  the  known  history  of  the  Jewish  people 
and  of  the  Roman  Empire  during  the  first  seventy  years  of  the  Christian  era. 
They  could  give  no  illustration  to  history,  nor  could  history  illustrate  them. 
But  what  is  the  fact  ?  The  literature  of  the  Roman  Empire  through  the  first 
Christian  century  knew  nothing  of  Christianity,  or  alluded  to  it  only  with  con- 
tempt. Yet  what  wealth  of  illustration  is  poured  upon  the  New  Testament 
from  the  history  which  that  literature  gives  us,  and  even  from  the  coins  and 
moniiments  of  the  period !  How  is  the  whole  story  of  Paul,  for  example,  from 
his  birth  and  early  education  at  Tarsus  to  his  latest  epistle  from  the  prison  in 
which  he  was  waiting  for  a  martyr's  death  at  Rome,  adjusted  and  fitted  into  its 
place  in  the  history  of  the  Roman  Empire  as  it  then  was !  The  entire  New 
Testament,  with  the  account  which  it  gives  of  Christ,  and  of  the  world-move- 
ment which  began  in  his  life  and  death,  finds  and  fills  a  gap  in  the  world's 
history,  and  is  itself  a  grand  coincidence. 

A  few  years  ago,  in  one  of  our  cities,  a  trial  for  murder  was  in  progress.     Th« 


PEBLIMINAKY    DISSERTATION.  XLTa 

accused  had  able  counsel,  who  had  planned  for  him  an  ingenious  defence.  Wit- 
ness after  witness  had  been  examined  and  cross-examined ;  and,  though  the 
probabilities  were  accumulating  against  him,  it  was  felt  by  the  spectators,  and 
it  was  seen  in  the  countenances  of  the  jury,  that  as  yet  there  was  no  conclusive 
proof  of  guilt.  At  last,  a  knife  was  exhibited,  which  had  been  taken  from  the 
prisoner's  person.  If  that  knife  had  been  bloody,  no  trace  of  blond  was  left 
upon  it :  but  there  was  a  gap  in  the  blade ;  and  to  that  the  attention  of  the 
jury  was  directed  by  the  prosecutor.  Then  was  exhibited  a  little  flake  of  steel, 
which  the  physicians  who  examined  the  murdered  body  had  discovered  in  the 
fatal  wound.  The  l»nife  and  the  flake  were  passed  to  the  jury,  that  the  relation 
of  the  flake  to  the  gap  might  be  seen  by  them  with  the  aid  of  a  magnifying 
glass ;  and  in  the  awful  silence,  as  each  juror  looked  through  that  glass,  the 
change  in  his  countenance  was  a  verdict  of  "  guilty."  Such  is  the  nature,  and 
■ach  may  be  the  conclusiyeness,  of  an  argument  &om  coincidence. 


THB 


LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.  PAUL. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Great  Men  of  Great  Periods. — Period  of  Christ's  Apostles.  —  Jews,  Greeks,  and  Romans. 

—  Religions  Civilization  of  the  Jews.  —  Their  EUstory  and  its  Relation  to  that  of  the 
World.  —  Heathen  Preparation  for  the  Gospel.  —  Character  and  Language  of  the  Greeks.  — 
Alexander.  —  Antioch  and  Alexandria.  —  Growth  and  Government  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

—  Misery  of  Italy  and  the  Provinces.  —  Preparation  in  the  Empire  for  Christianity. — 
Dispersion  of  the  Jews  in  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe. — Proselytes.  —  Provinces  of  Cilicia 
and  Judaea.  —  Their  Geography  and  History.  —  Cilicia  under  the  Romans.  —  Tarsus.  — 
Cicero.  —  Political  Changes   in  Judasa.  —  Herod  and  his  Family.  —  The  Roman  Governors. 

—  Conclusion. 

THE  life  of  a  great  man,  in  a  great  period  -of  the  world's  history,  is  a 
subject  to  command  the  attention  of  every  thoughtful  mind. 
Alexander  on  his  Eastern  expedition,  spreading  the  civilization  of  Greece 
over  the  Asiatic  and  African  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  —  Julius 
Caesar  contending  against  the  Gauls,  and  subduing  the  barbarism  of 
Western  Europe  to  the  order  and  discipline  of  Roman  government, — 
Charlemagne  compressing  the  separating  atoms  of  the  feudal  world, 
and  reviving  for  a  time  the  image  of  imperial  unity,  —  Columbus  sailing 
westward  over  the  Atlantic  to  discover  a  new  world  which  might  receive 
the  arts  and  religion  of  the  old,  —  Napoleon  on  his  rapid  campaigns, 
shattering  the  ancient  system  of  European  States,  and  leaving  a  chasm 
between  our  present  and  the  past :  —  these  are  the  colossal  figures  of 
history,  which  stamp  with  the  impress  of  their  personal  greatness  the 
centuries  in  which  they  lived. 

The  interest  with  which  we  look  upon  such  men  is  natural  and  in- 
evitable, even  when  we  are  deeply  conscious  that,  in  their  character 
and  their  work,  evil  was  mixed  up  in  large  proportions  with  the  good, 
and  when  we  find  it  diflficult  to  discover  the  providential  design  which 
drew  the  features  of  their  respective  epochs.  But  this  natural  feeling 
1  1 


2  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  i 

rises  into  something  higher,  if  we  can  be  assured  that  the  period  we 
contemplate  was  designedly  prepared  for  great  results,  that  the  work 
we  admire  was  a  work  of  unmixed  good,  and  the  man  whose  actions  we 
follow  was  an  instrument  specially  prepared  by  the  hands  of  God. 
Such  a  period  was  that  in  which  the  civilized  world  was  united  under 
the  first  Roman  emperors :  such  a  work  was  the  first  preaching  of  the 
Gospel :  and  such  a  man  was  Paul  of  Tarsus. 

Before  we  enter  upon  the  particulars  of  his  life  and  the  history  of  his 
work,  it  is  desirable  to  say  something,  in  this  introductory  chapter,  con- 
cerning the  general  features  of  the  age  which  was  prepared  for  him. 
We  shall  not  attempt  any  minute  delineation  of  the  institutions  and 
social  habits  of  the  period.  Many  of  these  will  be  brought  before  us 
in  detail  in  the  course  of  the  present  work.  We  shall  only  notice  here 
those  circumstances  in  the  state  of  the  world,  which  seem  to  bear  tlie 
traces  of  a  providential  pre-arrangement. 

Casting  this  general  view  on  the  age  of  the  first  Roman  emperors, 
which  was  also  the  age  of  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Apostles,  we  find  our 
attention  arrested  by  three  great  varieties  of  national  life.  The  Jew, 
the  Greek,  and  the  Roman  appear  to  divide  the  world  between  them. 
The  outward  condition  of  Jerusalem  itself,  at  this  epoch,  might  be 
taken  as  a  type  of  the  civilized  world.  Herod  the  Great,  who  rebuilt 
the  Temple,  had  erected,  for  Greek  and  Roman  entertainments,  a  theatre 
within  the  same  walls,  and  an  amphitheatre  in  the  neighboring  plain. ^ 
His  coins,  and  those  of  his  grandson  Agrippa,  bore  Greek  inscriptions  : 
that  piece  of  money,  which  was  brought  to  our  Saviour  (Matt,  xxii., 
Mark  xii.,  Luke  xx.),  was  the  silver  Denarius,  the  "image"  was  that 
of  the  emperor,  the  "  superscription  "  was  in  Latin  :  and  at  the  same 
time  when  the  common  currency  consisted  of  such  pieces  as  these,  — 
since  coins  with  the  images  of  men  or  with  Heathen  symbols  would 
have  been  a  profanation  to  the  "  Treasury,"  —  there  might  be  found  on 
the  tables  of  the  money-changers  in  the  Temple,  shekels  and  half-shekels 
with  Samaritan  letters,  minted  under  the  Maccabees.  Greek  and  Roman 
names  were  borne  by  multitudes  of  those  Jews  who  came  up  to  worship 
at  the  festivals.  Greek  and  Latin  words  were  current  in  the  popular 
"  Hebrew  "  of  the  day  :  and  wliile  this  Syro-Chaldaic  dialect  was  spoken 
by  the  mass  of  the  people  with  the  tenacious  affection  of  old  custom, 
Greek  had  long  been  well  known  among  the  upper  classes  in  the  larger 
towns,  and    Latin  was  used  in    the  courts  of    law,  and  in  the  oflicial 


1  Joseph.  Ant.  xv.  8,  I.  War,  i.  21,  8.  JewUh  War,  will  be  very  frequent.  Occa. 
Our  reference  to  the  two  great  works  of  sionally  also  we  shall  refer  to  his  Life,  and 
Josephiis,    the    Jewish    Antiquities,    and    the       his  discourse  against  Apion. 


CRAP.  I.  JEWS,    GREEKS,    AJSD   KOMAjSTS.  3 

correspondence  of  magistrates.  On  a  critical  occasion  of  St.  Paul's  life,* 
when  he  was  standing  on  the  stair  between  the  Temple  and  the  fortress, 
he  first  spoke  to  the  commander  of  the  garrison  in  Greek,  and  then 
turned  round  and  addressed  his  countrymen  in  Hebrew  ;  while  the  letter'' 
of  Claudius  Lysias  was  written,  and  the  oration'  of  Tertullus  spoken, 
in  Latin.  We  are  told  by  the  historian  Josephus,*  that  on  a  parapet  of 
stone  in  the  Temple  area,  where  a  flight  of  fourteen  steps  led  up  from  the 
outer  to  the  inner  court,  pillars  were  placed  at  equal  distances,  with 
notices,  some  in  Greek  and  some  in  Latin,  that  no  alien  should  enter 
the  sacred  enclosure  of  the  Hebrews.  And  we  are  told  by  two  of  the 
Evangelists,*  that  when  our  blessed  Saviour  was  crucified,  "  the  super- 
scription of  his  accusation  "  was  written  above  His  cross  "  in  letters  of 
Hebrew,  and  Greek,  and  Latin." 

The  condition  of  the  world  in  general  at  that  period  wears  a  similar 
appearance  to  a  Christian's  eye.  He  sees  the  Greek  and  Roman  ele- 
ments brought  into  remarkable  union  with  the  older  and  more  sacred 
element  of  Judaism.  He  sees  in  the  Hebrew  people  a  divinely-laid 
foundation  for  the  superstructure  of  the  Church,  and  in  the  dispersion 
of  the  Jews  a  soil  made  ready  in  fitting  places  for  the  seed  of  the  Gospel. 
He  sees  in  the  spread  of  the  language  and  commerce  of  the  Greeks,  and 
in  the  high  perfection  of  their  poetry  and  philosophy,  appropriate  means 
for  the  rapid  communication  of  Christian  ideas,  and  for  bringhig  them 
into  close  connection  with  the  best  thoughts  of  unassisted  humanity.  And 
he  sees  in  the  union  of  so  many  incoherent  provinces  under  the  law  and 
government  of  Rome,  a  strong  framework  which  might  keep  together  for 
a  sufficient  period  those  masses  of  social  life  which  the  Gospel  was  in- 
tended to  pervade.  The  City  of  God  is  built  at  the  confluence  of  three 
civilizations.  We  recognize  with  gratitude  the  hand  of  God  in  the  his- 
tory of  His  world :  and  we  turn  with  devout  feeling  to  trace  the  course 
of  these  three  streams  of  civilized  life,  from  their  early  source  to  the 
time  of  their  meeting  in  the  Apostolic  age. 

We  need  not  linger  about  the  fountains  of  the  national  life  of  the  Jews. 
We  know  that  they  gushed  forth  at  first,  and  flowed  in  their  appointed 
channels,  at  the  command  of  God.  The  call  of  Abraham,  when  one 
family  was  chosen  to  keep  and  hand  down  the  deposit  of  divine  truth, 
—  the  series  of  providences  which  brought  the  ancestors  of  the  Jews  into 
Egypt,  — the  long  captivity  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile, — the  work  of  Moses, 

1  Acts  xxi.  xxii  s  ^^ts    xxiv.        Dean   Milman   (Bampton 
^  Acts  xxiii.     A  document  of  this  kind,  Lec<!(»-is.s,  p.  185)  has  remarked  on  the  peculiar- 
Bent  with  a  prisoner  by  a  subordinate  to  a  ly  Latin  character  of  Tertullus's  address, 
superior  officer,  would  almost  certainly  be  in            *  War,  v.  5,  2.     Compare  vi.  2,  4. 
T-iatin.  6  Luke  xxiii.  38 ;  John  xix.  20. 


4  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES    OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  ». 

whereby  the  bondsmen  were  made  into  a  nation, — all  these  things  are 
represented  in  the  Old  Testament  as  occurring  under  the  immediate 
direction  of  Almighty  power.  The  people  of  Israel  were  taken  out  of  the 
midst  of  an  idolatrous  world,  to  become  the  depositaries  of  a  purer  knowl- 
edge of  the  one  true  God  than  was  given  to  any  other  people.  At  a  time 
when  (humanly  speaking)  the  world  could  hardly  have  preserved  a  spirit- 
ual religion  in  its  highest  purity,  they  received  a  divine  revelation 
enshrined  in  symbols  and  ceremonies,  whereby  it  might  be  safely  kept 
till  the  time  of  its  development  in  a  purer  and  more  heavenly  form. 

The  peculiarity  of  the  Hebrew  civilization  did  not  consist  in  the  cul- 
ture of  the  imagination  and  intellect,  like  that  of  the  Greeks,  nor  in  the 
organization  of  government,  like  that  of  Rome, —  but  its  distinguishing 
feature  was  Religion.  To  say  nothing  of  the  Scriptures,  the  prophets, 
the  miracles  of  the  Jews,  —  their  frequent  festivals,  their  constant  sacri- 
fices,—  every  thing  in  their  collective  and  private  life  was  connected  with 
a  revealed  religion  :  their  wars,  their  heroes,  their  poetry,  had  a  sacred 
character, —  their  national  code  was  full  of  the  details  of  public  worship, 
—  their  ordinary  employments  were  touched  at  every  point  by  divinely- 
appointed  and  significant  ceremonies.  Nor  was  this  religion,  as  were  the 
religions  of  the  Heathen  world,  a  creed  which  could  not  be  the  common 
property  of  the  instructed  and  the  ignorant.  It  was  neither  a  recondite 
philosophy  which  might  not  be  communicated  to  the  masses  of  the  peo- 
ple, nor  a  weak  superstition,  controlling  the  conduct  of  the  lower  classes, 
and  ridiculed  by  the  higher.  The  religion  of  Moses  was  for  the  use  of 
all  and  the  benefit  of  all.  The  poorest  peasant  of  Galilee  had  the  same 
part  in  it  as  the  wisest  Rabbi  of  Jerusalem.  The  children  of  all  families 
were  taught  to  claim  their  share  in  the  privileges  of  the  chosen  people. 

And  how  different  was  the  nature  of  this  religion  from  that  of  the 
contemporary  Gentiles !  The  pious  feelings  of  the  Jew  were  not  dissipated 
and  distracted  by  a  fantastic  mythology,  where  a  thousand  difierent 
objects  of  worship,  with  contradictory  attributes,  might  claim  the 
attention  of  the  devout  mind.  "  One  God,"  the  Creator  and  Judge  of 
the  world,  and  the  Author  of  all  good,  was  the  only  object  of  adoration. 
And  there  was  nothing  of  that  wide  separation  between  religion  and 
morality,  which  among  other  nations  was  the  road  to  all  impurity.  The 
will  and  approbation  of  Jehovah  was  the  motive  and  support  of  all  holi- 
ness :  faith  in  His  word  was  the  power  which  raised  men  above  their 
natural  weakness :  while  even  the  divinities  of  Greece  and  Rome  were 
often  the  personifications  of  human  passions,  and  the  example  and  sanc- 
tion of  vice.  And  still  further :  —  the  devotional  scriptures  of  the  Jews 
express  that  heartfelt  sense  of  infirmity  and  sin,  that  peculiar  spirit 
of  prayer,  that  real  communion  with  God,  with  which  the  Christian,  in 


CHAP.  I.  RELIGIOUS   CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  JEWS.  5 

bis  best  moments,  has  the  truest  sympathy.^  So  that,  while  the  best 
hymns  of  Greece^  are  only  mythological  pictures,  and  the  literature  of 
Heathen  Rome  hardly  produces  any  thing  which  can  be  called  a  prayer, 
the  Hebrew  psalms  have  passed  into  the  devotions  of  the  Christian 
Church.  There  is  a  light  on  all  the  mountains  of  Judasa  which  never 
shone  on  Olympus  or  Parnassus  :  and  the  "  Hill  of  Zion,"  in  which 
"  it  pleased  God  to  dwell,"  is  the  type  of  "  the  joy  of  the  whole 
earth,"'  wliile  the  seven  hills  of  Rome  are  the  symbol  of  tyranny 
and  idolatry.  "  He  showed  His  word  unto  Jacob,  —  His  statutes  and 
ordinances  unto  Israel.  He  dealt  not  so  with  any  nation ;  neither  had 
the  Heathen  knowledge  of  His  laws."* 

But  not  only  was  a  holy  religion  the  characteristic  of  the  civilization 
of  the  Jews,  but  their  religious  feelings  were  directed  to  something  in 
the  future,  and  all  the  circumstances  of  their  national  life  tended  to  fix 
their  thoughts  on  One  that  was  to  come.  By  types  and  by  promises, 
their  eyes  were  continually  turned  towards  a  Messiah.  Their  history 
was  a  continued  prophecy.  All  the  great  stages  of  their  national  exist- 
ence were  accompanied  by  effusions  of  prophetic  light.  Abraham  was 
called  from  his  father's  house,  and  it  was  revealed  that  in  him  "  all  fami- 
lies of  the  earth  should  be  blessed."  Moses  formed  Abraham's  descend- 
ants into  a  people,  by  giving  them  a  law  and  national  institutions;  but 
wliile  so  doing  he  spake  before  of  Him  who  was  hereafter  to  be  raised  up 
"  a  Prophet  like  unto  himself."  David  reigned,  and  during  that  reign, 
which  made  so  deep  and  lasting  an  impression  on  the  Jewish  mind, 
psalms  were  written  which  spoke  of  the  future  King.  And  with  the 
approach  of  that  captivity,  the  pathetic  recollection  of  which  became  per- 
petual, the  prophecies  took  a  bolder  range,  and  embraced  within  their 
widening  circle  the  redemption  both  of  Jews  and  Gentiles.  Thus  the 
pious  Hebrew  was  always,  as  it  were,  in  the  attitude  of  expectation :  and 
it  has  been  well  remarked  that,  while  the  golden  age  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  was  the  past,  that  of  the  Jews  was  the  future.  While  other 
nations  were  growing  weary  of  their  gods,  —  without  any  thing  in  their 
mythology  or  philosophy  to  satisfy  the  deep  cravings  of  their  nature,  — 
with  religion  operating  rather  as  a  barrier  than  a  link  between  the  edu- 
cated and  the  ignorant.  —  with  morality  divorced  from  theology,  —  the 
whole  Jewish  people  were  united  in    a  feeling  of  attachment  to  their 

1  Neander  observes  that  it  has  been  justly  350  years  before  St.  Paul  was  there ;   yet  it 

remarked  that  the  distinctive  peculiarity  of  the  breathes  the  sentiment  rather  of  acquiescence 

Hebrew  nation  from  the  very  first,  was,  that  in  the  determinations  of  Fate,  than  of  resigna- 

conscience  was  more  alive  among  them  than  any  tion  to  the  goodness  of  Providence.     See  oq 

other  people.  Acts  xvii.  28. 

*  There  are  some  exceptions,  as  in  the  hymn  ^  Ps.  xlviii.  2,  Ixviii  16. 

of  the  Stoic  Cleauthss.  who  was  bom  at  Assos  *  Ps.  cxlvii.  19,  20. 


6  THE   LIFE   AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  i. 

sacred  institutions,  and  found  in  the  facts  of  their  past  history  a  pledge 
of  the  fulfilment  of  their  national  hopes. 

It  is  true  that  the  Jewish  nation,  again  and  again,  during  several  cen- 
turies, fell  into  idolatry.  It  is  true  that  their  superiority  to  other  nations 
consisted  in  the  light  which  they  possessed,  and  not  in  the  use  which  they 
made  of  it ;  and  that  a  carnal  life  continually  dragged  them  down  from 
the  spiritual  eminence  on  which  they  might  have  stood.  But  the  Divine 
purposes  were  not  frustrated.  The  chosen  people  were  subjected  to  the 
chastisement  and  discipline  of  severe  sufferings  :  and  they  were  fitted  by 
a  long  training  for  the  accomplishment  of  that  work,  to  the  conscious  per- 
formance of  which  they  did  not  willingly  rise.  They  were  hard  pressed 
in  their  own  country  by  the  incursions  of  their  idolatrous  neighbors,  and 
in  the  end  they  were  carried  into  a  distant  captivity.  From  the  time  of 
their  return  from  Babylon  they  were  no  longer  idolaters.  They  presented 
to  the  world  the  example  of  a  pure  Monotheism.  And  in  the  active  times 
which  preceded  and  followed  the  birth  of  Christ,  those  Greeks  or  Romans 
ivho  visited  the  Jews  in  their  own  land  where  they  still  lingered  at  the 
portals  of  the  East,  and  those  vast  numbers  of  proselytes  whom  the  dis- 
persed Jews  had  gathered  round  them  in  various  countries,  were  made 
familiar  with  the  worship  of  one  God  and  Father  of  all.^ 

The  influence  of  the  Jews  upon  the  Heathen  world  was  exercised 
mainly  through  their  dispersion :  but  this  subject  must  be  deferred  for 
a  few  pages,  till  we  have  examined  some  of  the  developments  of  the 
Greek  and  Roman  nationalities.  A  few  words,  however,  may  be  allowed 
in  passing,  upon  the  consequences  of  the  geographical  position  of  Judaea. 

The  situation  of  this  little  but  eventful  country  is  such,  that  its  in- 
habitants were  brought  into  contact  successively  with  all  the  civilized  na- 
tions of  antiquity.  Not  to  dwell  upon  its  proximity  to  Egypt  on  the  one 
hand,  and  to  Assyria  on  the  other,  and  the  influences  which  those  ancient 
kingdoms  may  thereby  have  exercised  or  received,  Palestine  lay  in  the 
road  of  Alexander's  Eastern  expedition.  The  Greek  conqueror  was 
there  before  he  founded  his  mercantile  metropolis  in  Egypt,  and  thence 
went  to  India,  to  return  and  die  at  Babylon.  And  again,  when  his 
empire  was  divided,  and  Greek  kingdoms  were  erected  in  Europe,  Asia, 
and  Africa,  Palestine  lay  between  the  rival  monarchies  of  the  Ptolemies 
at  Alexandria  and  the  Seleucids  at  Antioch,  —  too  near  to  both  to  be 
6alt3  From  the  invasion  of  their  arms  or  the  influence  of  their  customs 
and  their  language.     And  finally,  when  the  time  came  for  the  Romans  to 

^  Hnmboldt  has  remarked,  in  the  chapter  of  Monotheism,  and  portrays  nature,  not  as 

on    Poetic   Descriptions    of  Nature  {Kosnios,  self-subsisting,  but  ever  in  relation  to  a  Higher 

Sabine's  Eng.   trans.,  vol.  ii.  p.  44),  that  the  Power, 
descriptive  poetry  of  the  Hebrews  is  a  reflex 


CHAP.  I.  CHARACTER  ASND   LANGUAGE  OF  THE   GREEKS.  7 

embrace  the  whole  of  the  Mediterranean  within  the  circle  of  their  power, 
the  coast-line  of  Judaea  was  the  last  remote  portion  which  was  needed 
to  complete  the  fated  circumference.^ 

The  full  effect  of  this  geographical  position  of  Judaea  can  only  be 
seen  by  following  the  course  of  Greek  and  Roman  life,  till  they  were 
brought  so  remarkably  into  contact  with  each  other,  and  with  that  of 
the  Jews  :  and  we  turn  to  those  other  tw  nations  of  antiquity,  the 
steps  of  whose  progress  were  successive  stages  in  what  is  called  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  (i.  10)  ''  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of 
time." 

If  we  think  of  the  civilization  of  the  Greeks,  we  have  no  difficulty  in 
fixing  on  its  chief  characteristics.  High  perfection  of  the  intellect  and 
imagination,  displaying  itself  in  all  the  various  forms  of  art,  poetry,  lit- 
erature, and  philosophy  —  restless  activity  of  mind  and  body,  finding  its 
exercise  in  athletic  games  or  in  subtle  disputations  —  love  of  the  beauti- 
ful —  quick  perception  —  indefatigable  inquiry  —  all  these  enter  into  the 
very  idea  of  the  Greek  race.  This  is  not  the  place  to  inquire  how  far 
these  qualities  were  due  to  an  innate  peculiarity,  or  how  far  they  grew  up, 
by  gradual  development,  amidst  the  natural  influences  of  their  native 
country,  —  the  variety  of  their  hills  and  plains,  the  clear  lights  and 
warm  shadows  of  their  climate,  the  mingled  land  and  water  of  their  coasts. 
We  have  only  to  do  with  this  national  character  so  far  as,  under  divine 
Providence,  it  was  made  subservient  to  the  spread  of  the  Gospel. 

We  shall  see  how  remarkably  it  subserved  tliis  purpose,  if  we  consider 
the  tendency  of  the  Greeks  to  trade  and  colonization.  Their  mental  ac- 
tivity was  accompanied  with  a  great  physical  restlessness.  This  clever 
people  always  exhibited  a  disposition  to  spread  themselves.  Without 
aiming  at  universal  conquest,  they  displayed  (if  we  may  use  the  word)  a 
remarkable  catholicity  of  character,  and  a  singular  power  of  adaptation 
to  those  whom  they  called  Barbarians.^  In  this  respect  they  were 
strongly  contrasted  with  the  Egyptians,  whose  immemorial  civilization 
was  confined  to  the  long  valley  which  extends  from  the  cataracts  to  the 
mouths  of  the  Nile.  The  Hellenic'  tribes,  on  the  other  hand,  though 
they  despised  foreigners,  were  never  unwilling  to  visit  them  and  to  cul- 
tivate their  acquaintance.     At  the  earliest  period  at  which  history  en- 

'  For  reflections  on  the  geographical  posi-  who  does  not  speak  Greek.     See  Acts  xxviii. 

tion  of  Palestine  in  relation  to  its  history,  see  2,  4  ;  Rom.  i.  14  ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  11  ;  Col.  iii.  11. 
Stanley's  Sinai  and  Palestine,  Kurtz's  History  ^  "  Hellenic "    and    "  Hellenistic,"    corre- 

of  the   Old    Covenant    (in   Clark's   "  Foreign  spending   respectively  to   the  "  Greek "   and 

Theological  Library  "),  and  the  Quarterly  Re-  "  Grecian  "  of   the  Authorized  Version,  are 

view  for  October,  1859.  words  which  we  must  often  use.     See  p.  10, 

^  In  the  N.  T.   the  word  "  barbarian  "  is  n.  3. 
used  in  its  strict  classical  sense,  i.e.  for  a  man 


8  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.i. 

ables  us  to  discover  them,  we  see  them  moving  about  in  their  ships  on 
the  shores  and  among  the  islands  of  their  native  seas  ;  and,  three  or  four 
centuries  before  the  Christian  era,  Asia  Minor,  beyond  which  the  Per- 
sians had  not  been  permitted  to  advance,  was  bordered  by  a  fringe  of 
Greek  colonies  ;  and  Lower  Italy,  when  the  Roman  republic  was  just 
beginning  to  be  conscious  of  its  strength,  had  received  the  name  of 
Greece  itself.^  To  all  these  places  they  carried  their  arts  and  literature, 
their  philosophy,  their  mythology,  and  their  amusements.  They  carried 
also  their  arms  and  their  trade.  The  heroic  age  had  passed  away,  and 
fabulous  voyages  had  given  place  to  real  expeditions  against  Sicily  and 
constant  traffic  with  the  Black  Sea.  They  were  gradually  taking  the 
place  of  the  Phoenicians  in  the  empire  of  the  Mediterranean.  They 
were,  indeed,  less  exclusively  mercantile  than  those  old  discoverers. 
Their  voyages  were  not  so  long.  But  their  influence  on  general  civiliza- 
tion was  greater  and  more  permanent.  The  earliest  ideas  of  scientific 
navigation  and  geography  are  due  to  the  Greeks.  The  later  Greek  trav- 
ellers, Strabo  and  Pausanias,  will  be  our  best  sources  of  information  on 
the  topography  of  St.  Paul's  journeys. 

With  this  view  of  the  Hellenic  character  before  us,  we  are  prepared 
to  appreciate  the  vast  results  of  Alexander's  conquests.  He  took  up  the 
meshes  of  the  net  of  Greek  civilization,  which  were  lying  in  disorder  on 
the  edges  of  the  Asiatic  shore,  and  spread  them  over  all  the  countries 
which  he  traversed  in  his  wonderful  campaigns.  The  East  and  the 
West  were  suddenly  brought  together.  Separated  tribes  were  united 
under  a  common  government.  New  cities  were  built,  as  the  centres  of^ 
political  life.  New  lines  of  communication  were  opened,  as  the  channels 
of  commercial  activity.  The  new  culture  penetrated  the  mountain 
ranges  of  Pisidia  and  Lycaonia.  The  Tigris  and  Euphrates  became 
Greek  rivers.  The  language  of  Athens  was  heard  among  the  Jewish 
colonies  of  Babylonia  ;  and  a  Grecian  Babylon  '^  was  built  by  the  con- 
queror in  Egypt,  and  called  by  his  name. 

The  empire  of  Alexander  was  divided,  but  the  effects  of  his  cam- 
paigns and  policy  did  not  cease.  The  influence  of  the  fresli  elements 
of  social  life  was  rather  increased  by  being  brought  into  independent  ac- 
tion within  the  spheres  of  distinct  kingdoms.  Our  attention  is  particu- 
larly called  to  two  of  the  monarchical  lines,  which  descended  from  Alex- 
ander's generals,  —  the  Ptolemies,  or  the  Greek  kings  of  Egypt,  —  and 
the  Seleucids,  or  the  Greek  kings  of  Syria.  Their  respective  capitals,, 
Alexandria  and  Antioch,  became  the  metropolitan  centres  of  commer- 
cial and  civilized  life  in  the  East.     They  rose  suddenly ;  and  their  very 

1  Magna  Grtecia.  "  Alexandria. 


(MAP.  I.  ANTIOCH  AND  ALEXANDRIA.  9 

appearance  marked  them  as  the  cities  of  a  new  epoch.  Like  Berlin  and 
St.  Petersburg,  they  were  modern  cities  built  by  great  kings  at  a  defi- 
nite time  and  for  a  definite  purpose.  Their  histbries  are  no  unimportant 
p-hapters  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Both  of  them  were  connected 
with  St.  Paul :  one  indirectly,  as  the  birthplace  of  ApoUos ;  the  other 
directly,  as  the  scene  of  some  of  the  most  important  passages  of  the 
Apostle's  own  life.  Both  abounded  in  Jews  from  their  first  foundation. 
Both  became  the  residence  of  Roman  governors,  and  both  afterwards 
were  patriarchates  of  the  primitive  Church.  But  before  they  had  re- 
ceived either  the  Roman  discipline  or  the  Christian  doctrine,  they  had 
served  their  appointed  purpose  of  spreading  the  Greek  language  and 
habits,  of  creating  new  lines  of  commercial  intercourse  by  land  and  sea, 
and  of  centralizing  in  themselves  the  mercantile  life  of  the  Levant. 
Even  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  remind  us  of  the  traffic  of  Antioch  with 
Cyprus  and  the  neighboring  coasts,  and  of  the  sailing  of  Alexandrian 
corn-ships  to  the  more  distant  harbors  of  Malta  and  Putcoli. 

Of  all  the  Greek  elements  which  the  cities  of  Antioch  and  Alexandria 
were  the  means  of  circulating,  the  spread  of  the  language  is  the  most  im- 
portant. Its  connection  with  the  whole  system  of  Christian  doctrine  — 
with  many  of  the  controversies  and  divisions  of  the  Church  —  is  very 
momentous.  That  language,  which  is  the  richest  and  most  delicate  that 
the  world  has  seen,  became  the  language  of  theology.  The  Greek 
tongue  became  to  the  Christian  more  than  it  had  been  to  the  Roman  or 
the  Jew.  The  mother-tongue  of  Ignatius  at  Antioch,  was  that  in  which 
Philo  ^  composed  his  treaties  at  Alexandria,  and  which  Cicero  spoke  at 
Athens.  It  is  difficult  to  state  in  a  few  words  the  important  relation 
which  Alexandria  more  especially  was  destined  to  bear  to  the  whole 
Christian  Church.  In  that  city,  the  representative  of  the  Greeks  of  the 
East,  where  the  most  remarkable  fusion  took  place  of  the  peculiarities  of 
Greek,  Jewish,  and  Oriental  life,  and  at  the  time  when  all  these  had 
been  brought  in  contact  with  the  mind  of  educated  Romans,  —  a  theo- 
logical language  was  formed,  rich  in  the  phrases  of  various  schools,  and 
suited  to  convey  Christian  ideas  to  all  the  world.  It  was  not  an  acci- 
dent that  the  New  Testament  was  written  in  Greek,  the  language  which 
can  best  express  the  highest  thoughts  and  worthiest  feelings  of  the  in- 
tellect and  heart,  and  which  is  adapted  to  be  the  instrument  of  education 
for  all  nations :  nor  was  it  an  accident  that  the  composition  of  these 
books  and  the  promulgation  of  the  Gospel  were  delayed,  till  the  instruc- 
tion of  our  .Lord,  and  the  writings  of  His  Apostles,  could  be  expressed  in 
the  dialect  of  Alexandria.     This,  also,  must  be  ascribed  to  the  forekuowl- 

1  We  shall  frequently  have  occasion  to  was  a  contemporary  of  St.  Paul.  See 
mention  this  learned  Alexandrian  Jew.     He      p.  34. 


10  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  i. 

edge  of  Eim,  who  "  winked  at  the  times  of  ignorance,"  but  who  "  made 
of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth, 
and  determined  the  times  before  appointed,  and  the  bounds  of  theii 
habitation."  ^ 

We  do  not  forget  that  the  social  condition  of  the  Greeks  had  been 
falling,  during  this  period,  into  the  lowest  corruption.  The  disastrous 
quarrels  of  Alexander's  generals  had  been  continued  among  their  suc- 
cessors. Political  integrity  was  lost.  The  Greeks  spent  their  life  in 
worthless  and  frivolous  amusements.  Their  religion,  though  beautiful 
beyond  expression  as  giving  subjects  for  art  and  poetry,  was  utterly 
powerless,  and  worse  than  powerless,  in  checking  their  bad  propensities. 
Their  philosophers  were  sophists  ;  their  women  might  be  briefly  divided 
into  two  classes,  —  those  who  were  highly  educated  and  openly  profli- 
gate on  the  one  side,  and  those  who  lived  in  domestic  and  ignorant 
seclusion  on  the  other.  And  it  cannot  be  denied  that  all  these  causes 
of  degradation  spread  with  the  difiusion  of  the  race  and  the  language. 
Like  Sybaris  and  Syracuse,  Antioch  and  Alexandria  became  almost 
worse  than  Athens  and  Corinth.  But  the  very  diffusion  and  develop- 
ment of  this  corruption  was  preparing  the  way,  because  it  showed  the 
necessity,  for  the  interposition  of  a  Gospel.  The  disease  itself  seemed 
to  call  for  a  Healer.  And  if  the  prevailing  evils  of  the  Greek  popula- 
tion presented  obstacles,  on  a  large  scale,  to  the  progress  of  Christianity, 
—  yet  they  showed  to  all  future  time  the  weakness  of  man's  highest 
powers,  if  unassisted  from  above ;  and  there  must  have  been  many  who 
groaned  under  the  burden  of  a  corruption  which  they  could  not  shake 
off,  and  who  were  ready  to  welcome  the  voice  of  Him,  who  "  took  our 
infirmities,  and  bare  our  sicknesses."^  The  "  Greeks," '  who  are 
mentioned  by  St.  John  as  coming  to  see  Jesus  at  the  feast,  were,  we 
trust,  the  types  of  a  large  class ;  and  we  may  conceive  His  answer  to 
Andrew  and  Philip  as  expressing  the  fulfilment  of  the  appointed  times 
in  the  widest  sense  —  "The  hour  is  come,  that  the  Son  of  Man  should 
be  glorified." 

Such  was  the  civilization  and  corruption  connected  with  the  spread  of 
the  Greek  language  when  the  Roman  power  approached  to  the  eastern 
parts  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  For  some  centuries  this  irresistible 
force  had  been  gathering  strength  on  the  western  side  of  the  Apennines. 
Gradually,  but   surely,  and  with   ever-increasing   rapidity,  it   made  to 

'  Acts  xvii.  30,  26.  for  a  Hellenist,  or  Grecizing  Jew  —  as  in  Acta 

2  Matt.  viii.  17.  vi.  1,  ix.  29  — while  the  word  "  Greek"  is  used 

•  John  xii.  20.     It  ought  to  be  observed  for  one  who  was  by  birth  a  Gentile,  and  who 

here,  that  the  word  "  Grecian  "  in  the  Author-  might,  oi  might  not,  be  a  proselyte  to  Judaism, 

ized  Version  of  the  New  Testament  is  used  or  a  convert  to  Christianity. 


OTAP.  I.  GROWTH    OF  THE   r^^      ^N   EMPIRE.  11 

itself  a  wider  space — northward  into  Etruria,  southward  into  Campania. 
It  passed  beyond  its  Italian  boundaries.  And  bIx  hundred  years  after 
the  building  of  the  City,  the  Roman  eagle  had  seized  on  Africa  at  the 
point  of  Carthage,  and  Greece  at  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth,  and  had  turned 
its  eye  towards  the  East.  The  defenceless  prey  was  made  secure,  by 
craft  or  by  war;  and  before  the  birth  of  our  Saviour,  all  those  coasts, 
from  Ephesus  to  Tarsus  and  Antioch,  and  round  by  the  Holy  Land  to 
Alexandria  and  Cyrene,  were  tributary  to  the  city  of  the  Tiber.  We 
have  to  describe  in  a  few  words  the  characteristics  of  this  new  dominion, 
and  to  point  out  its  providential  connection  with  tlie  spread  and  consoli- 
dation of  the  Church. 

In  the  first  place,  this  dominion  was  not  a  pervading  influence  exerted 
by  a  restless  and  intellectual  people,  but  it  was  the  grasping  power  of  an 
external  government.  The  idea  of  law  had  grown  up  with  the  growth 
of  the  Romans ;  and  wherever  they  went  they  carried  it  with  them. 
Wherever  their  armies  were  marching  or  encamping,  there  always 
attended  them,  like  a  mysterious  presence,  the  spirit  of  the  City  of 
Rome.  Universal  conquest  and  permanent  occupation  were  the  ends  at 
which  they  aimed.  Strength  and  organization  were  the  characteristics 
of  their  sway.  We  have  seen  how  the  Greek  science  and  commerce 
were  wafted,  by  irregular  winds,  from  coast  to  coast :  and  now  we  follow 
the  advance  of  legions,  governors,  and  judges  along  the  Roman  Roads, 
which  pursued  their  undeviating  course  over  plains  and  mountains,  and 
bound  the  City  to  the  furthest  extremities  of  the  provinces. 

There  is  no  better  way  of  obtaining  a  clear  view  of  the  features  and  a 
correct  idea  of  the  spirit  of  the  Roman  age,  than  by  considering  the 
material  works  which  still  remain  as  its  imperishable  monuments. 
Whether  undertaken  by  the  hands  of  the  government,  or  for  the  osten- 
tation of  private  luxury,  they  were  marked  by  vast  extent  and  accom- 
plished at  an  enormous  expenditure.  The  gigantic  roads  of  the  Empire 
have  been  unrivalled  till  the  present  century.  Solid  structures  of  all 
kinds,  for  utility,  amusement,  and  worship,  were  erected  in  Italy  and  the 
provinces,  —  amphitheatres  of  stone,  magnificent  harbors,  bridges,  sepul- 
chres, and  temples.  The  decoration  of  wealthy  houses  was  celebrated  by 
the  poets  of  the  day.  The  pomp  of  buildings  in  the  cities  was  rivalled 
by  astonishing  villas  in  the  country.  The  enormous  baths,  by  which 
travellers  are  surprised,  belong  to  a  period  somewhat  later  than  that  of 
St.  Paul ;  but  the  aqueducts,  which  still  remain  in  the  Campagna,  were 
some  of  them  new  when  he  visited  Rome.  Of  the  metropolis  itself  it  may 
be  enough  to  say,  that  his  life  is  exactly  embraced  between  its  two  great 
times  of  renovation,  that  of  Augustus  on  the  one  hand,  who  (to  use  his 
own  expression)  having  found  it  a  city  of  brick  left  it  a  city  of  marble, 


12  THE  LIFE  A^P  il^ISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  i. 

and  that  of  Nero  on  the  other,  when  the  great  conflagration  afforded  an 
opportunity  for  a  new  arrangement  of  its  streets  and  buildings. 

These  great  works  may  be  safely  taken  as  emblems  of  the  magnitude, 
strength,  grandeur,  and  solidity  of  the  Empire ;  but  they  are  emblems, 
no  less,  of  the  tyranny  and  cruelty  which  had  presided  over  its  formation, 
and  of  the  general  suffering  which  pervaded  it.  The  statues,  with  which 
the  metropolis  and  the  Roman  houses  were  profusely  decorated,  had  been 
brought  from  plundered  provinces,  and  many  of  them  had  swelled  the 
triumpiis  of  conquerors  on  the  Capitol.  The  amphitheatres  were  built 
for  shows  of  gladiators,  and  were  the  scenes  of  a  bloody  cruelty,  which 
had  been  quite  unknown  in  the  licentious  exhibitions  of  the  Greek  thea- 
tre. The  roads,  baths,  harbors,  aqueducts,  had  been  constructed  by 
slave-labor.  And  the  country  villas,  whicli  the  Italian  traveller  lingered 
to  admire,  were  themselves  vast  establishments  of  slaves. 

It  is  easy  to  see  how  much  misery  followed  in  the  train  of  Rome's 
advancing  greatness.  Cruel  suffering  was  a  characteristic  feature  of  the 
close  of  the  Republic.  Slave  wars,  civil  wars,  wars  of  conquest,  had  left 
their  disastrous  results  behind  them.  No  country  recovers  rapidly  from 
the  effects  of  a  war  which  has  been  conducted  within  its  frontier ;  and 
there  was  no  district  of  the  Empire  which  had  not  been  the  scene  of 
some  recent  campaign.  None  had  suffered  more  than  Italy  herself.  Its 
old  stock  of  freemen,  who  had  cultivated  its  fair  plains  and  terraced  vine- 
yards, was  utterly  worn  out.  The  general  depopulation  was  badly  com- 
pensated by  the  establishment  of  military  colonies.  Inordinate  wealth 
and  slave  factories  were  the  prominent  features  of  the  desolate  prospect. 
The  words  of  the  great  historian  may  fill  up  the  picture.  "  As  regards 
the  manners  and  mode  of  life  of  the  Romans,  their  great  object  at  this 
time  was  the  acquisition  and  possession  of  money.  Their  moral  conduct, 
which  had  been  corrupt  enough  before  the  Social  war,  became  still  more 
so  by  their  systematic  plunder  and  rapine.  Immense  riches  were  accumu- 
lated and  squandered  upon  brutal  pleasures.  The  simplicity  of  the  old 
manners  and  mode  of  living  had  been  abandoned  for  Greek  luxuries  and 
frivolities,  and  the  whole  household  arrangements  had  become  altered. 
The  Roman  houses  had  formerly  been  quite  simple,  and  were  built  either 
of  bricks  or  peperino,  but  in  most  cases  of  the  former  material ;  now, 
on  the  other  hand,  every  one  would  live  in  a  splendid  house  and  be  sur- 
rounded by  luxuries.  The  condition  of  Italy  after  the  Social  and  Civil 
wars  was  indescribably  wretched.  Samnium  had  become  almost  a  des- 
ert ;  and  as  late  as  the  time  of  Strabo  there  was  scarcely  any  town  in 
that  country  which  was  not  in  ruins.  But  worse  things  were  yet  to 
come."^ 

^  Niebuhr's  Lectures  on  the  History  of  Rome,  vol.  i.  pp.  421,  422. 


CHAP.  I.  MISERY  OF  ITAIiY  AND  THE  PROVINCES.  13 

This  disastrous  condition  was  not  confined  to  Italy.  In  some  respecta 
the  provinces  had  their  own  peculiar  sufferings.  To  take  the  case  of 
Asia  Minor.  It  had  been  plundered  and  ravaged  by  successive  generals, 
—  by  Scipio  in  the  war  against  Antiochus  of  Syria, — by  Manlius  in  his 
Galatian  campaign,  —  by  Pompey  in  the  struggle  with  Mithridates.  The 
rapacity  of  governors  and  their  officials  followed  that  of  generals  and  their 
armies.  We  know  what  Cilicia  suffered  under  Dolabella  and  his  agent 
Verres:  and  Cicero  reveals  to  us  the  oppression  of  his  predecessor  Ap- 
pius  in  the  same  province,  contrasted  with  his  own  boasted  clemency. 
Some  portions  of  this  beautiful  and  inexhaustible  country  revived  under 
the  emperors.^  But  it  was  only  an  outward  prosperity.  Whatever  may 
nave  been  the  improvement  in  the  external  details  of  provincial  govern- 
ment, we  cannot  believe  that  governors  were  gentle  and  forbearing,  when 
Caligula  was  on  the  throne,  and  when  Nero  was  seeking  statues  for  his 
golden  house.  The  contempt  in  which  the  Greek  provincials  themselves 
were  held  by  the  Romans  may  be  learnt  from  the  later  correspondence 
of  the  Emperor  Trajan  with  Pliny  the  governor  of  Bithynia.  We  need 
not  hesitate  to  take  it  for  granted,  that  those  who  were  sent  from  Rome 
to  dispense  justice  at  Ephesus  or  Tarsus,  were  more  frequently  like  Ap- 
pius  and  Verres,  than  Cicero^  and  Flaccus, — more  like  Pilate  and  Felix, 
than  Gallio  or  Sergius  Paulus. 

It  would  be  a  delusion  to  imagine  that,  when  the  world  was  reduced 
under  one  sceptre,  any  real  principle  of  unity  held  its  different  parts 
together.  The  emperor  was  deified,^  because  men  were  enslaved.  There 
was  no  true  peace  when  Augustus  closed  the  Temple  of  Janus.  The 
Empire  was  only  the  order  of  external  government,  with  a  chaos  both  of 
opinions  and  morals  within.  The  writings  of  Tacitus  and  Juvenal  remain 
to  attest  the  corruption  which  festered  in  all  ranks,  alike  in  the  senate 
and  the  family.  The  old  severity  of  manners,  and  the  old  faith  in  the 
better  part  of  the  Roman  religion,  were  gone.  The  licentious  creeds  and 
practices  of  Greece  and  the  East  had  inundated  Italy  and  the  West: 
and  the  Pantheon  was  only  the  monument  of  a  compromise  among  a 

^  Niebuhr's  Led.  on  Hist,  of  Rome,  vol.  i.  '  The  image  of  the  emperor  was  at  that 

p.  406,  and  the  note.  time  the  object  of  religious  reverence  :  he  was 

2  Much  of  our  best  information  concerning  a  deity  on  earth  (Dis  sequa  potestas,  Juv.  iv. 

the  state  of   the  provinces  is  derived  from  71);  and  the  worship  paid  to  him  was  a  real 

Cicero's  celebrated  "  Speeches  against  Verres,"  worship.      It  is  a  striking  thought,   that  in 

and  his  own  Cilician  Correspondence,  to  which  those  times  (setting  aside  effete  forms  of  reli 

we  shall  again  have  occasion   to  refer.     His  gion),  the  only  two  genuine  worships  in  the  civ- 

"  Speech  in  Defence  of  Flaccus  "  throws  much  ilized  world  were  the  worship  of  a  Tiberius  oi 

light  on  the  condition  of  the  Jews  under  the  a  Nero  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  worship  of 

Romans.     We  must  not  place  too  much  confi-  Chkist  on  the  other, 
dence  in  the  picture  there  given  of  thJjs  Ephe- 
•ian  governor. 


14  THE  LIFE  AJSTD  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  otaf.i 

multitude  of  effete  superstitions.  It  is  true  that  a  remarkable  religious 
toleration  was  produced  bj  this  state  of  things :  and  it  is  probable  that 
for  some  short  time  Christianity  itself  shared  the  advantage  of  it.  But 
still  the  temper  of  the  times  was  essentially  both  cruel  and  profane ;  and 
the  Apostles  were  soon  exposed  to  its  bitter  persecution.  The  Roman 
Empire  was  destitute  of  that  unity  which  the  Gospel  gives  to  mankind. 
It  was  a  kingdom  of  this  world  ;  and  the  human  race  were  groaning  for 
the  better  peace  of  "  a  kingdom  not  of  this  world." 

Thus,  in  the  very  condition  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  the  miserable 
state  of  its  mixed  population,  we  can  recognize  a  negative  preparation 
for  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  This  tyranny  and  oppression  called  for  a  Con- 
soler^ as  much  as  the  moral  sickness  of  the  Greeks  called  for  a  Healer ; 
a  Messiah  was  needed  by  the  whole  Empire  as  much  as  by  the  Jews, 
though  not  looked  for  with  the  same  conscious  expectation.  But  we 
have  no  difficulty  in  going  much  farther  than  this,  and  we  cannot  hesitate 
to  discover  in  the  circumstances  of  the  world  at  this  period,  significant 
traces  of  a  positive  preparation  for  the  Gospel. 

It  should  be  remembered,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  Romans  had 
already  become  Greek  to  some  considerable  extent,  before  they  were 
the  political  masters  of  those  eastern  countries,  wliere  the  language, 
mythology,  and  literjlture  of  Greece  had  become  more  or  less  familiar. 
How  early,  how  widely,  and  how  permanently  this  Greek  influence  pre- 
vailed, and  how  deeply  it  entered  into  the  mind  of  educated  Romans,  we 
know  from  their  surviving  writings,  and  from  the  biography  of  eminent 
men.  Cicero,  who  was  governor  of  Cilicia  about  half  a  century  before 
the  birth  of  St.  Paul,  speaks  in  strong  terms  of  the  universal  spread  of 
the  Greek  tongue  among  the  instructed  classes ;  and  about  the  time 
of  the  Apostle's  martyrdom,  Agricola,  the  conqueror  of  Britain,  was  receiv- 
ing a  Greek  education  at  Marseilles.  Is  it  too  much  to  say,  that  the 
general  Latin  conquest  was  providentially  delayed  till  the  Romans  had 
been  sufficiently  imbued  with  the  language  and  ideas  of  their  predecessors, 
and  had  incorporated  many  parts  of  tliat  civilization  with  their  own  ? 

And  if  the  wisdom  of  tlie  divine  pre-arrangements  is  illustrated  by 
the  period  of  the  spread  of  the  Greek  language,  it  is  illustrated  no  less 
by  that  of  the  completion  and  maturity  of  the  Roman  government. 
When  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world  were  bound  together  in  one  empire, 


^  We  may  refer  here  to  the  apotheosis  of  contrast  will  be  found  in  Scheffer's  modem 

Augustus  with  Tiberius  at  his  side,  as  repre-  picture  —  "  Christus  Consolator,"  —  where  the 

sented  on  the  "  Vienna  Cameo"  in  the  midst  Saviour  is  seated  in  the  midst  of  those  whe 

of  figures  indicative  of  the  misery  and  enslave-  are  miserable,  and  the  eyes  of  all  are  turned  to 

ment  of  the  world.     An  en;j;raving  of  this  Him  for  relief. 
Cameo  is  given  in  the  quarto  edition.     Its  b^.sf 


CHAP.  I.  DISPERSION   OF  THE   JEWS.  15 

—  when  one  common  organization  pervaded  the  whole — when  channels 
of  communication  were  everywhere  opened — when  new  facilities  of 
travelling  were  provided, —  then  was  "  the  fulness  of  time"  (Gal.  iv.  4), 
then  the  Messiah  came.  The  Greek  language  had  already  been  prepared 
as  a  medium  for  preserving  and  transmitting  the  doctrine ;  the  Roman 
government  was  now  prepared  to  help  the  progress  even  of  tliat  religion 
which  it  persecuted.  The  manner  in  which  it  spread  through  the  prov- 
inces is  well  exemplified  in  the  life  of  St.  Paul ;  his  right  of  citizenship 
rescued  him  in  Macedonia'  and  in  Judaea;^  he  converted  one  governor 
in  Cyprus/  was  protected  by  another  in  Achaia,*  and  was  sent  from 
Jerusalem  to  Rome  by  a  third. ^  The  time  was  indeed  approaching,  when 
all  the  complicated  weight  of  the  central  tyranny,  and  of  the  provincial 
governments,  was  to  fall  on  the  new  and  irresistible  religion.  But  before 
this  took  place,  it  had  begun  to  grow  up  in  close  connection  with  all 
departments  of  the  Empire.  When  the  supreme  government  itself 
became  Christian,  the  ecclesiastical  polity  was  permanently  regulated  in 
conformity  with  the  actual  constitution  of  the  state.  Nor  was  the  Empire 
broken  up,  till  the  separate  fragments,  which  have  become  the  nations  of 
modern  Europe,  were  themselves  portions  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

But  in  all  that  we  have  said  of  the  condition  of  the  Roman  world,  one 
important  and  widely  diffused  element  of  its  population  has  not  been 
mentioned.  "We  have  lost  sight  for  some  time  of  the  Jews,  and  we  must 
return  to  the  subject  of  their  dispersion,  which  was  purposely  deferred 
till  we  had  shown  how  the  intellectual  civilization  of  the  Greeks,  and  the 
organizing  civilization  of  the  Romans,  had,  through  a  long  series  of 
remarkable  events,  been  brought  in  contact  with  the  religious  civilization 
of  the  Hebrews.  It  remains  that  we  point  out  that  one  peculiarity  of 
the  Jewish  people,  which  made  this  contact  almost  universal  in  every  part 
of  the  Empire. 

Their  dispersion  began  early ;  though,  early  and  late,  their  attachment 
to  Judaea  has  always  been  the  same.  Like  the  Highlanders  of  Switzer- 
land and  Scotland,  they  seem  to  have  combined  a  tendency  to  foreign 
settlements  with  the  most  passionate  love  of  their  native  land.  Tlie  first 
scattering  of  the  Jews  was  compulsory,  and  began  with  the  Assyrian 
exile,  when,  about  the  time  of  the  building  of  Rome,  natives  of  Galilee 
and  Samaria  were  carried  away  by  the  Eastern  monarchs ;  and  this  was 
followed  by  the  Babylonian  exile,  when  the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamin 
were  removed  at  different  epochs, —  when  Daniel  was  brought  to  Babylon, 
and  Ezekiel  to  the  river  Chebar.     That  this  earliest  dispersion  was  not 

1  Acts  xvi.  37-39.  *  Acts  xviii.   14-17. 

*  Acts  xxii.  25.  *  Acts  xxt.  12,  xxvii.  1. 

»  Acts  xiii.  12. 


16  THE   LIEE   AND   EPISTLES    OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap,  l 

without  influential  results  may  be  inferred  from  these  facts  ; — that,  about 
the  time  of  the  battles  of  Salamis  and  Marathon,  a  Jew  was  the  minister, 
another  Jew  the  cupbearer,  and  a  Jewess  the  consort,  of  a  Persian  mon- 
arch. That  they  enjoyed  many  privileges  in  this  foreign  country,  and 
that  their  condition  was  not  always  oppressive,  may  be  gathered  from 
this,  —  that  when  Cyrus  gave  them  permission  to  return,  the  majority 
remained  in  their  new  home,  in  preference  to  their  native  land.  Thus 
that  great  Jewish  colony  began  in  Babylonia,  the  existence  of  which 
may  be  traced  in  Apostolic  times,^  and  which  retained  its  influence  long 
after  in  the  Talmudical  schools.  These  Hebrew  settlements  may  be  fol- 
lowed through  various  parts  of  the  continental  East,  to  the  borders  of  the 
Caspian,  and  even  to  China.  We  however  are  more  concerned  with  the 
coasts  and  islands  of  Western  Asia.  Jews  had  settled  in  Syria  and 
Phoenicia  before  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great.  But  in  treating  of 
this  subject,  the  great  stress  is  to  be  laid  on  the  policy  of  Seleucus,  who, 
in  founding  Antioch,  raised  them  to  the  same  political  position  with  the 
other  citizens.  One  of  his  successors  on  the  throne,  Antiochus  the  Great, 
established  two  thousand  Jewish  families  in  Lydia  and  Phrygia.  From 
hence  they  would  spread  into  Pamphylia  and  Galatia,  and  along  the 
western  coasts  from  Ephesus  to  Troas.  And  the  ordinary  channels  of 
communication,  in  conjunction  with  that  tendency  to  trade  which  already 
began  to  characterize  this  wonderful  people,  would  easily  bring  them  to 
the  islands,  such  as  Cyprus^  and  Rhodes. 

Their  oldest  settlement  in  Africa  was  that  which  took  place  after  the 
murder  of  the  Babylonian  governor  of  Judaea,  and  which  is  connected 
with  the  name  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah.^  But,  as  in  the  case  of  Antioch, 
our  chief  attention  is  called  to  the  great  metropolis  of  the  period  of  the 
Greek  kings.  The  Jewish  quarter  of  Alexandria  is  well  known  in  his- 
tory ;  and  the  colony  of  Hellenistic  Jews  in  Lower  Egypt  is  of  greater 
importance  than  that  of  their  Aramaic*  brethren  in  Babylonia.  Alex- 
ander himself  brought  Jews  and  Samaritans  to  his  famous  city  ;  the  first 
Ptolemy  brought  many  more ;  and  many  betook  themselves  hither  of 
their  free  will,  that  they  might  escape  from  the  incessant  troubles  which 
disturbed  the  peace  of  their  fatherland.  Nor  was  their  influence  con- 
fined to  Egypt,  but  they  became  known  on  one  side  in  Ethiopia,  the 
country  of  Queen  Candace,"  and  spread  on  the  other  in  great  numbers 
to  the  "  parts  of  Libya  about  Cyrene."® 

1  See  1  Pet.  v.  13.  »  See    2    Kings   xxt.    22-26,    Jer.    xliii. 

2  The  farming  of  the  copper  mines  in  Cy-      xliT. 

prns  by  Herod  (Jos.  Ant.  xvi.  4.  5)  may  have  *  This  term  is  explained  in  the  next  chap- 
attracted  many  Jews.      There   is  a   Cyprian  ter,  see  p.  33,  note  2. 
inscription  which  seems  to  refer  to  one  of  the           *  Acts  viii.  27. 
Herods.                                                                        *  Acts  ii.  10.    The  second  book  of  Maec*- 


CHAP.  I.  THE  JEWS  IN  EUROPE.  17 

Under  what  circumstances  the  Jews  made  their  first  appearance  in 
Europe  is  unknown ;  but  it  is  natural  to  suppose  tliat  those  islands  of  the 
Archipelago  which,  as  Humboldt  has  said,  were  like  a  bridge  for  the  pas- 
sage of  civilization,  became  the  means  of  tlie  advance  of  Judaism.  The 
journey  of  the  proselyte  Lydia  from  Thyatira  to  Fliilippi  (Acts  xvi.  14), 
and  the  voyage  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla  from  Corinth  to  Ephesus  (Ibid, 
xviii.  18),  are  only  specimens  of  mercantile  excursions  which  must  have 
begun  at  a  far  earlier  period.  Philo^  mentions  Jews  in  Thessaly,  Bceotia, 
Macedonia,  ^tolia,  and  Attica,  in  Argos  and  Corinth,  in  the  other  parts 
of  Peloponnesus,  and  in  the  islands  of  Eubcea  and  Crete  :  and  St.  Luke, 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  speaks  of  them  in  Philippi,  Thessalonica,  and 
Beroea,  in  Athens,  in  Corinth,  and  in  Rome.  The  first  Jews  came  to 
Rome  to  decorate  a  triumph  ;  but  they  were  soon  set  free  from  captivity, 
and  gave  the  name  to  the  "  Synagogue  of  the  Libertines  "^  in  Jerusalem. 
They  owed  to  Julius  Caesar  those  privileges  in  the  Western  Capital  which 
they  had  obtained  from  Alexander  in  the  Eastern.  They  became  influ- 
ential, and  made  proselytes.  They  spread  into  other  towns  of  Italy  ;  and 
in  the  time  of  St.  Paul's  boyhood  we  find  them  in  large  numbers  in  the 
island  of  Sardinia,  just  as  we  have  previously  seen  them  established  in 
that  of  Cyprus.'  With  regard  to  Gaul,  we  know  at  least  that  two  sons  of 
Herod  were  banished,  about  this  same  period,  to  the  banks  of  the  Rhone  ; 
and  if  (as  seems  most  probable)  St.  Paul  accomplished  that  journey  to 
Spain,  of  which  he  speaks  in  his  letters,  there  is  little  doubt  that  he  found 
there  some  of  the  scattered  children  of  his  own  people.  We  do  not  seek 
to  pursue  them  further ;  but,  after  a  few.  words  on  the  proselytes,  we 
must  return  to  the  earliest  scenes  of  the  Apostle's  career. 

The  subject  of  the  proselytes  is  sufficiently  important  to  demand  a 
separate  notice.  Under  this  term  we  include  at  present  all  who  were 
attracted  in  various  degrees  of  intensity  towards  Judaism,  —  from  those 
who  by  circumcision  had  obtained  full  access  to  all  the  privileges  of  the 
temple-worship,  to  those  who  only  professed  a  general  respect  for  the 
Mosaic  religion,  and  attended  as  hearers  in  the  synagogues.  Many 
proselytes  were  attached  to  the  Jewish  communities  wherever  they  were 
dispersed.^  Even  in  their  own  country  and  its  vicinity,  the  number,  both 
m  early  and  later  times,  was  not  inconsiderable.     The  Queen  of  Sheba, 

bees  is  the  abridgment  of  a  work  written  by  gogues  mentioned  in  Acts  vi.  9  are  discussed 

a  Hellenistic  Jew  of  Cyrene.     A  Jew  or  prose-  in  the  next  chapter. 

lyte  of  Cyrene  bore  our  Saviour's  cross.    And  ^  ju   jijg  case  of  Sardinia,  however,  they 

the  mention  of  this  city  occurs  more  than  once  were  forcibly  sent  to  the  island,  to  die  of  the 

in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  bad  climate. 

1  See  note,  p.  9.  *  In  illustration  of  this  fact,  it  is  easy  to 

^  Thirf  body  doubtless  consisted  of  manu-  adduce  abundance  of  Heathen  testimony. 

Hiitted  Jewish  slaves.    The  synagogue  or  syna- 
2 


18  THE  LIFE  AKD  EPISTLES   OP   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  i. 

in  the  Old  Testament ;  Candace,  Queen  of  Ethiopia,  in  the  New ;  and 
King  Izates,  with  his  mother  Helena,  mentioned  by  Josephus,  are  only 
royal  representatives  of  a  large  class.  During  the  time  of  the  Maccabees, 
some  alien  tribes  were  forcibly  incorporated  with  the  Jews.  This  was  the 
case  with  the  Ituraeans,  and  probably  with  the  Moabites,  and,  above  all, 
with  the  Edomites,  with  whose  name  that  of  the  Herodian  family  is  his- 
torically connected.  How  far  Judaism  extended  among  the  vague  col- 
lection of  tribes  called  Arabians,  we  can  only  conjecture  from  the  curious 
history  of  the  Homerites,  and  from  the  actions  of  such  chieftains  as 
Aretas  (2  Cor.  xi.  32).  But  as  we  travel  towards  the  West  and  North, 
into  countries  better  known,  we  find  no  lack  of  evidence  of  the  moral 
eflfect  of  the  synagogues,  with  their  worship  of  Jehovah,  and  their 
prophecies  of  the  Messiah.  "  Nicolas  of  Antioch  "  (Acts  vi.  6)  is  only 
one  of  that  "  vast  multitude  of  Greeks  "  who,  according  to  Josephus,^ 
were  attracted  in  that  city  to  the  Jewish  doctrine  and  ritual.  In  Damas- 
cus, we  are  even  told  by  the  same  authority  that  the  great  majority  of  the 
women  were  proselytes ;  a  fact  which  receives  a  remarkable  illustration 
from  what  happened  to  Paul  at  Iconium  (Acts  iii.  50).  But  all  further 
details  may  be  postponed  till  we  follow  Paul  himself  into  the  synagogues, 
where  he  so  often  addressed  a  mingled  audience  of  "  Jews  of  the  disper- 
sion" and  "  devout"  strangers. 

This  chapter  may  be  suitably  concluded  by  some  notice  of  the  province's 
of  Cilicia  and  Judcea.  This  will  serve  as  an  illustration  of  what  has  been 
said  above,  concerning  the  state  of  the  Roman  provinces  generally ;  it 
will  exemplify  the  mixture  of  Jews,  Greeks,  and  Romans  in  the  east  of 
the  Mediterranean,  and  it  will  be  a  fit  introduction  to  what  must  imme- 
diately succeed.  For  these  are  the  two  provinces  which  require  our 
attention  in  the  early  life  of  the  Apostle  Paul. 

Both  these  provinces  were  once  under  the  sceptre  of  the  line  of  the 
Seleucids,  or  Greek  kings  of  Syria  ;  and  both  of  them,  though  originally 
inhabited  by  a  "barbarous"^  population,  received  more  or  less  of  the 
influence  of  Greek  civilization.  If  the  map  is  consulted,  it  will  be  seen 
that  Antioch,  the  capital  of  the  Graico-Syrian  kings,  is  situated  nearly  in 
the  angle  where  the  coast-line  of  Cilicia,  running  eastwards,  and  that  of 
Judaja,  extended  northwards,  are  brought  to  an  abrupt  meeting.  It  will 
be  seen  also,  that,  more  or  less  parallel  to  each  of  these  coasts,  there  is  a 
line  of  mountains,  not  far  from  the  sea,  which  are  brouglit  into  contact 
with  each  other  in  heavy  and  confused  forms,  near  the  same  angle  ;  the 
principal  break  in  the  continuity  of  either  of  ihem  being  the  valley  of 
the  Orontes,  which  passes  by  Antioch.    One  of  these  mountain  lines  is  the 

»   War,  Tu.  S,  3.  ^  See  p.  7,  note. 


OHAP.  L  CILICIA  UNDER  THE  KOMAJSTS.  19 

range  of  Mount  Taurus^  which  is  so  often  mentioned  as  a  great  geographi- 
cal boundary  by  the  writers  of  Greece  and  Rome ;  and  Cilicia  extends 
partly  over  the  Taurus  itself,  and  partly  between  it  and  the  sea.  The 
other  range  is  that  of  Lebanon  —  a  name  made  sacred  by  the  scriptures 
and  poetry  of  the  Jews  ;  and  where  its  towering  eminences  subside 
towards  the  south  into  a  land  of  hills  and  valleys  and  level  plains,  there 
is  Judcea^  once  the  country  of  promise  and  possession  to  the  chosen 
people,  but  a  Roman  province  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles. 

Cilicia,  in  the  sense  in  which  the  word  was  used  under  the  early  Roman 
emperors,  comprehended  two  districts,  of  nearly  equal  extent,  but  of  very 
different  character.  The  Western  portion,  or  Rough  Cilicia,  as  it  was 
called,  was  a  collection  of  the  branches  of  Mount  Taurus,  which  come 
down  in  large  masses  to  the  sea,  and  form  that  projection  of  the  coast 
which  divides  the  Bay  of  Issus  from  that  of  Pamphylia.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  whole  of  this  district  were  notorious  for  their  robberies :  the 
northern  portion,  under  the  name  of  Isauria,  providing  innumerable 
strongholds  for  marauders  by  land ;  and  tlie  southern,  with  its  excellent 
timber,  its  cliffs,  and  small  harbors,  being  a  natural  home  for  pirates. 
The  Isaurians  maintained  their  independence  with  such  determined 
obstinacy,  that  in  a  later  period  of  the  Empire,  the  Romans  were  willing 
to  resign  all  appearance  of  subduing  them,  and  were  content  to  surround 
them  with  a  cordon  of  forts.  The  natives  of  the  coast  of  Rough  Cilicia 
began  to  extend  their  piracies  as  the  strength  of  the  kings  of  Syria  and 
Egypt  declined.  They  found  in  the  progress  of  the  Roman  power,  for 
some  time,  an  encouragement  rather  than  a  hinderance ;  for  they  were 
actively  engaged  in  an  extensive  and  abominable  slave-trade,  of  which 
the  island  of  Delos  was  the  great  market ;  and  the  opulent  families  of 
Rome  were  in  need  of  slaves,  and  were  not  more  scrupulous  than  some 
Christian  nations  of  modern  times  about  the  means  of  obtaining  them. 
But  the  expeditions  of  these  buccaneers  of  the  Mediterranean  became  at 
last  quite  intolerable  ;  their  fleets  seemed  innumerable  ;  their  connections 
were  extended  far  beyond  their  own  coasts ;  all  commerce  was  paralyzed ; 
and  they  began  to  arouse  that  attention  at  Rome  which  the  more  distant 
pirates  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago  not  long  ago  excited  in  England.  A 
vast  expedition  was  fitted  out  under  the  command  of  Pompoy  the  Great ; 
thousands  of  piratic  vessels  were  burnt  on  the  coast  of  Cilicia,  and  the 
inhabitants  dispersed.  A  perpetual  service  was  thus  done  to  the  cause 
of  civilization,  and  the  Mediterranean  was  made  safe  for  the  voyages  of 
merchants  and  Apostles.  The  town  of  Soli,  on  the  borders  of  the  two 
divisions  of  Cilicia,  received  the  name  of  Pompeiopolis,'  in  honor  of  the 

1  A  similar  case,  on  a  small  scale,  is  that      of  the  French  power,  since  the  accession  of 
of  Philippeville  ia  Algeria;  and  the  progress      Louis  Philippe,  in  Northern  Africa,  is  perhaps 


20  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  i. 

great  conqueror,  and  the  splendid  remains  of  a  colonnade  which  led  from 
the  harbor  to  the  city  may  be  considered  a  monument  of  this  signal 
destruction  of  the  enemies  of  order  and  peace. 

The  Eastern,  or  Flat  Cilicia,  was  a  rich  and  extensive  plain.  Its 
prolific  vegetation  is  praised  both  by  the  earlier  and  later  classical 
writers,  and,  even  under  the  neglectful  government  of  the  Turks,  is 
still  noticed  by  modern  travellers.^  From  this  circumstance,  and  still 
more  from  its  peculiar  physical  configuration,  it  was  a  possession  of  great 
political  importance.  Walled  off  from  the  neighboring  countries  by  a 
high  barrier  of  mountains,  which  sweep  irregularly  round  it  from  Pom- 
peiopolis  and  Rough  Cilicia  to  the  Syrian  coast  on  the  North  of  Antioch, 

—  with  one  pass  leading  up  into  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor,  and  another 
giving  access  to  the  valley  of  the  Orontes,  —  it  was  naturally  the  high 
road  both  of  trading  caravans  and  of  military  expeditions.  Through  this 
country  Cyrus  marched,  to  depose  his  brother  from  the  Persian  throne. 
It  was  here  that  the  decisive  victory  was  obtained  by  Alexander  over 
Darius.  This  plain  has  since  seen  the  hosts  of  Western  Crusaders  ;  and, 
m  our  own  day,  has  been  the  field  of  operations  of  hostile  Mohammedan 
armies,  Turkish  and  Egyptian.  The  Greek  kings  of  Egypt  endeavored, 
long  ago,  to  tear  it  from  the  Greek  kings  of  Syria.  The  Romans  left  it 
at  first  in  the  possession  of  Antiochus :  but  the  line  of  Mount  Taurus 
could  not  permanently  arrest  them :  and  the  letters  of  Cicero  remain  to 
us  among  the  most  interesting,  as  they  are  among  the  earliest,  monu- 
ments of  Roman  Cilicia. 

Situated  near  the  western  border  of  the  Cilician  plain,  where  the  river 
Cydnus  flows  in  a  cold  and  rapid  stream,  from  the  snows  of  Taurus  to  the 
sea,  was  the  city  of  Tarsus,  the  capital  of  the  whole  province,  and  "  no 
mean  city  "  (Acts  xxi.  39)  in  the  history  of  the  ancient  world.  Its 
coins  reveal  to  us  its  greatness  through  a  long  series  of  years :  —  alike  in 
the  period  which  intervened  between  Xerxes  and  Alexander,  —  and 
under  the   Roman   sway,  when  it  exulted  in  the  name  of  Metropolis, 

—  and  long  after  Hadrian  had  rebuilt  it,  and  issued  his  new  coinage 
with  the  old  mythological  types.^    In  the  intermediate  period,  which  is 

the  nearest  parallel  in  modern  times  to  the  his-  Asia  Minor  contains  some  luxuriant  specimens 

tory  of  a  Roman  province.     As  far  as  regards  of  the  modern  vegetation  of  Tarsus ;  but  the 

the  pirates,  Lord  Exmouth,  in  1816,  really  did  banana  and  the  prickly  pear  were  introduced 

the  work  of  Pompey  the  Great.     It  may  be  into  the  Mediterranean  long  after  St.  Paul's 

doubted  whether  Marshal  Bugcaud  was  more  day. 

lenient  to  the  Arabs,  than  Cicero  to  the  Eleu-  ^  -phe  coin  at  the  end  of  the  chapter  wjvs 

thero-Cilicians.  struck  under  Hadrian,  and  is  preserved  in  tlie 

Chrysijipus  the  Stoic,  whose  father  was  a  British  Museum.  The  word  Mftroj.'olis  is  con- 
native  of  Tarsus,  and  Aratns,  whom  St.  Paul  spicuous  on  it.  The  same  figures  of  the  Lion 
fuotes,  lived  at  Soli.  and  the  Bull  appear  in  a  fine  scries  of  silver 

1  Laborde's  illustrated  work  on  Syria  and  coins  of    Tarsus,   assigned   by   the   Due  de 


CHAF.  I.  TAESUS.  21 

that  of  St.  Paul,  we  have  the  testimony  of  a  native  of  this  part  of  Asia 
Minor,  from  which  we  may  infer  that  Tarsus  was  in  the  Eastern  basin  of 
the  Mediterranean,  almost  what  Marseilles  was  in  the  Western.  Strabo 
says  that,  in  all  that  relates  to  philosophy  and  general  education,  it  was 
even  more  illustrious  than  Athens  and  Alexandria.  From  his  description 
it  is  evident  that  its  main  character  was  that  of  a  Greek  city,  where  the 
Greek  language  was  spoken,  and  Greek  literature  studiously  cultivated. 
But  we  should  be  wrong  in  supposing  that  the  general  population  of  the 
province  was  of  Greek  origin,  or  spoke  the  Greek  tongue.  When  Cyrus 
came  with  his  army  from  the  Western  Coast,  and  still  later,  when  Alex- 
ander penetrated  into  Cilicia,  they  found  the  inhabitants  "  Barbarians." 
Nor  is  it  likely  that  the  old  race  would  be  destroyed,  or  the  old  language 
obliterated,  especially  in  the  mountain  districts,  during  the  reign  of  the 
Seleucid  kings.  We  must  rather  conceive  of  Tarsus  as  like  Brest,  in 
Brittany,  or  like  Toulon,  in  Provence,  —  a  city  where  the  language  of 
refinement  is  spoken  and  written,  in  the  midst  of  a  ruder  population,  who 
use  a  different  language,  and  possess  no  literature  of  their  own. 

[f  we  turn  now  to  consider  the  position  of  this  province  and  city  under 
the  Romans,  we  are  led  to  notice  two  different  systems  of  policy  which 
they  adopted  in  their  subject  dominions.  The  purpose  of  Rome  was  to 
make  the  world  subservient  to  herself :  but  this  might  be  accomplished 
directly  or  indirectly.  A  governor  might  be  sent  from  Rome  to  take  the 
absolute  command  of  a  province :  or  some  native  chief  might  have  a  king- 
dom, an  ethnarchy,*  or  a  tetrarchy  assigned  to  him,  in  which  he  was  nomi- 
nally independent,  but  really  subservient,  and  often  tributary.  Some  prov- 
inces were  rich  and  productive,  or  essentially  important  in  the  military 
sense,  and  these  were  committed  to  Romans  under  the  Senate  or  the 
Emperor.  Others  might  be  worthless  or  troublesome,  and  fit  only  to 
reward  the  services  of  a  useful  instrument,  or  to  occupy  the  energies 
of.  a  dangerous  ally.  Both  these  systems  were  adopted  in  the  East  and 
in  the  West.  We  have  examples  of  both  —  in  Spain  and  in  Gaul  —  in 
Cilicia  and  in  Judaea.  In  Asia  Minor  they  were  so  irregularly  combined, 
and  the  territories  of  the  independent  sovereigns  were  so  capriciously 
granted  or  removed,  extended  or  curtailed,  that  it  is  often  difficult  to 
ascertain  what  the  actual  boundaries  of  the  provinces  were  at  a  given 
epoch.  Not  to  enter  into  any  minute  history  in  the  case  of  Cilicia,  it 
will  be  enough  to  say,  that  its  rich  and  level  plain  in  the  east  was  made 
a  Roman  province  by  Pompcy,  and  so  remained,  while  certain  districts  in 
the  western  portion  were  assigned,  at  different  periods,  to  various  native 
chieftains.     Thus  the  territories  of  Amyntas,  King  of  Galatia,  were  ex- 

Luynes    to    the  period  between  Xerxes  and  ^  See  note  at  the  end  of  Ch.  III. 

Alexander. 


22  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  i. 

tended  in  this  direction  by  Antony,  when  he  was  preparing  for  his  great 
struggle  with  Augustus :  just  as  a  modern  Rajah  may  be  strengthened 
on  the  banks  of  the  Indus,  in  connection  with  wars  against  Scinde  and 
the  Sikhs.  ■  For  some  time  the  whole  of  Cilicia  was  a  consolidated  prov- 
ince under  the  first  emperors :  but  again,  in  the  reign  of  Claudius,  we 
find  a  portion  of  the  same  Western  district  assigned  to  a  king  called 
Polemo  11.  It  is  needless  to  pursue  the  history  further.  In  St.  Paul's 
early  life  the  political  state  of  the  inhabitants  of  Cilicia  would  be  that 
of  subjects  of  a  Roman  governor :  and  Roman  ofiicials,  if  not  Roman 
soldiers,  would  be  a  familiar  sight  to  the  Jews  who  were  settled  in 
Tarsus.^ 

We  shall  have  many  opportunities  of  describing  the  condition  of  prov- 
inces under  the  dominion  of  Rome  ;  but  it  may  be  interesting  here  to 
allude  to  the  information  which  may  be  gathered  from  the  writings  of  that 
distinguished  man,  who  was  governor  of  Cilicia,  a  few  years  after  its  first 
reduction  by  Pompey.  He  was  intrusted  with  the  civil  and  military 
superintendence  of  a  large  district  in  this  corner  of  the  Mediterranean, 
comprehending  not  only  Cilicia,  but  Pamphylia,  Pisidia,  Lycaonia,  and 
tlie  island  of  Cyprus ;  and  he  has  left  a  record  of  all  the  details  of  his 
policy  in  a  long  series  of  letters,  which  are  a  curious  monument  of  the 
Roman  procedure  in  the  management  of  conquered  provinces,  and  which 
possess  a  double  interest  to  us,  from  their  frequent  allusions  to  the 
same  places  which  St.  Paul  refers  to  in  his  Epistles.  This  correspond- 
ence represents  to  us  the  governor  as  surrounded  by  the  adulation  of 
obsequious  Asiatic  Greeks.  He  travels  with  an  interpreter,  for  Latin  is 
the  official  language;  he  puts  down  banditti,  and  is  saluted  by  the 
title  of  Imperator ;  letters  are  written,  on  various  subjects,  to  the 
governors  of  neighboring  provinces,  —  for  instance,  Syria,  Asia,  and 
Bithynia ;  ceremonious  communications  take  place  with  the  independent 
chieftains.  The  friendly  relations  of  Cicero  with  Deiotarus,  King  of 
Galatia,  and  his  son,  remind  us  of  the  interview  of  Pilate  and  Herod 
iu  the  Gospel,  or  of  Festus  and  Agrippa  in  the  Acts.  Cicero's  letters 
are  rather  too  full  of  a  boastful  commendation  of  his  own  integrity  ;  but 
from  what  he  says  that  he  did,  we  may  infer  by  contrast  what  was  done 
by  others  who  were  less  scrupulous  in  the  discharge  of  the  same  re- 
sponsibilities. He  allowed  free' access  to  his  person;  he  refused  expen- 
sive monuments  in  his  honor  ;  he  declined  the  proffered  present  of  the 
pauper  King  of  Cappadocia;  *  he  abstained  from  exacting  the  customary 
expenses  from  the  states  which  he  traversed  on  his  march  ;  he  remitted 

1  Tarsus,  as  a  "  Free  City  "  ( Urhs  Libera),  "  See  Hor.  1  Ep.  vi.  89. 

would  have  the  privilege  of  being  garrisoned 
by  its  own  soldiers.     See  next  chapter. 


CHAP.  I.  POLITICAL  CHANGES  IN  JUBMA  23 

to  the  treasury  the  moneys  which  were  not  expended  on  his  province  ; 
he  would  not  place  in  official  situations  those  who  were  engaged  in  trade  ; 
he  treated  the  local  Greek  magistrates  with  due  consideration,  and  con- 
trived at  the  same  time  to  give  satisfaction  to  the  Publicans.  From  all 
this  it  may  be  easily  inferred  witli  how  much  corruption,  cruelty,  and 
pride,  the  Romans  usually  governed ;  and  how  miserable  must  have 
been  the  condition  of  a  province  under  a  Verres  or  an  Appius,  a  Pilate 
or  a  Felix.  So  far  as  we  remember,  the  Jews  are  not  mentioned  in  any 
of  Cicero's  CiUcian  letters  ;  but  if  we  may  draw  conclusions  from  a 
speech  which  he  made  at  Rome  in  defence  of  a  contemporary  governor 
of  Asia,^  he  regarded  them  with  much  contempt,  and  would  be  likely 
to  treat  them  with  har.'hness  and  injustice.* 

That  Polemo  II.,  who  has  lately  been  mentioned  as  a  king  in  Cilicia, 
was  one  of  those  curious  links  which  the  history  of  those  times  exhibits 
between  Heathenism,  Judaism,  and  Christianity.  He  became  a  Jew  to 
marry  Berenice,'  who  afterwards  forsook  him,  and  whose  name,  after 
once  appearing  in  Sacred  History  (Acts  xxv.,  xxvi.),  is  lastly  asso- 
ciated with  that  of  Titus,  the  destroyer  of  Jerusalem.  The  name  of 
Berenice  will  at  once  suggest  the  family  of  the  Herods,  and  transport 
our  thoughts  to  Judgea. 

The  same  general  features  may  be  traced  in  this  province  as  in  that 
which  we  have  been  attempting  to  describe.  In  some  respects,  indeed, 
the  details  of  its  history  are  different.  "When  Cilicia  was  a  province,  it 
formed  a  separate  jurisdiction,  with  a  governor  of  its  own,  immediately 
responsible  to  Rome  :  but  Judaea,  in  its  provincial  period,  was  only  an 
appendage  to  Syria.  It  has  been  said  *  that  the  position  of  the  ruler  resi- 
dent at  Caesarea  in  connection  with  the  supreme  authority  at  Antioch  may 
be  best  understood  by  comparing  it  with  that  of  the  governor  of  Madras 
or  Bombay  under  the  governor-general  who  resides  at  Calcutta.  The 
comparison  is  in  some  respects  just :  and  British  India  might  supply  a 
further  parallel.  We  might  say  that  when  Judaea  was  not  strictly  a  prov- 
ince, but  a  monarchy  under  the  protectorate  of  Rome,  it  bore  the  same 
relation  to  the  contiguous  province  of  Syria  which,  before  the  recent 
war,  the  territories  of  the  king  of  Oude  ^  bore  to  the  presidency  of  Bengal. 

1  This  was  L.Valerius  Flaccus,  who  had  Claudius  gave  him  part  of  Cilicia  instead  of  it. 
served  in  Cilicia,  and  was   afterwards   made      Joseph.  Ant.  xx.  7,  3. 

Governor  of  Asia,  —  that  district  with  which,  *  See  the  introduction  to  Dr.  Traill's  Jose- 

and  its  capital  Ephesus,  we  are  so  familiar  in  phus,  a  work  which  was  inteiTupted  by  the 

the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  death  of  the  translator  during  the  Irish  famine, 

2  See  especially  Cic.  Flacc.  28 ;  and  for  the  and  was  continued  by  Mr.  Isaac  Taylor, 
opinion  which  educated  Romans  had  of  the  ^  Another  coincidence  is,  that  we  made  the 
Jews,  see  Hor.  1  Sat.  iv.  143,  v.  100,  ix.  69.  Nabob  of  Oude  a  king.    He  had  previously  been 

8  He  was  the  last  King  of  Pontus.    By  Ca-      hereditary  Vizier  of  the  Mogul, 
ligula  he  was  made  King  of  Bosphoms ;  but 


24  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.i. 

Judaea  was  twice  a  monarchy ;  and  thus  its  history  furnishes  illustra- 
tions of  the  two  systems  pursued  by  the  Romans,  of  direct  and  indirect 
government. 

Another  important  contrast  must  be  noticed  in  the  histories  of  theso 
two  provinces.  In  the  Greek  period  of  Judaea,  there  was  a  time  of  noble 
and  vigorous  independence.  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the  eighth  of  the  line 
of  the  Seleucids,  in  pursuance  of  a  general  system  of  policy,  by  which  he 
sought  to  unite  all  his  different  territories  through  the  Greek  religion, 
endeavored  to  introduce  the  worship  of  Jupiter  into  Jerusalem.^  Such 
an  attempt  might  have  been  very  successful  in  Syria  or  Cilicia :  but  in 
Judaea  it  kindled  a  flame  of  religious  indignation,  which  did  not  cease  to 
burn  till  the  yoke  of  the  Seleucidae  was  entirely  thrown  off :  the  name  of 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  was  ever  afterwards  held  in  abhorrence  by  the  Jews, 
and  a  special  fast  was  kept  up  in  memory  of  the  time  when  the  "  abomi- 
nation of  desolation"  stood  in  the  holy  place.  The  champions  of  the 
independence  of  the  Jewish  nation  and  the  purity  of  the  Jewish  religion 
were  the  family  of  the  Maccabees  or  Asmonaeans :  and  a  hundred  years 
before  the  birth  of  Christ  the  first  Hyrcanus  was  reigning  over  a  prosper- 
ous and  independent  kingdom.  But  in  the  time  of  the  second  Hyrcanus 
and  his  brotlier,  the  family  of  the  Maccabees  was  not  what  it  had  been, 
and  Judaea  was  ripening  for  the  dominion  of  Rome.  Pompey  the  Great, 
the  same  conqueror  who  had  already  subjected  Cilicia,  appeared  in  Da- 
mascus, and  there  judged  the  cause  of  the  two  brothers.  All  the  country 
was  full  of  his  fame.  In  the  spring  of  the  year  63  he  came  down  by  the 
valley  of  the  Jordan,  his  Roman  soldiers  occupied  the  ford  where  Joshua 
had  crossed  over,  and  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  he  looked  down  upon 
Jerusalem.^  From  that  day  Judaea  was  virtually  under  the  government 
of  Rome.  It  is  true  that,  after  a  brief  support  given  to  the  reigning 
family,  a  new  native  dynasty  was  raised  to  the  throne.  Antipater,  a  man 
of  Idumaean  birth,  had  been  minister  of  the  Maccabaean  kings :  but  they 
were  the  Rois  Faineants  of  Palestine,  and  he  was  the  Maire  du  Palais. 
In  the  midst  of  the  confusion  of  the  great  civil  wars,  the  Herodian  family 
succeeded  to  the  Asmonaean,  as  the  Carlovingian  line  in  France  succeeded 
that  of  Clovis.  As  Pepin  was  followed  by  Charlemange,  so  Antipater 
prepared  a  crown  for  his  son  Herod. 

At  first  Herod  the  Great  espoused  the  cause  of  Antony ;  but  he  cod- 

^  Here  we  may  observe  that  there  are  ex-  from  the  religious  movement  alluded  to  in  the 

tant  coins  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  where  the  text, 

head  of  Jupiter  appears  on   the  obverse,  in  '^  Pompey  heard  of  the  death  of  Mi thridates 

place  of  the  portrait  usual  in  the  Alexandrian,  at  Jericho.     His  army  crossed  at  ScythopoliSj 

Scleucid,  and  Macedonian  scries.     Since  such  by  the  ford  immediately  below  the  Lake  of 

emblems  on  ancient  coins  have  always  sacred  Tiberias, 
meanings,  it  is  very  probable  that  this  arose 


CTAi-.i.  HEKOD   AKD  HIS   FAMILY.  25 

trived  to  remedy  his  mistake  by  paying  a  prompt  visit,  after  the  battle 
of  Actium,  to  Augustus  in  the  island  of  Rhodes.  This  singular  inter- 
view of  the  Jewish  prince  with  the  Roman  conqueror  in  a  Greek  island 
was  the  beginning  of  an  important  period  for  the  Hebrew  nation.  An 
exotic  civilization  was  syst'jmatically  introduced  and  extended.  Those 
Greek  influences,  which  h?d  been  begun  under  the  Seleucids,  and  not  dis- 
continued under  the  Asraonaeans,  were  now  more  widely  diffused  :  and 
the  Roman  customs,^  which  had  hitherto  been  comparatively  unknown, 
were  now  made  fam^'Iiar.  Herod  was  indeed  too  wise,  and  knew  the 
Jews  too  well,  to  Attempt,  like  Antiochus,  to  introduce  foreign  institu- 
tions without  any  regard  to  their  religious  feelings.  He  endeavord  to 
ingratiate  himself  with  them  by  rebuilding  and  decorating  their  national 
temple ;  and  a  part  of  that  magnificent  bridge  which  was  connected  with 
the  great  southern  colonnade  is  still  believed  to  exist, —  remaining,  in  its 
vast  proportions  and  Roman  form,  an  appropriate  monument  of  the 
Herodian  period  of  Judasa.^  The  period  when  Herod  was  reigning  at 
Jerusalem  under  the  protectorate  of  Augustus  was  chiefly  remarkable  for 
great  architectural  works,  for  the  promotion  of  commerce,  the  influx  of 
strangers,  and  the  increased  diffusion  of  the  two  great  languages  of  the 
heathen  world.  The  names  of  places  are  themselves  a  monument  of 
the  spirit  of  the  times.  As  Tarsus  was  called  Juliopolis  from  Julius 
Caesar,  and  Soli  Pompeiopolis  from  his  great  rival,  so  Samaria  was  called 
Sebaste  after  the  Greek  name  of  Augustus,  and  the  new  metropolis,  which 
was  built  by  Herod  on  the  sea-shore,  was  called  Caesarea  in  honor  of  the 
same  Latin  emperor :  while  Antipatris,  on  the  road  (Acts  xxiii.  31)  be- 
tween the  old  capital  and  the  new,^  still  commemorated  the  name  of  the 
king's  Idumaean  father.  We  must  not  suppose  that  the  internal  change  in 
the  minds  of  the  people  was  proportional  to  the  magnitude  of  these 
outward  improvements.  They  suffered  much ;  and  their  hatred  grew 
towards  Rome  and  towards  the  Herods.  A  parallel  might  be  drawn 
between  the  state  of  Judaea  under  Herod  the  Great,  and  that  of  Egypt 
under  Mahomet  Ali,*  where  great  works  have  been  successfully  accom- 

^  Antiochus  Epiphanes   (who   was    called  fragment  of  the  great  Christian  works   con- 
Epimanes  from  his  mad  conduct)  is  said   to  structed  in  this  southern  part  of  the  Temple- 
have  made  himself  ridiculous  by  adopting  Ro-  area  in  the  age  of  Justinian, 
man  fashions,  and  walking  about  the  streets  ^  The  tracing  of  the  road  by  which  St. 
of  Antioch  in  a  toga.  Paul  travelled  on  this   occasion  is  one  of  the 

^  See  the  woodcut  opposite.     The  arch  ex-  most  interesting  geographical  questions  which 

tends  about  fifty  feet  along  the  wall,  and  its  will  come  before  us. 

radius  must  have  been  about  twenty  feet.     It  *  There  are  many  points  of    resemblance 

is  right  to  say  that  there  is  much  controversy  between  the  character  and  fortunes  of  Herod 

about  its  origin.     Dr.  Robinson  assigns  it  to  and  those  of  Jlahomct  Ali :   the  chief  differ- 

the  age  of  Solomon:  Mr.  Fergusson  to  that  ences  are  those  of  the  times.     Herod  secured 

of   Herod:    Mr    Williams  holds  it  to  be   a  his  position  by  the  influence  of  Augustus; 


26  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.   .  chap,  i, 

plished,  where  the  spread  of  ideas  has  t>eeii  promoted,  traffic  made  busy 
and  prosperous,  and  communication  witi  the  civilized  world  wonderfully 
increased,  —  but  where  the  mass  of  the  people  has  continued  to  be  mis- 
erable and  degraded. 

After  Herod's  death,  the  same  influences  still  continued  to  operate  in 
Judsea.  Archelaus  persevered  in  his  father's  policy,  though  destitute  of 
his  father's  energy.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  other  sons,  Antipas 
and  Philip,  in  their  contiguous  principalities.  All  the  Herods  were  great 
builders,  and  eager  partisans  of  the  Roman  emperors :  and  we  are  familiar 
in  the  Gospels  with  that  Ccesarea  (Caesarea  Philippi),  which  one  of  them 
built  in  the  upper  part  of  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  and  named  in  honor 
of  Augustus,  —  and  with  that  Tiberias  on  the  banks  of  the  lake  of  Ge- 
nesareth,  which  bore  the  name  of  his  wicked  successor.  But  wliile 
Antipas  and  Philip  still  retained  their  dominions  under  the  protectorate 
of  the  emperor,  Archelaus  had  been  banished,  and  the  weight  of  the 
Roman  power  had  descended  still  more  heavily  on  Judaea.  It  was 
placed  under  the  direct  jurisdiction  of  a  governor,  residing  at  Caesa- 
rea by  the  Sea,  and  depending,  as  we  have  seen  above,  on  the  governor 
of  Syria  at  Antioch.  And  now  we  are  made  familiar  with  those  features 
which  might  be  adduced  as  characterizing  any  other  province  at  the  same 
epoch,  —  the  prsetorium,^  —  the  publicans,'^  —  the  tribute-money,'  —  sol- 
diers and  centurions  recruited  in  Italy,*  —  Caesar  the  only  king,-^  and  the 
ultimate  appeal  against  the  injustice  of  the  governor.^  In  this  period 
the  ministry,  death,  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  took  place,  the 
first  preaching  of  His  Apostles,  and  the  conversion  of  St.  Paul.  But 
once  more  a  change  came  over  the  political  fortunes  of  Judaea.  Herod 
Agrippa  was  the  friend  of  Caligula,  as  Herod  th-e  Great  had  been  the 
friend  of  Augustus ;  and  when  Tiberius  died,  he  received  the  grant  of 
an  independent  principality  in  the  north  of  Palestine.^  He  was  able  to 
ingratiate  himself  with  Claudius,  the  succeeding  emperor.  Judaea  was 
added  to  his  dominion,  which  now  embraced  the  whole  circle  of  the 
territory  ruled  by  his  grandfather.  By  this  time  St.  Paul  was  actively  pur- 
suing his  apostolic  career.     We  need  not,  therefore,  advance  beyond  this 

Mahomet  Ali  secured  his  by  the  agreement  of  (Acts  x.  1)   will  come  under  our  notice   m 

the  European  powers.  Chap.  IV.,  and  i\xQ  " Augustan  Band"  (Ibid. 

1  Job.  xviii.  28.  xxvii.  1)  in  Chap.  XXII. 

2  Luke  iii.  12,  xix.  2.  ^  Job.  xix.  15. 
8  Matt.  xxii.  19.  ^  Acts  xxv.  11. 

*  Most  of  the  soldiers  quartered  in  Syria  ''  He  obtained  under  Caligula,  first,  the  te- 

were  recruited  in  the  province :  but  the  Cohort,  trarchy  of  his  uncle  Philip,  who  died;  and 

to  which  Cornelius  belonged,  probably  consist-  then  that  of  his  uncle  Antipas,  who  followed 

ed  of  Italian  volunteers.     The  "Italian  Band  "  his  brother  Archelaus  into  banishment. 


CHAP.  I.  CONCLUSION.  27 

point,  iu  a  chapter  which  is  only  intended  to  be  a  general  introduction 
to  the  Apostle's  history. 

Our  desire  has  been  to  give  a  picture  of  the  condition  of  the  world  at 
this  particular  epoch :  and  we  have  thought  that  no  grouping  would  be  so 
successful  as  that  which  should  consist  of  Jews,  Greeks,  and  Romans. 
Nor  is  this  an  artificial  or  unnatural  arrangement :  for  these  three 
nations  were  the  divisions  of  the  civilized  world.  And  in  the  view  of  a 
religious  mind  they  were  more  than  this.  They  were  "  the  three  peoples 
of  God's  election ;  two  for  things  temporal,  and  one  for  things  eternal. 
Yet  even  in  the  things  eternal  they  were  allowed  to  minister.  Greek 
cultivation  and  Roman  polity  prepared  men  for  Christianity."^  These 
three  peoples  stand  in  the  closest  relation  to  the  whole  human  race.  The 
Christian,  when  he  imagines  himself  among  those  spectators  who  stood 
round  the  cross,  and  gazes  in  spirit  upon  that  "  superscription,"  which 
the  Jewish  scribe,  the  Greek  proselyte,  and  the  Roman  soldier  could 
read,  each  in  his  own  tongue,  feels  that  he  is  among  those  who  are 
the  representatives  of  all  humanity.^  In  the  ages  which  precede  the  cru- 
cifixion, these  three  languages  were  like  threads  which  guided  us  through 
the  labyrinth  of  history.  And  they  are  still  among  the  best  guides  of 
our  thought,  as  we  travel  through  the  ages  which  succeed  it.  How  great 
has  been  the  honor  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  tongues  !  They  followed  the 
fortunes  of  a  triumphant  church.  Instead  of  Heathen  languages,  they 
gradually  became  Christian.  As  before  they  had  been  employed  to 
express  the  best  thoughts  of  miassisted  humanity,  so  afterwards  they 
became  the  exponents  of  Christian  doctrine  and  the  channels  of  Chris- 
tian devotion.  The  words  of  Plato  and  Cicero  fell  from  the  lips  and  pen  of 
Chrysostom  and  Augustine.  And  still  those  two  languages  are  associated 
together  m  the  work  of  Christian  education,  and  made  the  instruments  for 
training  the  minds  of  the  young  in  the  greatest  nations  of  the  earth. 
And  how  deep  and  pathetic  is  the  interest  which  attaches  to  the  Hebrew! 
Here  the  thread  seems  to  be  broken.  "Jesus,  King  of  the  Jews,"  in 
Hebrew  characters.  It  is  like  the  last  word  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  — 
the  last  warning  of  the  chosen  people.     A  cloud  henceforth  is  upon  the 

1  Dr.  Arnold,  in  the  journal  of  his  Tour  in  higher  sense.  The  Roman,  powerful  but  not 
1840  (Life,  ii.  413,  2d  edit.).  The  passage  happy — the  Ch-eek,  distracted  with  the  inqui- 
continues  thus  :  —  "As  Mahometanism  can  ries  of  an  unsatisfying  philosophy  —  the  Jew, 
bear  witness  ;  for  the  East,  when  it  abandoned  bound  hand  and  foot  with  the  chain  of  a  cere- 
Greece  and  Rome,  could  only  reproduce  Juda-  monial  law,  all  are  together  round  the  cross, 
ism.  Mahometanism,  six  himdred  years  after  Christ  is  crucified  in  the  midst  of  them — 
Christ,  proving  that  the  Eastern  man  could  crucified  for  all.  The  "  superscription  of  His 
bear  nothing  perfect,  justifies  the  wisdom  of  accusation  "  speaks  to  all  the  same  language 
God  in  Judaism."  of  peace,  pardon,  an-i  love. 

^  This  is  true  in  another,  and  perhaps  a 


28 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


people  and  the  language  of  Israel.  "  Blindness  in  part  is  happened  unto 
Israel,  till  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in."  Once  again  Jesus, 
after  His  ascension,  spake  openly  from  Heaven  "  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  " 
(Acts  xxvi.  14)  :  but  the  words  were  addressed  to  that  Apostle  who  was 
called  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  philosophers  of  Greece,  and  in  the 
emperor's  palace  at  Rome.^ 

^  See  inscription  in  the  three  languages  on  a  Christian  tomb  in  the  Roman  Catacombs,  at  the 
end  of  the  Tolome. 


CWn*fTannu.    HadiUa     (Bm  p. »,  a.  S.) 


CHAPTER    IL 

Jewish  Origin  of  the  Church.  —  Sects  and  Parties  of  the  Jews.  —  Pharisees  and  Saddacees.  — 
St.  Eaul  a  Pharisee.  —  Hellenists  and  Aramaeans.  —  St.  Paul's  Family  Hellenistic  but  not 
Hellenizing.  —  His  Infancy  at  Tarsus. — The  Tribe  of  Benjamin.  —  His  Father's  Citizen- 
ship. —  Scenery  of  the  Place.  —  His  Childhood.  —  He  is  sent  to  Jerusalem.  —  State  of 
Judaea  and  Jerusalem.  —  Rabbinical  Schools.  —  Gamaliel.  —  Mode  of  Teaching.  —  Syna- 
gogues. —  Student-Life  of  St.  Paul.  —  His  Early  Manhood.  —  First  Aspect  of  the  Church. 
—  St.  Stephen. —  The  Sanhedrin.  —  St.  Stephen  the  Forerunner  of  St.  Paul.  — His  Martyr- 
dom and  Prayer. 

CiHRISTIANITY  has  been  represented  by  some  of  the  modern  Jews  as 
f  a  mere  school  of  Judaism.  Listead  of  opposing  it  as  a  system 
antagonistic  and  subversive  of  the  Mosaic  religion,  they  speak  of  it  as  a 
phase  or  development  of  that  religion  itself,  —  as  simply  one  of  the  rich 
outgrowths  fro^n  the  fertile  Jewish  soil.  They  point  out  the  causes  which 
combined  in  the  first  century  to  produce  this  Christian  development  of 
Judaism.  It  has  even  been  hinted  that  Christianity  has  done  a  good 
work  in  preparing  the  world  for  receiving  the  pure  Mosaic  principles 
which  will,  at  length,  be  universal.^ 

We  are  not  unwilling  to  accept  some  of  these  phrases  as  expressing  a 
great  and  important  truth.  Christianity  is  a  school  of  Judaism :  but 
it  is  the  school  which  absorbs  and  interprets  the  teaching  of  all  others. 
It  is  a  development ;  but  it  is  that  development  which  was  divinely 
foreknown  and  predetermined.  It  is  the  grain  of  which  mere  Judaism  is 
now  the  worthless  husk.  It  is  the  image  of  Truth  in  its  full  propor- 
tions ;  and  the  Jewish  remnants  are  now  as  the  shapeless  fragments 
which  remain  of  the  block  of  marble  when  the  statue  is  completed. 
When  we  look  back  at  the  Apostolic  age,  we  see  that  growth  proceed- 
ing which  separated  the  husk  from  the  grain.  We  see  the  image  of 
Truth  coming  out  in  clear  expressiveness,  and  the  useless  fragments 
falling  off  like  scales,  under  the  careful  work  of  divinely-guided  hands. 
If  we  are  to  realize  the  earliest  appearance  of  the  Church,  such  as  it 

1  This  notion,  that  the  doctrine  of  Christ  Judaism :  but  a  more  powerful  spell  than  this 
will  be  re-absorbed  in  that  of  Moses,  is  a  curi-  jjhilosophy  is  needed  to  charm  back  the  stately 
ons  phase  of  the  recent  Jewish  philosophy.  river  into  the  narrow,  rugged,  picturesque 
"  We  are  sure,"  it  has  been  well  said,  "  that  ravine,  out  of  which  centuries  ago  it  found  its 
Christianity  can  never  disown   its   source  in       way." 

IS 


30  THE  LIFE  AJSTD  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ii. 

was  when  Paul  first  saw  it,  we  must  view  it  as  arising  in  the  midst  of 
Judaism  ;  and  if  we  are  to  comprehend  all  the  feelings  and  principles 
of  this  Apostle,  we  must  consider  first  the  Jewish  preparation  of  his 
own  younger  days.  To  these  two  subjects  the  present  chapter  will  be 
devoted. 

We  are  very  familiar  with  one  division  which  ran  through  the  Jewish 
nation  in  the  first  century.  The  Sadducees  and  Pharisees  are  frequently 
mentioned  in  the  New  Testament,  and  we  are  there  informed  of  the 
tenets  of  these  two  prevailing  parties.  The  belief  in  a  future  state  may 
be  said  to  have  been  an  open  question  among  the  Jews,  when  our  Lord 
appeared  and  "  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light."  We  find  the 
Sadducees  established  in  the  highest  office  of  the  priesthood,  and  pos- 
sessed of  the  greatest  powers  in  the  Sanhedrin :  and  yet  they  did  not 
believe  in  any  future  state,  nor  in  any  spiritual  existence  independent 
of  the  body.  The  Sadducees  said  that  there  was  "  no  resurrection, 
neither  Angel  nor  Spirit."  They  do  not  appear  to  have  held  doctrines 
which  are  commonly  called  licentious  or  immoral.  On  the  contrary, 
they  adhered  strictly  to  the  moral  tenets  of  the  Law,  as  opposed  to  its 
mere  formal  technicalities.  They  did  not  overload  the  Sacred  Books 
with  traditions,  or  encumber  the  duties  of  life  with  a  multitude  of 
minute  observances.  They  were  the  disciples  of  reason  without  enthusi- 
asm, —  they  made  few  proselytes,  —  their  numbers  were  not  great,  and 
they  were  confined  principally  to  the  richer  members  of  the  nation.'^  The 
Pharisees,  on  the  other  hand,  were  the  enthusiasts  of  the  later  Judaism. 
They  "  compassed  sea  and  land  to  make  one  proselyte."  Their  power 
and  influence  with  the  mass  of  the  people  was  immense.  The  loss  of 
the  national  independence  of  the  Jews,  —  the  gradual  extinction  of 
their  political  life,  directly  by  the  Romans,  and  indirectly  by  the  family 
of  Herod, —  caused  their  feelings  to  rally  round  their  Law  and  their 
Religion,  as  the  only  centre  of  unity  which  now  remained  to  them. 
Those,  therefore,  who  gave  their  energies  to  the  interpretation  and 
exposition  of  the  Law,  not  curtailing  any  of  the  doctrines  which  were 
virtually  contained  in  it  and  which  had  been  revealed  with  more  or  less 
clearness,  but  rather  accumulating  articles  of  faith,  and  multiplying  the 
requirements  of  devotion  ;  —  who  themselves  practised  a  severe  and 
ostentatious  religion,  being  liberal  in  alms-giving,  fasting  frequently, 
making  long  prayers,  and  carrying  casuistical  distinctions  into  the 
smallest  details  of  conduct ;  —  who  consecrated,  moreover,  their  best 
zeal  and  exertions  to  the  spread  of  the  fame  of  Judaism,  and  to  the  in- 

1  Acts  xxiii.  8.     See  Matt.  xxii.  23-34.  Ant.   xiii.    10,  6;    xviii.   1,  4,  comparing   the 

'  See  what  Josephus  says  of  the  Sadducees :       question  asked,  John  vii.  48. 


CHAP.  n.  ST.    PAUL   A   PHARISEE.  31 

crease  of  the  nation's  power  in  the  only  way  whicli  now  was  practicable, 
—  could  not  fail  to  command  the  reverence  of  great  numbers  of  the 
people.  It  was  no  longer  possible  to  fortify  Jerusalem  against  the 
Heathen :  but  the  Law  could  be  fortified  like  an  impregnable  city. 
The  place  of  the  brave  is  on  the  walls  and  in  the  front  of  the  battle : 
and  tlie  hopes  of  the  nation  rested  on  those  who  defended  the  sacred 
outworks,  and  made  successful  inroads  on  the  territories  of  the  Gen- 
tiles. 

Such  were  the  Pharisees.  And  now,  before  proceeding  to  other 
features  of  Judaism  and  their  relation  to  the  Church,  we  can  hardly 
help  glancing  at  St.  Paul.  He  was  "  a  Pharisee,  the  son  of  a  Phari- 
see," ^  and  he  was  educated  by  Gamaliel, 2  "  a  Pharisee. "^  Both  his 
father  and  his  teacher  belonged  to  this  sect.  And  on  three  distinct 
occasions  he  tells  us  that  he  himself  was  a  member  of  it.  Once  when 
at  his  trial,  before  a  mixed  assembly  of  Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  the 
words  just  quoted  were  spoken,  and  his  connection  with  the  Pharisees 
asserted  with  such  effect,  that  the  feelings  of  this  popular  party  were 
immediately  enlisted  on  his  side.  "  And  when  he  had  so  said,  there 
arose  a  dissension  between  the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees ;  and  the 
multitude  was  divided.  .  .  .  And  there  arose  a  great  cry  ;  and  the 
Scribes  that  were  of  the  Pharisees'  part  arose,  and  strove,  saying,  We 
find  no  evil  in  this  man."  *  The  second  time  was,  when,  on  a  calmer 
occasion,  he  was  pleading  before  Agrippa,  and  said  to  the  king  in  the 
presence  of  Festus :  "  The  Jews  knew  me  from  the  beginning,  if  they 
would  testify,  that  after  the  most  straitest  sect  of  our  religion  I  lived  a 
Pharisee."  ^  And  once  more,  when  writing  from  Rome  to  the  Philip- 
pians,  he  gives  force  to  his  argument  against  the  Judaizers,  by  telling 
them  that  if  any  other  man  thought  he  had  whereof  he  might  trust  in 
the  flesh,  he  himself  had  more  :  —  "  circumcised  the  eighth  day,  of  the 
stock  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews  ;  as 
touching  the  Law,  a  Pharisee."  *  And  not  only  was  he  himself  a 
Pharisee,  but  his  father  also.  He  was  "  a  Pharisee,  the  son  of  a  Phari- 
see." This  short  sentence  sums  up  nearly  all  we  know  of  St.  Paul's 
parents.  If  we  think  of  his  earliest  life,  we  are  to  conceive  of  him  as 
born  in  a  Pharisaic  family,  and  as  brought  up  from  his  infancy  in  the 
"  straitest  sect  of  the  Jews'  religion."  His  childhood  was  nurtured 
in  the  strictest  belief.  The  stories  of  the  Old  Testament,  —  the  angelic 
appearances,  —  the  prophetic  visions,  —  to  him  were  literally  true. 
They  needed  no  Sadducean  explanation.      The  world  of  spirits  was  a 

^  Acts  xxiii.  6.  '  Acts  v.  34.  '  Acts  xxvi. 

'  Acts  xxii.  3.  *  Acts  xxiii.  ®  Philip,  iii.  4. 


32  THE   LIKE   AMD    EPllrfTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap,  u, 

reality  to  liim.  The  resurrection  of  the  dead  was  an  article  of  his  faith. 
And  to  exhort  him  to  the  practices  of  religion,  he  had  before  him  the 
example  of  his  father,  praying  and  walking  with  broad  phylacteries, 
scrupulous  and  exact  in  his  legal  observances.  He  had,  moreover,  as 
it  seems,  the  memory  and  tradition  of  ancestral  piety  ;  for  he  tells 
us  in  one  of  his  latest  letters,^  that  he  served  God  "  from  his  fore- 
fathers." All  influences  combined  to  make  him  "  more  exceedingly 
zealous  of  the  traditions  of  his  fathers,"  ^  and  "  touching  the  righteous 
ness  which  is  in  the  Law,  blameless."^  Every  thing  tended  to  prepare 
him  to  be  an  eminent  member  of  that  theological  party,  to  which  so 
many  of  the  Jews  were  looking  for  the  preservation  of  their  national 
Hfe,  and  the  extension  of  their  national  creed. 

^ut  in  this  mention  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  we  are  far  from  ex- 
hausting the  subject  of  Jewish  divisions,  and  far  from  enumerating  all  those 
phases  of  opinion  which  must  have  had  some  connection  with  the  growth 
of  rising  Christianity,  and  all  those  elements  which  may  have  contributed 
to  form  the  character  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Heathen.  There  was  a  sect 
in  Judaea  which  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  but  which  mxist  have 
acquired  considerable  influence  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  as  may  be 
inferred  from  the  space  devoted  to  it  by  Josephus*  and  Philo.  These 
were  the  Ussenes,  who  retired  from  the  theological  and  political  distrac- 
tions of  Jerusalem  and  the  larger  towns,  and  founded  peaceful  communi- 
ties in  the  desert  or  in  villages,  where  their  life  was  spent  in  contempla- 
tion, and  in  the  practices  of  ascetic  piety.  It  has  been  suggested  that  John 
the  Baptist  was  one  of  them.  There  is  no  proof  that  this  was  the  case : 
but  we  need  not  doubt  that  they  did  represent  religious  cravings  which 
Christianity  satisfied.  Another  party  was  that  of  the  Zealots,^  who  were 
as  politically  fanatical  as  the  Essenes  were  religiously  contemplative,  and 
whose  zeal  was  kindled  with  the  burning  desire  to  throw  off  the  Roman 
yoke  from  the  neck  of  Israel.  Very  different  from  them  were  the  Rero- 
dians,  twice  mentioned  in  the  Gospels,''  who  held  that  the  hopes  of  Juda- 
ism rested  on  the  Herods,  and  who  almost  looked  to  that  family  for  the 
fulfilment  of  the  prophecies  of  the  Messiah.  And  if  we  were  simply 
enumerating  the  divisions  and  describing  the  sects  of  the  Jews,  it  would 
be  necessary  to  mention  the  Therapeutoi,''  a  widely-spread  community  in 
Egypt,  who  lived  even  in  greater  seclusion  than  the  Essenes  in  Judaea. 
The  Samaritans  also  would  require  our  attention.     But  we  must  turn 

1  2  Tim.  i.  S.  of  the  Gospel  (Luke  vi.  15),  though  the  party 

'  Gal.  i.  14.  was  hardly  then  matured. 

•  Phil.  iii.  6.  ®  Mark  iii.  6;  Matt.  xxii.   16:    see  Mark 

*  War,  ii.  8.  xii.  13. 

'  "We  have  the  icord  in  the  "  Simon  Zelotes  "  '  Described  in  great  detail  by  Philo. 


OHAP.n.  HELLENISTS  AND  AKAJM^ANS.  33 

from  these  sects  and  parties  to  a  wider  division,  which  arose  from  that 
dispersion  of  the  Hebrew  people,  to  which  some  space  has  been  devoted 
in  the  preceding  chapter. 

We  have  seen  that  early  colonies  of  the  Jews  were  settled  in  Babylonia 
and  Mesopotamia.  Their  connection  with  their  brethren  in  Judaea  was 
continually  maintained:  and  they  were  bound  to  them  by  the  link  of  a 
common  language.  The  Jews  of  Palestine  and  Syria,  with  those  who 
lived  on  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  interpreted  the  Scriptures  through  the 
Targums'  or  Chaldee  paraphrases,  and  spoke  kindred  dialocts  of  the  lan- 
guage of  Aram :  ^  and  hence  they  were  called  Aramcean  Jews.  We  have 
also  had  occasion  to  notice  that  other  dispersion  of  the  nation  through 
those  countries  where  Greek  was  spoken.  Their  settlements  began  with 
Alexander's  conquests,  and  were  continued  under  the  successors  of  those 
who  partitioned  his  empire.  Alexandria  was  their  capital.  They  used 
the  Septuagint  translation  of  the  Bible  ;^  and  they  were  commonly  called 
Hellenists,  or  Jews  of  the  Grecian  speech. 

The  mere  difference  of  language  would  account  in  some  degree  for  the 
mutual  dislike  with  which  we  know  that  these  two  sections  of  the  Jewish 
race  regarded  one  another.  We  were  all  aware  how  closely  the  use  of  an 
hereditary  dialect  is  bound  up  with  the  warmest  feelings  of  the  heart. 
And  in  this  case  the  Aramtean  language  was  the  sacred  tongue  of  Palestine. 
It  is  true  that  the  tradition  of  the  language  of  the  Jews  had  been  broken, 
as  the  continuity  of  their  political  life  had  been  rudely  interrupted. 
The  Hebrew  of  the  time  of  Christ  was  not  the  oldest  Hebrew  of  the 
Israelites ;  but  it  was  a  kindred  dialect,  and  old  enough  to  command  a 
reverent  affection.  Though  not  the  language  of  Moses  and  David,  it  was 
that  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  And  it  is  not  unnatural  that  the  Aramaeans 
should  have  revolted  from  the  speech  of  the  Greek  idolaters  and  the 
tyrant  Antiochus,*  —  a  speech  which  they  associated  moreover  with 
innovating  doctrines  and  dangerous  speculations. 

For  the  division  went  deeper  than  a  mere  superficial  diversity  of  speech. 
It  was  not  only  a  division,  like  the  modern  one  of  German  and  Spanish 

*  It  is  uncertain  when  the  written  Targnms  the  western,  which  is  the  parent  of  the  Syrieu:, 

came  into  use,  but  the  practice  of  paraphrasing  now,  like  the  former,  almost  a  dead  language, 

orally  in  Chaldee  must  have  begun  soon  after  The  first  of  these  dialects  began  to  supplant 

the  Captivity.  the  older  Hebrew  of  Judasa  from  the  time  of 

2  Aram  —  the  "  Highlands  "  of  the  Semitic  the  Captivity,  and  was  the  "  Hebrew  "  of  the 

tribes  —  comprehended  the   tract   of  country  New  Testament,  Luke  xxiii.  38 ;   John  xix. 

which  extended  from  Taurus  and  Lebanon  to  20 ;  Acts  xxi.  40,  xxii.  2,  xxvi.   14.     Ardhic, 

Mesopotamia  and  Arabia.      There  were  two  the  most  perfect  of  the  Semitic  languj^es,  hat 

main  dialects  of  the  Aramaean  stock,  the  east-  now  generally  overspread  those  regions. 
em  or  Babylonian,  commonly  called  Chaldee  ^  See  p.  35,  n.  2. 

(the  "  Syrian  tongue  "  of  2  Kings  xviii.  26  ;  *  See  pp.  24,  25,  and  notes. 

Isai.  xxxvi.  11  ,  Ezr.  iv.  7  ;  Dan.  ii.  4) ;  and 
8 


34  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ii. 

Jews,  where  those  who  hold  substantially  the  same  doctrines  have  acci- 
dentally been  led  to  speak  different  languages.  But  there  was  a  diversity 
of  religious  views  and  opinions.  This  is  not  the  place  for  examining  that 
system  of  mystic  interpretation  called  the  Cabala,^  and  for  determining 
how  far  its  origin  might  be  due  to  Alexandria  or  to  Babylon.  It  is  enough 
to  say,  generally,  that  in  the  Aramaaan  theology,  Oriental  elements  pre- 
vailed rather  than  Greek,  and  that  the  subject  of  Babylonian  influences 
has  more  connection  with  the  life  of  St.  Peter  than  that  of  St.  Paul. 
The  Hellenists,  on  the  other  hand,  or  Jews  who  spoke  Greek,  who  lived 
in  Greek  countries,  and  were  influenced  by  Greek  civilization,  are  asso- 
ciated in  the  closest  manner  with  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  They  are 
more  than  once  mentioned  in  the  Acts,  where  our  English  translation 
names  them  "  Grecians,"  to  distinguish  them  from  the  Heathen  or  prose- 
lyte "  Greeks."  '^  Alexandria  was  the  metropolis  of  their  theology.  Pliilo 
was  their  great  representative.  He  was  an  old  man  when  St.  Paul  was 
in  his  maturity :  his  writings  were  probably  known  to  the  Apostles  ;  and 
they  have  descended  with  the  inspired  Epistles  to  our  own  day.  The 
work  of  the  learned  Hellenists  may  be  briefly  described  as  this,  —  to  ac- 
commodate Jewish  doctrines  to  the  mind  of  the  Greeks,  and  to  make  the 
Greek  language  express  the  mind  of  the  Jews.  The  Hebrew  principles 
were  "disengaged  as  much  as  possible  from  local  and  national  conditions, 
and  presented  in  a  form  adapted  to  the  Hellenic  world."  All  this  was 
hateful  to  the  zealous  Aramaeans.  The  men  of  the  East  rose  up  against 
those  of  the  West.  The  Greek  learning  was  not  more  repugnant  to  the 
Roman  Cato,  than  it  was  to  the  strict  Hebrews.  They  had  a  saying, 
"  Cursed  be  he  who  teacheth  his  son  the  learning  of  the  Greeks."'  We 
could  imagine  them  using  the  words  of  the  prophet  Joel  (iii.  6),  "The 
children  of  Judah  and  the  children  of  Jerusalem  have  ye  sold  unto  tlie 
Grecians,  that  ye  might  remove  them  from  their  border:  "  and  we  cannot 
be  surprised  that,  even  in  the  deep  peace  arid  charity  of  the  Church's 
earliest  days,  this  inveterate  division  re-appeared,  and  that,  "  when  the 


1  See  Ch.  XIII.  his  duty  in  what  language  he  can."    The  fol- 

2  See  Chap.  I.  p.  10,  note.  lowing  saying  is  attributed  to  Rabban  Simeon, 
'  This  repugnance  is  illustrated  by  many  the  son  of  Gamaliel :  "  There  were  a  thousand 

passages  in  the  Talmudic  writings.      Rabbi  boys  in  my  father's  school,  of  whom  five  hun- 

Levi  Ben  Chajathah,  going  down  to  Csesarca,  dred  learned  the   law,  and  five   hundred  the 

heard    them    reciting    their    ])liylacteries    in  wisdom  of  the  Greeks ;  and   there  is  not  one 

Greek,    and    would    have    forbidden    them  ;  of  the  latter  now  alive,  excepting  myself  here, 

which  when  Rabbi  Jose  heard,  he  was  very  and  my  uncle's  son  in  Asia."     We  learn  also 

angry,  and  said,  "  If  a  man  doth  not  know  from  Josephus  that  a  knowledge  of  Greek  wa» 

how    to    recite   in    the    holy    tongue,    must  lightly  regarded  by  the  Jews  of  Palestine, 
he  not  recite  them  at  all  ?     Let  him  perform 


CHAP.  n.  HELLENISTS   AND   AilAM^ANS.  36 

number  of  the  disciples  was   multiplied,  there  arose  a  murmuring  of 
the  Grecians  against  the  Hebrews."^ 

It  would  be  an  interesting  subject  of  inquiry  to  ascertain  in  what 
proportions  these  two  parties  were  distributed  in  the  different  countries 
where  tlie  Jews  were  dispersed,  in  what  places  they  came  into  the 
strongest  collision,  and  how  far  they  were  fused  and  united  together. 
In  the  city  of  Alexandria,  the  emporium  of  Greek  commerce  from  the 
time  of  its  foundation,  where,  since  the  earliest  Ptolemies,  literature, 
philosophy,  and  criticism  had  never  ceased  to  excite  the  utmost  in- 
tellectual activity,  where  the  Septuagint  translation  of  the  Scripture 
had  been  made,^  and  where  a  Jewish  temple  and  ceremonial  worship 
had  been  established  in  rivalry  to  that  in  Jerusalem,'  —  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  Hellenistic  element  largely  prevailed.  But  although 
(strictly  speaking)  the  Alexandrian  Jews  were  nearly  all  Hellenists, 
it  does  not  follow  that  they  were  all  Hellenizers.  In  other  words, 
although  their  speech  and  their  Scriptures  were  Greek,  the  theological 
views  of  many  among  them  undoubtedly  remained  Hebrew.  There 
must  have  been  many  who  were  attached  to  the  traditions  of  Palestine, 
and  who  looked  suspiciously  on  their  more  speculative  brethren  :  and  we 
have  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  the  picture  presented  in  a  pleasing 
German  fiction,*  which  describes  the  debates  and  struggles  of  the  two 
tendencies  in  this  city,  to  be  very  correct.  In  Palestine  itself,  we  have 
every  reason  to  believe  that  the  native  population  was  entirely  Aramaean, 
though  there  was  no  lack  of  Hellenistic  synagogues^  in  Jerusalem, 
which  at  the  seasons  of  the  festivals  would  be  crowded  with  foreign 
pilgrims,  and  become  the  scene  of  animated  discussions.  Syria  was 
connected  by  the  link  of  language  with  Palestnie  and  Babylonia  ;  but 
Antioch,  its  metropolis,  commercially  and  politically,  resembled  Alexan- 
driri :  and  it  is  probable  that,  when  Barnabas  and  Saul  were  establish- 
ing the  great  Christian  community  in  that  city,**  the  majority  of  the 
Jews  were  "  Grecians "  rather  than  "  Hebrews."  In  Asia  Minor  we 
should  at  first  sight  be  tempted  to  imagine  that  the  Grecian  tendency 

1  Acts  vi.  1.  by  Onias,  from  whose  family  the  high  priest- 

2  It  is  useless  here  to  enter  into  any  of  the  hood  had  been  transferred  to  the  family  of  the 
legends  connected  with  the  number  "  seventy."  Maccabees,  and  who  had  fled  into  Egypt  in  the 
This  translation  came  into  existence  from  300  time  of  Ptolemy  Philopator.  It  remained  in 
to  150  B.C.  Its  theological  importance  cannot  existence  till  destroyed  by  Vespasian.  See 
be  exaggerated.  The  quotations  in  the  N.  T.  Josephus,  War,  i.  1,  1,  vii.  10,  3  ;  Ant.  xiii.  3. 
from  the  0.  T.  are  generally  made  from  it.  *  ilelon's  Pilfjr{ma<]e  to  Jerusalem, -piihUshed 
See  p.  37.  in  German  in  1820,  translated  into  English  in 

^  This  temple  was  not  in  the  city  of  Alex-       1824. 
andria,  but  at  Leontopolis.     It  was  built  (or  ^  See  Acts  yi.  9. 

rather  it  was  an  old  Heathen  temple  repaired)  *  Acts  xi.  25,  &c. 


36  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  cuap.il 

would  predominate  ;  but  when  we  find  that  Antiochus  brought 
Babylonian  Jews  into  Lydia  and  Phrygia,  we  must  not  make  too  con- 
fident a  conclusion  in  this  direction  ;  and  we  have  grounds  for  imagin- 
ing that  many  Israelitish  families  in  the  remote  districts  (possibly  that 
of  Timotheus  at  Lystra)  ^  may  have  cherished  the  forms  of  the  tradition- 
ary faith  of  the  Eastern  Jews,  and  lived  uninfluenced  by  Hellenistic 
novelties.  The  residents  in  maritime  and  commercial  towns  would  not 
be  strangers  to  the  Western  developments  of  religious  doctrines  :  and 
when  Apollos  came  from  Alexandria  to  Ephesus,^  he  would  find  himself 
in  a  theological  atmosphere  not  very  difierent  from  that  of  his  native 
city.  Tarsus  in  Cilicia  will  naturally  be  included  under  the  same  class 
of  cities  of  the  West,  by  those  who  remember  Strabo's  assertion  that,  in 
literature  and  philosophy,  its  fame  exceeded  that  of  Athens  and  Alexan- 
dria. At  the  same  time,  we  cannot  be  sure  that  the  very  celebrity  of 
its  Heathen  schools  might  not  induce  the  families  of  Jewish  residents  to 
retire  all  the  more  strictly  into  a  religious  Hebrew  seclusion. 

That  such  a  seclusion  of  their  family  from  Gentile  influences  was 
maintained  by  the  parents  of  St.  Paul,  is  highly  probable.  We  have  no 
means  of  knowing  how  long  they  themselves,  or  their  ancestors,  had  been 
Jews  of  the  dispersion.  A  tradition  is  mentioned  by  Jerome  that  they 
came  originally  from  Giscala,  a  town  in  Galilee,  when  it  was  stormed  by 
the  Romans.  The  story  involves  an  anachronism,  and  contradicts  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles.'  Yet  it  need  not  be  entirely  disregarded  ;  espe- 
cially when  we  find  St.  Paul  speaking  of  himself  as  "  a  Hebrew  of  the 
Hebrews,"  *  and  when  we  remember  that  the  word  "  Hebrew  "  is  used 
for  an  Aramaic  Jew,  as  opposed  to  a  "  Grecian  "  or  "  Hellenist."  *  Nor 
is  it  unlikely  in  itself  that  before  they  settled  in  Tarsus,  the  family  had 
belonged  to  the  Eastern  dispersion,  or  to  the  Jews  of  Palestine.  But, 
however  this  may  be,  St.  Paul  himself  must  be  called  an  Hellenist ; 
because  the  language  of  his  infancy  was  that  idiom  of  the  Grecian  Jews 
in  which   all  his  letters  were  written.     Though,  in  conformity  with  the 

^  Acts  xvi.  1  ;  2  Tim.  i.  5,  iii,  15.  but  an  Hellenist.  .  .  .  St.  PanI  appeareth  tome 

"  Acts  xriii.  24.  to  have  plainly  intimated,  that  a  man  might  be 

'  Acts  xxii.  3.  of  the  stock  of  Israel  and  of  the  tribe  of  Ben- 

♦  Phil.  iii.  5.     Cave  sees  nothing  more  in  jamin,  and  yet  not  be  a  Hebrew  of  the  He- 

this  phrase  than  that  "  his  parents  were  Jews,  brews  ;  but  that,  as  to  himself,  he  was,  both  by 

and  that  of  the  ancient  stock,  not  entering  in  father  and  mother,  a  Hebrew,  or  of  the  race 

by  the  gate  of  prosely  tism,  but  originally  de-  of  that  sort  of  Jews  which  were  generally  most 

scended  from  the  nation."  —  Life  of  St,  Paul,  esteemed   by  their  nation."  —  History   of  the 

i.  2.     Benson,  on  the  other  hand,  argues,  from  First  Planting  of  the  Christian  Religion,  vol  i. 

this  passage   and   from    2  Cor.  xi.  22,    that  p.  117. 

there  was  a  difference  between  a  "  Hebrew  "  *  Acts  vi.    1 .      For  the  absurd    Ebionite 

and   an   "Israelite."  —  "A  person   might  be  story  that  St.  Paul  was  by  birth  not  a  Jew  at 

descended  from  Israel,  and  yet  not  be  a  Hebrew,  all,  but  a  Greek,  see  the  next  chapter. 


CHAP.  n.  ST.   PAUL'S  IKPAiTCY  AT  TAESUS.  37 

strong  feeling  of  the  Jews  of  all  times,  he  might  learn  his  earliest 
sentences  from  the  Scripture  in  Hebrew,  yet  he  was  familiar  with  the 
Septuagint  translation  at  an  early  age.  For  it  is  observed  that,  when 
he  quotes  from  the  Old  Testament,  his  quotations  are  from  that  version ; 
and  that,  not  only  when  he  cites  its  very  words,  but  when  (as  is  often  the 
case)  he  quotes  it  from  memory.^  Considering  the  accurate  knowledge 
of  the  original  Hebrew  which  he  must  have  acquired  under  Gamaliel  at 
Jerusalem,  it  has  been  inferred  that  this  can  only  arise  from  his  having 
been  thoroughly  imbued  at  an  earlier  period  with  the  Hellenistic  Scrip- 
tures. The  readiness,  too,  with  which  he  expressed  himself  in  Greek, 
even  before  such  an  audience  as  that  upon  the  Areopagus  at  Athens, 
shows  a  command  of  the  language  which  a  Jew  would  not,  in  all  proba- 
bility, have  attained,  had  not  Greek  been  the  familiar  speech  of  his 
childhood.^ 

But  still  the  vernacular  Hebrew  of  Palestine  would  not  have  been  a 
foreign  tongue  to  the  infant  Saul ;  on  the  contrary,  he  may  have  heard 
it  spoken  almost  as  often  as  the  Greek.  For  no  doubt  his  parents, 
proud  of  their  Jewish  origin,  and  living  comparatively  near  to  Palestine, 
would  retain  the  power  of  conversing  with  their  friends  from  thence  in 
the  ancient  speech.  Mercantile  connections  from  the  Syrian  coast 
would  be  frequently  arriving,  whose  discourse  would  be  in  Aramaic ; 
and  in  all  probability  there  were  kinsfolk  still  settled  in  Judaea,  as  we 
afterwards  find  the  nephew  of  St.  Paul  in  Jerusalem.^  We  may  com- 
pare the  situation  of  such  a  family  (so  far  as  concerns  their  language)  to 
that  of  the  French  Huguenots  who  settled  in  London  after  the  revoca- 
tion of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  These  French  families,  though  they 
soon  learned  to  use  the  English  as  the  medium  of  their  common  inter- 
course and  the  language  of  their  household,  yet,  for  several  generations, 
spoke  French  with  equal  familiarity  and  greater  affection.* 


^  See  Tholuck's  Essay  on  the  early  life  of  presents  the  subject  under  a  diflerent  vievf,  aa 
St.  Paul,  Eng.  Trans,  p.  9.  Out  of  eighty-  follows :  "  Certain  it  is  that  the  groundwork 
eight  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament,  of  Paul's  intellectual  and  moral  traming  was 
Koppe  gives  grounds  for  thinking  that  forty-  Jewish  :  yet  he  had  at  least  some  knowledge 
nine  were  cited  fi-om  memory.  And  Bleek  of  Greek  literature,  whether  he  acquired  it  in 
thinks  that  every  one  of  his  citations  without  Tarsus,  or  in  Jerusalem  under  Gamaliel,  who 
exception  is  from  memory.  He  adds,  howev-  himself  was  not  altogether  averse  to  the  Hel- 
er,  that  the  Apostle's  memory  reverts  occasion-  lenistic  philosophy,  or  afterwards  in  his  mis- 
ally  to  the  Hebrew  text,  as  well  as  to  that  of  sionary  journeyings  and  his  continual  inter- 
the  Septuagint.  See  an  article  in  the  Christian  course  with  Hellenists."  —  Hist,  of  the  Christian 
Remembrancer  for  April,  1848,  on  Grinfield's  Church. 
Hellenistic  Ed.  of  the  N.  T.  »  Acts  xxiii.  16. 

'■^  We  must  not,  however,  press  these  con-  *  St.  Paul's  ready  use  of  the  spoken  Ara- 

giderations  too  far,  especially  when  we  take  maic  appears  in  his  speech  upon  the  stairs  of 

f*tul.   iii.  5    into  consideration.      Dr.  Schafi"  the  Castle  of  Antonia  at  Jerusalem,  "  in  the 


38  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap,  ii 

Moreover,  it  may  be  considered  as  certain  that  the  family  of  St.  Paul, 
thougli  Hellenistic  in  speech,  were  no  Hellenizers  in  theology  ;  they  were 
not  at  all  inclined  to  adopt  Greek  habits  or  Greek  opinions.  The  manner 
in  whicli  St.  Paul  speaks  of  himself,  his  fatlier,  and  his  ancestors,  implies 
the  most  uncontaminated  hereditary  Judaism.  "  Are  they  Hebrews  ?  so 
am  I.  Are  they  Israelites  ?  so  am  I.  Are  they  the  seed  of  Abraham  ?  so 
am  I."  ^  —  "  A  Pharisee  "  and  "  the  son  of  a  Pharisee."  ^  —  Circumcised 
the  eighth  day,  of  the  stock  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  a  Hebrew 
of  the  Hebrews.''^ ' 

There  is  therefore  little  doubt  that,  though  the  native  of  a  city  filled 
with  a  Greek  population  and  incorporated  with  the  Roman  Empire,  yet 
Saul  was  born  and  spent  his  earliest  days  in  the  shelter  of  a  home  which 
was  Hebrew,  not  in  name  only  but  in  spirit.  The  Roman  power  did  not 
press  upon  his  infancy :  the  Greek  ideas  did  not  haunt  his  childhood  :  but 
he  grew  up  an  Israelitish  boy,  nurtured  in  those  histories  of  the  chosen 
people  which  he  was  destined  so  often  to  repeat  in  the  synagogues,*  with 
the  new  and  wonderful  commentary  supplied  by  the  life  and  resurrection 
of  a  crucified  Messiah.  "  From  a  child  he  knew  the  Scriptures,"  which 
ultimately  made  him  "  wise  unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus,"  as  he  says  of  Timothy  in  the  second  Epistle  (iii.  15).  And  the 
groups  around  his  childhood  were  such  as  that  which  he  beautifully 
describes  in  another  part  of  the  same  letter  to  that  disciple,  where  he 
speaks  of  "  his  grandmother  Lois,  and  his  mother  Eunice  "  (i.  5). 

We  should  be  glad  to  know  something  of  the  mother  of  St.  Paul.  But 
though  he  alludes  to  his  father,  he  does  not  mention  her.  He  speaks  of 
himself  as  set  apart  by  God  "  from  his  mother's  womb,"  that  the  Son  of 
God  should  in  due  time  be  revealed  in  him,  and  by  him  preached  to  the 
Heathen.'  But  this  is  all.  We  find  notices  of  his  sister  and  his  sister's 
son,®  and  of  some  more  distant  relatives : ''  but  we  know  nothing  of  her  who 
was  nearer  to  him  tlian  all  of  them.  He  tells  us  of  his  instructor 
Gamaliel ;  but  of  her,  who,  if  she  lived,  was  his  earliest  and  best  teacher, 
he  tells  us  nothing.  Did  she  die  like  Rachel,  the  mother  of  Benjamin, 
the  great  ancestor  of  his  tribe ;  leaving  his  father  to  mourn  and  set  a 
monument  on  her  grave,  like  Jacob,  by  the  way  of  Bethlehem  ?  ^  Or  did 
she  live  to  grieve  over  her  son's  apostasy  from  the  faith  of  the  Pharisees, 

Hebrew  tongue."     This  familiarity,  however,  »  Phil.  iii.  5. 

be  would  necessarily  have  acquired  during  his  *  Acts  xiii.  16-41  ;  see  xvii.  2,  3,  10,  11, 

student-life  at  Jerusalem,  if  he  had  not  pos-  xxviii.  23. 

sessed  it  before.     The  difficult  question  of  the  ^  Gal.  i.  15. 

"  Gift  of  Tongues"  will  be  discussed  in  Chap.  *  Acts  xxiii.  16. 

XIU.  T  Rom.  xvi.  7,  11,21. 

^  2  Cor.  xi.  22.  *  Gen.  xxxv.  16-20,  xlviii.  7. 

^  Acts  xxiii.  6. 


CHAP.  n.  ST.   PAUL'S  INFANCY  AT  TAKSUS.  39 

and  die  herself  unreconciled  to  the  obedience  of  Christ?  Or  did  she 
believe  and  obey  the  Saviour  of  her  son  ?  These  are  questions  which  we 
cannot  answer.  If  we  wish  to  realize  the  earliest  infancy  of  the  Apostle, 
we  must  be  content  with  a  simple  picture  of  a  Jewish  mother  and  her  child. 
Such  a  picture  is  presented  to  us  in  the  short  history  of  Elizabeth  and 
John  the  Baptist,  and  what  is  wanting  in  one  of  the  inspired  Books  of 
St.  Luke  may  be  supplied,  in  some  degree,  by  the  other. 

The  same  feelings  which  welcomed  the  birth  and  celebrated  the  naming 
of  a  son  in  the  "  hill  country  "  of  Judaea,^  prevailed  also  among  the  Jews 
of  the  dispersion.  As  the  "  neighbors  and  cousins"  of  Elizabetli  "  heard 
how  the  Lord  had  showed  great  mercy  upon  her,  and  rejoiced  with  her,"  — 
so  it  would  be  in  the  household  at  Tarsus,  when  Saul  was  born.  In  a 
nation  to  which  the  birth  of  a  Messiah  was  promised,  and  at  a  period 
when  the  aspirations  after  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  were  continually 
becoming  more  conscious  and  more  urgent,  the  birth  of  a  son  was  the 
fiilfilment  of  a  mother's  highest  happiness:  and  to  the  father  also  (if  wo 
may  thus  invert  the  words  of  Jeremiah)  "  blessed  was  the  man  who 
i)rought  tidings,  saying,  A  man  child  is  born  unto  thee ;  making  him 
glad."^  0)1  the  eighth  day  the  child  was  circumcised  and  named.  In 
the  case  of  John  the  Baptist,  "  they  sought  to  call  him  Zacharias,  after 
ihe  name  of  his  father.  But  his  mother  answered,  and  said,  Not  so ;  but 
lie  shall  he  called  John."  And  when  the  appeal  was  made  to  his  father, 
lie  signified  his  assent,  in  obedience  to  the  vision.  It  was  not  unusual,  on 
the  one  hand,  to  call  a  Jewish  child  after  the  name  of  his  father  ;  and,  on 
tlic  other  hand,  it  was  a  common  practice,  in  all  ages  of  Jewish  history, 
oven  without  a  prophetic  intimation,  to  adopt  a  name  expressive  of  reli- 
gious feelings.  When  the  infant  at  Tarsus  received  the  name  of  Saul,  it 
might  be  "  after  the  name  of  his  father  ; "  and  it  was  a  name  of  tradi- 
tional celebrity  in  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  for  it  was  that  of  the  first  king 
anointed  by  Samuel.'  Or,  when  his  father  said  ^  his  name  is  Saul,"  it 
may  have  been  intended  to  denote  (in  conformity  with  the  Hebrew  deriva- 
tion of  the  word)  that  he  was  a  son  who  had  long  been  desired,  the  first 
born  of  his  parents,  the  child  of  prayer,  who  was  thenceforth,  like  Samuel, 
to  be  consecrated  to  God.'*  "  For  this  child  I  prayed,"  said  the  wife  of 
Elkanah  ;  "  and  the  Lord  hath  given  me  my  petition  which  I  asked  of 
Him  :  therefore  also  I  have  lent  him  to  the  Lord  ;  as  long  as  he  liveth  he 
shall  be  lent  unto  the  Lord."** 

1  Luke  i.  39.  were  wont   to  give   their  children   this  name 

**  Jer.  XX.  15.  at  their  circumcision." — Cave,  i.   3;  but  he 

"  •'  A  name  frequent  and  common  in  the  gives  no  proof. 

tribe   of  Benjamin  ever  since  the  first  King  *  This  is  suggested  by  Neander. 

of  Israel,  who  was  of  that  name,  was  chosen  *  1  Sam.  i.  27,  28. 

out  of  that  tribe;    in  memory  whereof  they 


40  THE  LIFE  AJ^D  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ii. 

Admitted  into  covenant  with  God  by  circumcision,  the  Jewish  child  had 
thenceforward  a  full  claim  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  chosen  people.  His 
was  the  benediction  of  the  128th  Psalm  :  —  "  The  Lord  shall  bless  thee  out 
of  Zion :  thou  shalt  see  the  good  of  Jerusalem  all  the  days  of  thy  life." 
Prom  that  time,  whoever  it  might  be  who  watched  over  Saul's  infancy, 
whether,  like  king  Lemuel,^  he  learnt  "  the  prophecy  that  his  mother 
taught  him,"  or  whether  he  was  under  the  care  of  others,  like  those  who 
were  with  the  sons  of  king  David  and  king  Ahab,^  —  we  are  at  no  loss  to 
learn  what  the  first  ideas  were,  with  which  his  early  thought  was  made 
familiar.  The  rules  respecting  the  diligent  education  of  children,  which 
were  laid  down  by  Moses  in  the  6th  and  11th  chapters  of  Deuteronomy, 
were  doubtless  carefully  observed  :  and  he  was  trained  in  that  peculiarly 
historical  instruction,  spoken  of  in  the  78th  Psalm,  which  implies  the 
,  continuance  of  a  chosen  people,  with  glorious  recollections  of  the  past,  and 
great  anticipations  for  the  future  :  "  The  Lord  made  a  covenant  with 
Jacob,  and  gave  Israel  a  law,  which  He  commanded  our  forefathers  to 
teach  their  children  ;  that  their  posterity  might  know  it,  and  the  children 
which  were  yet  unborn  ;  to  the  intent  that  when  they  came  up,  they  might 
show  their  children  the  same  :  that  they  miglit  put  their  trust  in  God,  and 
aot  to  forget  the  works  of  the  Lord,  but  to  keep  his  commandments." 
(ver.  5-7.)  The  histories  of  Abraham  and  Isaac,  of  Jacob  and  his 
twelve  sons,  of  Moses  among  the  bulrushes,  of  Joshua  and  Samuel,  Elijah, 
Daniel,  and  the  Maccabees,  were  the  stories  of  his  childhood.  The  de- 
struction of  Pharaoh  in  the  Red  Sea,  the  thunders  of  Mount  Sinai,  the 
dreary  journeys  in  the  wilderness,  the  land  that  flowed  with  milk  and 
honey, —  this  was  the  earliest  imagery  presented  to  his  opening  mind. 
The  triumphant  hymns  of  Zion,  the  lamentations  by  the  waters  of  Babylon, 
the  prophetic  praises  of  the  Messiah,  were  the  songs  around  his  cradle. 

Above  all,  he  would  be  familiar  with  the  destinies  of  his  own  illustrious 
tribe.'  The  life  of  the  timid  Patriarch,  the  father  of  the  twelve  ;  the  sad 
death  of  Rachel  near  the  city  where  the  Messiah  was  to  be  born ;  the 
loneliness  of  Jacob,  who  sought  to  comfort  himself  in  Beuoni  "  the  son  of 

1  ProT.  xxxi.  1 .     Cf.  Susanna,  3  ;  2  Tim.  which  the  genealogies  were  kept,  and  when  w« 

iii.  15,  with  1  Tim.  i.  5.  find  the  tribe  of  Barnabas  specified  (Acts  iv. 

'  1  Chrou.  xxvii.  32  ;  2  Kings  x.  1,  5.    Cf.  36),  and  also  of  Anna  the  projjhctess  (Luke  ii. 

Josepli.     Life,  76;  Ant.  xvi.  8,  3.  36),  and  when  we  find  St.  Paul  alluding  in  a 

8  It  may  be  thought  that  here,  and  below,  pointed  manner  to  his  tribe  (see  Eom.  xi.  1, 
p.  50,  too  much  prominence  has  been  given  to  Phil.  iii.  5,  and  compare  Acts  xiii.  21,  and  also 
the  attachment  of  a  Jew  in  the  Apostolic  age  xxxvi.  7),  it  does  notseem  unnatural  to  believe 
to  his  own  particular  tribe.  It  is  difficult  to  that  pious  families  of  so  famous  a  stock  as  that 
ascertain  how  far  the  tribe-feeling  of  early  of  Bcnj.imin  should  retain  the  hereditary  en- 
times  lingered  on  in  combination  with  the  thusiasm  of  their  sacred  clanship.  See,  more- 
national  feeling,  which  grew  up  after  the  Cap-  over,  Matt.  jcix.  28  ;  Rev.  v.  5,  vii.  4-8. 
tirity.     But  when  we  consider  the  care  with 


CHAP.  II.  THE  TEEBE  OF  BENJAMIN.  41 

her  sorrow,"  by  calling  him  Benjamin '  "  the  son  of  his  right  hand  ;"  and 
then  the  youthful  days  of  this  youngest  of  the  twelve  brethren,  the  famine, 
and  the  journeys  into  Egypt,  the  severity  of  Joseph,  and  the  wonderful 
story  of  the  silver  cup  in  the  mouth  of  the  sack  ;  —  these  are  the  narratives 
to  which  he  listened  with  intense  and  eager  interest.  How  little  was  it 
imagined  that,  as  Benjamin  was  the  youngest  and  most  honored  of  the 
Patriarchs,  so  this  listening  child  of  Benjamin  should  be  associated  with 
the  twelve  servants  of  the  Messiah  of  God,  the  last  and  most  illustrious  of 
the  Apostles  !  But  many  years  of  ignorance  were  yet  to  pass  away,  before 
that  mysterious  Providence,  which  brought  Benjamin  to  Joseph  in  Egypt, 
should  bring  his  descendant  to  the  knowledge  and  love  of  Jesus,  the  Son 
of  Mary.  Some  of  the  early  Christian  writers  ^  see  in  the  dying  benediction 
of  Jacob,  when  he  said  that  "  Benjamin  should  raven  as  a  wolf,  in  the 
morning  devour  the  prey,  and  at  night  divide  the  spoil,"  a  prophetic  inti- 
mation of  him  who,  in  the  morning  of  his  life,  should  tear  tlie  sheep  of 
God,  and  in  its  evening  feed  them,  as  the  teacher  of  the  nations.^  When 
St.  Paul  was  a  child  and  learnt  the  words  of  this  saying,  no  Christian 
thoughts  were  associated  with  it,  or  with  that  other  more  peaceful  prophecy 
of  Moses,  when  he  said  of  Benjamin,  "  The  beloved  of  the  Lord  shall  dwell 
in  safety  by  Him :  and  the  Lord  shall  cover  him  all  the  day  long,  and  he 
shall  dwell  between  His  shoulders."  *  But  he  was  familiar  with  the 
prophetical  words,  and  could  follow  in  imagination  the  fortunes  of  the 
sons  of  Benjamin,  and  knew  how  they  went  through  the  wilderness  with 
Rachel's  other  children,  the  tribes  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  forming 
with  them  the  third  of  the  four  companies  on  the  march,  and  reposing  with 
them  at  night  on  the  west  of  the  encampment.*  He  heard  how  their  lands 
were  assigned  to  them  in  the  promised  country  along  the  borders  of 
Judah  :*  and  how  Saul,  whose  name  he  bore,  was  chosen  from  the  tribe 
which  was  the  smallest,'  when  "  little  Benjamin  "  ^  became  the  "  ruler  "  of 
Israel.  He  knew  that  when  the  ten  tribes  revolted,  Benjamin  was  faith- 
ful : '  and  he  learnt  to  follow  its  honorable  history  even  into  the  dismal 
years  of  the  Babylonian  Captivity,  when  Mordecai, "  a  Benjamite  who  had 
been  carried  away,"  ^^  saved  the  nation  :  and  when,  instead  of  destruction, 
"  the  Jews,"  through  him,  "  had  light,  and  gladness,  and  joy,  and  honor: 
and  in  every  province,  and  in  every  city,  whithersoever  the  king's  com- 
mandment and  his  decree  came,  the  Jews  had  joy  and  gladness,  a  feast 
and  a  good  day.  And  many  of  the  people  of  the  land  became  Jews ;  for 
the  fear  of  the  Jews  fell  upon  them."  " 

1  Gen.  XXXV.  18.  ''1  Sam.  ix.  21. 

2  Gen.  xlix.  27.  *  Ps.  Ixviii.  27. 

*  e.g.  Tertullian.  *  2  Chron.  xi. :  see  1  Kings  xii. 

*  Deut.  xxxiii.  12.  ^'^  Esther  ii.  5,  6. 

6  Numb.  ii.  18-24;  x.  22-24.  "  Esther  riii.  16,  17. 

*  Joshnji  xviii.  11. 


42  THE   LIFE   AJN'D   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  cuak.  n. 

Such  wore  the  influences  which  cradled  the  infancy  of  St.  Paid ;  and 
such  was  tlie  early  teaching  under  which  his  mind  gradually  rose  to  the 
realization  of  his  position  as  a  Hebrew  child  in  a  city  of  Gentiles.  Of 
the  exact  period  of  his  birth  we  possess  no  authentic  information.'  From 
a  passage  in  a  sermon  attributed  to  St.  Chrysostom,  it  has  been  inferred  ^ 
that  he  was  born  in  the  year  2  B.C.  of  our  era.  The  date  is  not  improba- 
ble ;  but  the  genuineness  of  the  sermon  is  suspected ;  and  if  it  was  the 
undoubted  work  of  the  eloquent  Father,  we  have  no  reason  to  believe 
tliat  he  possessed  any  certain  means  of  ascertaining  the  fact.  Nor  need 
we  be  anxious  to  possess  the  information.  We  have  a  better  chronology 
than  that  which  reckons  by  years  and  months.  We  know  that  St.  Paul 
was  a  young  man  at  the  time  of  St.  Stephen's  martyrdom,'  and  therefore 
we  know  what  were  the  features  of  the  period,  and  what  the  circumstan- 
ces of  the  world,  at  the  beginning  of  his  eventful  life.  He  must  have 
been  born  in  the  later  years  of  Herod,  or  the  earlier  of  his  son  Archelaus. 
It  was  the  strongest  and  most  flourishing  time  of  the  reign  of  Augustus. 
The  world  was  at  peace ;  the  pirates  of  the  Levant  were  dispersed  ;  and 
Cilicia  was  lying  at  rest,  or  in  stupor,  with  other  provinces,  under  the 
wide  shadow  of  the  Roman  power.  Many  governors  had  ruled  there 
since  the  days  of  Cicero.  Athenodorus,  the  emperor's  tutor,  had  been 
one  of  them.  It  was  about  the  time  when  Horace  and  Maecenas  died, 
with  others  whose  names  will  never  be  forgotten  ;  and  it  was  about  tlie 
time  when  Caligula  was  born,  with  others  who  were  destined  to  make 
the  world  miserable.  Thus  is  the  epoch  fixed  in  the  manner  in  which 
the  imagination  most  easily  apprehends  it.  During  this  pause  in  the 
world's  history  St.  Paul  was  born. 

It  was  a  pause,  too,  in  the  history  of  the  sufierings  of  the  Jews.  That 
lenient  treatment  which  had  been  begun  by  Julius  Caesar  was  continued 
by  Augustus ;  *  and  the  days  of  severity  were  not  yet  come,  when  Tibe- 
rius and  Claudius  drove  them  into  banishment,  and  Caligula  oppressed 
them  with  every  mark  of  contumely  and  scorn.  We  have  good  reason 
to  believe  that  at  the  period  of  the  Apostle's  birth  the  Jews  were  unmo- 
lested at  Tarsus,  where  his  father  lived  and  enjoyed  the  rights  of  a  Roman 
citizen.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  this  citizenship  was  a  privilege 
which  belonged  to  the  members  of  the  family,  as  being  natives  of  this 
city.*    Tarsus  was  not  a  munieipium,  nor  was  it  a  colonia,  like  Philippi  in 

1  As  regards   the  chronology  of  St.  Paul's  *  Csesar,  like  Alexander,  treated  the  Jews 

life,  it  is  enouirh  to  refer  to  Ch.  IV.  and  es-  with  much  consideration.     Suetonius  speaks  in 

pecially  to  Appendix  III.  strong  terms  of  their  grief  at  his  death.     An 

'^  This  is  on  the  supposition  that  he  died  gustus  permitted  the  largess,  when  it  fell  on  u 

A.D.  66,  at  the  age  of  68.  Sabbath,  to  be  put  oft"  till  the  next  day. 

*  Acts  vii.  58.     It  must  be  remembered,  ^  Some   of  the  older  biographers  of   St. 

however,  that  the  term  v^avlac  was  applied  to  Paul  assume  this  without  any  hesitation  :  «"<; 
all  men  under  -xo 


OHAP.n.  CITIZEKSHIP   OF   ST.    PAUL'S   FATHER.  43 

Macedonia/  or  Antioch  in  Pisidia ;  but  it  was  a  "  free  city  "  ^  (iirbs  libera), 
like  the  Syrian  Antioch  and  its  neighbor-city,  Seleucia  on  the  sea.  Such 
a  city  had  the  privilege  of  being  governed  by  its  own  magistrates,  and 
was  exempted  from  the  occupation  of  a  Roman  garrison,  but  its  citizens 
did  not  necessarily  possess  the  civitas  of  Rome.  Tarsus  had  received 
great  benefits  both  from  Julius  Caesar  and  from  Augustus,  but  the  father 
of  St.  Paul  was  not  on  that  account  a  Roman  citizen.  This  privilege  had 
been  granted  to  him,  or  had  descended  to  him,  as  an  individual  right ;  he 
might  have  purchased  it  for  a  "large  sum"  of  money;'  but  it  is  more 
probable  that  it  came  to  him  as  a  reward  of  services  rendered,  during  the 
civil  wars,  to  some  influential  Roman.*  We  should  not  be  in  serious 
error,  if  we  were  to  say,  in  language  suggested  by  the  narrative  of  St. 
Stephen's  martyrdom  (Acts  vi.  9),  that  St.  Paul's  father  was  a  Cilician 
Lihertinus.^  That  Jews  were  not  unfrequently  Roman  citizens,  we  learn 
from  Josephus,  who  mentions  in  the  "  Jewish  War  "  ®  some  even  of  the 
equestrian  order  who  were  illegally  scourged  and  crucified  by  Florus  at 
Jerusalem  ;  and  (what  is  more  to  our  present  point)  enumerates  cer- 
tain of  his  countrymen  who  possessed  the  Roman  franchise  at  Eplicsus,  in 
that  important  scries  of  decrees  relating  to  the  Jcv^s,  which  were  issued 
in  the  time  of  Julius  Cassar,  and  are  preserved  in  the  second  book  of  the 
"  Antiquities."  ^  The  family  of  St.  Paul  were  in  tlie  same  position  at 
Tarsus  as  those  who  were  Jews  of  Asia  Minor  and  yet  citizens  of  Rome 
at  Ephesus ;  and  thus  it  came  to  pass,  that,  while  many  of  his  contempo- 
raries were  willing  to  expend  "  a  large  sum  "  in  the  purchase  of  "  this 
freedom,"  the  Apostle  himself  was  "  free-born." 

The  question  of  the  double  name  of  "  Saul "  and  "  Paul"  will  require 
our  attention  hereafter,  when  we  come  in  the  course  of  our  narrative  to 
that  interview  with  Sergius  Paulus  in  Cyprus,  coincidcntly  with  which 
the  appellation  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is  suddenly  changed.  Many 
opinions  have  been  held  on  this  subject,  both  by  ancient  and  modern 

the  mistake  is  very  frequent  still.     It  is  enough  pose  that  the  Apostle,  with  other  Cilician  Jews, 

to  notice  that  the  Tribune  (Acts  xxi.  39,  xxii.  may  have  been,  like  Horace, //6ert/?!0  pafre  na<«s. 

24)  knew  tliat  St.  Paul  was  a  Tarsian,  without  {Sat.  i.  vi.  45.) 

being  aware  that  he  was  a  citizen.  ^  fhis  suggestion  is  due  to  Wieseler,  who 

1  Acts  xvi.  12.  translates  the  verse  which  describes  Stephen's 

2  It  appears  that  Antony  gave  Tarsus  the  great  opponents,  so  as  to  mean  "  Libertines  " 
privileges  of  an  Urbs  libera,  though  it  had  pre-  from  "  Cyrene,  Alexandria,  Cilicia,  and  Asia." 
viously  taken  the  side  of  Augustus,  and  been  We  think,  as  is  observed  below  (p.  56,  note), 
named  Juliopolis.  that   another  view  is  more   natural :    but   at 

3  Acts  xxii.  28.  least  we  should  observe  that  we  find  Saul,  a 
*  Great  numbers  of  Jews  were  made  slaves       Roman  citizen,  actively  co-operating  in  persecu' 

in  the  Civil  Wars,  and  then  manumitted.     A       tion  with  those  who  are  called  Libertini. 
slave  manumitted  with  due  formalities  became  ^    War,  ii.  14,  6. 

a  Roman  citizen.     Thus  it  is  natural  to  sup-  "  Ant.  xiv.  10,  13. 


44  THE  LIFE  Ai5D  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  ii- 

theologians.*  At  present  it  will  be  enough  to  say,  that,  thougli  we  can- 
not overlook  the  coincidence,  or  believe  it  accidental,  yet  it  is  most  prob- 
able that  both  names  were  borne  by  him  in  his  childhood,  that  "  Saul  " 
was  the  name  of  his  Hebrew  home,  and  "  Paul "  that  by  which  he  was 
known  among  the  Gentiles.  It  will  be  observed  that  "PawZws,"  the 
name  by  which  he  is  always  mentioned  after  his  departure  from  Cyprus, 
and  by  which  he  always  designates  himself  in  his  Epistles,  is  a  Roman, 
not  a  Greek,  word.  And  it  will  be  remembered,  that,  among  those 
whom  he  calls  his  "kinsmen"  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  two  of  the 
number,  Junia  and  ImcIus,  have  Roman  names,  while  the  others  are 
Greek.'^  All  this  may  point  to  a  strong  Roman  connection.  These 
names  may  have  something  to  do  with  that  honorable  citizenship 
which  was  an  heirloom  in  the  household  ;  and  the  appellation  "Paulus" 
may  be  due  to  some  such  feelings  as  those  which  induced  the  historian 
Josephus  to  call  himself  "  Flavius,"  in  honor  of  Vespasian  and  the  Fla- 
vian family. 

If  we  turn  now  to  consider  the  social  position  of  the  Apostle's  father 
and  family,  we  cannot  on  the  one  hand  confidently  argue,  from  the  pos- 
session of  the  citizenship,  that  they  were  in  the  enjoyment  of  affluence 
and  outward  distinction.  The  civitas  of  Rome,  though  at  that  time  it 
could  not  be  purchased  without  heavy  expense,  did  not  depend  upon  any 
conditions  of  wealth,  where  it  was  bestowed  by  authority.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  certain  that  the  manual  trade,  which  we  know  that  St.  Paul 
exercised,  cannot  be  adduced  as  an  argument  to  prove  that  his  circum- 
stances were  narrow  and  mean  ;  still  less,  as  some  have  imagined,  that  he 
lived  in  absolute  poverty.  It  was  a  custom  among  the  Jews  that  all  boys 
should  learn  a  trade.  "  What  is  commanded  of  a  father  towards  his 
son  ?  "  asks  a  Talmudic  writer.  "  To  circumcise  him,  to  teach  him  the 
law,  to  teach  him  a  trade."  Rabbi  Judah  saith,  "He  that  teacheth  not 
his  son  a  trade,  doth  the  same  as  if  he  taught  him  to  be  a  thief;"  and 
Rabban  Gamaliel  saith,  "He  that  haih  a  trade  in  his  hand,  to  what  is  he 
like?  he  is  like  a  vineyard  that  is  fenced."  And  if,  in  compliance  with 
this  good  and  useful  custom  of  the  Jews,  the  father  of  the  young  Cilician 
sought  to  make  choice  of  a  trade,  which  might  fortify  his  son  against  idle- 
ness or  against  adversity,  none  would  occur  to  him  more  naturally  than 
the  profitable  occupation  of  the  making  of  tents,  the  material  of  which 
was  hair-cloth,  supplied  by  the  goats  of  his  native  province,  and  sold  in 

1  Origen  says  that  he  had  both  names  from  Peter,  at  his  ordination   in   Antioch.     Bede, 

•lie  first;  that  he  nsed  one  amonf?  the  Jews,  that  he  did  not  receive  it  till  the  Proconsul  wa» 

and  the  other  afterwards.     Augustine,  that  he  converted ;  and  Jerome,  that  it  was  meant  M 

took   the  name  when  he   began   to    preach.  commemorate  that  victory. 
Clirysostom,  that  he  received  a  new  title,  like  ^  Rom.  xvi.  7,  II,  21. 


CHAP,  n,  SCENEKY  OF  TARSUS.  45 

the  markets  of  the  Levant  by  the  well-known  name  of  cilicium}  The 
most  reasonable  conjecture  is  that  his  father's  business  was  concerned  with 
these  markets,  and  that,  like  many  of  his  scattered  countrymen,  he  was 
actively  occupied  in  the  traffic  of  the  Mediterranean  coasts  :  and  the 
remote  dispersion  of  those  relations,  whom  he  mentions  in  his  letter  from 
Corinth  to  Rome,  is  favorable  to  this  opinion.  But  whatever  might  be 
the  station  and  employment  of  his  father  or  his  kinsmen,  whether  they 
were  elevated  by  wealth  above,  or  depressed  by  poverty  below,  the  aver- 
age of  the  Jews  of  Asia  Minor  and  Italy,  we  are  disposed  to  believe  th^t 
this  family  were  possessed  of  that  highest  respectability  which  is  worthy 
of  deliberate  esteem.  The  words  of  Scripture  seem  to  claim  for  them 
the  tradition  of  a  good  and  religious  reputation.  The  strict  piety  of 
St.  Paul's  ancestors  has  already  been  remarked ;  some  of  his  kinsmen 
embraced  Christianity  before  the  Apostle  himself,^  and  the  excellent 
discretion  of  his  nephew  will  be  the  subject  of  our  admiration,  when  we 
come  to  consider  the  dangerous  circumstances  which  led  to  the  nocturnal 
journey  from  Jerusalem  to  Caesarea.^ 

But,  though  a  cloud  rests  on  the  actual  year  of  St.  Paul's  birth,  and 
the  circumstances  of  his  father's  household  must  be  left  to  imagination, 
we  have  the  great  satisfaction  of  knowing  the  exact  features  of  the 
scenery  in  the  midst  of  which  his  childhood  was  spent.  The  plain,  the 
mountains,  the  river,  and  the  sea  still  remain  to  us.  The  rich  har- 
vests of  corn  still  grow  luxuriantly  after  rains  in  spring.  The  same 
tents  of  goat's  hair  are  still  seen  covering  the  plains  in  the  busy  harvest.* 
There  is  the  same  solitude  and  silence  in  the  intolerable  heat  and  dust  of 
the  summer.  Then,  as  now,  the  mothers  and  children  of  Tarsus  went 
out  in  the  cool  evenings,  and  looked  from  the  gardens  round  the  city,  or 
from  their  terraced  roofs,  upon  the  heights  of  Taurus.  The  same  sunset 
lingered  on  the  pointed  summits.  The  same  shadows  gathered  in  the 
deep  ravines.  The  river  Cydnus  has  suffered  some  changes  in  the  course 
of  1800  years.  Instead  of  rushing,  as  in  the  time  of  Xenophon,  like  the 
Rhone  at  Geneva,  in  a  stream  of  two  hundred  feet  broad  through  the 
city,  it  now  flows  idly  past  it  on  the  east.  The  Channel,  which  floated 
the  ships  of  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  is  now  filled  up ;  and  wide  unhealthy 
lagoons  occupy  the  place  of  the  ancient  docks.*     But  its  upper  waters 

^  Hair-cloth  of  this  kind  is  manufactured  at  *  "  The  plain  presented  the  appearance  of 

the  present  day  in  Asia  Minor,  and  the  word  an  immense  sheet  of  corn-stuhble,  dotted  with 

is  still  retained  in  French,  Spanish,  and  Italian.  small  camps  of  tents  :  these  tents  are  made  of 

2  "  Salute    Andronicus    and    Junias,    my  hair-cloth,  and  the  peasantry  reside  in  them  at 

kinsmen,  and  my  fellow-prisoners,  who  are  of  this  season,  while  the  harvest  is  reaping  and 

note  among  the  Apostles,  who  also  were  in  the  com  treading  out."  —  Beautort's  Karama- 

Ca»rist  before  me."  —  Rom.  xvi.  7.  tiia,  p.  273. 

^  Acts  xxiii.  6  In  Strabo's  day  there  was  an  inconvenient 


46  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chaf.  ii. 

still  flow,  as  formerly,  cold  and  clear  from  the  snows  of  Taurus  :  and  its 
waterfalls  still  break  over  the  same  rocks,  when  the  snows  are  meltmg, 
like  the  Rhine  at  Schaflfliausen.  We  find  a  pleasure  in  thinking  that  the 
footsteps  of  the  young  Apostle  often  wandered  by  the  side  of  this  stream, 
and  that  his  eyes  often  looked  on  these  falls.  We  can  hardly  believe  thai 
he  who  spoke  to  the  Lystrians  of  the  "  rain  from  heaven,"  and  the  "  fruit- 
ful seasons,"  and  of  the  "living  God  who  made  heaven  and  earth  and  the 
sea,"^  could  have  looked  with  indijQference  on  beautiful  and  impressive 
scenery.  Gamaliel  was  celebrated  for  his  love  of  nature :  and  the  young 
Jew,  who  was  destined  to  be  his  most  famous  pupil,  spent  his  early  days 
in  the  close  neighborhood  of  much  that  was  well  adapted  to  foster  such 
a  taste.  Or  if  it  be  thought  that  in  attributing  such  feelings  to  him  we 
are  writing  in  the  spirit  of  modern  times ;  and  if  it  be  contended  that  he 
would  be  more  influenced  by  the  realities  of  human  life  than  by  the  im- 
pressions of  nature, — then  let  the  youthful  Saul  be  imagined  on  the  banks 
of  the  Cydnus,  where  it  flowed  through  the  city  in  a  stream  less  clear 
and  fresh,  where  the  wharves  were  covered  with  merchandise,  in  the 
midst  of  groups  of  men  in  various  costumes,  speaking  various  dialects. 
St.  Basil  says,  that  in  his  day  Tarsus  was  a  point  of  union  for  Syrians, 
Cilicians,  Isaurians,  and  Cappadocians.  To  these  we  must  add  the  Greek 
merchant,  and  the  agent  of  Roman  luxury.  And  one  more  must  be 
added,  —  the  Jew,  —  even  then  the  pilgrim  of  Commerce,  trading  with 
every  nation,  and  blending  with  none.  In  this  mixed  company  Saul,  at 
an  early  age,  might  become  familiar  with  the  activities  of  life  and  the 
diversities  of  human  character,  and  even  in  his  childhood  make  some 
acquaintance  with  those  various  races,  which  in  his  manhood  he  was 
destined  to  influence. 

We  have  seen  what  his  infancy  was  ;  we  must  now  glance  at  his  boy- 
hood. It  is  usually  the  case  that  the  features  of  a  strong  character 
display  themselves  early.  His  impetuous  fiery  disposition  would  some- 
times need  control.  Flashes  of  indignation  would  reveal  his  impatience 
and  his  honesty.'^  The  affectionate  tenderness  of  his  nature  would  not 
be  without  an  object  of  attachment,  if  that  sister,  who  was  afterwards 
married,'  was  his  playmate  at  Tarsus.  The  work  of  tent-making,  rather 
an  amusement  than  a  trade,  might  sometimes  occupy  those  young 
hands,  which  were  marked  with  the  toil  of  years  when  he  held  them  to 

"  bar"  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cydnus.     Here  (as  edition  of  this  book,  which  contains  views  of 

in  the  tuise  of  the  Pyramus  and  other  rivers  on  Tarsus  and  df  the  falls  of  the  Cydnus. 

that  cojist)  the  land  has  since   that   time  en-  i  Acts  xiv.  17,  15. 

croached  on  the  sea.     The  unhealthiuess  of  the  "^  See  Acts  ix.  1,  2,  xxiii.  1-5;   and  com- 

sea-coast  near  the  Gulf  of  Scanderoon  is  noto-  pare  Acts  xiii.   13,  xv.  38,  with  2  Tim.  ir. 

rious,  as  can  be  testified  by  more  than  one  of  ll. 

those  who  contributed  drawings  to  the  quarto  ^  Acts  xxiii.  16. 


CHAP.  n.  ST.    PAUL'S  BOYHOOD.  47 

the  view  of  the  Elders  at  Miletus.^  His  education  was  conducted  at 
home  rather  than  at  school :  for,  though  Tarsus  was  celebrated  for  its 
learning,  the  Hebrew  boy  would  not  lightly  be  exposed  to  the  influence 
of  Gentile  teaching.  Or,  if  he  went  to  a  school,  it  was  not  a  Greek 
school,  but  rather  to  some  room  connected  with  the  synagogue,  where  a 
noisy  class  of  Jewish  children  received  the  rudiments  of  instruction, 
seated  on  the  ground  with  their  teacher,  after  the  manner  of  Mohamme- 
dan children  in  the  East,  who  may  be  seen  or  heard  at  their  lessons  near 
the  mosque.*  At  such  a  school,  it  may  be,  he  learnt  to  read  and  to 
write,  going  and  returning  under  the  care  of  some  attendant,  according 
to  that  custom  which  he  afterwards  used  as  an  illustration  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Galatians '  (and  perhaps  he  remembered  his  own  early  days  while 
he  wrote  the  passage)  when  he  spoke  of  the  Law  as  the  Slave  who 
conducts  us  to  the  School  of  Christ.  His  religious  knowledge,  as  his 
years  advanced,  was  obtained  from  hearing  the  Law  read  in  the  syna- 
gogue, from  listening  to  the  arguments  and  discussions  of  learned 
doctors,  and  from  that  habit  of  questioning  and  answering,  which  was 
permitted  even  to  the  children  among  the  Jews.  Familiar  with  the 
pathetic  history  of  the  Jewish  sufferings,  he  would  feel  his  heart  filled 
with  that  love  to  his  own  people  which  breaks  out  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  (ix.  4,  5)  —  to  that  people  "  whose  were  the  adoption  and  the 
glory  and  the  covenants,  and  of  whom,  as  concerning  the  flesh,  Christ 
was  to  come,"  —  a  love  not  then,  as  it  was  afterwards^  blended  with 
love  towards  all  mankind,  "  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Gentile," 
—  but  rather  united  with  a  bitter  hatred  to  the  Gentile  children  whom 
he  saw  around  him.  His  idea  of  the  Messiah,  so  far  as  it  was  distinct, 
would  be  the  carnal  notion  of  a  temporal  prince — a  "Christ  known 
after  the  flesh,"  *  —  and  he  looked  forward  with  the  hope  of  a  Hebrew 
to  the  restoration  of  "  the  kingdom  to  Israel."  *     He  would  be  known 


1  Acts  XX.  34.     "  Te  yourselves  know  that  sound  of  voices  was  unceasing.     For  picture! 

these  hands  have  ministered  to  my  necessities,  of  an  Egyptian  and  a  Turkish  school,  see  the 

and  to  them  that  were  with  me."     Compare  Bible  Cyclopaedia,  1841  ;    and   the  Cyclopcedia 

xviii.  3;    1    Cor.  iv.  12  ;    1   Thess.  ii.  9 ;    2  of  Biblical  Literature,  \9,A1 . 
Thess.  iii.  8.  ^  Gal.  iii.  24,  where  the  word  inaccuratelj 

*  This  is  written  from  the  recollection  of  a  rendered  "  Schoolmaster  "  denotes  the  attend- 

JMohammodan    school   at   Bildah   in   Algeria,  ant  slave  who  accompanied  the  child  to   the 

where  the  mosques  can  now  he  entered  with  im-  school.     A  Jewish  illustration   of    a   custom 

punity.     The  children,  with  the  teacher,  were  well  known  among  the  Greeks  and  Eomans  is 

on  a  kind  of  upper  story  l\ke  a  shelf,  within  given  hy  Buxtorf.     He  describes  the  child  as 

the  mosque.     All  were  seated  on  this  floor,  in  taken  to   the  preceptor  under  the  skirt  of  a 

the  way  described   by  Maimonides  below  (p.  Rabbi's  cloak,  and  as  provided  with  honey  and 

57).     The  children  wrote  on  boards,  and  re-  honey-cakes,    symbolizing    such    passages    as 

cited  what  they  wrote;  the  master  addressed  Deut.  xxxii.  13,  Cant.  iv.  11,  Ps.  xix.  10. 
them  in  rapid  succession  ;    and  the  confused  *  2  Cor.  t.  16.  ^  Acts  i.  6. 


48  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  n. 

at  Tarsus  as  a  child  of  promise,  and  as  one  likely  to  uphold  the  honor 
of  the  Law  against  the  half-infidel  teaching  of  the  day.  But  the  time 
•was  drawing  near,  when  his  training  was  to  become  more  exact  and 
systematic.  He  was  destined  for  the  school  of  Jerusalem.  The  educa- 
tional maxim  of  the  Jews,  at  a  later  period,  was  as  follows  :  —  "At  five 
years  of  age,  let  children  begin  the  Scripture  ;  at  ten,  the  Mishna ;  at 
thirteen,  let  them  be  subjects  of  the  Law."  ^  There  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  the  general  practice  was  very  different  before  the  floating 
maxims  of  the  great  doctors  were  brought  together  in  the  Mishna. 
It  may  therefore  be  concluded,  with  a  strong  degree  of  probability,  that , 
Saul  was  sent  to  the  Holy  City  ^  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  thirteen. 
Had  it  been  later  than  the  age  of  thirteen,  he  could  hardly  have  said 
that  he  had  been  "  brought  up  "  in  Jerusalem. 

The  first  time  any  one  leaves  the  land  of  his  birth  to  visit  a  foreign 
and  distant  country,  is  an  important  epoch  in  his  life.  In  the  case  of 
one  who  has  taken  this  first  journey  at  an  early  age,  and  whose  character 
is  enthusiastic  and  susceptible  of  lively  impressions  from  without,  this 
epoch  is  usually  remembered  with  peculiar  distinctness.  But  when  the 
country  which  is  thus  visited  has  furnished  the  imagery  for  the  dreams 
of  childhood,  and  is  felt  to  be  more  truly  the  young  traveller's  home 
than  the  land  he  is  leaving,  then  the  journey  assumes  the  sacred  charac- 
ter of  a  pilgrimage.  The  nearest  parallel  which  can  be  found  to  the 
visits  of  the  scattered  Jews  to  Jerusalem,  is  in  the  periodical  expedition 
of  the  Mohammedan  pilgrims  to  the  sanctuary  at  Mecca.  Nor  is  there 
any  thing  which  ought  to  shock  the  mind  in  such  a  comparison  ;  for  that 
localizing  spirit  was  the  same  thing  to  the  Jews  under  tlie  highest  sanc- 
tion, which  it  is  to  the  Mohammedans  through  the  memory  of  a  prophet 
who  was  the  enemy  and  not  the  forerunner  of  Christ.  As  the  disciples 
of  Islam  may  be  seen,  at  stated  seasons,  flocking  towards  Cairo  or  Da- 
mascus, the  meeting-places  of  the  African  and  Asiatic  caravans,  —  so 
Saul  had  often  seen  the  Hebrew  pilgrims  from  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor 
come  down  through  the  passes  of  the  mountains,  and,  join  others  at 
Tarsus  who  were  bound  for  Jerusalem.  They  returned  when  the 
festivals  were  over  ;  and  he  heard  them  talk  of  the  Holy  City,  of  Herod 
and  the  New  Temple,  and  of  the  great  teachers  and  doctors  of  the  Law. 
And  at  length  Saul  himself  was  to  go,  —  to  see  the  land  of  promise  and 

1  We  learn  from  Baxtorf  that  at  13  there  ^  That  he  came  from  Tarsus  at  an  early 

was  a  ceremony  something  like  Christian  con-  age  is  implied  in  Acts  xxvi.  4.  —  "  My  manner 

firmation.     The  boy  was  then  called  a  "  Child  of  life  frcnn  my  youth,  which  was  at  the  first 

of  the  Law  ; "  and  the  father  declared  in  the  among  mine  own  nation  at  Jerusalem,  know 

presence  of  the  Jews  that  his  son  fully  under-  all  the  Jews,  which  knew  me  from  the  begin- 

■tood  the  Law,  and  was  fully  responsible  for  ning." 
kis  sing. 


CHAF.  n.  HE   IS  SENT  TO  JEEUSAXEM.  49 

the  City  of  David,  and    grow  up  a  learned    Rabbi    "  at    the   feet    of 
Gamaliel." 

With  his  father,  or  under  the  care  of  some  other  friend  older  than 
himself,  he  left  Tarsus  and  went  to  Jerusalem.  It  is  not  probable  that 
they  travelled  by  the  long  and  laborious  land-journey  which  leads  from 
the  Cilician  plain  through  the  defiles  of  Mount  Amanus  to  Antioch,  and 
thence  along  the  rugged  Phcenician  shore  through  Tyre  and  Sidon  to 
Judaea.  The  Jews,  when  they  went  to  the  festivals,  or  to  carry  contri- 
butions, like  the  Mohammedans  of  modern  days,  would  follow  the  lines  of 
natural  traffic :  ^  and  now  that  the  Eastern  Sea  had  been  cleared  of  its 
pirates,  the  obvious  course  would  be  to  travel  by  water.  The  Jews, 
though  merchants,  were  not  seamen.  We  may  imagine  Saul,  therefore, 
setting  sail  from  the  Cydnus  on  his  first  voyage,  in  a  Phoenician  trader, 
under  the  patronage  of  the  gods  of  Tyre ;  or  in  company  with  Greek 
mariners  in  a  vessel  adorned  with  some  mythological  emblem,  like  that 
Alexandrian  corn-ship  which  subsequently  brought  him  to  Italy,  "  whose 
sign  was  Castor  and  Pollux."  ^  Gradually  they  lost  sight  of  Taurus,  and 
the  heights  of  Lebanon  came  into  view.  The  one  had  sheltered  his 
early  home,  but  the  other  had  been  a  familiar  form  to  his  Jewish  fore- 
fathers. How  histories  would  crowd  into  his  mind  as  the  vessel  moved 
on  over  the  waves,  and  he  gazed  upon  the  furrowed  flanks  of  the  great 
Hebrew  mountain  !  Had  the  voyage  been  taken  fifty  years  earlier,  the 
vessel  would  probably  have  been  bound  for  Ptolemais,  which  still  bore 
the  name  of  the  Greek  kings  of  Egypt ; '  but  in  the  reign  of  Augustus 
or  Tiberius,  it  is  more  likely  that  she  sailed  round  the  headland  of 
Carmel,  and  came  to  anchor  in  the  new  harbor  of  Caesarea,  —  the  hand- 
some city  which  Herod  had  rebuilt,  and  named  in  honor  of  the  Emperor. 

To  imagine  incidents  when  none  are  recorded,  and  confidently  to  lay 
down  a  route  without  any  authority,  would  be  inexcusable  in  writing  on 
this  subject.  But  to  imagine  the  feelings  of  a  Hebrew  boy  on  his  first 
visit  to  the  Holy  Land,  is  neither  difficult  nor  blamable.  During  this 
journey  Saul  had  around  him  a  different  scenery  and  different  cultiva- 
tion from  what  he  had  been  accustomed  to,  —  not  a  river  and  a  wide 
plain  covered  with  harvests  of  corn,  but  a  succession  of  hills  and  valleys, 
with  terraced  vineyards  watered  by  artificial  irrigation.  If  it  was  the 
time  of  a  festival,  many  pilgrims  were  moving  in  the  same  direction, 
with  music  and  the  songs  of  Zion.     The  ordinary  road  would  probably 

1  In  1820,  Abd-el-Kader  went  with  his  father  Ptolemais  was  still  a  busy  seaport  in  St.  Paul's 

on  board  a  French  brig  to  Alexandria,  on  their  day,  though  Caesarea  had  become  the  most  im- 

way  to  Mecca.  portant  harbor,  and   indeed   (politically)  the 

^  Acts  xxviii.  1 1 .  most  important  city,  in  Palestine.     See  Acta 

■  See,  for  instance    1   Maccab  r.  15,  x.  1.  xxi.  7. 
4 


60  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ii. 

be  that  mentioned  in  the  Acts,  which  led  from  Caesarea  through  the 
town  of  Antipatris^  (Acts  xxiii.  31).  But  neither  of  these  places  would 
possess  much  interest  for  a  "  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews."  The  one  was 
associated  with  the  thoughts  of  the  Romans  and  of  modern  times ;  the 
other  had  been  built  by  Herod  in  memory  of  Antipater,  his  Idumaean 
father.  But  objects  were  not  wanting  of  the  deepest  interest  to  a  child 
of  Benjamin.  Those  far  hill-tops  on  the  left  were  close  upon  Mount 
Gilboa,  even  if  the  very  place  could  not  be  seen  where  "  the  Philistines 
fought  against  Israel  .  .  .  and  the  battle  went  sore  against  Saul  .  .  . 
and  he  fell  on  his  sword  .  .  .  and  died,  and  his  three  sons,  and  his 
armor-bearer,  and  all  his  men,  that  same  day  together."-  After  passing 
through  the  lots  of  the  tribes  of  Manasseh  and  Ephraim,  the  traveller 
from  Csesarea  came  to  the  borders  of  Benjamin.  The  children  of 
Rachel  were  together  in  Canaan  as  they  had  been  in  the  desert.  The 
lot  of  Benjamin  was  entered  near  Bethel,  memorable  for  the  piety  of 
Jacob,  the  songs  of  Deborah,  the  sin  of  Jeroboam,  and  the  zeal  of 
Josiah.'  Onward  a  short  distance  was  Gibeah,  the  home  of  Saul  when 
he  was  anointed  King,*  and  the  scene  of  the  crime  and  desolation  of  the 
tribe,  which  made  it  the  smallest  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.**  Might  it  not 
be  too  truly  said  concerning  the  Israelites  ^ven  of  that  period  :  "  They 
have  deeply  corrupted  themselves,  as  in  the  days  of  Gibeah  :  therefore 
the  Lord  will  remember  their  iniquity,  He  will  visit  their  sins  "  ?  ®  At  a 
later  stage  of  his  life,  such  thoughts  of  the  unbelief  and  iniquity  of 
Israel  accompanied  St.  Paul  wherever  he  went.  At  the  early  age  of 
twelve  years,  all  his  enthusiasm  could  find  an  adequate  object  in  the 
earthly  Jerusalem ;  the  first  view  of  which  would  be  descried  about  this 
part  of  the  journey.  From  the  time  when  the  line  of  the  city  wall  was 
seen,  all  else  was  forgotten.  The  further  border  of  Benjamin  was  almost 
reached.  The  Rabbis  said  that  the  boundary-line  of  Benjamin  and 
Judali,  the  two  faithful  tribes,  passed  through  the  Temple.  And  this 
City  and  Temple  was  the  common  sanctuary  of  all  Israelites.  "  Thither 
the  tribes  go  up,  even  the  tribes  of  the  Lord  :  to  testify  unto  Israel,  to 
give  thanks  unto  the  name  of  the  Lord.  There  is  little  Benjamin  tlieir 
ruler,  and  the  princes  of  Judah  their  council,  the  princes  of  Zebulon 
and  the  princes  of  Naphtali :  for  there  is  the  seat  of  judgment,  even 
the  seat  of  the  house  of  David."  And  now  the  Temple's  glittering 
roof  was  seen,  with  the  buildings  of  Zion  crowning  the  eminence 
above  it,  and  the  ridge  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  rising  high  over  all. 
And  now  the  city  gate  was  passed,  with  that  thrill  of  the  heart  which 

1  See  p.  25,  n.  3.        ^  I  Sam.  xxxi.  1-6.  *  1  Sam.  x.  26,  xv.  34 

'  Gen.  xxviii.  19  ;  Judg.  iv.  5 ;  I  Kings  xii  ^  Judges  xx.  43,  &c 

29;  2  Kings  xxiii.  15.  •  Hosea  ix.  9. 


CKAP.  u.  STATE  OF  JUDiEA.  51 

uoiic  but  a  Jew  could  know.  "  Our  feet  stand  within  thy  gates,  O  Jeru- 
salem. Ob,  pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem  :  they  shall  prosper  that 
love  thee.  Peace  be  within  thy  walls,  and  plenteousness  within  thy 
palaces.  0  God,  wonderful  art  thou  in  thy  holy  places :  even  the  God 
of  Israel.  He  will  give  strength  and  power  unto  His  people.  Blessed 
be  God."  ^ 

And  now  that  this  young  enthusiastic  Jew  is  come  into  the  land  of  his 
forefathers,  and  is  about  to  receive  his  education  in  the  schools  of  the 
Holy  City,  we  may  pause  to  give  some  description  of  the  state  of  Judaea 
and  Jerusalem.  We  have  seen  that  it  is  impossible  to  fix  the  exact  date 
of  bis  arrival,  but  we  know  the  general  features  of  the  period ;  and  we 
can  easily  form  to  ourselves  some  idea  of  the  political  and  religious  con- 
dition of  Palestine. 

Herod  was  now  dead.  The  tyrant  had  been  called  to  his  last  account , 
and  that  eventful  reign,  which  had  destroyed  the  nationality  of  the  Jews, 
while  it  maintained  their  apparent  independence,  was  over.  It  is  most 
likely  that  Archelaus  also  had  ceased  to  govern,  and  was  already  in  exile. 
His  accession  to  power  had  been  attended  with  dreadful  fighting  in  the 
streets,  with  bloodshed  at  sacred  festivals,  and  with  wholesale  crucifix- 
ions ;  his  reign  of  ten  years  was  one  continued  season  of  disorder  and  dis- 
content ;  andj  at  last,  he  was  banished  to  Vienna  on  the  Rhone,  that  Judaea 
might  be  formally  constituted  into  a  Roman  province.^  We  suppose  Saul 
to  have  come  from  Tarsus  to  Jerusalem  when  one  of  the  four  governors, 
who  preceded  Pontius  Pilate,  was  in  power, —  either  Coponius,  or  Marcus 
Ambivius,  or  Annius  Rufus,  or  Valerius  Gratus.  The  governor  resided 
in  the  town  of  Caesarea.  Soldiers  were  quartered  there  and  at  Jerusalem, 
and  throughout  Judaea,  wherever  the  turbulence  of  the  people  made  gar- 
risons necessary.  Centurions  were  in  the  country  towns ;  ^  soldiers  on 
the  banks  of  the  Jordan.*  There  was  no  longer  even  the  show  of  inde- 
pendence. The  revolution,  of  which  Herod  had  sown  the  seeds,  now 
came  to  maturity.  The  only  change  since  his  death  in  the  appearance 
of  the  country  was  that  every  thing  became  more  Roman  than  before. 
Roman  money  was  current  in  the  markets.  Roman  words  were  incorpo- 
rated in  the  popular  language.  Roman  buildings  were  conspicuous  in  all 
the  towns.  Even  those  two  independent  principalities  which  two  sons  of 
Herod  governed,  between  the  provinces  of  Judaea  and  Syria,  exhibited 

1  See  Ps.  Ixviii.  and  cxxiL  The  Herodian  family,  after  their  father's  death, 

-  While    the    question  of   succession  was  had  gone  to  Eome,  where  Augustus  received 

pending,  the  Roman  soldiers  under  Sabinus  them  in  the  Temple  of  Apollo.    Archelaus  had 

had  a  despenite  conflict  with  the  Jews.     Fight-  never  the  title  of  king,  though  his  father  h«d 

ing  and  sacrificing  went  on  together.     Varus,  desired  it. 

the  governor  of  Syria,  marched  from  Antioch  ^  Luke  vii.  1-10. 

to  Jerusalem,  and  2,000  Jews  were  crucified.  *  Luke  iii-  14. 


52  THE   LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  ii 

all  the  general  character  of  the  epoch.  Philip,  the  tetrarcli  of  Gaulonitis, 
called  Bethsaida,  on  the  north  of  the  lake  of  Genesareth,  by  the  name 
of  Julias,  in  honor  of  the  family  who  reigned  at  Rome.  Aiitipas,  the 
tetrarch  of  Galilee,  built  Tiberias  on  the  south  of  the  same  lake,  in  honor 
of  the  emperor  who  about  this  time  (a.d.  14)  succeeded  his  illustrious 
step-father. 

These  political  changes  had  been  attended  with  a  gradual  alteration 
in  the  national  feelings  of  the  Jews  with  regard  to  their  religion.  That 
the  sentiment  of  political  nationality  was  not  extinguished  was  proved 
too  well  by  all  the  horrors  of  Vespasian's  and  Hadrian's  reigns  ;  but 
there  was  a  growing  tendency  to  cling  rather  to  their  Law  and  Religion 
as  the  centre  of  their  unity.  The  great  conquests  of  the  Heathen  pow- 
ers may  have  been  intended  by  Divine  Providence  to  prepare  this  change 
in  the  Jewish  mind.  Even  under  the  Maccabees,  the  idea  of  the  state 
began  to  give  place,  in  some  degree,  to  the  idea  of  religious  life.  Under 
Herod,  the  old  unity  was  utterly  broken  to  pieces.  The  high  priests  were 
set  up  and  put  down  at  his  caprice  ;  and  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Sanhedrin 
was  invaded  by  the  most  arbitrary  interference.  Under  the  governors,  the 
power  of  the  Sanhedrin  was  still  more  abridged  ;  and  high  priests  were 
raised  and  deposed,  as  the  Christian  patriarchs  of  Constantinople  have  for 
some  ages  been  raised  and  deposed  by  the  Sultan :  so  that  it  is  often 
a  matter  of  great  difficulty  to  ascertain  who  was  high  priest  at  Jerusalem 
in  any  given  year  at  this  period.^  Thus  the  hearts  of  the  Jews  turned 
more  and  more  towards  the  fulfilment  of  Prophecy,  —  to  the  practice  of 
Religion,  —  to  the  interpretation  of  the  Law.  All  else  was  now  hopeless. 
The  Pharisees,  the  Scribes,  and  the  Lawyers  were  growing  into  a  more 
important  body  even  than  the  Priests  and  the  Levites  ;  ^  and  that  system 
of  "  Rabbinism  "  was  beginning, "  which,  supplanting  the  original  religion 
of  the  Jews,  became,  after  the  ruin  of  the  Temple  and  the  extinction  of 
the  public  worship,  a  new  bond  of  national  union,  the  great  distinctive 
feature  in  the  character  of  modern  Judaism."' 

The  Apostolic  age  was  remarkable  for  the  growth  of  learned  Rabbinical 
schools ;  but  of  these  the  most  eminent  were  the  rival  schools  of  Hillel 
and  Schammai.  These  sages  of  the  law  were  spoken  of  by  the  Jews, 
and  their  proverbs  quoted,  as  the  seven  wise  men  were  quoted  by  the 
Greeks.  Their  traditional  systems  run  through  all  the  Talmudical  writ- 
ings, as  the  doctrines  of  the  Scotists  and  Thomists  run  through  the  Mid- 

1  See  Acts  xxiii.  5.  these  schools,  some  were  Levites,  as  Samuel; 

2  In  earlier  periods  of  Jewish  history,  the  some  belonged  to  the  other  tribes,  as  Saul  and 
prophets  seem  often  to  have  been  a  more  influ-       David. 

ential  body  than  the  priests.     It  is  remarkable  *  Milman's    Eifton/   of  the   Jews,  vol.    iii 

that  we   do   not    read  of   "  Schools    of   the      p.  100. 
f.*rophets  "  in  any  of  the  Levitical  cities      In 


CHAP.  II.  GAMALIEL.  53 

die  Ages.'  Both  were  Pharisaic  schools :  but  the  former  upheld  the  honor 
of  tradition  as  even  superior  to  the  law ;  the  latter  despised  the  tradition- 
ists  when  they  clashed  with  Moses.  The  antagonism  between  them  was 
so  great,  that  it  was  said  that  even  "  Elijah  the  Tishbite  would  never  be 
able  to  reconcile  the  disciples  of  Hillel  and  Schammai." 
-  Of  these  two  schools,  that  of  Hillel  was  by  far  the  most  influential  in 
its  own  day,  and  its  decisions  have  been  held  authoritative  by  the  greater 
number  of  later  Rabbis.  The  most  eminent  ornament  of  this  school  was 
Gamaliel,  whose  fame  is  celebrated  in  the  Talmud.  Hillel  was  the  father 
of  Simeon,  and  Simeon  the  father  of  Gamaliel.  It  has  been  imagined 
by  some  that  Simeon  was  the  same  old  man  who  took  the  infant  Saviour 
in  his  arms,  and  pronounced  the  Nunc  Bimittis?  It  is  difficult  to  give  a 
conclusive  proof  of  this ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  this  Gamaliel  was  the 
same  who  wisely  pleaded  the  cause  of  St.  Peter  and  the  other  Apostles,' 
and  who  had  previously  educated  tlie  future  Apostle  St.  Paul.*  His 
learning  was  so  eminent,  and  his  character  so  revered,  that  he  is  one  of 
the  seven  who  alone  among  Jewish  doctors  have  been  honored  with  the 
title  of  "  Rabban."^  As  Aquinas,  among  the  schoolmen,  was  called  Doctor 
Ang-elicus^  and  Bonaventura  Doctor  Seraphicus^  so  Gamaliel  was  called 
the  "Beauty  of  the  Law ; "  and  it  is  a  saying  of  the  Talmud,  that  "since 
Rabban  Gamaliel  died,  the  glory  of  the  Law  has  ceased."  He  was  a 
Pharisee;  but  anecdotes®  are  told  of  him,  which  show  that  he  was  not 
trammelled  by  the  narrow  bigotry  of  the  sect.  He  had  no  antipathy  to 
the  Greek  learning.  He  rose  above  the  prejudices  of  his  party.  Our 
impulse  is  to  class  him  with  the  best  of  the  Pharisees,  like  Nicodemus  and 
Joseph  of  Arimathaea.  Candor  and  wisdom  seem  to  have  been  features 
of  his  character ;  and  this  agrees  with  what  we  read  of  him  in  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,''  that  he  was  "  had  in  reputation  of  all  the  people,"  and 
with  his  honest  and  intelligent  argument  when  Peter  was  brought  before 
the  Council.  It  has  been  imagined  by  some  that  he  became  a  Ciiristian : 
and  why  he  did  not  become  so  is  known  only  to  Him  who  understands 
the  secrets  of  the  human  heart.  But  he  lived  and  died  a  Jew  ;  and  a 
well-known  prayer  against  Christian  heretics  was  composed  or  sanctioned 

1  See  Prideaux's  Connection,  part  11.  pref.       cile  this  with  the  Jewish  law,  he  replied,  that 
p.  12,  and  beginning  of  book  viii.  the  bath  was  there  before  the  statue  ;  that  the 

2  Luke  ii.  25-35.  bath  was  not  made  for  the  goddess,  but  the 
8  Acts  V.  34-40.  statue  for  the  bath.  Tholuck,  Eng.  transl.  p.  17. 
*  Acts  xxii.  3.  'I  Acts  v.  34.  Yet  Nicodemus  and  Joseph 
^  This  title  is  the  same  as  "  Rabboni "  ad-  declared   themselves    the    friends    of   Christ, 

(pressed  to  our  Lord  by  Mary  Magdalene  which   Gamaliel  never  did.      And  wc  should 

®  He  bathed  once  at  Ptolemais  in  an  apart-  hardly  expect    to  find   a  violent    persecutor 

ment  where  a  statue  was  erected  to  a  Heathen  among  the  pupils  of  a  really  candid  and  un- 

goddess  ;  and  being  asked  how  he  could  recon-  prejudiced  man. 


54  THE  LIFE  A2fD  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ii. 

by  liim.^  He  died  eighteen  years  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,^ 
about  the  time  of  St.  Paul's  shipwreck  at  Malta,  and  was  buried  with 
great  honor.  Another  of  his  pupils,  Onkelos,  the  author  of  the  cele- 
brated TargUm,  raised  to  him  such  a  funeral-pile  of  rich  materials  as  had 
never  before  been  known,  except  at  the  burial  of  a  king. 

If  we  were  briefly  to  specify  the  three  eifects  which  the  teaching  and 
example  of  Gamaliel  may  be  supposed  to  have  produced  on  the  mind  of 
St.  Paul,  they  would  be  as  follows :  —  candor  and  honesty  of  judgment, 
—  a  willingness  to  study  and  make  use  of  Greek  authors,  —  and  a  keen 
and  watchful  enthusiasm  for  the  Jewish  law.  We  shall  see  these  traits 
of  character  soon  exemplified  in  his  life.  But  it  is  time  that  we  should 
inquire  into  the  manner  of  communicating  instruction,  and  learn  some- 
thing concerning  the  places  where  instruction  was  communicated,  in  the 
Bchools  of  Jerusalem. 

Until  the  formation  of  the  later  Rabbinical  colleges,  which  flourished 
after  the  Jews  were  driven  from  Jerusalem,  the  instruction  in  the  divinity 
schools  seems  to  have  been  chiefly  oral.  There  was  a  prejudice  against 
the  use  of  any  book  except  the  Sacred  Writings.  The  system  was  one  of 
Scriptural  Exegesis.  Josephus  remarks,  at  the  close  of  his  "  Antiqui- 
ties,"*'' that  the  one  thing  most  prized  by  his  countrymen  was  power  in 
the  exposition  of  Scripture.  "  They  give  to  that  man,"  he  says,  "  the 
testimony  of  being  a  wise  man,  who  is  fully  acquainted  with  our  laws, 
and  is  able  to  interpret  their  meaning."  So  far  as  we  are  able  to  learn 
from  our  sources  of  information,  the  method  of  instruction  was  some- 
thing of  this  kind.*  At  the  meetings  of  learned  men,  some  passage  of  the 
Old  Testament  was  taken  as  a  text,  or  some  topic  for  discussion  pro- 
pounded in  Hebrew,  translated  into  the  vernacular  tongue  by  means  of  a 
Chaldee  paraphrase,  and  made  the  subject  of  commentary :  various  inter- 
pretations were  given :  aphorisms  were  propounded :  allegories  suggested : 
and  the  opinions  of  ancient  doctors  quoted  and  discussed.  At  these  dis- 
cussions the  younger  students  were  present,  to  listen  or  to  inquire,  —  or, 
in  the  sacred  words  of  St.  Luke,  "  both  hearing  them  and  asking  them 
questions  : "  for  it  was  a  peculiarity  of  the  Jewish  schools,  that  the  pupil 
was  encouraged  to  catechise  the  teacher.  Contradictory  opinions  were 
expressed  with  tlie  utmost  freedom.     This  is  evident  from  a  cursory  ex- 

'  The  prayer  is  given  in  Mr.  Home's  Intro-  destroyest  the  wicked,  and  bringest  dowa  the 

duction  to  the  Scriptures,  8th  ed.  vol.  iii.  p.  261,  proud." 

as  follows :  "  Let  there  be  no  hope  to  them  ^  m^  gon  Simeon,  who  succeeded  him  as 

who  apostatize  from  the  true  religion  ;  and  let  president  of  the  Council,  perished  in  the  ruiat 

heretics,  how  many  soever  they  be,  all  perish  of  the  city. 
as  in  a  moment.      And  let  the  kingdom  of  ^  Ant.  xx.  11,2. 

pride  be  speedily  rooted  out  and  broken  in  our  *  See    Dr.   Kitto's    Cyclopoedia  of  Biblical 

days.     Blessed  art  thou,  0  Lord  our  God,  who  Literature,  art.  "  Schools  and  Synagogues." 


cHAP.u.  KABBINICAL   SCHOOLS.  55 

amination  of  the  Talmud,  which  gives  us  the  best  notions  of  the  scholastic 
disputes  of  the  Jews.  This  remarkable  body  of  Rabbinical  jurisprudence 
has  been  compared  to  the  Roman  body  of  civil  law :  but  in  one  respect 
it  might  suggest  a  better  compai'ison  with  our  own  English  common  law, 
in  that  it  is  a  vast  accumulation  of  various  and  often  inconsistent  prece- 
dents. The  arguments  and  opinions  which  it  contains,  show  very  plainly 
that  the  Jewish  doctors  must  often  have  been  occupied  with  the  most 
frivolous  questions;  —  that  the  "  mint,  anise,  and  cumin"  were  eagerly 
discussed,  while  the  "weightier  matters  of  the  law"  were  neglected:  — 
but  we  should  not  be  justified  in  passing  a  hasty  judgment  on  ancient 
volumes,  which  are  full  of  acknowledged  difficulties.  What  we  read  of 
the  system  of  the  Cabala  has  often  the  appearance  of  an  unintelligible 
jargon  :  but  in  all  ages  it  has  been  true  that  "  the  words  of  the  wise  are 
as  goads,  and  as  nails  fastened  by  the  masters  of  assemblies."^  If  we 
could  look  back  upon  the  assemblies  of  the  Rabbis  of  Jerusalem,  with 
Gamaliel  in  the  midst,  and  Saul  among  the  younger  speakers,  it  is  pos- 
sible that  the  scene  would  be  as  strange  and  as  different  from  a  place 
of  modern  education,  as  the  schools  now  seen  by  travellers  in  the  East 
differ  from  contemporary  schools  in  England.  But  the  same  might  be 
said  of  the  walks  of  Plato  in  the  Academy,  or  the  lectures  of  Aristotle 
in  the  Lyceum.  It  is  certain  that  these  free  and  public  discussions  of 
the  Jews  tended  to  create  a  high  degree  of  general  intelligence  among  the 
people ;  that  the  students  were  trained  there  in  a  system  of  excellent 
dialectics ;  that  they  learnt  to  express  themselves  in  a  rapid  and  senten- 
tious style,  often  with  much  poetic  feeling ;  and  acquired  an  admirable 
acquaintance  with  tlie  words  of  the  ancient  Scriptures.^ 

These  "Assemblies  of  the  Wise"  were  possibly  a  continuation  of  the 
"  Schools  of  the  Prophets,"  which  are  mentioned  in  the  historical  books 
of  the  Old  Testament.'  Wherever  the  earlier  meetings  were  held,  whether 
at  the  gate  of  the  city,  or  in  some  more  secluded  place,  we  read  of  no 
buildings  for  purposes  of  worship  or  instruction  before  the  Captivity. 
During  that  melancholy  period,  when  the  Jews  mourned  over  their  sep- 
aration from  the  Temple,  the  necessity  of  assemblies  must  have  been 
deeply  felt,  for  united  prayer  and  mutual  exhortation,  for  the  singing  of 
the  "  Songs  of  Zion,"  and  for  remembering  the  "  Word  of  the  Lord." 
When  they  returned,  the  public  reading  of  the  law  became  a  practice  of 
universal  interest :    and  from  this  period  we  must  date  the  erection  of 

1  Eccles.  xii.  11.  the  punishments  were,  confinement,  fioggiug, 

^  It   seems  that    half-yearly   examinations  and  excommunication. 

were  held  on  four  sabbaths  of  the  months  Adar  ^  i  gam.  x.  5,  6,  xix.  20  ;  2  Kings  ii.  3,  ft, 

and  Elul  (February  and  August),  when  the  iv.  38. 

scholars  made  recitations  and  were  promoted  : 


66  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  h. 

Synagogues  ^  in  the  different  towns  of  Palestine.  So  that  St.  James  could 
say,  in  the  council  at  Jerusalem :  "  Moses  of  old  time  hath  in  every  city 
them  that  preach  him,  being  read  in  the  synagogues  every  Sabbath  day."  ^ 
To  this  later  period  the  74th  Psalm  may  be  referred,  which  laments  over 
"  the  burning  of  all  the  synagogues  of  God  in  the  land."^  —  These  build- 
ings are  not  mentioned  by  Josephus  in  any  of  the  earlier  passages  of  his 
history.  But  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles  we  have  the  fullest  evidence 
that  they  existed  in  all  the  small  towns  in  Judaea,  and  in  all  the  principal 
cities  where  the  Jews  were  dispersed  abroad.  It  seems  that  the  synagogues 
often  consisted  of  two  apartments,  one  for  prayer,  preaching,  and  the 
offices  of  public  worship ;  the  other  for  the  meetings  of  learned  men,  for 
discussions  concerning  questions  of  religion  and  discipline,  and  for  purposes 
of  education.*  Thus  the  Synagogues  and  the  Schools  cannot  be  con- 
sidered as  two  separate  subjects.  No  doubt  a  distinction  must  be  drawn 
between  the  smaller  schools  of  the  country  villages,  and  the  great  divinity 
schools  of  Jerusalem.  The  synagogue  which  was  built  by  the  Centurion 
at  Capernaum  *  was  unquestionably  a  far  less  important  place  than  those 
synagogues  in  the  Holy  City,  where  "  the  Libertines,  and  Cyrenians,^  and 
Alexandrians,  with  those  of  Asia  and  Cilicia,"  rose  up  as  one  man,  and 
disputed  against  St.  Stephen.'^  We  have  here  five  groups  of  foreign  Jews, 
—  two  from  Africa,  two  from  Western  Asia,  and  one  from  Europe  ;  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Israelites  of  Syria,  Babylonia,  and  the  East  were 
similarly  represented.  The  Rabbinical  writers  say  that  there  were  480 
synagogues  in  Jerusalem  ;  and  though  this  must  be  an  exaggeration,  yet 
no  doubt  all  shades  of  Hellenistic  and  Aramaic  opinions  found  a  home  in 
the  common  metropolis.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  an  eager  and  enthusiastic 
student  could  have  had  no  lack  of  excitements  to  stimulate  his  religious 

^  Basnage  assigns  the  erection  of  synagogues  "^  Acts  vi.  9.  It  is  difficult  to  classify  with 
to  the  time  of  the  Maccabees.  Meuschen  says  confidence  the  synagogues  mentioned  in  this 
that  schools  were  established  by  Ezra  ;  but  he  passage.  According  to  Wicscler's  view,  men- 
gives  no  proof.  It  is  probable  that  they  were  tioned  above,  only  one,  synagogue  is  intended, 
■early  contemporaneous.  belonging  to  Ubertini  of  certain  districts  in 
2  Acts  XV.  21.  Northern  Africa  and  Western  Asia.  Others 
■  Ps.  xxiv.  8.  conceive  that  five  synagogues  are  intended,  viz. 

*  The  place  where  the  Jews  met  for  wor-  the  Asian,  Cilician,  Alexandrian,  Cyrenian,  and 
ihip  was  called  Bet-ha-Cneset,  as  opposed  that  of  Jewish  freedmen  from  Italy.  We  think 
to  the  Bet-hii-Midrash,  where  lectures  were  the  most  natural  view  is  to  resolve  the  five 
given.  The  latter  terra  is  still  said  to  bo  groups  into  three,  and  to  suppose  three  syna- 
nsed  in  Poland  and  Germany  for  the  place  gogues,  one  Asiatic,  one  African,  and  one 
where  Jewish  lectures  are  given  on  the  Law.  European.      An    "  Alexandrian    synagogue," 

'  Luke  vii.  .5.  built  by  Alexandrian  artisans  who  were  era- 

•  The  beautiful  coins  of  Cyrene  show  how  ployed  about  the  Temple,  is  mentioned  in  the 
entirely  it  was  a  Greek  city,  and  therefore  im-  Talmud.  We  have  ventured  below  to  use  the 
ply  that  its  Jews  were  Hellenistic,  like  those  phrase  "  Cilician  Synagogue,"  which  cannot 
of  Alexandria.     See  above,  p.  16,  note.  involve  any  serious  inaccuracy. 


ea^j..  n.  MODE   OF  TEACHING.  57 

and  intellectual  activity,  if  he  spent  the  years  of  his  youth  in  that  city  "  at 
the  feet  of  Gamaliel." 

It  has  been  contended,  that  when  St.  Paul  said  he  was  "  brought  up  " 
in  Jerusalem  "  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,"  he  meant  that  he  had  lived  at  the 
Rabban's  house,  and  eaten  at  his  table.  But  the  words  evidently  point  to 
the  customary  posture  of  Jewish  students  at  a  school.  There  is  a  curious 
passage  in  the  Talmud,  where  it  is  said,  that  "  from  the  days  of  Moses  to 
Rabban  Gamaliel,  they  stood  up  to  learn  the  law ;  but  when  Rabban 
Gamaliel  died,  sickness  came  into  the  world,  and  they  sat  down  to  learn 
the  Law."  We  need  not  stop  to  criticise  this  sentence,  and  it  is  not  easy 
to  reconcile  it  with  other  authorities  on  the  same  subject.  "  To  sit  at  the 
feot  of  a  teacher  "  was  a  proverbial  expression  ;  as  when  Mary  is  said  to 
have  "  sat  at  Jesus'  feet  and  heard  His  word."  ^  But  the  proverbial  ex- 
pression must  have  arisen  from  a  well-known  custom.  The  teacher  was 
seated  on  an  elevated  platform,  or  on  the  ground,  and  the  pupils  around 
him  on  low  seats  or  on  the  floor.  Maimonides  says: — "How  do  the 
masters  teach  ?  The  doctor  sits  at  the  head,  and  the  disciples  surround 
him  like  a  crown,  that  they  may  all  see  the  doctor  and  hear  his  words. 
Nor  is  the  doctor  seated  on  a  seat,  and  the  disciples  on  the  ground ;  but 
all  are  on  seats,  or  all  on  the  floor."  St.  Ambrose  says,  in  his  Commen- 
tary on  the  1st  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  (xiv.),  that  "  it  is  the  tradition 
of  the  synagogue  that  they  sit  while  they  dispute  ;  the  elders  in  dignity  on 
high  chairs,  those  beneath  them  on  low  seats,  and  the  last  of  all  on  mats 
upon  the  pavement."  And  again  Philo  says,  that  the  children  of  the 
Essenes  sat  at  the  feet  of  the  masters,  who  interpreted  the  law,  and  ex- 
plained its  figurative  sense.  And  the  same  thing  is  expressed  in  that 
maxim  of  the  Jews  —  "  Place  thyself  in  the  dust  at  the  feet  of  the  wise." 

In  this  posture  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  spent  his  schoolboy  days,  an 
eager  and  indefatigable  student.  "  He  that  giveth  his  mind  to  the  law  of 
the  Most  High,  and  is  occupied  in  the  meditation  thereof,  will  seek  out  the 
wisdom  of  all  the  ancient,  and  be  occupied  in  prophecies.  He  will  keep 
the  sayings  of  the  renowned  men  ;  and  where  subtle  parables  are,  he  will 
be  there  also.  He  will  seek  out  the  secrets  of  grave  sentences,  and  be  con- 
versant in  dark  parables.  He  shall  serve  among  great  men,  and  appear 
among  princes :  he  will  travel  through  strange  countries  ;  for  he  hath 
tried  the  good  and  the  evil  among  men."  ^  Such  was  the  pattern  proposed 
to  himself  by  an  ardent  follower  of  the  Rabbis  ;  and  we  cannot  wonder 
that  Saul,  with  such  a  standard  before  him,  and  with  so  ardent  a  tempera- 
ment, "  outran  in  Judaism  many  of  his  own  age  and  nation,  being  more 
exceedingly  zealous  of  the  traditions  of  his  Fathers."  *    Intellectually,  his 

1  Luke  X  39 :  see  viii.  35.  '^  Ecclus.  xxx'x.  1-4.  »  Gal.  i.  U. 


58  THE   LIFE   AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PA-UL.  chajp.  n, 

mind  was  trained  to  logical  acuteness,  bis  memory  became  well  stored 
witli  "  bard  sentences  of  old,"  and  be  acquired  tbe  facility  of  quick  and 
apt  quotation  of  Scripture.  Morally,  he  was  a  strict  observer  of  tbe  re- 
qairemeuts  of  tbe  Law  ;  and,  wbile  be  led  a  careful  conscientious  life, 
after  tbe  example  of  his  ancestors,^  be  gradually  imbibed  tbe  spirit  of  a 
fervent  persecuting  zeal.  Among  bis  fellow-students,  who  flocked  to 
Jerusalem  from  Egypt  and  Babylonia,  from  tbe  coasts  of  Greece  and  bis 
native  Cilicia,  he  was  known  and  held  in  high  estimation  as  a  rising  light 
in  Israel.  And  if  we  may  draw  a  natural  inference  from  another  sentence 
of  tbe  letter  which  has  just  been  quoted,  be  was  far  from  indifferent  to 
the  praise  of  men.^  Students  of  tbe  Law  were  called  "  tbe  holy  people  ;  " 
and  we  know  one  occasion  when  it  was  said,  "  This  people  who  knoweth 
not  tbe  Law  are  cursed."  ^  And  we  can  imagine  him  saying  to  himself, 
with  all  tbe  rising  pride  of  a  successful  Pharisee,  in  tbe  language  of  the 
Book  of  Wisdom  :  "  I  shall  have  estimation  among  the  multitude,  and 
honor  with  the  elders,  though  I  be  young.  I  shall  be  found  of  a  quick 
conceit  in  judgment,  and  shall  be  admired  in  the  sight  of  great  men. 
When  I  hold  my  tongue,  they  shall  bide  my  leisure ;  and  when  I  speak, 
they  shall  give  good  ear  unto  me."  * 

While  thus  he  was  passing  through  the  busy  years  of  his  student-life, 
nursing  his  religious  enthusiasm  and  growing  in  self-righteousness,  others 
were  advancing  towards  their  manhood,  not  far  from  Jerusalem,  of  whom 
then  he  knew  nothing,  but  for  whose  cause  be  was  destined  to  count  that 
loss  which  now  was  his  highest  gain.'  There  was  one  at  Hebron,  the 
son  of  a  priest  "  of  the  course  of  Abia,"  who  was  soon  to  make  his  voice 
heard  throughout  Israel  as  the  preacher  of  repentance  ;  there  were  boys  by 
the  Lake  of  Galilee,  mending  their  fathers'  nets,  who  were  hereafter  to  be 
the  teachers  of  the  World  ;  and  there  was  one,  at  Nazareth,  for  the  sake 
of  whose  love,  they,  and  Saul  himself,  and  thousands,  of  faithful  hearts 
throughout  all  future  ages,  should  unite  in  saying  :  — "  He  mus-t  increase, 
but  I  must  decrease."  It  is  possible  that  Gamaliel  may  have  been  one  of 
those  doctors  with  whom  Jesus  was  found  conversing  in  the  Temple.  It 
is  probable  that  Saul  may  have  been  within  tbe  precincts  of  the  Temple  at 
some  festival,  when  Mary  and  Joseph  came  up  from  Galilee.  It  is  certain 
that  the  eyes  of  tbe  Saviour  and  of  His  future  disciple  must  often  have 
rested  on  tbe  same  objects,  —  tbe  same  crowd  of  pilgrims  and  worshippers, 
—  the  same  walls  of  tbe  Holy  City,  —  tbe  same  olives  on  the  other  side  of 
the  valley  of  Jehosbapbat.  But  at  present  they  were  strangers.  The 
mysterious  human  life  of  Jesus  was  silently  advancing  towards  its  great 

1  2  Tim.  i.  3.  once  I  did)  to  please  men,  I  should  not  be  the 

^  Gal.  i.  10.     "  Am  I  now  seeking  to  con-       senant  of  Christ."  ^  John  vii.  49. 

ciliate  men'?  .  .  .  Nay,  if  I   still   strove   (as  *  Wisdom  viii.  10-12.      ^  See  Phil.  iii.  5-7 


CBjj.n.  STUDENT  LIFE   OF   ST.   PAUL.  59 

consummation.  Saul  was  growing  more  and  more  familiar  with  the  out- 
ward observances  of  the  Law,  and  gaining  that  experience  of  tlie  "  spirit 
of  bondage  "  which  should  enable  him  to  understand  himself,  and  to  teach 
to  others,  the  blessings  of  the  "  spirit  of  adoption."  He  was  feelhig  the 
pressure  of  that  yoke,  which,  in  the  words  of  St.  Peter,  "  neither  his  fathers 
nor  he  were  able  to  bear."  He  was  learning  (in  proportion  as  his  consci- 
entiousness increased)  to  tremble  at  the  slightest  deviation  from  the  Law 
as  jeopardizing  salvation :  "  whence  arose  that  tormenting  scrupulosity 
which  invented  a  number  of  limitations,  in  order  (by  such  self-imposed 
restraint)  to  guard  against  every  possible  transgression  of  the  Law."  • 
The  struggles  of  this  period  of  his  life  he  has  himself  described  in  the 
seventh  chapter  of  Romans.  Meanwhile,  year  after  year  passed  away. 
John  the  Baptist  appeared  by  the  waters  of  the  Jordan.  The  greatest 
event  of  the  world's  history  was  finished  on  Calvary.  The  sacrifice  for 
sin  was  offered  at  a  time  when  sin  appeared  to  be  the  most  triumphant. 
At  the  period  of  the  Crucifixion,  three  of  the  principal  persons  who  de- 
mand the  historian's  attention  are — the  Emperor  Tiberius,  spending  his 
life  of  shameless  lust  on  the  island  of  Capreae,  —  his  vile  minister,  Sejanus, 
revelling  in  cruelty  at  Rome, —  and  Pontius  Pilate  at  Jerusalem,  min- 
gling with  the  sacrifices  the  blood  of  the  Galileans.^  How  refreshing  is  it 
to  turn  from  these  characters  to  such  scenes  as  that  where  St.  John  re- 
ceives his  Lord's  dying  words  from  the  cross,  or  where  St.  Thomas  meets 
Him  after  the  resurrection,  to  have  his  doubts  turned  into  faith,  or  where 
St.  Stephen  sheds  the  first  blood  of  martyrdom,  praying  for  his  murderers  ! 
This  first  martyrdom  has  the  deepest  interest  for  us  ;  since  it  is  the  first 
occasion  when  Saul  comes  before  us  in  his  early  manhood.  Where  had 
he  been  during  these  years  which  we  have  rapidly  passed  over  in  a  few 
lines,  —  the  years  in  which  the  foundations  of  Christianity  were  laid  ? 
We  cannot  assume  that  he  had  remained  continuously  in  Jerusalem. 
Many  years  had  elapsed  since  he  came,  a  boy,  from  his  home  at  Tarsus. 
He  must  have  attained  the  age  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  when  our 
Lord's  public  ministry  began.  His  education  was  completed  ;  and  we 
may  conjecture,  with  much  probability,  that  he  returned  to  Tarsus. 
When  he  says,  in  the  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians  (ix.  1),  —  "  Have  I  not 
seen  the  Lord  ?  "  and  when  he  speaks  in  the  second  (v.  16)  of  having 
"  known  Christ  after  the  flesh,"  he  seems  only  to  allude,  in  the  first  case, 
to  his  vision  on  the  road  to  Damascus  ;  and,  in  the  second,  to  his  carnal 
opinions  concerning  the  Messiah.  It  is  hardly  conceivable,  that  if  he  had 
been  at  Jerusalem  during  our  Lord's  public  ministration  there,  he  should 
uever  allude  to  the  fact.^     In  this  case,  he  would  surely  have  been  among 

1  Neander.  2  Luke  xiii.  1.  difficult  to  write  with  confidence  concerning 

■  In  the  absence  of  more  information,  it  is       this  part  of  St.  Paul's  life.     Benson  thinks  he 


60  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  cxap.  n. 

the  persecutors  of  Jesus,  and  have  referred  to  this  as  the  ground  of  his 
remorse,  instead  of  expressing  his  repentance  for  his  opposition  merely  to 
the  Saviour's  followers.^ 

If  he  returned  to  the  banks  of  the  Cydnus,  he  would  find  that  many 
changes  had  taken  place  among  his  friends  in  the  interval  which  had 
brought  him  from  boyhood  to  manhood.  But  the  only  change  in  himself 
was  that  he  brought  back  with  him,  to  gratify  the  pride  of  his  parents,  if 
they  still  were  living,  a  mature  knowledge  of  the  Law,  a  stricter  life,  a 
more  fervent  zeal.  And  here,  in  the  schools  of  Tarsus,  he  had  abundant 
opportunity  for  becoming  acquainted  with  that  Greek  literature,  the  taste 
for  which  he  had  caught  from  Gamaliel,  and  for  studying  the  writings  of 
Philo  and  the  Hellenistic  Jews.  Supposing  him  to  be  thus  employed,  we 
will  describe  in  a  few  words  the  first  beginnings  of  the  Apostolic  Church, 
and  the  appearance  presented  by  it  to  that  Judaism  in  the  midst  of  which 
it  rose,  and  follow  its  short  history  to  the  point  where  the  "  young  man, 
whose  name  was  Saul,"  re-appears  at  Jerusalem,  in  connection  with  his 
friends  of  the  Cilician  Synagogue,  "  disputing  with  Stephen." 

Before  our  Saviour  ascended  into  heaven.  He  said  to  His  disciples : 
"  Ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judaea, 
and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth."  ^  And 
when  Matthias  had  been  chosen,  and  the  promised  blessing  had  been  re- 
ceived on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  this  order  was  strictly  followed.  First 
the  Gospel  was  proclaimed  in  the  City  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  numbers 
of  those  who  believed  gradually  rose  from  120  to  5,000.^  Until  the 
disciples  were  "  scattered,"  *  "  upon  the  persecution  that  arose  about 
Stephen,"*  Jerusalem  was  the  scene  of  all  that  took  place  in  the 
Church  of  Christ.  We  read  as  yet  of  no  communication  of  the  truth  to 
the  Gentiles,  nor  to  the  Samaritans;  no  hint  even  of  any  Apostolic 
preaching  in  the  country  parts  of  Judaea.  It  providentially  happened, 
indeed,  that  the  first  outburst  of  the  new  doctrine,  with  all  its  miraculous 
evidence,  was  witnessed  by  "  Jews  and  proselytes  "  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,®  They  had  come  up  to  the  Festival  of  Pentecost  from  the  banks 
of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  of  the  Nile  and  of  the  Tiber,  from  the  prov- 
inces of  Asia  Minor,  from  the  desert  of  Arabia,  and  from  the  islands  of 
tlie  Greek  Sea  ;  and  when  they  returned  to  their  homes,  they  carried 
with  them  news  wliich  prepared  the  way  for  the  Glad  Tidings  about  to 
issue  from  Mount  Zion  to  "  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth."    But  as  yef 

was  a  young  stuilcnt  durino;  our  Lord's  minis-  ^  1  Cor.  xv.  9  ;  Acts  xxh  20. 

try,  and  places  a  considerable  interval  between  ^  Acts  i.  8. 

the  Ascension  of  Christ  and  the  persecution  of  '  Acts  i.  15  ;  ii.  41 ;  It.  4 

Stephen.    Lardner  thinks  that  the  restraint  and  *  Acts  viii.  1. 

retirement  of  a  student  might  have  kept  him  in  *  Acts  xi.  19. 

i^orance  of  what  was  going  on  in  the  world.  •  Acts  ii.  9-11. 


CHAP.n.  FIRST   ASPECT   OF  THE   CHURCH.  61 

the  Gospel  lingered  on  the  Holy  Hill.  The  first  acts  of  the  Apostles 
were  "  prayer  and  supplication  "  in  tlie  '•  upper  room  ; "  breaking  of 
bread  "  from  house  to  house  ;  "  ^  miracles  in  the  Temple ;  gatherings  of 
the  people  in  Solomon's  cloister ;  and  the  bearing  of  testimony  in  the 
council  chamber  of  the  Sanhedrin. 

One  of  the  chief  characteristics  of  the  Apostolic  Church  was  the 
bountiful  charity  of  its  members  one  towards  another.  Many  of  the 
Jews  of  Palestine,  and  therefore  many  of  the  earliest  Christian  converts, 
were  extremely  poor.  The  odium  incurred  by  adopting  the  new  doctrine 
might  undermine  the  livelihood  of  some  who  depended  on  their  trade  for 
support,  and  this  would  make  almsgiving  necessary.  But  the  Jews  of 
Palestine  were  relatively  poor,  compared  with  those  of  the  dispersion. 
We  see  this  exemplified  on  later  occasions,  in  the  contributions  which  St. 
Paul  more  than  once  anxiously  promoted.^  And  in  the  very  first  days 
of  the  Church,  we  find  its  wealthier  members  placing  their  entire  posses- 
sions at  the  disposal  of  the  Apostles.  Not  that  there  was  any  abolition 
of  the  rights  of  property,  as  the  words  of  St.  Peter  to  Ananias  very  well 
show.^  But  those  who  were  rich  gave  up  what  God  had  given  them,  in 
the  spirit  of  generous  self-sacrifice,  and  according  to  the  true  principles 
of  Christian  communism,  which  regards  property  as  intrusted  to  the 
possessor,  not  for  himself,  but  for  the  good  of  the  whole  community,  —  to 
be  distributed  according  to  such  methods  as  his  charitable  feeling  and 
conscientious  judgment  may  approve.  The  Apostolic  Church  was,  in 
this  respect,  in  a  healthier  condition  than  the  Church  of  modern  days. 
But  even  then  we  find  ungenerous  and  suspicious  sentiments  growing  up 
in  the  midst  of  the  general  benevolence.  That  old  jealousy  between  the 
Aramaic  and  Hellenistic  Jews  re-appeared.  Their  party  feeling  was 
excited  hf  some  real  or  apparent  unfairness  in  the  distribution  of  the 
fund  set  apart  for  the  poor.  "  A  murmuruig  of  the  Grecians  against  the 
Hebrews,"  *  or  of  the  Hebrews  against  the  Grecians,  had  been  a  com- 
mon occurrence  for  at  least  two  centuries  ;  and,  notwithstanding  the 
power  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  none  will  wonder  that  it  broke  out  again 
even  among  those  who  had  become  obedient  to  the  doctrine  of  Christ. 
That  the  widows'  fund  might  be  carefully  distributed,  seven  almoners  or 
deacons  *  were  appointed,  of  whom  tlie  most  eminent  was  St.  Stephen, 
described  as  a  man  "  full  of  faith,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  and  as  one 

Or  rather  "  at  home,"  Acts  ii.  46,  —  i.e.  ^  Acts  v.  4. 

in   their  meetings   at  the  private  houses  of  *  Acts  vi,  1. 

Christians,  as  opposed  to  the  public  devotions  *  The  general  question  of  the  Diaconate  in 

in  the  Temple.  the  primitive  Church  is  considered  in  Chap. 

^  Acts  xi.  29,  30  ;  and  again  Rom.  xv.  25,  XIII. 
26,  compared  with  Acts  xxiv.  1 7  ;  1  Cor.  xvi, 
1-4;  2  Cor.  viii.  1-4. 


62  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  n. 

who,  "  full  of  faith  and  power,  did  great  wonders  and  miracles  among 
the  people."  It  will  be  observed  that  these  seven  men  have  Greek 
names,  and  that  one  was  a  proselyte  from  the  Greco-Syriau  city  of 
Antioch.  It  was  natural,  from  the  peculiar  character  of  the  quarrel, 
that  Hellenistic  Jews  should  have  been  appointed  to  this  office.  And 
this  circumstance  must  be  looked  on  as  divinely  arranged.  For  the 
introduction  of  that  party,  which  was  most  free  from  local  and  national 
prejudices,  into  the  very  ministry  of  the  Church,  must  have  had  an 
important  influence  in  preparing  the  way  for  the  admission  of  the  Gen- 
tiles. 

Looking  back,  from  our  point  of  view,  upon  the  community  at  Jerusa- 
lem, we  see  in  it  the  beginning  of  that  great  society,  the  Church,  which 
has  continued  to  our  own  time,  distinct  both  from  Jews  and  Heathens, 
and  which  will  continue  till  it  absorbs  both  the  Heathen  and  the  Jews. 
But  to  the  contemporary  Jews  themselves  it  wore  a  very  dijEferent  appear- 
ance. From  the  Hebrew  point  of  view,  the  disciples  of  Christ  would  be 
regarded  as  a  Jewish  sect  or  synagogue.  The  synagogues,  as  we  have 
seen,  were  very  numerous  at  Jerusalem.^  There  were  already  the  Cilician 
Synagogue,  the  Alexandrian  Synagogue,  the  Synagogue  of  the  Liber- 
tines,^ —  and  to  these  was  now  added  (if  we  may  use  so  bold  an  ex- 
pression) the  Nazarene  Synagogue,  or  the  Synagogue  of  the  Galileans. 
Not  that  any  separate  building  was  erected  for  the  devotions  of  the  Chris- 
tians ;  for  they  met  from  house  to  house  for  prayer  and  the  breaking  of 
bread.  But  they  were  by  no  means  separated  from  the  nation :  *  they 
attended  the  festivals  ;  they  worshipped  in  the  Temple.  They  were  a 
new  and  singular  party  in  the  nation,  holding  peculiar  opinions,  and 
interpreting  the  Scriptures  in  a  peculiar  way.  This  is  the  aspect  under 
which  the  Church  would  first  present  itself  to  the  Jews,  and  among 
others  to  Saul  himself.  Many  different  opinions  were  expressed  in  the 
synagogues  concerning  the  nature  and  office  of  the  Messiah.  These 
Galileans  would  be  distinguished  as  holding  the  strange  opinion  that 
the  true  Messiah  was  that  notorious  "  malefactor,"  who  had  been  crucified 
at  the  last  Passover.  All  parties  in  the  nation  united  to  oppose,  and  if 
possible  to  crush,  the  monstrous  heresy. 

The  first  attempts  to  put  down  the  new  faith  came  from  the  Sadducees. 
The  high  priest  and  his  immediate  adherents*  belonged   to  this  party. 

^  See  p.  56.  The  fulfilment  of  the  ancient  law  was  the  as- 
*  Sec  pp.  17,  43,  ."JG.  pect  of  Christianity  to  which  the  attention  of 
"  "The  worship  of  the  Temple  and  the  the  Church  was  most  directed."  —  Prof.  Stan- 
synagogue  still  went  side  by  side  with  the  ley's  Sermon  on  St.  Peter,  p.  92 ;  see  James  ii. 
prayers,  and  the  breaking  of  bread  from  house  2,  where  the  word  "  synagogue  "  is  applied  to 
to  house.  .  .  .  The  Jewish  family  life  was  the  Christian  assemblies, 
highest  expression  of   Christian   unity.  .  .  *  Acts  iv.  1,  v.  17. 


CHAP.  n.  THE  SANHEDKIN.  63 

They  hated  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection ;  and  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ  was  the  corner-stone  of  all  St.  Peter's  teaching.  He  and 
the  other  Apostles  were  brought  before  the  Sanhedrin,  who  in  the  first 
instance  were  content  to  enjoin  silence  on  them.  The  order  was  dis- 
obeyed, and  they  were  summoned  again.  The  consequences  might  have 
been  fatal :  but  that  the  jealousy  between  the  Sadducees  and  Pharisees 
was  overruled,  and  the  instrumentality  of  one  man's  wisdom  was  used, 
b}'  Almighty  God,  for  the  protection  of  His  servants.  Gamaliel,  the 
eminent  Pharisee,  argued,  that  if  this  cause  were  not  of  God,  it  would 
come  to  nothing,  like  the  work  of  other  impostors ;  but,  if  it  were  of 
God,  they  could  not  safely  resist  what  must  certainly  prevail ;  and  the 
Apostles  of  Jesus  Christ  were  scourged,  and  allowed  to  "  depart  from 
the  presence  of  the  council,  rejoicing  that  they  were  counted  worthy  to 
suffer  shame  for  His  name." '  But  it  was  impossible  that  those  Phari- 
sees, whom  Christ  had  always  rebuked,  should  long  continue  to  be  protect- 
ors of  the  Christians.  On  this  occasion  we  find  the  teacher,  Gamaliel, 
taking  St.  Peter's  part :  at  the  next  persecution,  Saul,  the  pupil,  is 
actively  concerned  in  the  murder  of  St.  Stephen.  It  was  the  same  alter- 
nation of  the  two  prevailing  parties,  first  opposing  each  other,  and  then 
uniting  to  oppose  the  Gospel,  of  which  Saul  himself  had  such  intimate 
experience  when  he  became  St.  Paul.^ 

In  many  particulars  St.  Stephen  was  the  forerunner  of  St.  Paul.  Up 
to  this  time  the  conflict  had  been  chiefly  maintained  with  the  Aramaic 
Jews ;  but  Stephen  carried  the  war  of  the  Gospel  into  the  territory  of  the 
Hellenists.  The  learned  members  of  the  foreign  synagogues  endeavored 
to  refute  him  by  argument  or  by  clamor.  The  Cilician  Synagogue  is 
particularly  mentioned  (Acts  vi.  9,  10)  as  having  furnished  some  con- 
spicuous opponents  to  Stephen,  who  "  were  not  able  to  resist  the  wisdom 
and  the  spirit  with  which  he  spake."  We  cannot  doubt,  from  what  fol- 
lows, that  Saul  of  Tarsus,  already  distinguished  by  his  zeal  and  talents 
among  the  younger  champions  of  Pharisaism,  bore  a  leading  part  in  the 
discussions  which  here  took  place.  He  was  now,  though  still  "  a  young 
man"  (Acts  vii.  58),  yet  no  longer  in  the  first  opening  of  youth.  This 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  he  was  appointed  to  an  important  ecclesiasti- 
cal and  political  ofiice  immediately  afterwards.  Such  an  appointment  he 
could  hardly  have  received  from  the  Sanhedrin  before  the  age  of  thirty, 
and  probably  not  so  early ;  for  we  must  remember  that  a  peculiar  respect 
for  seniority  distinguished  the  Rabbinical  authorities.  We  can  imagine 
Saul,  then,  the  foremost  in  the  CiHcian  Synagogue,  "disputing"  against 
the  new  doctrines  of  the  Hellenistic  Deacon,  in  all  the  energy  of  vigorous 

1  Acts  T.  41.  ^  See  Acts  xxiii.  6,  9,  14,  20. 


64  THE   LIFK  AUD   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  ch>j>.  ii. 

maiihood,  and  with  all  the  vehement  logic  of  the  Rabbis.  How  often 
must  these  scenes  have  been  recalled  to  his  mind,  when  he  himself  took 
the  place  of  Stephen  in  many  a  Synagogue,  and  bore  the  brunt  of  the 
like  furious  assault ;  surrounded  by  "  Jews  filled  with  envy,  who  spake 
against  those  things  which  were  spoken  by  Paul,  contradicting  and 
blaspheming."^  But  this  clamor  and  these  arguments  were  not  sufficient 
to  convince  or  intimidate  St.  Stephen.  False  witnesses  were  then  sub- 
orned to  accuse  him  of  blasphemy  against  Moses  and  against  God,  —  who 
asserted,  when  he  was  dragged  before  the  Sanhedrin,  that  they  had  heard 
him  say  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  should  destroy  the  Temple,  and  change  the 
Mosaic  customs.  It  is  evident,  from  the  nature  of  this  accusation,  how 
remarkably  his  doctrine  was  an  anticipation  of  St.  Paul's.  As  a  Helle- 
nistic Jew,  he  was  less  entangled  in  the  prejudices  of  Hebrew  nationality 
than  his  Aramaic  brethi-en ;  and  he  seems  to  have  had  a  fuller  understand- 
ing of  the  final  intention  of  the  Gospel  than  St.  Peter  and  the  Apostles  had 
yet  attained  to.  Not  doubting  the  divinity  of  the  Mosaic  economy,  and 
not  faithless  to  the  God  of  Abraliam,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  he  yet  saw  that 
the  time  was  coming,  yea,  then  was,  when  the  "  true  worshippers  "  should 
worship  Him,  not  in  the  Temple  only  or  in  any  one  sacred  spot,  but 
everywhere  throughout  the  earth,  "in  spirit  and  in  truth:  "  and  for  this 
doctrine  he  was  doomed  to  die. 

When  we  speak  of  the  Sanhedrin,  we  are  brought  into  contact  with  an 
important  controversy.  It  is  much  disputed  whether  it  had  at  this  period 
the  power  of  inflicting  death. ^  On  the  one  hand,  we  apparently  find  the 
existence  of  this  power  denied  by  the  Jews  themselves  at  the  trial  of  our 
Lord  ;^  and,  on  the  other,  we  apparently  find  it  assumed  and  acted  on  in 
the  case  of  St.  Stephen.  The  Sanhedrin  at  Jerusalem,  like  the  Areopa- 
gus at  Athens,  was  the  highest  and  most  awful  court  of  judicature,  es- 
pecially in  matters  that  pertained  to  religion  ;  but,  like  that  Athenian 
tribunal,  its  real  power  gradually  shrunk,  though  the  reverence  attached 
to  its  decisions  remaiijied.  It  probably  assumed  its  systematic  form  under 
the  second  Hyrcanus  ;  *  and  it  became  a  fixed  institution  in  the  Common- 
wealth under  his  sons,  who  would  be  glad  to  have  their  authority  nomi- 
nally limited,  but  really  supported,  by  such  a  council.*    Under  the  Herods, 

1  Acts  xiii.  45.  Sanhedrin,  at  this  period  of  political  change 

"  Most  of  the  modem  German  critics  are  of  and  confusion,  on  this,  as  well   as  on  other 

opinion  that  they  had  not  at   this   time   the  points,  was  altogether  undefined.  —  History  of 

power  of  life  and  death.     A  very  careful  and  Christianity,  vol.  i.  p.  340.     Compare  the  nar- 

elaborate  argument  for  the  opjMJsite  view  will  ratine  of  the  death  of  St.  James.    Joseph.  .47^^ 

be  found  in  Biscoe's  History  of  the  Acts  con-  xx.  9. 

finned,  eh.  vi.     Dean  Milman  says  that  in  his  ^  John  xviii.  31,  xix.  6. 

"opinion,  formed  upon  the  study  of  the  con-  *  See  p.  24. 

temporary  Jewish  history,  the  power  of  the  *  The  word  from  which  "  SanhedriB  "   is 


OHAF.n.  THE  TRIAL  OF   ST.    STEPHEN.  65 

and  under  the  Romans,  its  jurisdiction  was  curtailed ;  ^  and  we  are  in- 
formed, on  Talmudical  authority,  that,  forty  years  before  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  it  was  formally  deprived  of  the  power  of  inflicting  death. 
li  this  is  true,  we  must  consider  the  proceedings  at  the  death  of  St. 
Stephen  as  tumultuous  and  irregular.  And  nothing  is  more  probable 
than  that  Pontius  Pilate  (if  indeed  he  was  not  absent  at  that  time)  would 
willingly  connive,  in  the  spirit  of  Gallio  at  Corinth,  at  an  act  of  unauthor- 
ized cruelty  iu  "  a  question  of  words  and  names  and  of  the  Jewish  law,"' 
and  that  the  Jews  would  willingly  assume  as  much  power  as  they  dared, 
when  the  honor  of  Moses  and  the  Temple  was  in  jeopardy. 

The  council  assembled  in  solemn  and  formal  state  to  try  the  blas- 
phemer. There  was  great  and  general  excitement  in  Jerusalem.  "  The 
people,  the  scribes,  and  the  elders  "  had  been  "  stirred  up  "  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Hellenistic  Synagogues.'  It  is  evident,  from  that  vivid  ex- 
pression which  is  quoted  from  the  accusers'  mouths,  — "  this  place  "  — 
this  holi/  place,''  —  that  the  meeting  of  the  Sanhedrin  took  place  in  the 
close  neighborhood  of  the  Temple.  Their  ancient  and  solemn  room  of 
assembly  was  the  hall  Gazith,*  or  the  "  Stone-Chamber,"  partly  within  the 
Temple  Court  and  partly  without  it.  The  president  sat  in  the  less  sacred 
portion,  and  around  him,  in  a  semicircle,  were  the  rest  of  the  seventy 
judges.' 

Before  these  judges  Stephen  was  made  to  stand,  confronted  by  his 
accusers.  The  eyes  of  all  were  fixed  upon  his  countenance,  which  grew 
bright,  as  they  gazed  on  it,  with  a  supernatural  radiance  and  serenity.  In 
the  beautiful  Jewish  expression  of  the  Scripture,  "  They  saw  his  face  as 
it  had  been  that  of  an  angel."  The  judges,  when  they  saw  his  glorified 
countenance,  might  have  remembered  the  shining  on  the  face  of.  Moses,' 
and  trembled  lest  Stephen's  voice  should  be  about  to  speak  the  will  of 
Jehovah,  like  that  of  the  great  lawgiver.  Instead  of  being  occupied  with 
the  faded  glories  of  the  Second  Temple,  they  might  have  recognized 
in  the  spectacle  before  them  the  Shechinah  of  the  Christian  soul,  which 

derived  being  Greek,  makes  it  probable  that  its  '  Selden  describes  the  form  in  which  the 

systematic  organization  dates  from  the  Greco-  Sanhedrin  sat,  and  gives  a  diagram  with  the 

Macedonian  (i.e.  the  Maccabsean)  period.  "President  of  the  Council"  in  the  middle, 

'  We  see  the  beginning  of  this  in  the  first  the  "  Father  of  the  Council "  by  his  side,  and 

passage  where  the  council  is  mentioned  by  Jo-  "  Scribes  "   at    the  extremities  of  the   semi- 

■ephus,  Antiq.  xiv.  9.  circle. 

2  Acts  xviii.  15.  ^  Exodus  xxxiv.  29-35  ;  see  2  Cor.  iii.  7, 

^  Acts  vi.  12.  13.      Chrysostom   imagines    that  the  angelic 

*  It  appears  that  the  Talmudical  authorities  brightness  on  Stephen's  face  might  be  intended 

differ  as  to  whether  it  was  on  the  south  or  to  alarm  the  judges ;  for,  as  he  says,  it  is  po»- 

north  side  of  the  Temple.     But  they  agree  sible  for  a  countenance  full  of  spiritual  grace 

in  placing  it  to  the  east  of  the  Most  Holy  to  be  awful  and  terrible  to  those  who  are  full 

Place.  of  hate. 

6 


66  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OE   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  n. 

is  the  living  Sanctuary  of  God.  But  the  trial  proceeded.  The  judicial 
question,  to  which  the  accused  was  required  to  plead,  was  put  by  the 
president:  "Are  these  things  so?"  And  then  Stephen  answered;  and 
his  clear  voice  was  heard  in  the  silent  council-hall,  as  he  went  through 
the  history  of  the  chosen  people,  proving  his  own  deep  faith  in  the 
sacredness  of  the  Jewish  economy,  but  suggesting,  here  and  there,  that 
spiritual  interpretation  of  it  which  had  always  been  the  true  one,  and 
the  truth  of  which  was  now  to  be  made  manifest  to  all.  He  began,  with 
a  wise  discretion,  from  the  call  of  Abraham,  and  travelled  historically  in 
his  argument  through  all  the  great  stages  of  their  national  existence, — 
from  Abraham  to  Joseph,  —  from  Joseph  to  Moses,  —  from  Moses  to 
David  and  Solomon.  And  as  he  went  on  he  selected  and  glanced  at 
those  points  which  made  for  his  own  cause.  He  showed  that  God's  bless- 
ing rested  on  the  faith  of  Abraham,  though  he  had  "  not  so  much  as  to 
set  his  foot  on"  in  the  land  of  promise  (v.  5),  on  the  piety  of  Joseph, 
tliough  he  was  an  exile  in  Egypt  (v.  9),  and  on  the  holiness  of  the  Burn- 
ing Bush,  though  in  the  desert  of  Sinai  (v.  30).  He  dwelt  in  detail  on 
the  Lawgiver,  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  his  own  unquestionable  ortho- 
doxy ;  but  he  quoted  the  promise  concerning  "  the  prophet  like  unto 
Moses"  (v.  37),  and  reminded  his  hearers  that  the  Law,  in  which  they 
trusted,  had  not  kept  their  forefathers  from  idolatry  (v.  39,  <fec.).  And 
so  he  passed  on  to  the  Temple,  which  had  so  prominent  a  reference  to 
the  charge  against  him :  and  while  he  spoke  of  it,  he  alluded  to  the 
words  of  Solomon  himself,^  and  of  the  prophet  Isaiah  ,2  who  denied 
that  any  temple  "  made  with  hands "  could  be  the  place  of  God's 
highest  worship.  And  thus  far  they  listened  to  him.  It  was  the  story 
of  the  chosen  people,  to  which  every  Jew  listened  with  interest  and 
pride. 

It  is  remarkable,  as  we  have  said  before,  how  completely  St.  Stephen  is 
the  forerunner  of  St.  Paul,  both  in  the  form  and  the  matter  of  this  defence. 
His  securing  the  attention  of  the  Jews  by  adopting  the  historical  metliod, 
is  exactly  what  the  Apostle  did  in  the  synagogue  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia.' 
His  assertion  of  his  attachment  to  the  true  principles  of  the  Mosaic  re- 
ligion is  exactly  what  was  said  to  Agrippa :  "  I  continue  unto  this  day, 
witnessing  both  to  small  and  great,  saying  none  other  things  than  those 
which  the  prophets  and  Moses  did  say  should  come."  *  It  is  deeply  inter- 
esting to  think  of  Saul  as  listening  to  the  martyr's  voice,  as  he  anticipated 
those  very  arguments  which  he  himself  was  destined  to  reiterate  in  syna- 
gogues and  before  kings.     There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  he  was  pres 


1  1  Kings  Tiii.  27  ;  2  Chron.  ii.  6,  vi,  18  '  Acts  xiii.  16-22. 

'  Is.  Ixvi.  1,2.  *  Acts  xxvi.  28. 


chap.il  martyrdom   OF   ST.    STEPHEN.  67 

ent/  although  he  may  not  have  been  qualified  to  vote "  in  the  Sanhedrin. 
And  it  is  evident,  from  the  thoughts  which  occurred  to  him  in  his  subse- 
quent vision  within  the  precincts  of  the  Temple/  how  deep  an  impression 
St.  Stephen's  death  had  left  on  his  memory.  And  there  are  even  verbal 
coincidences  which  may  be  traced  between  this  address  and  St.  Paul's 
speeches  or  writings.  The  words  used  by  Stephen  of  the  Temple  call  to 
mind  those  which  were  used  at  Athens.*  -  When  he  speaks  of  the  Law 
as  received  "  by  the  disposition  of  angels,"  he  anticipates  a  phrase  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians  (iii.  19).  His  exclamation  at  the  end,  "Ye 
stifFnecked  and  uncircumcised  in  heart  .  .  .  who  have  received  the  law 
.  .  .  and  have  not  kept  it,"  is  only  an  indignant  condensation  of  the 
argument  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans :  "  Behold,  thou  callest  thyself 
a  Jew,  and  restest  in  the  law,  and  makest  thy  boast  in  God,  and  knowesi 
His  will.  .  .  .  Thou,  therefore,  that  makest  thy  boast  of  the  law,  through 
breaking  the  law  dishonorest  thou  God  ?  .  .  .  He  is  not  a  Jew  which  is 
one  outwardly ;  neither  is  that  circumcision  which  is  outward  in  the 
flesh :  but  he  is  a  Jew  which  is  one  inwardly ;  and  circumcision  is  that  of 
the  heart,  in  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter ;  whose  praise  is  not  of  man, 
but  of  God."     (ii.  17-29.) 

Tho  rebuke  which  Stephen,  full  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  suddenly  broke 
away  from  the  course  of  his  narrative  to  pronounce,  was  the  signal  for 
a  general  outburst  of  furious  rage  on  the  part  of  his  judges."'*  Tliey 
"  gnashed  on  him  with  their  teeth  "  in  the  same  spirit  in  which  they  liad 
said,  not  long  before,  to  the  blind  man  who  was  healed  —  "Thou  wast 
altogether  born  in  sins,  and  dost  thou  teach  us  ?  "  ®  But,  in  contrast  with 
the  malignant  hatred  which  had  blinded  their  eyes,  Stephen's  serene  faith 
was  supernaturally  exalted  into  a  direct  vision  of  the  blessedness  of  the 

1  Mr.  Humphry,  in  his  accurate  and  useful  were  supposed  more  likely  to  lean   towards 

Con  mentary  on  the  Acts,  remarks,  that  it  is  not  mercy.     If  this  was   the   rule  when    Stephen. 

improhable  we  owe  to  him  tlie  defence  of  St.  was  tried,  and  if  Saul  was  one  of  the  judges, 

Ste>)hen  as  given  in  the  Acts.     Besides  the  re-  he  must  have  been  married  at  the  time.     See 

semblances  mentioned  in  the  text,  he  points  p.  75,  n.  3. 

out  the  similarity  between  Acts  vii.  44,  and  3  Hq  gajj}  j^  j^jg  trance,  "  Lord,  they  know 

Heb.  viii.  5,  between  Acts  vii.  5-8,  and  Rom.  that  I  imprisoned  and  beat  in  every  synagogue 

iv.    10-19,  and    between    Acts  vii.  60,  and  2  them   that  believed  on  thee;    and  when   the 

Tim.  iv.   16.     And  if  the  Epistle  to  the  He-  blood  of  thy  martyr  Stephen  was  shed,  I  also 

brews  was  written  by  St.  Paul,  may  we  not  was    standing    by,   and   consenting   unto   his 

suppose  that  this  scene  was  present  to  his  mind  death,  and  kept  the  raiment  of  them  that  slew 

when  he  wrote,  "Jesus  suffered  without   the  him."     Acts  xxii.  19,  20. 
gate  :  let  us  go  forth  therefore  unto  Him  with-  *  Acts  xvii.  24. 

out  the  camp,  bearing  His  reproach  "  ?  (xiii.  12,  ^  It  is  evident  that  the  speech  was  interrupt 

J3.)  ed.     We  may  infer  what  the  conclusion  would 

^  One  of    the  necessary  qualifications   of  have   been   from   the  analogy  of    ,St.   Paul'i 

;mbers    of   the   Sanhedrin   was,   that   they  speech  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  Acts  xiii. 

•Bid  be  the  fathers  of  children,  because  such  •  John  ix.  34. 


68  THE  LIjFE  and   epistles   of  ST.    PAUL.  cfap.il 

Redeemed.  He,  whose  face  had  been  like  that  of  an  angel  on  earth,  was 
made  like  one  of  those  angels  themselves,  "  who  do  always  behold  the  face 
of  our  Father  which  is  in  Heaven."^  "  He  being  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
looked  up  steadfastly  into  Heaven,  and  saw  the  glory  of  God,  and  Jesus 
standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God."  The  scene  before  his  eyes  was  no 
longer  the  council-hall  at  Jerusalem  and  the  circle  of  his  infuriated 
judges ;  but  he  gazed  up  into  the  endless  courts  of  the  celestial  Jerusa- 
lem, with  its  "  innumerable  company  of  angels,"  and  saw  Jesus,  in  whose 
righteous  cause  he  was  about  to  die.  In  other  places,  where  our  Saviour 
is  spoken  of  in  His  glorified  state.  He  is  said  to  be,  not  standing,  but 
seated,  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father.'^  Here  alone  He  is  said  to  be 
standing.  It  is  as  if  (according  to  Chrysostom's  beautiful  thought)  He 
had  risen  from  His  throne,  to  succor  His  persecuted  servant,  and  to 
receive  him  to  Himself.  And  when  Stephen  saw  his  Lord  —  perhaps 
with  the  memories  of  what  he  had  seen  on  earth  crowding  into  his  mind, 
—  he  suddenly  exclaimed,  in  the  ecstasy  of  his  vision:  "Behold!  I  see 
the  Heavens  opened  and  the  Son  of  Man  standing  on  the  right  hand  of 
God!" 

This  was  too  much  for  the  Jews  to  bear.  The  blasphemy  of  Jesus  had 
been  repeated.  The  follower  of  Jesus  was  hurried  to  destruction.  "  They 
cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  and  stopped  their  ears,  and  ran  upon  him 
with  one  accord."  It  is  evident  that  it  was  a  savage  and  disorderly  con- 
demnation.' They  dragged  him  out  of  the  council-hall,  and,  making  a 
sudden  rush  and  tumult  through  the  streets,  hurried  him  to  one  of  the 
gates  of  the  city,  —  and  somewhere  about  the  rocky  edges  of  the  ravine 
of  Jehoshaphat,  where  the  Mount  of  Olives  looks  down  upon  Gethsemane 
and  Siloam,  or  on  the  open  ground  to  the  north,  which  travellers  cross 
when  they  go  towards  Samaria  or  Damascus,  — with  stones  that  lay  with- 
out the  walls  of  the  Holy  City,  this  heavenly-minded  martyr  was  mur- 
dered. The  exact  place  of  his  death  is  not  known.  There  are  two  tra- 
ditions,*—  an  ancient  one,  which  places  it  on  the  north,  beyond  the 
Damascus  gate  ;  and  a  modern  one,  which  leads  travellers  through  what 
is  now  called  the  gate  of  St.  Stephen,  to  a  spot  near  the  brook  Kedron, 
over  against  the   garden   of  Gethsemane.     But   those  who   look  upon 

1  Matt,  xviii,  10.  on  the  North,  can  be   traced   from   an  early 

*  As  in  Eph.  i.  20;  Col.  iii.  1  ;  Heb.  i.  3,  period  to  the  fifteenth  century;  and  that  the 
Tiii.  1,  X.  12,  xii.  2;  compare  Rom.  viii.  34,  modem  tradition,  which  places  both  the  gate 
and  1  Pet.  iii.  22.  and    the    martyrdom    on    the   East,   can    be 

*  As  to  whether  it  was  a  judicial  sentence  traced  back  to  the  same  century.  It  is  prob- 
at  all,  see  above,  p.  64,  n.  2.  able  that  the  popular  opinion  regarding  these 

*  It  is  well  known  that  the  tradition  which  sacred  sites  was  suddenly  changed  by  some 
identifies  St.  Stephen's  gate  with  the  Damas-  monks  from  interested  motives 

cut  gate,  and  places  the  scene  of  martyrdom 


CHAP.  n.  PRAYEE  OF  ST.   STEPHEN.  69 

Jerusalem  from  an  elevated  point  on  the  north-east,  have  both  these 
positions  in  vicvr;  and  any  one  who  stood  there  on  that  day  might  have 
seen  the  crowd  rush  forth  from  the  gate,  and  the  witnesses  (who  accord- 
ing to  the  law  were  required  to  throw  the  first  stones')  cast  off  their  outer 
garments,  and  lay  them  down  at  the  feet  of  Saul. 

The  contrast  is  striking  between  the  indignant  zeal  which  the  martyr^ 
had  just  expressed  against  the  sin  of  his  judges,  and  the  forgiving  love 
which  he  showed  to  themselves,  when  they  became  his  murderers.  He 
first  uttered  a  prayer  for  himself  in  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ,  which 
he  knew  were  spoken  from  the  cross,  and  which  he  may  himself  have 
heard  from  those  holy  lips.  And  then,  deliberately  kneeling  down,  in 
that  posture  of  humility  in  which  the  body  most  naturally  expresses  the 
supplication  of  the  mind,  and  which  has  been  consecrated  as  the  attitude 
of  Christian  devotion  by  Stephen  and  by  Paul  himself,^  —  he  gave  the 
last  few  moments  of  his  consciousness  to  a  prayer  for  the  forgiveness  of 
his  enemies  ;  and  the  words  were  scarcely  spoken  when  death  seized  upon 
him,  or  rather,  in  the  words  of  Scripture,  "  he  fell  asleep." 

"  And  Saul  was  consenting*  to  his  death."  A  Spanish  painter,'  in  a 
picture  of  Stephen  conducted  to  the  place  of  execution,  has  represented 
Saul  as  walking  by  the  martyr's  side  with  melancholy  calmness.  He  con- 
sents to  his  death  from  a  sincere,  though  mistaken,  conviction  of  duty; 
and  the  expression  of  his  countenance  is  strongly  contrasted  with  the 
rage  of  the  baffled  Jewish  doctors  and  the  ferocity  of  the  crowd  who  flock 
to  the  scene  of  bloodshed.  Literally  considered,  such  a  representation  is 
scarcely  consistent  either  with  Saul's  conduct  immediately  afterwards,  or 
with  his  own  expressions  concerning  himself  at  the  later  periods  of  his 
life.*  But  the  picture,  though  historically  incorrect,  is  poetically  true. 
The  painter  has  worked  according  to  the  true  idea  of  his  art  in  throwing 
upon  the  persecutor's  countenance  the  shadow  of  his  coming  repentance. 


^  See  Deut.  xyii.  5-7.     The  stoning  was  above   (p.  67)  that   this  scene  made  a  deep 

always  outside  the   city,  Levit.   xxiv.  14;  1  impression  on  St.  Paul's  mind ;  but  the  power 

Kings  xxi.  10,  13.  of  the  impression  was  nnfelt  or  resisted  till 

'^  The   Christian   use  of  the  word  martyr  after  his  conversion, 
begins  with    St.    Stephen.      See  Mr.    Hum-  *  Vicente  Joannes,  the  founder  of  the  Va- 

phry's  note  on  Acts  xxii.  20.     See  also  what  lencian  school,  one  of  the  most  austere  of  the 

be  says  on  the  Christian  use  of  the  word  ceme-  grave  and  serious  painters  of  Spain.     The  pic 

tery,  in  allusion  to  Acts  vii.  60.  ture  is  one  of  a  series  on  St.  Stephen  ;  it  was 

^  At  Miletus  (Acts  xx.  36)  and  at  Tyre  once  in  the  church  of  St.  Stephen  at  Valen- 

(Acts  xxii.  5).     See  Acts  ix.  40.  cia,  and  is  now  in  the  Royal  Gallery  at  Madrid 

*  The  word   in   Acts  viii.  1  expresses  far  See  Stirling's  Annals  of  the  Artists  of  Spain, 

more  than  mere   passive  consent.       St.  Paul  i.  363. 

himself  uses  the  same  expression  (Ibid.  xxii.  ^  gee  Acts  xxii.  4,  xxvi.  10 ;  Phil.  iii.  6 ; 

20)  when  referring  to  the  occurrence.     Com-  1  Tim.  i.  13. 
pare  ix.   1,   and    xxvi.    11.     We   have  said 


70  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES  OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap,  u 

Wo  cannot  dissociate  the  martyrdom  of  Stephen  from  the  conversion  of 
Paul.  The  spectacle  of  so  much  constancy,  so  much  faith,  so  much  love, 
could  not  be  lost.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  with  Augustine,  that 
"  the  Church  owes  Paul  to  the  prayer  of  Stephen." 

SI  STEPHANOS  NON  ORASSET 
ECCLESIA  PAULUM  NON  HABERET. 


CHAPTER    m. 

Funeral  of  St.  Stephen.  —  Saul's  continued  Persecution.  —  Flight  of  the  Christians.  —  Philip 
and  the  Samaritans.  —  Saul's  Journey  to  Damascus.  —  Aretas,  King  of  Petra.  —  Eoads 
from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus.  —  Neapolis.  —  History  and  Description  of  Damascus.  —  The 
Narratives  of  the  Miracle.  — It  was  a  real  Vision  of  Jesus  Christ.  — Three  Days  in  Damas- 
cus. —  Ananias.  —  Baptism  and  first  Preaching  of  Saul.  —  He  retires  into  Arabia.  —  Mean- 
ing of  the  Term  Arabia.  —  Petra  and  the  Desert.  —  Motives  to  Conversion.  —  Conspiracy  at 
Damascus.  —  Escape  to  Jerusalem.  — Barnabas.  —  Fortnight  with  St.  Peter.  —  Conspiracy. 
—  Vision  in  the  Temple.  —  Saul  withdraws  to  Syria  and  Cilicia. 

THE  death  of  St.  Stephen  is  a  bright  passage  in  the  earliest  history 
of  the  Church.  Where,  in  the  annals  of  the  world,  can  we  find  so 
perfect  an  image  of  a  pure  and  blessed  saint  as  that  which  is  drawn  in 
the  concluding  verses  of  the  seventh  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles? 
And  the  brightness  which  invests  the  scene  of  the  martyr's  last  moments 
is  the  more  impressive  from  its  contrast  with  all  that  has  preceded  it  since 
the  Crucifixion  of  Christ.  The  first  Apostle  who  died  was  a  traitor.  The 
first  disciples  of  the  Christian  Apostles  whose  deaths  are  recorded  were 
liars  and  hypocrites.  The  kingdom  of  the  Son  of  Man  was  founded  in 
darkness  and  gloom.  But  a  heavenly  light  re-appeared  with  the  martyr- 
dom of  St.  Stephen.  The  revelation  of  such  a  character  at  the  moment 
of  death  was  the  strongest  of  all  evidences,  and  the  highest  of  all  encour- 
agements. Nothing  could  more  confidently  assert  the  Divine  power  of 
the  new  religion  ;  nothing  could  prophesy  more  surely  the  certainty  of  its 
final  victory. 

To  us  who  have  the  experience  of  many  centuries  of  Christian  history, 
and  who  can  look  back,  through  a  long  series  of  martyrdoms,  to  this, 
which  was  the  beginning  and  example  of  the  rest,  these  thoughts  are 
easy  and  obvious ;  but  to  the  friends  and  associates  of  the  murdered 
Saint,  such  feelings  of  cheerful  and  confident  assurance  were  perhaps 
more  difficult.  Though  Christ  was  indeed  risen  from  the  dead,  His  dis- 
ciples could  hardly  yet  be  able  to  realize  the  full  triumph  of  the  Cross 
over  death.  Even  many  years  afterwards,  Paul  the  Apostle  wrote  to  the 
Thessalonians,  concerning  those  who  had  "fallen  asleep"^  more  peace- 
ably than  Stephen,  that  they  ought  not  to  sorrow  for  them  as  those 
without  hope ;  and  now,  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  Gospel,  the  grief 

1  1  These,  iv.  13.     See  Acts  vii.  60. 

71 


72  THE   LIFE   AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  m. 

of  the  Christians  must  have  been  great  indeed,  when  the  corpse  of  their 
champion  and  their  brother  lay  at  the  feet  of  Saul  the  murderer.  Yet, 
amidst  the  consternation  of  some  and  the  fury  of  others,  friends  of  the 
martyr  were  found,^  who  gave  him  all  the  melancholy  honors  of  a  Jewish 
funeral,  and  carefully  buried  him,  as  Joseph  buried  his  father,  "  with 
great  and  sore  lamentation."  ^ 

After  the  death  and  burial  of  Stephen  the  persecution  still  raged  in 
Jerusalem.  That  temporary  protection  which  had  been  extended  to  the 
rising  sect  by  such  men  as  Gamaliel  was  now  at  an  end.  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees  —  priests  and  people  —  alike  indulged  the  most  violent  and 
ungovernable  fury.  It  does  not  seem  that  any  check  was  laid  upon 
them  by  the  Roman  authorities.  Either  the  procurator  was  absent 
from  the  city,  or  he  was  willing  to  connive  at  what  seemed  to  him  an 
ordinary  religious  quarrel. 

The  eminent  and  active  agent  in  this  persecution  was  Saul.  There 
are  strong  grounds  for  believing  that,  if  he  was  not  a  member  of  the 
Sanhedrin  at  the  time  of  St.  Stephen's  death,  he  was  elected  into  that 
powerful  senate  soon  after  ;  possibly  as  a  reward  for  the  zeal  he  had 
shown  against  the  heretic.  He  himself  says  that  in  Jerusalem  he  not 
only  exercised  the  power  of  imprisonment  by  commission  from  the  High 
Priests,  but  also,  when  the  Christians  were  put  to  death,  gave  his  vote 
against  them.'  From  this  expression  it  is  natural  to  infer  that  he  was  a 
member  of  that  supreme  court  of  judicature.  However  this  might  be, 
his  zeal  in  conducting  the  persecution  was  unbounded.  We  cannot  help 
observing  how  frequently  strong  expressions  concerning  his  share  in  the 
injustice  and  cruelty  now  perpetrated  are  multiplied  in  the  Scriptures. 
In  St.  Luke's  narrative,  in  St.  Paul's  own  speeches,  in  his  earlier  and 
later  epistles,  the  subject  recurs  again  and  again.  He  "  made  havoc  of 
the  Church,"  invading  the  sanctuaries  of  domestic  life,  "  entering  into 
every  house  : "  *  and  those  whom  he  thus  tore  from  their  homes  he 
"  committed  to  prison  ; "  or,  in  his  own  words  at  a  later  period,  when 

1  Acts  viii.  2.  Probably  they  were  Helle-  it  is  probable  that  his  wife  and  children  did 
nistic  Jews  impressed  in  favor  of  Christian-  not  long  survive ;  for  otherwise,  some  notice 
ity.  It  seems  hardly  likely  that  they  were  of  them  would  have  occurred  in  the  subsequent 
avowed  Christians.  There  is  nothing  in  the  naiTative,  or  some  allusion  to  them  in  the 
expression  itself  to  determine  the  point.  Epistles.     And  we  know  that,  if  ever  he  had 

2  See  Gen.  1.  10.  a  wife,  she  was  not  living  when  he  wrote  his 
*  The  word   "voice"  in  the  Auth.  Vers.       first  letter  to  the  Corinthians.     (1   Cor.  vii.) 

should  be  "  vote."     Acts  xxvi.   10.      If  this  It  was  customary  among  the  Jews  to  marry  at 

inference  is  well  founded,  and  if  the  qualifica-  a  very  early  age.    Baron  Bunsen  has  e:;pressed 

tion  for  a  member  of  the  Sanhedrin  mentioned  his  belief  in  the  tradition  that  St.  Paul  was  a 

in  the  last  chapter  (p.  67,  n.  2),  was  a  necessa-  widower.     Hippol.  ii.  344. 
ry  qualification,  Saul  must  have  been  a  mar-  *  Acts  viii.  3.     See  ix.  2. 

riod  man,  and  the  father  of  a  family,     if  so, 


CHAP.  ni.  SAUL'S   CONTINUED  PERSECUTION.  73 

he  had  recognized  as  God's  people  those  whom  he  now  imagined  to  be 
His  enemies,  "  thinking  that  he  ought  to  do  many  things  contrary  to  tlie 
name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ...  in  Jerusalem  ...  he  shut  up  many 
of  the  saints  in  prison."  ^  And  not  only  did  men  thus  suffer  at  his 
hands,  but  women  also,  —  a  fact  three  times  repeated  as  a  great  aggrava- 
tion of  his  cruelty.^  These  persecuted  people  were  scourged  —  "  often  " 
scourged — "in  many  synagogues."^  Nor  was  Stephen  the  only  one 
who  suffered  death,  as  we  may  infer  from  the-  Apostle's  own  confession.^ 
And,  what  was  worse  than  scourging  or  than  death  itself,  he  used  every 
effort  to  make  them  "  blaspheme  "  that  Holy  Name  whereby  they  were 
called.®  His  fame  as  an  inquisitor  was  notorious  far  and  wide.  Even  at 
Damascus  Ananias  had  heard  ^  "  how  much  evil  he  had  done  to  Christ's 
saints  at  Jerusalem."  He  was  known  there  "^  as  "  he  that  destroyed 
them  which  call  on  this  Name  in  Jerusalem."  It  was  not  without 
reason  that,  in  the  deep  repentance  of  his  later  years,  he  remembered 
how  he  had  "persecuted  the  Church  of  God  and  wasted  it,"^ — how 
he  had  been  "  a  blasphemer,  a  persecutor,  and  injurious  ;  "^  —  and  that 
he  felt  he  was  "  not  meet  to  be  called  an  Apostle,"  because  he  had  "  per- 
secuted the  Church  of  God."  ^^ 

From  such  cruelty,  and  such  efforts  to  make  them  deny  that  Name 
which  they  honored  above  all  names,  the  disciples  naturally  fled.  In 
consequence  of  "  the  persecution  against  the  Church  at  Jerusalem,  they 
were  all  scattered  abroad  throughout  the  regions  of  Judaea  and  Samaria." 
The  Apostles  only  remained.^^  But  this  dispersion  led  to  great  results. 
The  moment  of  lowest  depression  was  the  very  time  of  the  Church's  first 
missionary  triumph.  "  They  that  were  scattered  abroad  went  everywhere 
preaching  the  Word."  ^"^  First  the  Samaritans,  and  then  the  Gentiles, 
received  that  Gospel,  which  the  Jews  attempted  to  destroy.  Thus  did 
the  providence  of  God  begin  to  accomplish,  by  unconscious  instruments, 
the  prophecy  and  command  which  had  been  given :  —  "Ye  shall  be 
witnesses  upon  Me,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judaea,  and  in  Samaria, 
and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth."  ^' 

'  Acts  xxvi.  9,  10.     See  xxii.  3.  the  attempt  was  made;  so  in  Gal.  L  23,  alluded 

^  Acts  viii.  3,  ix.  2,  xxii.  4.  to  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 

'  Acts  xxvi.  10.  ^  Acts  ix.  13. 

*  "I  persecuted  this  way  unto  the  death,  ''  Acts  ix.  21. 

binding  and  delivering  into  prisons  both  men  '  Gal.  i.  13;  see  also  Phil.  iii.  6. 

and  women  "  (xxii.  4)  ;  "  and  when  they  were  '  1  Tim.  i.  13. 

put  to  death.  I  gave  my  vote  against  them"  ^^  1  Cor.  xv.  9.     It  should  be  observed  that 

(xxvi.  10).  in  all  these  passages  from  the  Epistles  the  Bamfi 

**  (Acts  xxvi.  11.)     It  is  not  said  that  he  word  for  "  persecution  "  is  used, 
succeeded  in  causing  any  to  blaspheme.      It  ^^  Acts  viii.  1. 

may  be  necessary  to  explain  to  some  readers  ^^  Acts  viii.  4.     See  xi.  19-21. 

that  the  Greek  imperfect  merely  denotes  that  ^^  Acts  i.  8. 


74  THK    LIFE   AiND    EPiiSTLES    OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  iii. 

The  Jew  looked  upon  the  Samaritan  as  he  looked  upon  the  Gentile. 
His  hostility  to  the  Samaritan  was  probably  the  greater,  in  propor- 
tion as  he  was  nearer.  In  conformity  with  the  economy  which  was 
observed  before  the  resurrection,  Jesus  Christ  had  said  to  His  disciples, 
"  Go  not  into  the  way  of  the  Gentiles,  and  into  any  city  of  the  Samaritans 
enter  ye  not :  but  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel." ' 
Yet  did  the  Saviour  give  anticipative  hints  of  His  favor  to  Gentiles  and 
Samaritans,  in  His  mercy  to  the  Syrophoenician  woman,  and  His  interview 
with  the  woman  at  the  well  of  Sychar.  And  now  the  time  was  come  for 
both  the  "  middle  walls  of  partition  "  to  be  destroyed.  The  dispersion 
brought  Philip,  the  companion  of  Stephen,  the  second  of  the  seven,  to  a 
city  of  Samaria.'^  He  came  with  the  power  of  miracles  and  with  the 
message  of  salvation.  The  Samaritans  were  convinced  by  what  they  saw  ; 
they  listened  to  what  he  said  ;  "  and  there  was  great  joy  in  that  city." 
"When  the  news  came  to  Jerusalem,  Peter  and  John  were  sent  by  the 
Apostles,  and  the  same  miraculous  testimony  attended  their  presence, 
which  had  been  given  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  The  Divine  Power  in 
Peter  rebuked  the  powers  of  evil,  which  were  working^  among  the  Samar- 
itans in  the  person  of  Simon  Magus,  as  Paul  afterwards,  on  his  first 
preaching  to  the  Gentiles,  rebuked  in  Cyprus  Elymas  the  Sorcerer.  The 
two  Apostles  returned  to  Jerusalem,  preaching  as  they  went  "  in  many 
villages  of  the  Samaritans  "  the  Gospel  which  had  been  welcomed  in  the 

_city. 

Once  more  we  are  permitted  to  see  Philip  on  his  labor  of  love.  We 
obtain  a  glimpse  of  him  on  the  road  which  leads  down  by  Gaza  *  to  Egypt. 
The  chamberlain  of  Queen  Candace  ^  is  passing  southwards  on  his  return 
from  Jerusalem,  and  reading  in  his  chariot  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah. 
Ethiopia  is  "  stretching  out  her  hands  unto  God,"  ^  and  the  suppliant  is 
not  unheard.  A  teacher  is  provided  at  the  moment  of  anxious  inquiry. 
The  stranger  goes  "  on  his  way  rejoicing ;  "  a  proselyte  who  had  found 
the  Messiah  ;  a  Christian  baptized  "  with  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost." 
The  Evangelist,  having  finished  the  work  for  which  he  had  been  sent,  is 

1  Matt.  X.  5,  6.  {Ant.  xx.  7,  2),  as  connected  with  Felix  and 

2  (Acts  viii.  5.)      This  was  probably  the       Drusilla.     See  Acts  xxiv.  24. 

ancient  capital,  at  that  time  called  "  Sebaste."  *  For  Gaza  and  the  plirase  "  wbich  is  des- 

The  city  of  Sychar  (John  iv.  5)  had  also  re-  ert"we  may  refer  to  the  article  in  Smith's 

ceived  a  Greek  name.     It  was   tlicn  "  Ncapo-  Diet,  of  the  Bible. 

lis,"  and  is  still  "  Nablous."  ^  Candace  is  the  name,  not  of  an  individual, 

3  The  original  word  shows  that  Simon  was  but  of  a  dynasty,  like  Arctas  in  Arabia,  or  like 
in  Samaria  before  Philip  came,  as  Elymas  Pharaoh  and  Ptolemy.  By  ^Ethiopia  is  meant 
was  with  Sergius  Paulus  before  the  arrival  of  Meroii  on  the  Upper  Nile.  Queens  of  Meroe 
St.  Paul.  Compare  viii.  9-24  with  xiii.  6-12.  with  the  title  of  Candace  are  mentioned  by 
There  is  good  reason  for  believing  that  Simon  Greek  and  Roman  writers.  Probably  this 
Magus  is  the  person  mentioned  by  Josephus  chamberlain  was  a  Jew.             *  Ps.  Ixviii.  "1. 


CHAP.m.  ARETAS,  KING  OF  PETRA.  75 

called  elsewhere  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  He  proceeds  to  Caesarea,  and  we 
hear  of  him  no  more,  till,  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  twenty  years,  he 
received  under  his  roof  in  that  city  one  who,  like  himself,  had  travelled  in 
^obedience  to  the  Divine  command  "  preaching  in  all  the  cities."  ^ 

Our  attention  is  now  called  to  that  other  traveller.  We  turn  from  the 
"  desert  road  "  on  the  south  of  Palestine  to  the  desert  road  on  the  north  ; 
from  tlie  border  of  Arabia  near  Gaza,  to  its  border  near  Damascus^. 
"  From  Dan  to  Beersheba  "  the  Gospel  is  rapidly  spreading.  The  dispersion 
of  the  Christians  had  not  been  confined  to  Judaea  and  Samaria.  "  On  the 
persecution  that  arose  about  Stephen  "  they  had  "  travelled  as  far  as  Phoe- 
nicia and  Syria."  ^  "  Saul,  yet  breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaughter 
against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,"  '  determined  to  follow  them.  "  Being 
exceedingly  mad  against  them,  he  persecuted  them  even  to  strange  cities."  * 
He  went  of  his  own  accord  to  the  high  priest,  and  desired  of  him  let- 
ters to  the  synagogues  in  Damascus,  where  he  had  reason  to  believe  that 
Christians  were  to  be  found.  And  armed  with  tiiis  "  authority  and  com- 
mission," *  intending  "  if  he  fomid  any  of  this  way,  whether  they  were  men 
or  women,"  ^  to  "  bring  them  bound  unto  Jerusalem  to  be  punished,"''  he 
journeyed  to  Damascus. 

The  great  Sanhedrin  claimed  over  the  Jews  in  foreign  cities  the  same 
power,  in  religious  questions,  which  they  exercised  at  Jernsalem.  The 
Jews  in  Damascus  were  very  numerous  ;  and  there  were  peculiar  circum- 
stances in  the  political  condition  of  Damascus  at  this  time,  which  may  have 
given  facilities  to  conspiracies  or  deeds  of  violence  conducted  by  the  Jews. 
There  was  war  between  Aretas,  who  reigned  at  Petra,  the  desert-metropolis 
of  Stony   Arabia,^  and  Herod  Antipas,  his  son-in-law,  the  Tetrarch  of 

1  "  But  Philip  was  found  at  Azotus ;  and,  great  mercantile  city  at  Petra,  and  were  ruled 
passing  through,  he  preached  in  all  the  cities,  by  a  line  of  kings,  who  bore  the  title  of  "  Are- 
till  he  came  to  Csesarea."  (Acts  viii.  40.)  tas."  The  Aretas  dynasty  ceased  in  the 
"  And  the  next  day  we  that  were  of  Paul's  second  ccntuiy,  when  Arabia  Petraea  became 
comjiany  dej)arted,  and  came  to  Caesarea;  and  a  Roman  province  under  Trajan.  In  tlie 
we  entered  into  the  house  of  Philip  the  Evan-  Roman  period,  a  great  road  united  Ailah 
gelist,  which  was  one  of  the  seven,  and  abode  on  the  Red  Sea  with  Petra,  and  thence  di 
with  him."     (Ibid.  xxi.  8.)  verged  to  the  left  towards  Jenisalem  and  the 

2  Acts  xi.  19.  ^  Acts  ix.  1.  ports  of  the  Mediterranean;  and  to  the  right 
*  Acts  XX vi.  11.  ^  Acts  xxvi.  12.  towards  Damascus,  in  a  direction  not  very 
®  Acts  ix.  2.  different  from  that  of  the  modern  caravan-roud 
'  Acts  xxii.  5.  from  Damascus  to  Mecca.  This  state  of  things 
^  In  this  mountainous  district  of  Arabia,  did  not  last  very  long.      The  Arabs  of  thi."! 

which   had   been    the    scene    of    the   wander-  district  fell  back  into  their  old  nomadic  stnie. 

ings  of  the  Israelites,  and  which  contained  the  Petra  was   long   undiscovered.       BurckhanJt 

graves  both  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  the  Naba-  was  the  first  to  see  it,  and  Laborde  the  firfit  to 

thajan  Arabs  after  the  time  of  the  Babylonian  visit  it.      Now  it  is  well  known  to  Orienta. 

captivity    (or,   possibly,    the  Edomites  before  travellers.     Its  Rock-theatre  and  other  remain? 

them.     See  Robinson,  Blh.  lies.  vol.  ii.  pp.  still  exist,  to  show  its  ancient  character  of  a 

557.  573)  grew  into  a  civilized  nation,  built  a  city  of  the  Roman  Empire. 


76  THE   LIFE   AJSTD   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  CHAP.ni. 

Galilee.  A  misunderstanding  concerning  the  boundaries  of  the  two 
principalities  had  been  aggravated  into  an  inveterate  quarrel  bj  Herod's 
unfaithfulness  to  the  daughter  of  the  Arabian  king,  and  his  shameful 
attachment  to  "  his  brother  Philip's  wife."  The  Jews  generally  sym- 
pathized with  the  cause  of  Aretas,  rejoiced  when  Herod's  army  was 
cut  off,  and  declared  that  this  disaster  was  a  judgment  for  the  murder  of 
John  the  Baptist.  Herod  wrote  to  Rome  and  obtained  an  order  for  assist- 
ance from  Vitellius,  the  Governor  of  Syria.  But  when  Vitellius  was  on 
his  march  through  Judaea,  from  Antioch  towards  Petra,  he  suddenly  heard 
of  the  death  of  Tiberius  (a.d.  37)  ;  and  the  Roman  army  was  withdrawn, 
before  the  war  was  brought  to  a  conclusion.  It  is  evident  that  the  relations 
of  the  neighboring  powers  must  have  been  for  some  years  in  a  very  un- 
settled condition  along  the  frontiers  of  Arabia,  Judaea,  and  Syria ;  and  the 
falling  of  a  rich  border-town  like  Damascus  from  the  hands  of  the  Romans 
into  those  of  Aretas  would  be  a  natural  occurrence  of  the  war.  If  it 
could,  be  proved  that  the  city  was  placed  in  the  power  of  the  Arabian 
Ethnarch^  under  these  particular  circumstances,  and  at  the  time  of  St. 
Paul's  journey,  good  reason  would  be  assigned  for  believing  it  probable 
that  the  ends  for  which  he  went  were  assisted  by  the  political  relations  of 
Damascus.  And  it  would  indeed  be  a  singular  coincidence,  if  his  zeal  in 
persecuting  the  Christians  were  promoted  by  the  sympathy  of  the  Jews 
for  the  fate  of  John  the  Baptist. 

But  there  are  grave  objections  to  this  view  of  the  occupation  of  Damas- 
cus by  Aretas.  Such  a  liberty  taken  by  a  petty  chieftain  with  the  Roman 
power  would  have  been  an  act  of  great  audacity ;  and  it  is  difficult  to 
believe  that  Yitellius  would  have  closed  the  campaign,  if  such  a  city  were 
in  the  hands  of  an  enemy.  It  is  more  likely  that  Caligula,  —  who  in 
many  ways  contradicted  the  policy  of  his  predecessor,  —  who  banished 
Herod  Antipas  and  patronized  Herod  Agrippa, —  assigned  the  city  of 
Damascus  as  a  free  gift  to  Aretas.'^  This  supposition,  as  well  as  the 
former,  will  perfectly  explain  the  remarkable  passage  in  St.  Paul's  letter, 
where  he  distinctly  says  that  it  was  garrisoned  by  the  Ethnarch  of  Aretas, 
at  the  time  of  his  escape.  Many  such  changes  of  territorial  occupation 
took  place  under  the  Emperors,'  which  would  have  been  lost  to  history, 

1  2  Cor.  xi.  32.  On  the  title  "Ethnarch  "  corded.  The  strength  of  Wieseler's  argument 
see  note  at  the  end  of  this  Chapter.  consists  in  this,  that  his  different  lines  of  rea- 

2  This  is  argued  with  great  force  hy  Wiese-      soning  converge  to  the  same  result. 

ler,  who,  so  far  as  we  know,  is  the  tirst  to  sug-  ^  See,  for  instance,  what  is  said  by  Josephus 

gest  this  explanation.      His  argument  is  not  (Ant.  xviii.  5,  4),  of  various  arrangements  in 

quite  conclusive ;  because  it  is  seldom  easy  to  the  East  at  this  very  crisis.     Similar  changes 

give  a  confident  opinion  on  the  details  of  a  in  Asia  Minor  have  been  alluded  to  befwc, 

"ampaign,  unless  its  history  is  minutely  re-  Ch.  I.  p.  21. 


CHAP.m.  JOURNEY   FEOM  JERUSALEM  TO  DAMASCUS.  77 

were  it  not  for  the  information  derived  from  a  coin/  an  inscription,  or 
the  incidental  remark  of  a  writer  who  had  different  ends  in  view.  Any 
attempt  to  make  this  escape  from  Damascus  a  fixed  point  of  absolute 
chronology  will  be  unsuccessful ;  but,  from  what  has  been  said,  it  may 
fairly  be  collected,  that  Saul's  journey  from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus  took 
place  not  far  from  that  year  which  saw  the  death  of  Tiberius  and  the 
accession  of  Caligula. 

No  journey  was  ever  taken,  on  which  so  much  interest  is  concentrated, 
as  this  of  St.  Paul  from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus.  It  is  so  critical  a  pas- 
sage in  the  history  of  God's  dealings  with  man,  and  we  feel  it  to  be  so 
closely  bound  up  with  all  our  best  knowledge  and  best  happiness  in  this 
life,  and  with  all  our  hopes  for  the  world  to  come,  that  the  mind  is  de- 
lighted to  dwell  upon  it,  and  we  are  eager  to  learn  or  imagine  all  its 
details.  The  conversion  of  Saul  was  like  the  call  of  a  second  Abraham. 
But  we  know  almost  more  of  the  Patriarch's  journey  through  this  same 
district,  from  the  north  to  the  south,  than  we  do  of  the  Apostle's  in  an 
opposite  direction.  It  is  easy  to  conceive  of  Abraham  travelling  with  his 
flocks  and  herds  and  camels.  The  primitive  features  of  the  East  con- 
tinue still  unaltered  in  the  desert ;  and  the  Arabian  Sheik  still  remains 
to  us  a  living  picture  of  the  Patriarch  of  Genesis.  But  before  the  first 
century  of  the  Christian  era,  the  patriarchal  life  in  Palestine  had  been 
modified,  not  only  by  the  invasions  and  settlements  of  Babylonia  and  Per- 
sia, but  by  large  influxes  of  Greek  and  Roman  civilization.  It  is  difficult 
to  guess  what  was  the  appearance  of  Saul's  company  on  that  memorable 
occasion.'^  We  neither  know  how  he  travelled,  nor  who  his  associates 
were,  nor  where  he  rested  on  his  way,  nor  what  road  he  followed  from  the 
Judsean  to  the  Syrian  capital. 

His  journey  must  have  brought  him  somewhere  into  the  vicinity  of 
the  Sea  of  Tiberias.  But  where  he  approached  the  nearest  to  the 
shores  of  this  sacred  lake,  — whether  he  crossed  the  Jordan  where,  in  its 
lower  course,  it  flows  southwards  to  the  Dead  Sea,  or  where  its  upper 
windings  enrich  the  valley  at  the  base  of  Mount  Hermon, — we  do  not 
know.  And  there  is  one  thought  which  makes  us  glad  that  it  should  be 
60.  It  is  remarkable  that  Galilee,  where  Jesus  worked  so  many  of  His 
miracles,  is  the  scene  of  none  of  those  transactions  which  are  related  in 
the  Acts.      The  blue  waters  of  Tiberias,  with   their  fishing-boats  and 

1  Wieseler  justly  lays  some  stress  on  the  the  reason  why  Lord  Lyttelton,  in  his  obser- 
rircnmstance  that  there  are  coins  of  Augustus  vations  on  St.  Paul's  conversion,  uses  the 
and  Tiberius,  and,  again,  of  Nero  and  his  phrase —  "  Those  in  company  with  h\m  fell 
successors,  but  none  of  Caligula  and  Claudius,  doum  from  their  horses,  together  with  Saul," 
which  imply  that  Damascus  was  Roman.  p.  318.    (  Works,  1774.)   There  is  no  proof  that 

2  In  pictures,  St.  Paul  is  represented  as  on  this  was  the  case,  though  it  is  very  proba- 
horseback  on  this  journey.     Probaily  this  is  bl& 


78  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  CHAP.m 

towns  Oil  the  brink  of  the  shore,  are  consecrated  to  the  Gospels.  A 
greater  than  Paul  was  here.  When  we  come  to  the  travels  of  the 
Apostles,  the  scenery  is  no  longer  limited  and  Jewish,  but  Catholic  and 
widely-extended,  like  the  Gospel  which  they  preached  :  and  the  Sea, 
which  will  be  so  often  spread  before  us  in  the  life  of  St.  Paul,  is  not  the 
little  Lake  of  Genesareth,  but  the  great  Mediterranean,  which  washed 
the  shores  and  carried  the  ships  of  the  historical  nations  of  antiquity.^ 

Two  principal  roads  can  be  mentioned,  one  of  which  probably  con 
ducted  the  travellers  from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus.  The  track  of  the 
caravans,  in  ancient  and  modern  times,  from  Egypt  to  the  Syrian  capital, 
has  always  led  through  Gaza  and  Ramleh,  and  then,  turning  eastwards 
about  the  borders  of  Galilee  and  Samaria,  has  descended  near  Mount 
Tabor  towards  the  Sea  of  Tiberias ;  and  so,  crossing  the  Jordan  a  little 
to  the  north  of  the  Lake  by  Jacob's  Bridge,  proceeds  through  the  desert 
country  which  stretches  to  the  base  of  Antilibanus.  A  similar  track 
from  Jerusalem  falls  into  this  Egyptian  road  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Djenin,  at  the  entrance  of  Galilee ;  and  Saul  and  his  company  may  have 
travelled  by  this  route,  performing  the  journey  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty-six  miles,  like  the  modern  caravans,  in  about  six  days.  But  at 
this  period,  that  great  work  of  Roman  road-making,  which  was  actively 
going  on  in  all  parts  of  the  empire,  must  have  extended,  in  some  degree, 
to  Syria  and  Judaea ;  and,  if  the  Roman  roads  were  already  constructed 
here,  there  is  little  doubt  that  they  followed  the  direction  indicated  by 
the  later  Itineraries.  This  direction  is  from  Jerusalem  to  Neapolis  (the 
ancient  Shechem),  and  thence  over  the  Jordan  to  the  south  of  the  Lake, 
near  Scythopolis,  where  tlie  soldiers  of  Pompey  crossed  the  river,  and 
where  the  Galilean  pilgrims  used  to  cross  it,  at  the  time  of  the  festivals, 
to  avoid  Samaria.  From  Scythopolis  it  led  to  Gadara,  a  Roman  city, 
the  ruins  of  which  are  still  remaining,  and  so  to  Damascus.'^ 

Whatever  road  was  followed  in  Saul's  journey  to  Damascus,  it  is 
almost  certain  tliat  the  earlier  portion  of  it  brought  him  to  Neapolis, 
the  Shechem  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  Nablous  of  the  modern 
Samaritans.  Tiiis  city  was  one  of  the  stages  in  the  Itineraries.  Dr. 
Robinson   followed  a  Roman   pavement   for  some  considerable  distance 

1  The  next  historical  notice  of  the  Sea  of  which   harbored    Christian   fiigitives.      Here, 

Tiberias   or   Lake  of  Genesareth   after    that  too,  he  would  be  in  the  footsteps  of  St.  Peter ; 

which  occurs  in  the  Gospels  is  in  Josephus.  for  here  the  great  confession  (Matt.  xvi.  16) 

'•^  It  is  very  conceivable  that  he  travelled  by  seems  to  have  been  made  ;  and  this  road  also 

Cxsarea  Philippi,  the  city  which  Ilcrod  Philip  would  probably  have  brought  him  past  Neapolis. 

had  built  at  the  fountains  of  the  Jordan,  on  It  is  hardly  likely  that  he  would  have  taken 

the  natural  line   of  communication    between  the  Petra  road  (above,  p.  75,  n.  8),  for  both 

Tyre  and  Damascus,  and  likely  to  have  been  the  modern  caravans  and  the  ancient  itinera- 

I  ne  of  the  "foreign  cities"  (Acts  xxvi.   11)  ries  cross  the  Jordan  more  to  the  north. 


CHAP.  ni.  DAMASCUS.  79 

iu  the  neighborhood  of  Bethel.'  This  northern  road  went  over  the 
elevated  ridges  which  intervene  between  the  valley  of  the  Jordan  and 
the  plain  on  the  Mediterranean  coast.  As  the  travellers  gained  the  high 
ground,  the  young  Pharisee  may  have  looked  back,  —  and,  when  he  saw 
the  city  in  the  midst  of  its  hills,  with  the  mountains  of  Moab  in  the 
distance,  —  confident  in  the  righteousness  of  his  cause,  —  he  may  have 
thought  proudly  of  the  125th  Psalm  :  "  The  hills  stand  about  Jerusalem  : 
even  so  standeth  the  Lord  round  about  his  people,  from  this  time  forth 
forevermore."  His  present  enterprise  was  undertaken  for  the  honor  of 
Zion.  He  was  blindly  fulfilling  the  words  of  One  who  said  :  "  Whoso- 
ever killeth  you,  will  think  that  he  doeth  God  service."  ^  Passing 
through  the  hills  of  Samaria,  from  which  he  might  occasionally  obtain  a 
glimpse  of  the  Mediterranean  on  the  left,  he  would  come  to  Jacob's  Well, 
at  the  opening  of  that  beautiful  valley  which  lies  between  Ebal  and 
Gerizim.  This,  too,  is  the  scene  of  a  Gospel  history.  The  same  woman, 
with  whom  Jesus  spoke,  might  be  again  at  the  well  as  the  Inquisitor 
passed.  But  as  yet  he  knew  nothing  of  the  breaking-down  of  the 
"  middle  wall  of  partition."  ^  He  could,  indeed,  have  said  to  the 
Samaritans :  "  Ye  worship  ye  know  not  what :  we  know  what  we  wor- 
ship :  for  salvation  is  of  the  Jews."  *  But  he  could  not  have  understood 
the  meaning  of  those  other  words :  "  The  hour  cometh,  when  ye  shall 
neither  in  Jerusalem,  nor  yet  in  this  mountain,  worship  the  Fath&r :  the 
true  worshippers  shall  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  "  *  His  was 
not  yet  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  The  zeal  which  burnt  in  him  was  that 
of  James  and  John,  before  their  illumination,  when  they  wished  (in  this 
same  district)  to  call  down  fire  from  heaven,  even  as  Elias  did,  on  the 
inhospitable  Samaritan  village.®  Philip  had  already  beeu  preaching  to 
the  poor  Samaritans,  and  John  had  revisited  them,  in  company  with 
Peter,  with  feelings  wonderfully  changed.'^  But  Saul  knew  nothing  of 
tlie  little  Church  of  Samaritan  Christians  ;  or,  if  he  heard  of  them  and 
delayed  among  them,  he  delayed  only  to  injure  and  oppress.  The 
Syrian  city  was  still  the  great  object  before  him.  And  now,  when  he 
had  passed  through  Samaria  and  was  entering  Galilee,  the  snowy  peak 
of  Mount  Hermon,  the  highest  point  of  Antilibanus,  almost  as  far  to  the 
north  as  Damascus,  would  come  into  view.  This  is  that  tower  of  "  Leba- 
non which  looketh  towards  Damascus."  ^  It  is  already  the  great  land- 
mark of  liis  journey,  as  he  passes  through  Galilee  towards  the  sea  of 
Tiberias,  and  the  valley  of  the  Jordan. 

1  Bih.  Res.  iii.  77.     More  will  be  said  on  *  John  iv.  22. 

this  subject,  when  we  come  to  Acts  xxiii.  23-  ^  John  iv.  21,  23. 

31.     See  p.  25.  ^  Luke  ix.  51-56. 

'  John  xri.  2.  8  j]ph.  ii.  U.  "  See  above,  p.  74.       *  Song  of  Sol  vii.  4. 


80  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  CHAP.m. 

Leaving  now  the  "  Sea  of  Galilee,"  deep  among  its  hills,  as  a 
sanctuary  of  the  holiest  thoughts,  and  imagining  the  Jordan  to  be  passed, 
we  follow  the  company  of  travellers  over  the  barren  uplands,  which 
stretch  in  dreary  succession  along  the  base  of  Antilibanus.  All  around 
are  stony  hills  and  thirsty  plains,  through  which  the  withered  stems  of 
the  scanty  vegetation  hardly  penetrate.  Over  this  desert,  under  the 
burning  sky,  the  impetuous  Saul  holds  his  course,  full  of  the  fiery  zeal 
with  which  Elijah  travelled  of  yore,  on  his  mysterious  errand,  through 
the  same  "  wilderness  of  Damascus."  ^  "  The  earth  in  its  length  and  its 
breadth,  and  all  the  deep  universe  of  sky,  is  steeped  in  light  and  heat." 
When  some  eminence  is  gained,  the  vast  horizon  is  seen  stretching  on 
all  sides,  like  the  ocean,  without  a  boundary  ;  except  where  the  steep 
sides  of  Lebanon  interrupt  it,  as  the  promontories  of  a  mountainous 
coast  stretch  out  into  a  motionless  sea.  The  fiery  sun  is  overhead  ;  and 
that  refreshing  view  is  anxiously  looked  for,  —  Damascus  seen  from  afar, 
within  the  desert  circumference,  resting,  like  an  island  of  Paradise,  in 
the  green  enclosure  of  its  beautiful  gardens. 

This  view  is  so  celebrated,  and  the  history  of  the  place  is  so  illustrious, 
that  we  may  well  be  excused  if  we  linger  a  moment,  that  we  may  de- 
scribe them  both.  Damascus  is  the  oldest  city  in  the  world.^  Its  fame 
begins  with  the  earliest  patriarchs,  and  continues  to  modern  times.  While 
other  cities  of  the  East  have  risen  and  decayed,  Damascus  is  still  what  it 
was.  It  was  founded  before  Baalbec  and  Palmyra,  and  it  has  outlived 
them  both.  While  Babylon  is  a  heap  in  the  desert,  and  Tyre  a  ruin 
on  the  shore,  it  remains  what  it  is  called  in  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah, 
*'  the  head  of  Syria."  ^  Abraham's  steward  was  "  Eliezer  of  Damascus,"  * 
and  the  limit  of  his  warlike  expedition  in  the  rescue  of  Lot  was  "  Hobah, 
which  is  on  the  left  hand  of  Damascus."  ^  How  important  a  place  it 
was  in  the  flourishing  period  of  the  Jewish  monarchy,  we  know  from 
the  garrisons  which  David  placed  there,®  and  from  the  opposition  it  pre- 
sented to  Solomon.'  The  history  of  Naaman  and  the  Hebrew  captive, 
Blisha  and  Gehazi,  and  of  the  proud  preference  of  its  fresh  rivers  to  the 
thirsty  waters  of  Israel,  are  familiar  to  every  one.  And  how  close  its 
relations  continued  to  be  with  the  Jews,  we  know  from  the  chronicles  of 
Jeroboam  and   Ahaz,  and  the   prophecies  of  Isaiah  and   Amos.'      Its 

1  1  Kings  xix.  15.  '  Isai.  vii.  8. 

^  Josephu8  makes  it  even  older  than  Abra-  *  Gen.  xv.  2. 

ham.     (Ant.  \.  &,  3.)     For  the  traditions  of  the  *  Gen.  xiv.  15. 

events  in  the  infancy  of  the  human  race,  which  *  2  Sam.  viii.  6  ;  1  Chron.  xviii.  6. 

are  supposed  to  have  happened  in  its  vicinity,  "^  1  Kings  xi.  24. 

see  Pococke,  ii.  115,  116.     The  story  that  the  '  See  2  Kings  xiv.  28,  xvi.  9,  10;   2  Chr. 

murder  of  Abel  took  place  here  is  alluded  to  xxiv.  23,  xxviii.  5,  23 ;  Isai.  vii.  8 ;  AmoB  L 

by  Shakspeare,  1  K.  Hen.  VI.  i.  3.  3,  5. 


ooAr.iu.  DESCKIPTION   OF   DAMASCUS.  81 

mercantile  greatness  is  indicated  by  Ezekiel  in  the  remarkable  words 
addressed  to  Tyre :  ^  — "  Syria  was  thy  merchant  by  reason  of  the 
multitude  of  the  wares  of  thy  making :  they  occupied  in  thy  fairs  with 
emeralds,  purple,  and  broidered  work,  and  fine  linen,  and  coral,  and 
agate.  Damascus  was  thy  merchant  in  the  multitude  of  the  wares  of 
thy  making,  for  the  multitude  of  all  riches ;  in  the  wine  of  Helbon,  and 
white  wool. "^  Leaving  the  Jewish  annals,  we  might  follow  its  history 
tlirough  continuous  centuries,  from  the  time  when  Alexander  sent  Par- 
menio  to  take  it,  while  the  conqueror  himself  was  marching  from  Tarsus 
to  Tyre  —  to  its  occupation  by  Pompey,^  —  to  the  letters  of  Julian  the 
Apostate,  who  describes  it  as  "  the  eye  of  the  East,"  —  and  onward 
through  its  golden  days,  when  it  was  the  residence  of  the  Ommiad 
Caliplis,  and  the  metropolis  of  the  Mohammedan  world,  —  and  through 
the  period  when  its  fame  was  mingled  with  that  of  Saladin  and  Tamer- 
lane, —  to  our  own  days,  when  the  praise  of  its  beauty  is  celebrated  by 
every  traveller  from  Europe.  It  is  evident,  to  use  the  words  of  Lamar- 
tine,  that,  like  Constantinople,  it  was  a  "  predestinated  capital."  Nor  is 
it  difficult  to  explain  why  its  freshness  has  never  faded  through  all  this 
series  of  vicissitudes  and  wars. 

Among  the  rocks  and  brushwood  at  the  base  of  Antilibanus  are  the 
fountains  of  a  copious  and  perennial  stream,  which,  after  running  a 
course  of  no  great  distance  to  the  south-east,  loses  itself  in  a  desert 
lake.  But  before  it  reaches  this  dreary  boundary,  it  has  distributed  its 
channels  over  the  intermediate  space,  and  left  a  wide  area  behind  it, 
rich  with  prolific  vegetation.  These  are  the  "  streams  from  Lebanon,^' 
which  are  known  to  us  in  the  imagery  of  Scripture;*  —  the  "rivers 
of  Damascus,"  which  Naaman  not  unnaturally  preferred  to  all  the 
"  waters  of  Israel."  ^  By  Greek  writers  the  stream  is  called  Chrysor- 
rhoas,^  or  "  the  river  of  gold."  And  this  stream  is  the  inestimable 
unexhausted  treasure  of  Damascus.  The  habitations  of  men  must 
always  have  been  gathered  round  it,  as  the  Nile  has  inevitably  attracted 
an  immemorial  population  to  its  banks.  The  desert  is  a  fortification 
round  Damascus.  The  river  is  its  life.  It  is  drawn  out  into  water- 
courses, and  spread  in  all  directions.  For  miles  around  it  is  a  wilder- 
ness of  gardens, —  gardens  with  roses  among  the  tangled  shrubberies, 
and  with  fruit  on  the  branches  overhead.     Everywhere  among  the  trees 

^  The  port  of  Beyroot  is  now  to  Damascus  the  Romans  ;  hence  we  find  it  less  frequently 

what  Tyre  was  of  old.  mentioned  than  we  might  expect  in  Greek  and 

^  Ezek.  xxvii.  16,  18.  Koman  writers.     This  arose  from  the  building 

**  See  above,  Ch.  I.  p.  24.     Its  relative  im-  of  Antioch  and  other  cities  in  Northern  Syria. 

portance  was  not  so  great  when  it  was  under  *  Song  of  Sol.  iv.  15. 

a  Western  power  like  that  of  the  Selencids  or  *  2  Kings  v.  12.        ''  Strabo  and  Ptclemy 

6 


82  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  un. 

the  murmur  of  unseen  rivulets  is  heard.  Even  in  the  city,  which  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  garden,  the  clear  rushing  of  the  current  1"=;  a  perpetual 
refreshment.  Every  dwelling  has  its  fountain  :  and  at  night,  when  the 
sun  has  set  behind  Mount  Lebanon,  the  lights  of  the  city  are  seen  flash- 
ing on  the  waters. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  view  of  Damascus,  when  the  dim 
outline  of  the  gardens  has  become  distinct,  and  the  city  is  seen  gleaming 
white  in  the  midst  of  them,  should  be  universally  famous.  All  travellers 
in  all  ages  have  paused  to  feast  their  eyes  with  the  prospect :  and  the 
prospect  has  Iteen  always  the  same.  It  is  true  that  in  the  Apostle's  day 
there  were  no  cupolas  and  no  minarets  :  Justinian  had  not  built  St. 
Sophia,  and  the  caliphs  had  erected  no  mosques.  But  the  white  build- 
ings of  the  city  gleamed  then,  as  they  do  now,  in  the  centre  of  a  verdant 
inexhaustible  paradise.  The  Syrian  gardens,  with  their  low  walls  and 
waterwheels,  and  careless  mixture  of  fruits  and  flowers,  were  the  same 
then  as  they  are  now.  The  same  figures  would  be  seen  in  the  green 
approaches  to  the  town,  camels  and  mules,  horses  and  asses,  with  Syrian 
peasants,  and  Arabs  from  beyond  Palmyra.  We  know  the  very  time  of 
the  day  when  Saul  was  entering  these  shady  avenues.  It  was  at  mid- 
day.' The  birds  were  silent  in  the  trees.  The  hush  of  noon  was  in  the 
city.  The  sun  was  burning  fiercely  in  the  sky.  The  persecutor's 
companions  were  enjoying  the  cool  refreshment  of  the  shade  after  their 
journey :  and  his  eyes  rested  with  satisfaction  on  those  walls  which 
were  the  end  of  his  mission,  and  contained  the  victims  of  his  righteous 
real. 

We  have  been  tempted  into  some  prolixity  in  describing  Damascus. 
But,  in  describing  the  solemn  and  miraculous  event  which  took  place  in 
its  neighborhood,  we  hesitate  to  enlarge  upon  the  words  of  Scripture. 
And  Scripture  relates  its  circumstances  in  minute  detail.  If  the  impor- 
tance we  are  intended  to  attach  to  particular  events  in  early  Christianity 
is  to  be  measured  by  the  prominence  assigned  to  them  in  the  Sacred 
Records,  we  must  confess  that,  next  after  the  Passion  of  our  blessed 
Lord,  the  event  to  which  our  serious  attention  is  especially  called  is  the 

1  Acts  xxii.  6,  xxvi.   13.     Notices  of  the  (3)  two  miles  south  on  the  same  road  ;  (4)  half 

traditionary  place  where  the  vision  was  seen  a  mile  from  the  city :  and  this  he  prefers  on  the 

are  variously  given  both  by  earlier  and  later  strength  of  earlier  authorities,  and  because  it 

travellers.     The  old  writer,  Quaresmius,  men-  harmonizes  best  with  what  is  said  of  the  Apos- 

tions  four  theoretical  sites:  (1)  twelve  miles  tie  being  led  in  by  the  hand.     In  one  of  these 

south  of   Damasc\is,  where  there  is  a  stream  cases  there  is  an  evident  blending  of  the  scene 

on  the  right  of  the  road,  with  the  ruins  of  a  of  the    Conversion    and    the    Escape :    and   it 

church  on  a  rising  ground;  (2)  six  miles  south  would  appear  from  Mr.  Stanley's  letter  (quot- 

01)  the  left  of  the  road,  where  there  are  traces  ed  below,  p.  9.5)  that  this  spot  is  on  the  east 

of  a  church  and  stones  marked  with  crosses ;  and  not  the  south  of  the  city. 


CHAP.  m.  THE    NARRATIVES   OF  THE  MIRACLE.  83 

Conversion  of  St.  Paul.  Besides  various  allusions  to  it  in  his  own 
Epistles,  tliree  detailed  narratives  of  the  occurrence  are  found  in  the 
Acts.  Once  it  is  related  by  St.  Luke  (ix.), —  twice  by  the  Apostle  him- 
self,— in  his  address  to  his  countrymen  at  Jerusalem  (xxii.),  —  in  his 
defence  before  Agrippa  at  Caesarea  (xxvi.).  And  as,  when  the  same 
thing  is  told  in  more  than  one  of  the  Holy  Gospels,  the  accounts  do  not 
verbally  agree,  so  it  is  here.  St.  Luke  is  more  brief  than  St.  Paul.  And 
each  of  St.  Paul's  statements  supplies  something  not  found  in  the  other. 
The  peculiar  difference  of  these  two  statements,  in  their  relation  to  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  were  given,  and  as  they  illustrate  the 
Apostle's  wisdom  in  pleading  the  cause  of  the  Gospel  and  reasoning  with 
his  opponents,  will  be  made  the  subject  of  some  remarks  in  the  later 
chapters  of  this  book.  At  present  it  is  our  natural  course  simply  to 
gather  the  facts  from  the  Apostle's  own  words,  with  a  careful  reference 
to  the  shorter  narrative  given  by  St.  Luke. 

Li  the  twenty-second  and  twenty-sixth  chapters  of  the  Acts  we  are 
told  that  it  was  "  about  noon  "  —  "  at  mid-day  "  —  when  the  "  great 
light"  shone  "  suddenly"  from  heaven  (xxii.  6,  xxvi.  13).  And  those 
who  have  had  experience  of  the  glare  of  a  mid-day  sun  in  the  East,  will 
best  understand  the  description  of  that  light,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
"  a  light  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun,  sinning  round  about  Paul  and 
them  that  journeyed  with  him."  All  fell  to  the  ground  in  terror  (xxvi. 
14),  or  stood  dumb  with  amazement  (ix.  7).  Suddenly  surrounded  by 
a  light  so  terrible  and  incomprehensible,  "  they  were  afraid."  "  They 
heard  not  the  voice  of  Him  that  spake  to  Paul"  (xxii.  9),  or,  if  they 
heard  a  voice,  "they  saw  no  man"  (ix.  7).*  The  whole  scene  was 
evidently  one  of  the  utmost  confusion  :  and  the  accounts  are  such  as  to 
express,  in  the  most  striking  manner,  the  bewilderment  and  alarm  of  the 
travellers. 

But  while  the  others  were  stunned,  stupefied  and  confused,  a  clear  light 
broke  in  terribly  on  the  soul  of  one  of  those  who  were  prostrated  on  the 
ground.'^  A  voice  spoke  articulately  to  him,  which  to  the  rest  was  a 
sound  mysterious  and  indistinct.     He  heard  what  they  did  not  hear.     He 

^  It  has  been  thought  both  more  prudent  permitted  to  suppose  that  the  stupefied  com- 

and  more   honest  to  leave   these  well-known  panions  of  Saul  fell  to  the  ground  and  then 

discrepancies  exactly  as  they  are  found  in  the  rose,  and  that  they  heard  the  voice  but  did  not 

Bible.     They  will  be  differently  explained  by  understand  it.      Dr.  Wordsworth  and  Prof, 

different  readers,  according  to  their  views  of  Hackett  point  out  that  the  word  "  stood  "  in 

the  inspiration  of  Scripture.      Those  who  do  ix.  7,  need  only  mean  that  their  progress  was 

not  receive  the  doctrine  of  Verbal  Inspiration  arrested. 

will  find  in  these  discrepancies  a  confirmation  ^  It  is  evident  from  Acts  ix.  6,  8,  xxvi.  16, 

of  the  general  truth  of  the  narrative.     Those  that  Saul  was  prostrate  on  the  ground  when 

who  lay  stress  on  this  doctrine  may  fairly  be  Jesus  spoke  to  him. 


84  THE   LIFE    AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  m. 

saw  what  they  did  not  see.  To  them  the  awful  sound  was  without  a 
meaning:  he  heard  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God.  To  them  it  was 
a  bright  light  which  suddenly  surrounded  them :  he  saw  Jescts,  whom 
he  was  persecuting.  The  awful  dialogue  can  only  be  given  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Scripture.  Yet  we  may  reverentially  observe  that  the  words 
which  Jesus  spoke  were  "  in  the  Hebrew  tongue."  The  same  language,* 
in  which,  during  His  earthly  life,  He  spoke  to  Peter  and  to  John,  to  the 
blind  man  by  the  walls  of  Jericho,  to  the  woman  who  washed  His  feet 
with  her  tears  —  the  same  sacred  language  was  used  when  He  spoke 
from  heaven  to  His  persecutor  on  earth.  And  as  on  earth  He  had  always 
spoken  in  parables,  so  it  was  now.  That  voice  which  had  drawn  lessons 
from  the  lilies  that  grew  in  Galilee,  and  from  the  birds  that  flew  over  the 
mountain  slopes  near  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  was  now  pleased  to  call  His 
last  Apostle  with  a  figure  of  the  like  significance:  "  Saul,  Saul,  why  per- 
secutest  thou  me  ?  It  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  goad."  As  the 
ox  rebels  in  vain  against  the  goad^  of  its  master,  and  as  all  its  struggles 
do  nought  but  increase  its  distress  —  so  is  thy  rebellion  vain  against  the 
power  of  my  grace.  I  have  admonished  thee  by  the  word  of  my  truth, 
by  the  death  of  my  saints,  by  the  voice  of  thy  conscience.  Struggle  no 
more  against  conviction,  "  lest  a  worse  thing  come  unto  thee." 

It  is  evident  that  this  revelation  was  not  merely  an  inward  impression 
made  on  the  mind  of  Saul  during  a  trance  or  ecstasy.  It  was  the  direct 
perception  of  the  visible  presence  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  asserted  in 
various  passages,  both  positively  and  incidentally.  In  St.  Paul's  first  let- 
ter to  the  Corinthians,  when  he  contends  for  the  validity  of  his  own  apos- 
tleship,  his  argument  is,  "  Am  I  not  an  Apostle  ?  Have  I  not  seen  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Lord?"  (1  Cor.  ix.  1.)  And  when  he  adduces  the  evidence 
for  the  truth  of  the  Resurrection,  his  argument  is  again,  "  He  was  seen 
...  by  Cephas  ...  by  James  ...  by  all  the  Apostles  .  .  .  last  of  all 
by  me  ...  as  one  born  out  of  due  time"  (xv.  8).  By  Cephas  and  by 
James  at  Jerusalem  the  reality  of  Saul's  conversion  was  doubted  (Acts 
ix.  27) ;  but  "Barnabas  brought  him  to  the  Apostles,  and  related  to  them 
how  he  had  seen  the  Lord  in  the  way,  and  had  spoken  with  Him."  And 
similarly  Ananias  had  said  to  him  at  their  first  meeting  in  Damascus : 
"  The  Lord  hath  sent  me,  even  Jesus  who  appeared  to  thee  in  the  way  as 

1  It  is  only  said  in  one  account  (xxvi.  14)  Ananias   (whose  name  is  Aramaic)  seems  to 

-.  that  Jesus  Christ  spoke  in  Hebrew.     But  this  have  addressed  Saul  in  Hebrew,  not  in  Greek 

appears  incidentally  in  the  other  accounts  from  (ix.  17,  xxii.  13). 

the  Hebrew  form  of  the  name  "  Saul  "  being  2  xhe  "prick  "  of  Acts  xxvi.  14  is  the  goad 

used  where  our  Lord's   own  words   are  given  or  sharp-pointed  pole,  which  in  southern  Eu- 

ix.  4,  xxii.  8).     In  the  narrative  portion  (ix,  rope  and  in  the  Levant  is  seen  in  the  hands  of 

I,  8,  &c.)  it  is  the  Greek,  a  diflTcrence  which  is  those  who  are  ploughing  or  driving  cattle 
not  noticed  in  the  Authorized  Version.     So 


CHAP.  m.  REAL  VISION  OF  JESUS   CI111J8T.  85 

thou  earnest"  (ix.  17).  "The  God  of  our  fathers  hath  chosen  thee  that 
thou  shouldest  see  that  Just  One,  and  shouldest  hear  the  voice  of  His 
mouth"  (xxii.  14).  The  very  words  which  were  spoken  ly  the  Saviour, 
imply  the  same  important  truth.  He  does  not  say,^  "  I  am  the  Son  of 
God  —  the  Eternal  Word — the  Lord  of  men  and  of  angels:  " — but,  "I 
am  Jesus"  (ix.  5,  xxvi.  15),  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth  "  (xxii.  8).  "I  am  that 
man,  whom  not  having  seen  thou  hatest,  the  despised  prophet  of  Naza- 
reth, who  was  mocked  and  crucified  at  Jerusalem,  who  died  and  was 
buried.  But  now  I  appear  to  thee,  that  thou  mayest  know  the  truth  of 
my  Resurrection,  that  I  may  convince  thee  of  thy  sin,  and  call  thee  to  be 
my  Apostle." 

The  direct  and  immediate  character  of  this  call,  without  the  interven- 
tion of  any  human  agency,  is  another  point  on  which  St.  Paul  himself,  in 
the  course  of  his  apostolic  life,  laid  the  utmost  stress ;  and  one,  therefore, 
which  it  is  incumbent  on  us  to  notice  here.  "A  called  Apostle,"  "an 
Apostle  by  the  will  of  God,"^  "  an  Apostle  sent  not  from  men,  nor  by 
man,  but  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  God  the  Father,  who  raised  Him  from  the 
dead;"^ — these  are  the  phrases  under  which  he  describes  himself,  in  the 
cases  where  his  authority  was  in  danger  of  being  questioned.  No  human 
instrumentality  intervened,  to  throw  the  slightest  doubt  upon  the  reality 
of  the  communication  between  Christ  Himself  and  the  Apostle  of  the 
Heathen.  And,  as  he  was  directly  and  miraculously  called,  so  was  the 
work  immediately  indicated,  to  which  he  was  set  apart,  and  in  which  in 
after  years  he  always  gloried,  —  the  work  of  "  preaching  among  the  Gen- 
tiles the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ."*  Unless  indeed  we  are  to  con- 
sider the  words  which  he  used  before  Agrippa*  as  a  condensed  statement' 
of  all  that  was  revealed  to  him,  both  in  his  vision  on  the  way,  and  after- 
wards by  Ananias  in  the  city:  "  I  am  Jesus,  whom  thou  persecutest:  but 
rise,  and  stand  upon  thy  feet ;  for  to  this  end  I  have  appeared  unto  thee, 
to  ordain  tliee  a  minister  and  a  witness  both  of  these  things  which  thou 
hast  seen,  and  of  those  things  wherein  I  will  appear  unto  thee.     And  thee 

1  Chrysostom.  have  been  sent  at  the  same  time.     See  Phile- 

2  See  Rom.  i.  1  ;  1  Cor.  i.  1  ;  2  Cor.  i.  1  ;       mon,  1. 
Eph.  i.  1  ;    Col.  i.   1.     These  expressions  are  ^  Gal.  i.  1. 

not  used  by  St.  Peter,  St.  James,  St.  Judc,  or  *  Eph.  iii.  8.     See  Rom.  xi.   13,  xv.  16  ; 

St.  John.     And  it  is  remarkable  that  they  are  Gal.  ii.  8 ;  1  Tim.  ii.  7  ;  2  Tim.  i.  11,  &.c. 
not  used  by  St.  Paul  himself  in   the  Epistles  ^  Acts  xxvi.  15-18. 

addressed  to  those  who  were  most  firmly  at-  *=  It  did  not  fall  in  with  Paul's  plan  in  his 

tached  to  him.     They  are  found  in  the  letters  speech  before  Agrippa  (xxvi.)  to  mention  An- 

to  the  Christians  of  Achaia,  but  not  in  those  anias,  as,  in  his  speech  to  the  Jews  at  Jerusa- 

to  the  Christians  of  Macedonia.    (See  1  Thess.  lem   (xxii.),  he  avoided  any  explicit  mention 

I.  1 ;  2  Thess.  i.  1  ;  Phil.  i.  1).     And  though  of  the  Gentiles,  while  giving  the  narrative  of 

in  the  letters  to  the  Ephesians  and  Colossians,  his  conversioQ. 
not  in  that  to  Philemon,  which  is  known  to 


86  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  in. 

have  I  chosen  from  the  House  of  Israel,  and  from  among  the  Gentiles^ 
unto  whom  now  I  send  thee,  to  open  their  eyes,  that  they  may  turn  from 
darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God ;  that  they  may 
receive  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  inheritance  among  the  sanctified,  by  faith 
in  Me."i 

But  the  full  intimation  of  all  the  labors  and  sufferings  that  were  before 
him  was  still  reserved.  He  was  told  to  arise  and  go  into  the  city,  and 
there  it  should  be  told  him  what  it  had  been  ordained^  that  he  should 
do.  He  arose  humbled  and  subdued,  and  ready  to  obey  whatever  might 
be  the  will  of  Him  who  had  spoken  to  him  from  heaven.  But  when  he 
opened  his  eyes,  all  was  dark  around  him.  The  brilliancy  of  the  vision 
had  made  him  blind.  Those  who  were  with  him  saw,  as  before,  the  trees 
and  the  sky,  and  the  road  leading  into  Damascus.  But  he  was  in  dark- 
ness, and  they  led  him  by  the  hand  into  the  city.  Thus  came  Saul  into 
Damascus ;  —  not  as  he  had  expected,  to  triumph  in  an  enterprise  on 
which  his  soul  was  set,  to  brave  all  difficulties  and  dangers,  to  enter  into 
houses  and  carry  off  prisoners  to  Jerusalem;  —  but  he  passed  himself 
like  a  prisoner  beneath  the  gateway ;  and  through  the  colonnades'  of  the 
street  called  "  Straight,"  where  he  saw  not  the  crowd  of  those  who  gazed 
on  him,  he  vsras  led  by  the  hands  of  others,  trembling  and  helpless,  to  the 
house  of  Judas,*  his  dark  and  solitary  lodging. 

Three  days  the  blindness  continued.  Only  one  other  space  of  three 
days'  duration  can  be  mentioned  of  equal  importance  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  The  conflict  of  Saul's  feelings  was  so  great,  and  his  remorse  so 
piercing  and  so  deep,  that  during  this  time  he  neither  ate  nor  drank.* 
He  could  have  no  communion  with  the  Christians,  for  they  had  been  terri- 
fied by  the  news  of  his  approach.  And  the  unconverted  Jews  could  have 
no  true  sympathy  with  his  present  state  of  mind.  He  fasted  and  prayed 
in  silence.  The  recollections  of  his  early  years,  —  the  passages  of  the 
ancient  Scriptures  which  he  had  never  understood,  —  the  thoughts  of  his 
own  cruelty  and  violence,  —  the  memory  of  the  last  looks  of  Stephen, — 
all  these  crowded  into  his  mind,  and  made  the  three  days  equal  to  long 
years  of  repentance.  And  if  we  may  imagine  one  feeling  above  all  others 
to  have  kept  possession  of  his  heart,  it  would  be  the  feeling  suggested  by 
Christ's  expostulation:    "Why  persecutest   thou   Me?"^     This   feeling 


1  See  notes  on  the  passage  in  Chap.  XXII.  (where   a    triple   Roman    archway  remains). 

2  This  is  the  expression  in  his  own  speech.  Mr.  Porter  observes  that  this  arrangement  of 
(xxii.  10.)     See  ix.  6,  and  compare  xxvi.  16.  the  street  is  a  counterpart  of  those  of  Palmyra 

^  See  Mr.  Porter's  Five  Years  in  Damascus  and  Jerash.     We  may  perhaps  add  Antioch- 

(1856).    Eecent  excavations  show  that  a  mag-  See  below,  p.  11.5. 
nificent  street  with  a  threefold  colonnade  ex-  ■*  Acts  ix.  11. 

tended  from  the  Western  gate  to  the  Eastern  ^  Acts  ix.  9.  ®  See  Matt.  xxt.  40,  45. 


CHAP.  in.  A'N'ANIAS.  87 

would  be  attended  with  thoughts  of  peace,  with  hope,  and  with  faitli.  He 
waited  on  God :  and  in  his  blindness  a  vision  was  granted  to  him.  He 
seemed  to  behold  one  who  came  in  to  him,  —  and  he  knew  by  revelation 
that  his  name  was  Ananias,  —  and  it  appeared  to  him  that  the  stranger 
laid  his  hand  on  him,  that  he  might  receive  his  siglit.^ 

The  economy  of  visions,  by  which  God  revealed  and  accomplished  His 
will,  is  remarkably  similar  in  the  case  of  Ananias  and  Saul  at  Damascus, 
and  in  that  of  Peter  and  Cornelius  at  Joppa  and  Caesarea.  The  simul- 
taneous preparation  of  the  hearts  of  Ananias  and  Saul,  and  the  simultaneous 
preparation  of  those  of  Peter  and  Cornelius,  —  the  questioning  and  hesita- 
tion of  Peter,  and  the  questioning  and  hesitation  of  Ananias,  —  the  one 
doubting  whether  he  might  make  friendship  with  the  Gentiles,  the  other 
doubting  whether  lie  might  approach  the  enemy  of  the  Church,  —  the  un- 
hesitating obedience  of  each,  when  the  Divine  will  was  made  clearly  known, 
—  the  state  of  mind  in  which  both  the  Pharisee  and  the  Centurion  were 
found,  —  each  waiting  to  see  what  the  Lord  would  say  unto  him, — this  close 
analogy  will  not  be  forgotten  by  those  who  reverently  read  the  two  con- 
secutive chapters,  in  which  the  baptism  of  Saul  and  the  baptism  of 
Cornelius  are  narrated  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.^ 

And  in  another  respect  there  is  a  close  parallelism  between  the  two 
histories.  The  same  exact  topography  characterizes  them  both.  In  the  one 
case  we  have  the  lodging  with  "  Simon  the  Tanner,"  and  the  house  "  by  the 
seaside  "  (x.  6),  —  in  the  other  we  have  "  the  house  of  Judas,"  and  "  the 
street  called  Straight  (ix.  11)."  And  as  the  shore,  where  "the  saint 
beside  the  ocean  prayed,"  is  an  unchanging  feature  of  Joppa,  which  will 
ever  be  dear  to  the  Christian  heart ;  ^  so  are  we  allowed  to  bear  in  mind 
that  the  thoroughfares  of  Eastern  cities  do  not  change,*  and  to  believe  that 
the  "  Straight  Street,"  which  still  extends  through  Damascus  in  long  per- 
spective from  the  Eastern  Gate,  is  the  street  where  Ananias  spoke  to 
Saul.  More  than  this  we  do  not  venture  to  say.  In  the  first  days  of  the 
Church,  and  for  some  time  afterwards,  the  local  knowledge  of  the  Chris- 
tians at  Damascus  might  be  cherished  and  vividly  retained.  But  now 
that  through  long  ages  Christianity  in  the  East  has  been  weak  and  de- 

1  Acts  ix.  12.  covered  over,  a  mile  long  and  as  straight  as  aa 

2  Acts  ix.  and  x.  Compare  also  xi.  5-18  arrow.  He  adds  that  there  the  house  of  Judat 
with  xxii.  12-16.  is  shown,  a  commodious  dwelling,  with"  traoei 

2  See  The  Christian  Year ;  Monday  in  Eas-  of  having  been  once  a  church,  and   then   a 

ter  week.  mosque.     The  place  of  Baptism,  he  says,  is  a 

*  See  Lord  Nugent's  remarks  on  the  Jeru-  fountain  not  far  off,  near  the  beginning  of  th« 

iaXem.'QA.ztivccmhKs  Sacred  and  Classical  Lands,  street,   where  a  handsome  church  has   been 

vol.  ii.  pp.  40,  41.     Quaresmius  says  that  the  turned  into  a  mosque.     He  enters  also  very 

Straight  Street  at  Damascus  is    the    bazaar,  fully  into   the  description  of  the  traditionary 

which  he  describes  as  a  street  darkened  and  home  of  Ananias,  and  gives  a  ground  plan  of  it 


«8  THE    LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ra. 

graded,  and  Mohammedanism  strong  and  tyrannical,  we  can  only  say 
that  tlie  spots  still  shown  to  travellers  as  the  sites  of  the  house  of  Ananias, 
and  the  house  of  Judas,  and  the  place  of  baptism,  may  possibly  be  tnie.^ 

We  know  nothing  concerning  Ananias,  except  what  we  learn  from  St. 
Luke  or  from  St.  Paul.  He  was  a  Jew  who  had  become  a  "  disciple  "  of 
Christ  (ix.  10),  and  he  was  well  reputed  and  held  to  be  "  devout  accord- 
ing to  the  Law,"  among  "  all  the  Jews  who  dwelt  at  Damascus"  (xxii.  12). 
He  is  never  mentioned  by  St  Paul  in  his  Epistles ;  and  the  later  stories 
respecting  his  history  are  unsupported  by  proof.'^  Though  he  was  not 
ignorant  of  the  new  convert's  previous  character,  it  seems  evident  that  he 
had  no  personal  acquaintance  with  him ;  or  he  would  hardly  have  been 
described  as  "  one  called  Saul,  of  Tarsus,"  lodging  in  the  house  of  Judas. 
He  was  not  an  Apostle,  nor  one  of  the  conspicuous  members  of  the  Church. 
And  it  was  not  without  a  deep  significance,'  that  he,  who  was  called  to  be 
an  Apostle,  should  be  baptized  by  one  of  whom  the  Church  knows  nothing, 
except  that  he  was  a  Christian  "  disciple,"  and  had  been  a  "  devout "  Jew. 

Ananias  came  into  the  house  where  Saul,  faint  and  exhausted  *  with 
three  days'  abstinence,  still  remained  in  darkness.  Wlien  he  laid  his 
hands  on  his  head,  as  the  vision  had  foretold,  immediately  he  would  be 
recognized  as  the  messenger  of  God,  even  before  the  words  were  spoken, 
"  Brother  Saul,  the  Lord,  even  Jesus,  that  appeared  unto  thee  in  the  way 
as  thou  camest,  hath  sent  me,  that  thou  mightest  receive  thy  sight,  and 
be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  These  words  were  followed,  as  were  the 
words  of  Jesus  Himself  when  He  spoke  to  the  blind,  with  an  instantaneous 
dissipation  of  darkness  :  "  There  fell  from  his  eyes  as  it  had  been  scales  :  * 
and  he  received  sight  forthwith  (ix.  18)  :  "  or,  in  his  own  more  vivid  ex- 
pression, "  the  same  hour  he  looked  up  on  the  face  of  Ananias  (xxii.  13)." 

^  Compare,    among    the    older    travellers,  attached  by  God  to  baptism.     Olshausen,  after 

Thevenot,  parts  i.  and  ii. ;  Maundrell  (1714),  remarking  that  Paul  was  made  a  member  of 

p.  36  ;  Pococke,  ii.  119.     Mr.  Stanley  says,  in  the  Church   not  by  his  Divine  Call,  but  by 

a  letter  to  the  writer,  that  there  is  no  street  simple  baptism,  adds  that  this  baptism  of  Paul 

now  called  Straight  except  by  the  Christians,  by  Ananias  did  not  imply  any  inferiority  or 

and  that  the  street  so  called  by  them  does  not  dependence,  more  than  in  the  case  of  our  Lord 

contain  the  traditional  house  of  Judas  or  of  and  John  the  Baptist.      Observe    the  strong 

Ananias,   which    are  both   shown    elsewhere.  expression  in  Acts  xxii.  16. 

See  below,  p.  93,  n.  8.  *  See  Acts  ix.  19. 

2  Tradition   says   that  he  was  one  of  the  ^  It  is  difficult  to  see  why  the  words  "  there 

seventy    disciples,    that    he    was    afterwards  fell  from  his  eyes  as  it  had  been  scales,"  should 

Bishop  of  Damascus,  and  stoned  after  many  be  considered  merely  descriptive  by  Olshausen 

tortures    under  Licinius    (or  Lucianus)    the  and  others.     One  of  the  arguments  for  taking 

Governor.  them  literally  is  the  peculiar  exactness  of  St 

8  Ananias,   as   Chiysostom   says,  was  not  Luke  in  speaking  on  such   sul^ects.     See  a 

one  of  the  leading  Apostles,  because  Paul  was  ,  paper  on  the  medical  style  of  St.  Luke  in  the 

not  to  be  taught  of  men.     On  the  other  hand.  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  June,  1841. 
this  very  circumstance  shows  the  importance 


CHAjp.  ra.  BAPTISM  AND   FIRST  PREACH1^G   OF  SAUL.  89 

It  was  a  face  he  had  never  seen  before.  But  the  expression  of  Christian 
love  assured  him  of  reconciliation  with  God.  He  learnt  that  "  the  God  of 
his  fathers  "  had  chosen  him  "  to  know  His  will,"  —  "  to  see  that  Just 
One," — "  to  hear  the  voice  of  His  mouth," — to  be  "  His  witness  unto 
all  men."  ^  He  was  baptized,  and  "  the  rivers  of  Damascus  "  became 
more  to  him  than  "  all  the  waters  of  Judah  "  "^  had  been.  His  body  was 
strengthened  with  food  ;  and  his  soul  was  made  strong  to  "  suffer  great 
things  "  for  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  to  bear  that  Name  "  before  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  kings,  and  the  children  of  Israel."  ' 

He  began  by  proclaiming  the  honor  of  that  name  to  the  children  of 
Israel  in  Damascus.  He  was  "not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision  " 
(x:xvi.  19),  but "  straightway  preached  in  the  synagogues  that  Jesus  was  the 
Son  of  God,"*  —  and  "  showed  unto  them  that  they  should  repent  and  turn 
to  God,  and  do  works  meet  for  repentance."  His  Rabbinical  and  Pharisaic 
learning  was  now  used  to  uphold  the  cause  which  he  came  to  destroy. 
The  Jews  were  astounded.  They  knew  what  he  had  been  at  Jerusalem. 
They  knew  why  he  had  come  to  Damascus.  And  now  they  saw  him  con- 
tradicting the  whole  previous  course  of  his  life,  and  utterly  discarding 
ttiat  "  commission  of  the  high  priests,"  which  had  been  the  authority  of 
his  journey.  Yet  it  was  evident  that  his  conduct  was  not  the  result  of  a 
wayward  and  irregular  impulse.  His  convictions  never  hesitated ;  his 
energy  grew  continually  stronger,  as  he  strove  in  the  synagogues,  main- 
taining the  truth  against  the  Jews,  and  "  arguing  and  proving  that  Jesus 
was  indeed  the  Messiah."  * 

The  period  of  his  first  teaching  at  Damascus  does  not  seem  to  have 
lasted  long.  Indeed  it  is  evident  that  his  life  could  not  have  been  safe, 
had  he  remained.  The  fury  of  the  Jews  when  they  had  recovered  from 
their  first  surprise  must  have  been  excited  to  the  utmost  pitch  ;  and  they 
would  soon  have  received  a  new  commissioner  from  Jerusalem  armed  with 
full  powers  to  supersede  and  punish  one  whom  they  must  have  regarded 
as  the  most  faithless  of  apostates.  Saul  left  the  city,  but  not  to  return 
to  Jerusalem.  Conscious  of  his  Divine  mission,  he  never  felt  that  it  was 
necessary  to  consult "  those  who  were  Apostles  before  him,  but  he  went 
into  Arabia,  and  returned  again  into  Damascus."® 

Many  questions  have  been  raised  concerning  this  journey  into  Arabia. 
The  first  question  relates  to  the  meaning  of  the  word.  From  the  time 
when  the  word  "  Arabia  "  was  first  used  by  any  of  the  writers  of  Greece 
or  Rome,  it  has  always  been  a  term  of  vague  and   uncertain   import. 

1  Acts  xxii.  14,  15.  "Christ"   is    the    true  reading.      Verse   2i 

*  See  2  Kings  v.  12.  would  make  this  probable,  if  the  authority  of 
»  See  Acts  ix.  15,  16.  the  MSS.  were  not  decisive. 

*  Acts  ix.  20.     Where  "Jesus"  and  not  ^  Acts  ix.  22.  "  Gal.  i.  17. 


90  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  ul 

Sometimes  it  includes  Damascus  ;  sometimes  it  ranges  over  the  Lebanon 
itself,  and  extends  even  to  the  borders  of  Cilicia.  The  native  geographers 
usually  reckon  that  stony  district,  of  which  Petra  was  the  capital,  as 
belonging  to  Egypt,  —  and  that  wide  desert  towards  the  Euphrates,  where 
the  Bedouins  of  all  ages  have  lived  in  tents,  as  belonging  to  Syria,  —  and 
have  limited  the  name  to  the  Peninsula  between  the  Red  Sea  and  the 
Persian  Gulf,  where  Jemen,  or  "  Araby  the  Blest,"  is  secluded  on  the 
south.  In  the  threefold  division  of  Ptolemy,  which  remains  in  our 
popular  language  when  we  speak  of  this  still  untravelled  region,  both  the 
first  and  second  of  these  districts  were  included  under  the  name  of  the 
third.  And  we  must  suppose  St.  Paul  to  have  gone  into  one  of  the  former, 
either  that  which  touched  Syria  and  Mesopotamia,  or  that  which  touched 
Palestine  and  Egypt.  If  he  went  into  the  first,  we  need  not  suppose  him 
to  have  travelled  far  from  Damascus.  For  though  the  strong  powers  of 
Syria  and  Mesopotamia  might  check  the  Arabian  tribes,  and  retrench 
the  Arabian  name  in  this  direction,  yet  the  Gardens  of  Damascus  were  on 
the  verge  of  the  desert,  and  Damascus  was  almost  as  much  an  Arabian  as 
a  Syrian  town. 

And  if  he  went  into  Petraean  Arabia,  there  still  remains  the  question 
of  his  motive  for  the  journey,  and  his  employment  when  there.  Eithei 
retiring  before  the  opposition  at  Damascus,  he  went  to  preach  the  Gospel  •, 
and  then,  in  the  synagogues  of  that  singular  capital,  which  was  built 
amidst  the  rocks  of  Edom,^  whence  "  Arabians  "  came  to  the  festivals  at 
Jerusalem,'^  he  testified  of  Jesus  :  —  or  he  went  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
templation and  solitary  communion  with  God,  to  deepen  his  repentance 
and  fortify  his  soul  with  prayer ;  and  then  perhaps  his  steps  were 
turned  to  those  mountain  heights  by  the  Red  Sea,  which  Moses  and  Elijah 
had  trodden  before  him.  We  cannot  attempt  to  decide  the  question. 
The  views  which  different  inquirers  take  of  it  will  probably  depend  on 
their  own  tendency  to  the  practical  or  the  ascetic  life.  On  the  one  hand 
it  may  be  argued  that  such  zeal  could  not  be  restrained,  that  Saul  could 
not  be  silent,  but  that  he  would  rejoice  in  carrying  into  the  metropolis  of 
King  Aretas  the  Gospel  which  his  Ethnarch  could  afterwards  hinder  at 
Damascus.'  On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  said  that,  with  such  convic- 
tions recently  worked  in  his  mind,  he  would  yearn  for  solitude,  —  that  a 
time  of  austere  meditation  before  tlie  beginning  of  a  great  work  is  in  con- 
formity with  the  economy  of  God, —  that  we  find  it  quite  natural,  if  Paul 
followed  the  example  of  the  Great  Lawgiver  and  the  Great  Prophet,  and 

1  Strabo,  in  his  description  of  Petra,  says  he  says  that  it  was  distant  three  or  four  days' 

that  his  friend  Athcnodorus  found  great  num-  journey  from  Jericho.  See  above,  p.  75.  n.  8. 
bers  of  strangers  there.    In  the  same  paragraph,  ^  Acts  ii.  11. 

after  destribing  its  cliffs  and  peculiar  situation,  ^  See  2  Cor.  xi.  32. 


CHAP.m.  SAIJL  RETIRES  INTO    ARABIA.  91 

of  one  greater  than  Moses  and  Elijah,  who,  after  His  baptism  and  before 
His  ministry,  "  returned  from  Jordan  and  was  led  by  the  Spirit  into  the 
wilderness."  ^ 

While  Saul  is  in  Arabia,  preaching  the  Gospel  in  obscurity,  or  prepar- 
ing for  his  varied  work  by  the  intuition  of  Sacred  Truth,  —  it  seems  the 
natural  place  for  some  reflections  on  the  reality  and  the  momentous  sig- 
nificance of  his  conversion.  It  has  already  been  remarked,  in  what  we 
nave  drawn  from  the  statements  of  Scripture,  that  he  was  called  directly 
by  Christ  without  the  intervention  of  any  other  Apostle,  and  that  the  pur- 
pose of  his  call  was  clearly  indicated,  when  Ananias  baptized  him.  He 
was  an  Apostle  "  not  of  men,  neither  by  man,"^  and  the  Divine  will  was 
"  to  work  among  the  Gentiles  by  his  ministry."'  But  the  unbeliever  may 
still  say  that  there  are  other  questions  of  primary  importance.  He  may 
suggest  that  this  apparent  change  in  the  current  of  Saul's  thoughts,  and 
this  actual  revolution  in  the  manner  of  his  life,  was  either  the  contrivance 
of  deep  and  deliberate  imposture,  or  the  result  of  wild  and  extravgant 
fanaticism.  Both  in  ancient  and  modern  times,  some  have  been  found 
who  have  resolved  this  gr'^at  occurrence  into  the  promptings  of  self- 
interest,  or  have  ventured  to  call  it  the  offspring  of  delusion.  There  is 
an  old  story  mentioned  by  Epiphanius,  from  which  it  appears  that  the 
Ebionites  were  content  to  find  a  motive  for  the  change,  in  an  idle  story 
that  he  first  became  a  Jew  that  he  might  marry  the  High  Priest's  daugh- 
ter, and  then  became  the  antagonist  of  Judaism  because  the  High  Priest 
deceived  him.*  And  there  are  modern  Jews,  who  are  satisfied  with  saying 
that  he  changed  rapidly  from  one  passion  to  another,  like  those  impetuous 
souls  who  cannot  hate  or  love  by  halves.  Can  we  then  say  that  St.  Paul 
was  simply  a  fanatic  or  an  impostor  ?  The  question  has  been  so  well 
inswered  in  a  celebrated  English  book,^  that  we  are  content  to  refer  to  it. 
It  will  never  be  possible  for  any  one  to  believe  St.  Paul  to  have  been  a  mere 
fanatic,  who  duly  considers  his  calmness,  his  wisdom,  his  prudence,  and, 
above  all,  his  humility,  a  virtue  which  is  not  less  inconsistent  with  fanati- 
cism than  with  imposture.  And  how  can  we  suppose  that  he  was  an  im- 
postor who  changed  his  religion  for  selfish  purposes  ?  Was  he  influenced 
by  the  ostentation  of  learning  ?  He  suddenly  cast  aside  all  that  he  had 
been  taught  by  Gamaliel,  or  acquired  through  long  years  of  study,  and 
took  up  the  opinions  of  fishermen  of  Galilee,  whom  he  had  scarcely  ever 

1  Luke  iv.  1.  iii.  and  2  Cor.  xi.     Barnabas,  though  a  Cypri- 

2  Gal.  i.  1.  This  retirement  into  Arabia  an,  was  a  Levite,  and  why  not  Paul  a  Jew, 
is  itself  an  indication  of  his  independent  call.  though  a  Tarsian  ?  And  are  we  to  believe, 
See  Prof.  Ellicott  on  Gal.  i.  17.  he  adds,  what  Ebion  says  of  Paul,  or  what 

»  Acts  xxi.  9.  Peter  says  of  him  ?  (2  Pet.  iii.) 

*  Epiphanius,  after  telling  the  story,  argues  ^  Lord  Lyttelton's  Observations  on  the  Con- 

its  impossibility  from  its  contradiction  to  Phil.       version  and  Apostleship  of  St.  Paul. 


92  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES    OF   ST.    PAUL.  CHAP.m, 

seen,  and  who  had  never  been  educated  in  the  schools.  Was  it  the  love 
of  power  which  prompted  the  change  ?  He  abdicated  in  a  moment  the 
authority  which  he  possessed,  for  power  "over  a  flock  of  sheep  driven  to 
the  slaughter,  whose  Shepherd  himself  had  been  murdered  a  little 
before  ; "  and  "  all  he  could  hope  from  that  power  was  to  be  marked 
out  in  a  particular  manner  for  the  same  knife,  which  he  had  seen  so 
bloodily  drawn  against  them."  Was  it  the  love  of  wealth  ?  Whatever 
might  be  his  own  worldly  possessions  at  the  time,  he  joined  himself  to 
those  who  were  certainly  poor,  and  the  prospect  before  him  was  that 
which  was  actually  realized,  of  ministering  to  his  necessities  with  the 
labor  of  his  hands.^  Was  it  the  love  of  fame  ?  His  prophetic  power 
must  have  been  miraculous,  if  he  could  look  beyond  the  shame  and 
scorn  which  then  rested  on  the  servants  of  a  crucified  Master,  to  that 
glory  with  which  Christendom  now  surrounds  the  memory  of  St.  Paul. 

And  if  the  conversion  of  St.  Paul  was  not  the  act  of  a  fanatic  or  an 
impostor,  then  it  ought  to  be  considered  how  much  this  wonderful  occur- 
rence involves.  As  Lord  Lyttelton  observes,  "the  conversion  and  apostle- 
ship  of  St.  Paul  alone,  duly  considered,  is  of  itself  a  demonstration 
sufficient  to  prove  Christianity  to  be  a  Divine  revelation."  Saul  was 
arrested  at  the  height  of  his  zeal,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  fury.  In  the 
words  of  Chrysostom,  "  Christ,  like  a  skilful  physician,  healed  him  when 
his  fever  was  at  the  worst : "  and  lie  proceeds  to  remark,  in  the  same  elo- 
quent sermon,  that  the  truth  of  Christ's  resurrection,  and  the  present 
power  of  Him  who  had  been  crucified,  were  shown  far  more  forcibly 
than  they  could  have  been  if  Paul  had  been  otherwise  called.  Nor 
ought  we  to  forget  the  great  religious  lessons  we  are  taught  to  gather 
from  this  event.  We  see  the  value  set  by  God  upon  honesty  and  integ- 
rity, when  we  find  that  he,  "who  was  before  a  blasphemer  and  a  perse- 
cutor and  injurious,  obtained  mercy  because  he  did  it  ignorantly  in 
unbehef."^  And  we  learn  the  encouragement  given  to  all  sinners  who 
repent,  when  we  are  told  that  "  for  this  cause  he  obtained  mercy,  that  in 
him  first  Jesus  Christ  might  show  forth  all  long-suffering,  for  a  pattern 
to  them  which  should  hereafter  bcheve  on  Him  to  life  everlasting."' 

We  return  to  the  narrative.     Saul's  time  of  retirement  in  Arabia  was 

1  Acts  XX.  33,  34;  1  Cor.  iv.  12  ;  1  Thess.  verted  state  wa3  like  a  sick  man  who  through 
ii.  9,  &c.  madness  tries  to  kill  his  physician. 

2  1  Tim.  i.  13.  See  Luke  xii.  48,  xxiii.  ^  A.  Monod's  "  Cinq  Discours  "  on  St.  Paul 
34;  Acts  iii.  17  ;  I  Cor.  ii.  8.  On  the  other  (Paris.  18,52)  were  published  shortly  before 
hand,  "  unbelieving  ignorance  "  is  often  men-  the  completion  of  the  first  edition  of  this  work, 
tioncd  in  Scripture  as  an  aggravation  of  sin :  We  have  much  pleasure  here  in  referring  to 
e.g.  Eph.  iv.  18,  19;  2  Thess.  i.  7,  8.  A  man  the  third  of  these  eloquent  and  instructive 
is  deeply  wretched  who  sins  through  ignorance ;  sermons,  on  the  character  and  results  of  St 
and,  as  Augustine  says,  Paul  in   his  uncon-  Paul's  conversion. 


ea^'-  cu.  CO^'SP^RACY  AT   DAMASCUS.  93 

not  of  long  continuance.  He  was  not  destined  to  be  the  Evangelist  of  the 
East.  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  (i.  18), >  the  time,  from  his  conver- 
sion to  his  final  departure  from  Damascus,  is  said  to  have  been  "  three 
years,"  which,  according  to  tlie  Jewish  way  of  reckoning,  may  have  been 
throe  entire  years,  or  only  one  year  with  parts  of  two  others.  Meantime 
Saul  had  "  returned  to  Damascus,  preaching  boldly  in  the  name  of  Jesus." 
(Acts  ix.  27.)  The  Jews,  being  no  longer  able  to  meet  him  in  contro- 
versy, resorted  to  that  which  is  the  last  argument  of  a  desperate  cause  :  ^ 
they  resolved  to  assassinate  him.  Saul  became  acquainted  with  the  con- 
spiracy :  and  all  due  precautions  were  taken  to  evade  the  danger.  But 
the  political  circumstances  of  Damascus  at  the  time  made  escape  very 
difficult.  Either  in  the  course  of  the  hostilities  which  prevailed  along  the 
Syrian  frontiers  between  Herod  Antipas  and  the  Romans,  on  one  side,  and 
Aretas,  King  of  Petra,  on  the  other,  —  and  possibly  in  consequence  of  that 
absence  of  Vitellius,'  which  was  caused  by  the  Emperor's  death,  —  the 
Arabian  monarch  had  made  himself  master  of  Damascus,  and  the  Jews, 
who  sympathized  with  Aretas,  were  high  in  the  favor  of  his  officer,  the 
Ethnarch.*  Or  Tiberius  had  ceased  to  reign,  and  his  successor  had  as- 
signed Damascus  to  the  King  of  Petra,  and  the  Jews  had  gained  over 
his  officer  and  his  soldiers,  as  Pilate's  soldiers  had  once  been  gained  over 
at  Jerusalem.  St.  Paul  at  least  expressly  informs  us,-^  that  "  the  Ethnarch 
kept  watch  over  the  city,  with  a  garrison,  purposing  to  apprehend  him." 
St.  Luke  says,^  that  the  Jews  "  watched  the  city-gates  day  and  night, 
with  the  intention  of  killing  him."  The  Jews  furnished  the  motive,  the 
Ethnarch  the  military  force.  The  anxiety  of  the  "  disciples  "  was  doubt 
less  great,  as  when  Peter  was  imprisoned  by  Herod,  "  and  prayer  was 
made  without  ceasing  of  the  Church  unto  God  for  him."^  Tlieir  anxiety 
became  the  instrument  of  his  safety.  From  an  unguarded  part  of  the 
wall,^  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  probably  where  some  overhanging 

1  In  Acts  ix.  23,  the  time  is  said  to  have  imaf^ines  that  he  was  an  oflScer  of  Aretas  acci- 
been  "  many  days."  Dr.  Paley  has  observed  dentally  residing  in  Damascus,  who  induced 
in  a  note  on  the  IIorcE  PauUnce  a  similar  in-  the  Roman  government  to  aid  in  the  conspira- 
stance  in  the  Old  Testament  (1  Kings  ii.  38,  cy  of  the  Jews.  Neither  hypothesis  seems 
39),  where  "  many  days"  is  nsed  to  denote  a  very  probable.  Schrader  suggests  that  the 
space  of  "three  years:"  —  "And  Shimei  Ethnarch's  wife  might,  perhaps,  be  a  Jewish 
dwelt  at  Jerusalem  many  days  ;  and  it  came  to  proselyte,  as  we  know  was  the  case  with  a  vast 
pass,  at  the  end  of  three  years,  that  two  of  the  number  of  the  women  of  Damascns. 
§ervants  of  Shimei  ran  away."  *  2  Cor.  xi.  32. 

2  Chrysostom.  '^  See  above,  p.  76.  ^  ^^ts  ix.  24.  ''  Acts  xii.  5. 

*  Some  have  supposed  that  this  Ethnarch  *  Quaresmius  leaves  the  place  in  doubt, 
was  merely  an  officer  who  regulated  the  affairs  We  conclude  our  notices  of  these  traditional 
of  the  Jews  themselves,  such  as  we  know  to  sites,  by  an  extract  from  a  letter  received  from 
have  existed  under  this  title  in  cities  with  the  Rev.  A.  P.  Stanley,  shortly  before  the  pub- 
many  Jewish  residents  (p.  100).  See  Joseph.  lication  of  his  Sinai  and  Palestine.  "  The 
Ant.  xix.  7,  2,  and  8,  5  ;   War,  ii.  6,3.    Anger  only  spot  now  pointed  out  is  a  few  hundred 


94 


THE  LIFE  AJSID  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


houses,  as  is  usual  in  Eastern  cities,  opened  upon  the  outer  country,  they 
let  him  down  from  a  window  ^  in  a  basket.  There  was  something  of 
humiliation  in  this  mode  of  escape  ;  and  this,  perhaps,  is  the  reason  why, 
in  a  letter  written  "  fourteen  years  "  afterwards,  he  specifies  the  details, 
"  glorying  in  his  infirmities,"  when  he  is  about  to  speak  of  "  his  visions 
and  revelations  of  the  Lord."  ^ 

Thus  already  the  Apostle  had  experience  of  "  perils  by  his  own  country- 
men, and  perils  in  the  city."  Already  "  in  journeyings  often,  in  weariness 
and  painfulness,"  ^  he  began  to  learn  "  how  great  things  he  was  to  suffer  " 
for  the  name  of  Christ.*  Preserved  from  destruction  at  Damascus,  he 
turned  his  steps  towards  Jerusalem.  His  motive  for  the  journey,  as  he  tells 
us  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  was  a  desire  to  become  acquainted 
with  Peter.*  Not  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the  true  principles  of  the  Gospel. 
He  expressly  tells  us  that  he  neither  needed  nor  received  any  instruction 
in  Christianity  from  those  who  were  "  Apostles  before  him."  But  he 
must  have  heard  much  from  the  Christians  at  Damascus  of  the  Galilean 
fisherman.  Can  we  wonder  that  he  should  desire  to  see  the  Chief  of  the 
Twelve,  —  the  brother  with  whom  now  he  was  consciously  united  in  the 
bonds  of  a  common  apostleship,  —  and  who  had  long  on  earth  been 
the  constant  companion  of  his  Lord  ? 


yards  from  the  town  walls,  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  city,  near  the  traditional  scene  of  the 
Escape  over  the  wall.  It  is  only  marked  by  a 
mass  of  cement  in  the  ground,  with  a  hollow 
underneath,  which  the  Damascus  guides  repre- 
sent as  a  hole  in  which  after  his  escape  the 
Apostle  concealed  himself —  and  this  is  the 
only  tradition  which  in  the  popular  mind  at- 
taches to  the  place.  All  knowledge  or  imagi- 
nation of  the  Conversion  or  of  its  locality  has 
entirely  passed  away.  But  the  French  monks 
in  the  Latin  convent  maintain  (and  no  doubt 
truly)  that  this  was  the  spot  in  earlier  times 
believed  to  be  the  scene  of  that  event,  and 
that  the  remains  of  cement  and  masonry  round 
about  are  the  ruins  of  a  Christian  church  or 
chapel  built  in  memorial.  It  is,  if  I  rem«mbcr 
riixht,  the  fourth  of  the  four  places  mentioned 
by  Quaresmius.  It  is  highly  improbable  that 
it  can  be  the  true  place  [of  the  Coiirersion], 
because  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the 
road  from  Jerusalem  should  have  fetched  such 
a  compass  as  to  enter  Damascus  on  the  east, 
instead  of  (as  at  present)  on  the  west  or 
south."  Mr.  Porter  (p.  43)  says  that  it  is  only 
within  the  last  century  that  the  scene  of  the 
Conversion  has"  been  transferred,  from  inter- 


ested motives,  to  the  east  from  the  west  side 
of  the  city.  His  plan  of  Damascus  now  gives 
the  means  of  seeing  the  traditionary  localities 
very  clearly. 

1  2  Cor.  xi.  33.  So  Rahab  let  down  th« 
spies ;  and  so  David  escaped  from  Saul.  St. 
Paul's  word  is  used  in  the  LXX.  in  both 
instances.  The  preposition  "  through  "  being 
used  both  in  Acts  and  1  Cor.,  it  is  possibln 
that  the  most  exact  explanation  is  that  sug- 
gested by  Prof.  Hackett.  He  observed  at 
Damascus  "  windows  in  the  external  face  of 
the  wall,  opening  into  houses  on  the  inside 
of  the  city."  ( Comm.  on  Acts.)  In  the  largei 
editions  is  a  view  of  a  portion  of  the  wall  of 
modem  Damascus,  supporting  houses  which 
project  and  face  the  open  country. 

2  2  Cor.  xi.  30,  xii.  1-5.  Both  Schrader 
and  Wicseler  are  of  opinion  that  the  vision 
mentioned  here  is  that  which  he  saw  at  Jeru- 
salem on  his  return  from  Damascus  (Acts 
xxii.  17  ;  see  below,  p.  97),  and  which  was 
naturally  associated  in  his  mind  with  the  rec- 
ollection of  his  escape. 

8  2  Cor.  xi.  26,  27. 
*  Acts  ix.  16. 
6  Gal.  i.  18. 


CHAP.m.  HIS  EMOTIONS   OS"  RETTJRNIKG  TO  JERUSALEM.  95 

How  changed  was  every  thing  since  he  had  last  travelled  this  road  be 
tween  Damascus  and  Jerusalem !  If,  when  the  day  broke,  he  looked  back 
upon  that  city  from  which  he  had  escaped  under  the  shelter  of  night,  as 
his  eye  ranged  over  the  fresh  gardens  and  the  wide  desert,  how  the 
remeDibrance  of  that  first  terrible  vision  would  call  forth  a  deep  thanks- 
giving to  Him,  who  had  called  him  to  be  a  "  partaker  of  H>3  sufferings  !  "  ^ 
And  what  feelings  must  have  attended  his  approach  to  Jerusalem !  "  He 
was  returning  to  it  from  a  spiritual,  as  Ezra  had  from  a  bodily,  captivity, 
and  to  his  renewed  mind  all  things  appeared  new.  What  an  emotion 
smote  his  heart  at  the  first  distant  view  of  the  Temple,  that  house  of 
sacrifice,  that  edifice  of  prophecy !  Its  sacrifices  had  been  realized,  the 
Lamb  of  God  had  been  offered  :  its  prophecies  had  been  fulfilled,  the  Lord 
had  come  unto  it.  As  he  approached  the  gates,  he  might  have  trodden 
the  very  spot  where  he  had  so  exultingly  assisted  in  the  death  of 
Stephen,  and  he  entered  them  perfectly  content,  were  it  God's  will,  to  be 
dragged  out  through  them  to  the  same  fate.  He  would  feel  a  peculiar  tie 
of  l^rotherhood  to  that  martyr,  for  he  could  not  be  now  ignorant  that  the 
same  Jesus  who  in  such  glory  had  called  him,  had  but  a  little  while  before 
appeared  in  the  same  glory  to  assure  the  expiring  Stephen.  The  ecstatic 
look  and  words  of  the  dying  saint  now  came  fresh  upon  his  memory  with 
their  real  meaning.  When  he  entered  into  the  city,  what  deep  thoughts 
were  suggested  by  the  haunts  of  his  youth,  and  by  the  sight  of  the  spots 
where  he  had  so  eagerly  sought  that  knowledge  which  he  had  now  so 
eagerly  abandoned !  What  an  intolerable  burden  had  he  cast  off!  He 
felt  as  a  glorified  spirit  may  be  supposed  to  feel  on  revisiting  the  scenes  of 
its  fleshly  sojourn."  ^ 

Yet  not  without  grief  and  awe  could  he  look  upon  that  city  of  his  fore- 
fathers, over  which  he  now  knew  that  the  judgment  of  God  was  impending. 
And  not  without  sad  emotions  could  one  of  so  tender  a  nature  think  of 
the  alienation  of  those  who  had  once  been  his  warmest  associates.  The 
grief  of  Gamaliel,  the  indignation  of  the  Pharisees,  the  fury  of  the  Hellenis- 
tic Synagogues,  all  this,  he  knew,  was  before  him.  The  sanguine  hopes, 
however,  springing  from  his  own  honest  convictions,  and  his  fervent  zeal 
to  communicate  the  truth  to  others,  predominated  in  his  mind.  He 
thought  that  they  would  believe  as  he  had  believed.  He  argued  thus 
with  himself,  —  that  they  well  knew  that  he  had  "  imprisoned  and  beaten 
in  every  synagogue  them  that  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,"  —  and  that  "  when 
the  blood  of  His  martyr  Stephen  was  shed,  he  also  was  standing  by  and 
consenting  unto  his  death,  and  kept  the  raiment  of  them  that  slew  him,"  ^ 

1  1  Pet.  iv.  13.  Temple  (Acts  xxii.  17-21),  when  it  was  r»- 

'^  Scripture  Biography,  by  Archdeacon  Ev-  vealed  to  him  that  those  in  Jerusalem  would 

ans,  second  series,  p.  337.  not  receive  his  testimony. 
*  The  arf!;nmpnt  used  in  his  ecstasy  in  the 


96  THE    hlFE   AND    EPISTLES    OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  rn. 

—  and  that  when  they  saw  the  change  which  had  heeu  produced  in  him, 
and  heard  the  mii-aculous  history  he  could  tell  them,  they  would  not 
refuse  to  "  receive  his  testimony." 

Thus,  with  fervent  zeal,  and  sanguine  expectations,  "  he  attempted  to 
join  himself  to  the  disciples  "  of  Christ.^  But,  as  the  Jews  hated  him,  so 
the  Christians  suspected  him.  His  escape  had  been  too  hurried  to  allow 
of  his  bringing  "  letters  of  commendation."  Whatever  distant  rumor 
might  have  reached  them  of  an  apparition  on  his  journey,  of  his  conduct 
at  Damascus,  of  his  retirement  in  Arabia,  they  could  not  believe  that  he 
was  really  a  disciple.  And  then  it  was  that  Barnabas,  already  known  to  us 
as  a  generous  contributor  of  his  wealth  to  the  poor,^  came  forward  again  as 
the  "  Son  of  Consolation,"  —  "  took  him  by  the  hand,"  and  brought  him  to 
the  Apostles.'  It  is  probable  that  Barnabas  and  Saul  were  acquainted 
with  each  other  before.  Cyprus  is  within  a  few  hours'  sail  from  Cilicia. 
The  schools  of  Tarsus  may  naturally  have  attracted  one  who,  though  a 
Levite,  was  an  Hellenist :  and  there  the  friendship  may  have  begun,  which 
lasted  through  many  vicissitudes,  till  it  was  rudely  interrupted  in  the  dis- 
pute at  Antioch.'*  When  Barnabas  related  how  "  the  Lord  "  Jesus  Christ 
had  personally  appeared  to  Saul,  and  had  even  spoken  to  him,  and  how 
he  had  boldly  maintained  the  Christian  cause  in  the  synagogues  of  Damas- 
cus, then  the  Apostles  laid  aside  their  hesitation.  Peter's  argument  must 
have  been  what  it  was  on  another  occasion  :  "  Forasmuch  as  God  hath  given 
unto  him  the  like  gift  as  He  did  unto  me,  who  am  I  that  I  should  with- 
stand God  ? "  ®  He  and  James,  the  Lord's  brother,  the  only  other  Apostle  • 
wlio  was  in  Jerusalem  at  tlie  time,  gave  to  him  "  the  right  hands  of  fellow- 
ship." And  he  was  with  them,  "coming in  and  going  out,"  more  than 
forgiven  for  Clirist's  sake,  welcomed  and  beloved  as  a  friend  and  a  brother. 

This  first  meeting  of  the  fislierman  of  Bethsaida  and  the  tent -maker  of 
Tarsus,  the  chosen  companion  of  Jesus  on  earth,  and  the  chosen  Pharisee 
who  saw  Jesus  in  the  heavens,  the  Apostle  of  the  circumcision  and  the 
Apostles  of  the  Gentiles,  is  passed  over  in  Scripture  in  a  few  words.  The 
Divine  record  does  not  linger  in  dramatic  description  on  those  passages 
which  a  mere  human  writing  would  lal)or  to  embellish.  What  took  place 
in  the  intercourse  of  these  two  Saints, —  what  was  said  of  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth who  suffered,  died,  and  was  buried, —  and  of  Jesus,  the  glorified 
Lord,  who  had  risen  and  ascended,  and  become  "  head  over  all  things  to 

^  Acts  ix.  26.  Apostles  .  .  .  and  he  was  with  them  coming, 

^  Acts  iv.  36.  in  and  going  out  at  Jerusalem."     (Acts  ix. 

'  Acts  ix.  27.  26-28.)      "After  three  years  I  went   up   to 

*  Acts  XV.  39.  Jerusalem  to  see  Peter,  and  abode  with  him 

'  Acts  xi.  17.  fifteen  days.     But  other  of  the  A|)ostlcs  saw  1 
'  "  When  Saul  was  come  to  Jerusalem  .  .  .       none,  save  James  the  Lord's  brother."     (Gal. 

Barnabas   took  him  and  brought  him  to  the      i.  18,  19.) 


CHAP.  ni.  SAUL  WITHDRAWN  FROM  THE  HOLY   (JITY.  97 

the  Church,"  —  what  was  felt  of  Christian  love  and  devotion,  —  what  was 
learnt,  under  the  Spirit's  teaching,  of  Christian  trutli,  has  not  been  re- 
vealed, and  cannot  be  known.  The  intercourse  was  full  of  present  com- 
fort, and  full  of  great  consequences.  But  it  did  not  last  long.  Fifteen 
days  passed  away,  and  the  Apostles  were  compelled  to  part.  The  same 
zeal  which  had  caused  his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the  Hellenistic  Synagogues 
in  the  persecution  against  Stephen,  now  led  Saul  in  the  same  Syna- 
gogues to  declare  fearlessly  his  adherence  to  Stephen's  cause.  The  same 
fury  which  had  caused  the  murder  of  Stephen,  now  brought  the  murderer 
of  Stephen  to  the  verge  of  assassination.  Once  more,  as  at  Damascus, 
the  Jews  made  a  conspiracy  to  put  Saul  to  death :  and  once  more  he  was 
rescued  by  the  anxiety  of  the  brethren.^ 

Reluctantly,  and  not  without  a  direct  intimation  from  on  high,  he  re- 
tired from  the  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel  in  Jerusalem.  As  he  was 
praying  one  day  in  the  Temple,  it  came  to  pass  that  he  fell  into  a  trance,' 
and  in  his  ecstasy  he  saw  Jesus,  who  spoke  to  him,  and  said,  "Make 
haste  and  get  thee  quickly  out  of  Jerusalem :  for  they  will  not  receive 
thy  testimony  concerning  me."  He  hesitated  to  obey  the  .command,  his 
desire  to  do  God's  will  leading  him  to  struggle  against  the  hinderances  of 
God's  providence — and  the  memory  of  Stephen,  which  haunted  him  even 
in  his  trance,  furnishing  him  with  an  argument.'  But  the  command  was 
more  peremptory  than  before :  "  Depart ;  for  I  will  send  thee  far  hence 
unto  the  Gentiles."  The  scene  of  his  apostolic  victories  was  not  to  be 
Jerusalem.  For  the  third  time  it  was  declared  to  him  that  the  field  of 
his  labors  was  among  the  Gentiles.  This  secret  revelation  to  his  soul 
conspired  with  the  outward  difficulties  of  his  situation.  The  care  of 
God  gave  the  highest  sanction  to  the  anxiety  of  the  brethren.  And  he 
suflfered  himself  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  Holy  City. 

They  brought  him  down  to  Caesarea  by  the  sea,^  and  from  Caesarea  they 
sent  him  to  Tarsus.**    His  own  expression  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians 


*  Acts  ix.  29,  30.  posing  that  Csesarea  Philippi  is  meant.  When- 

*  See  Acts  xxii.  17-21.  Though  Schrader  ever  "Csesarea"  is  spoken  of  absolutely,  it 
is  sometimes  laboriously  unsuccessful  in  ex-  always  means  Caesarea  Stratonis.  And  even 
plaining  the  miraculous,  yet  we  need  not  if  it  is  assumed  that  Saul  travelled  by  land 
entirely  disregard  what  he  says  concerning  the  through  Syria  to  Tarsus,  this  would  not  have 
oppression  of  spirit,  under  the  sense  of  being  been  the  natural  course.  It  is  true  enougii 
mistrusted  and  opposed,  with  which  Saul  came  that  this  Csesarea  is  nearer  the  Syrian  frontier 
to  pray  in  the  Temple.  And  we  may  compare  than  the  other  ;  but  the  physical  character  of 
the  preparation  for  St.  Peter's  vision,  before  the  country  is  such  that  the  Apostle  would 
the  conversion  of  Cornelius.  naturally  go   by   the  other  C»sarea,  unless, 

*  Compare  the  similar  expostulations  of  indeed,  he  travelled  by  Damascus  to  Antioch, 
Ananias,  ix.  13,  and  of  Peter,  x.  14.  which  is  highly  improbable. 

*  Olshaasen  is  certainly  mistaken  in  sup-  ^  Acts  ix.  30. 

r 


98  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chat.  ni. 

(i.  21)  is  that  he  went  "  into  the  regions  of  Syria  and  Cilicia."  From 
this  it  has  been  inferred  that  he  went  first  from  Caesarea  to  Antioch,  and 
then  from  Antioch  to  Tarsus.  And  such  a  course  would  have  been  per- 
fectly natural ;  for  the  communication  of  the  city  of  Caesar  and  the 
Herods  with  the  metropolis  of  Syria,  either  by  sea  and  the  harbor  of 
Seleucia,  or  by  the  great  coast-road  through  Tyre  and  Sidon,  was  easy 
and  frequent.  But  the  supposition  is  unnecessary.  In  consequence  of  the 
range  of  Mount  Taurus  (p.  19),  Cilicia  has  a  greater  geographical  affinity 
with  Syria  than  with  Asia  Minor.  Hence  it  has  existed  in  frequent  politi- 
cal combination  with  it  from  the  time  of  the  old  Persian  satrapies  to  the 
modern  pachalics  of  the  Sultan  :  and  "  Syria  and  Cilicia  "  appears  in 
history  almost  as  a  generic  geographical  term,  the  more  important  district 
being  mentioned  first.^  Within  the  limits  of  this  region  Saul's  activities 
were  now  exercised  in  studying  and  in  teaching  at  Tarsus, —  or  in  found- 
ing those  Churches  ^  which  were  afterwards  greeted  in  the  Apostolic  lette: 
from  Jerusalem,  as  the  brethren  "  in  Antioch,  and  Syria,  and  Cilicia," 
and  which  Paul  himself  confirmed  after  his  separation  from  Barnabas, 
travelling  through  "  Syria  and  Cilicia." 

Whatever  might  be  the  extent  of  his  journeys  within  these  limits,  we 
know  at  least  that  he  was  at  Tarsus.  Once  more  we  find  him  in  the  home 
of  his  childhood.  It  is  the  last  time  we  are  distinctly  told  that  he  was 
there.  Now  at  least,  if  not  before,  we  may  be  sure  that  he  would  come 
into  active  intercourse  with  the  Heathen  philosophers  of  the  place.^  In 
his  last  residence  at  Tarsus,  a  few  years  before,  he  was  a  Jew,  and  not 
only  a  Jew  but  a  Pharisee,  and  he  looked  on  the  Gentiles  aroaud  him  as 
outcasts  from  the  favor  of  God.     Now  he  was  a  Christian,  and  not  only 


1  This  is  well  illustrated  by  the  hopeless  every  place  that  could  be  mentioned,  where 
feeling  of  the  Greek  soldiers  in  the  Anabasis,  schools  of  philosophers  are  found.  And  the 
when  Cyrus  had  drawn  them  into  Cilicia ;  by  difference  amounts  to  this.  Here,  those  who 
various  passages  in  the  history  of  the  Scleu-  are  fond  of  learning  are  all  natives,  and  stran- 
cids ;  by  the  arrangements  of  the  Romans  gers  do  not  willingly  reside  here .  and  they 
with  Antiochus ;  by  the  division  of  provinces  themselves  do  not  remain,  but  finish  their 
in  the  Later  Empire ;  and  by  the  course  of  the  education  abroad,  and  gladly  take  up  their 
Mohammedan  concjnests.  residence  elsewhere,  and  few  return.     Where- 

2  Acts  XV.  23,  41.  When  we  find  the  ex-  as,  in  the  other  cities  which  I  have  just  men- 
istence  of  Cilician  Churches  mentioned,  the  tioned,  except  Alexandria,  the  contrary  takes 
obvious  inference  is  that  St.  Paul  founded  place :  for  many  come  to  them  and  live  there 
them  during  tliis  period.  willingly  ;  but  you  will  see  few  of  the  natives 

8  The  passage  in  Strabo,  referred  to  above,  eitlicr  going  abroad  for  the  sake  of  philosophy, 

Ch.  L  p.  21,  is  so  impoitant  that  we  give  a  or  caring  to  study  it  at  home.     The  Alexan- 

free  translation  of  it  here.     "  The  men  of  this  drians  have  both  characters  ;  for  they  receive 

place  are  so  zealous  in  the  study  of  philosophy  many  strangers,  and  send  out  of  their  own 

and  the  whole  circle  of  education,  that  they  people  not  a  few." 
snrpa.ss    both   Athens    and   Alexandria    and 


CHAP.  m.  SAUL  IN   SYKIA  AND   CILICIA.  99 

a  Christian,  but  conscious  of  his  mission  as  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles. 
Therefore  he  would  surely  meet  the  philosophers,  and  prepare  to  argue 
with  them  on  their  own  ground,  as  afterwards  in  the  "market"  at  Athens 
with  "  the  Epicureans  and  the  Stoics."^  Many  Stoics  of  Tarsus  were  men 
of  celebrity  in  the  Roman  Empire.  Athenodorus,  the  tutor  of  Augustus, 
has  already  been  mentioned.^  He  was  probably  by  this  time  deceased, 
and  receiving  those  divine  honors,  which,  as  Lucian  informs  us,  were  paid 
to  him  after  his  death.  The  tutor  of  Tiberius  also  was  a  Tarsian  and  a 
Stoic.  His  name  was  Nestor.  He  was  probably  at  this  time  alive :  for 
he  lingered  to  the  age  of  ninety-two,  and,  in  all  Ukelihood,  survived  his 
wicked  pupil,  whose  death  we  have  recently  noticed.  Now  among  these 
eminent  sages  and  instructors  of  Heathen  Emperors  was  one  whose  teach- 
ing was  destined  to  survive,  when  the  Stoic  philosophy  should  have  per- 
ished, and  whose  words  still  instruct  the  rulers  of  every  civilized  nation. 
How  far  Saul's  arguments  had  any  success  in  this  quarter  we  cannot  even 
guess  ;  and  we  must  not  anticipate  the  conversion  of  Cornelius.  At  least, 
he  was  preparing  for  the  future.  In  the  Synagogue  we  cannot  beheve 
that  he  was  silent  or  unsuccessful.  In  his  own  family,  we  may  well  im- 
agine that  some  of  those  Christian  "kinsmen,"'  whose  names  are  handed 
down  to  us,  —  possibly  his  sister,  the  playmate  of  his  childhood,  and  his 
sister's  son,*  who  afterwards  saved  his  life,  — were  at  this  time  by  his 
exertions  gathered  into  the  fold  of  Christ. 

Here  this  chapter  must  close,  while  Saul  is  in  exile  from  the  earthly 
Jerusalem,  but  diligently  occupied  in  building  up  the  walls  of  the 
"  Jerusalem  which  is  above."  And  it  was  not  without  one  great  and 
important  consequence  that  that  short  fortnight  had  been  spent  in 
Jerusalem.  He  was  now  known  to  Peter  and  to  James.  His  vocation 
was  fully  ascertained  and  recognized  by  the  heads  of  the  Judaean 
Christians.  It  is  true  that  he  was  yet  "  unknown  by  face "  to  the 
scattered  Churches  of  Judsea.^  But  they  honored  him  of  whom  they 
had  heard  so  much.  And  when  the  news  came  to  them  at  intervals  of 
all  that  he  was  doing  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  they  praised  God  and 

1  Acts  xvii.  17,  18.  ^  See  Gal.  i.  21-24.    The  form  of  the  Greek 

a  See  p.  42.  words  seems  to  imply  a  continued  preaching  of 

8  Rom.  xvi.     See  p.  44.  the  Gospel,  the  intelligence  of  which  came  now 

*  About  twenty  years  after  this  time  (Acts  and  then  to  Judaa.     From  what  follows,  how- 

xxiii.  17,  23)  he  is  called  "  a  young  man,"  the  ever  ("  Then  fourteen  years  afterwards  "),  St. 

very  word  which  is  used  of  Saul  himself  (Acts  Paul  appears  to  describe  in  i.  23,  24.  the  effect 

vii.  58)  at  the  stoning  of  Stephen.     It  is  justly  produced  by  the  tidings  not  only  of  his  labors 

remarked  by  Hemsen   that  the   young  man's  in  Tarsus,  but  of  his  subsequent   and  more 

anxiety  for  his  uncle  (xxiii.   16-23)  seems  to  extensive  labors  as  a  missionary  to  the  Hea- 

imply  a  closer   affection  than  that  resulting  then.     It  should  be  added,  that  Wieseler  thinks 

from  relationship  alone  he  staid  only  half  a  year  at  Tarsus. 


100 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OP  ST.   PAUL. 


said,  "  Behold  !  he  who  was  once  our  persecutor  is  now  bearing  the  glad 
tidings  of  that  faith  which  formerly  he  labored  to  root  out ;  "  "  and  they 
glorified  God  in  him."  • 


Coin  of  AreUs,  King  of  DamascnB.^ 


1  Three  members  of  this  dynasty  come 
prominently  before  us  in  history.  The  first 
16  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  the  Maccabees. 
The  second  was  contemporary  with  the  last  of 
the  Seleucids.  Damascus  was  once  in  his 
power  {Joseph.  Ant.  xiii.  13,  3  ;  War,  i.  6,  2), 
and  it  is  his  submission  to  the  Roman  Scaurus 
which  is  represented  in  the  coin.  The  third 
is  that  of  St.  Paul. 

As  to  the  Aretas,  who  is  mentioned  in  2 
Mace.  V.  8,  the  words  used  there  of  the  inno- 
vating high  priest  Jason  are  so  curiously  appli- 
cable to  the  case  of  St.  Paul,  that  we  cannot 
forbear  quoting  them.  "  In  the  end,  therefore, 
he  had  an  unhappy  return,  being  accused  be- 
fore Aretas  the  king  of  the  Arabians,  fleeing 
from  city  to  city,  pursued  of  all  men,  hated 
aa  a  forsaker  of  the  laws,  and  being  had  in 
abomination  as  an  open  enemy  of  his  coontry." 


A  few  words  concerning  the  meaning  of 
the  word  Ethnarch  may  fitly  conclude  this 
note.  It  properly  denoted  the  governor  of  a 
dependent  district,  like  Simon  the  high  priest 
under  Syria  (1  Mace.  xiv.  47),  or  Herod's  son 
Archelaus  under  Rome  (Joseph.  Ant.  xviL  11, 
4).  But  it  was  also  used  as  the  designation 
of  a  magistrate  or  consul  allowed  to  Jewish 
residents  living  under  their  own  laws  in  Alex- 
andria and  other  cities.  (See  Strabo,  as  quot- 
ed by  Josephus,  Ant.  xiv.  7,  2.)  Some  wri- 
ters (and  among  them  Mr.  Lewin,  Life  and 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  vol.  i.  p.  70)  think  that 
the  word  is  used  in  that  sense  here.  But  <uch 
a  magistrate  would  hardly  have  been  called 
"  the  Ethnarch  of  Aretas,"  and  (as  Dean  Al- 
ford  observes  on  2  Cor.  xi.  32)  he  would  not 
have  had  the  power  of  guarding  the  city. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Wider  Diffusion  or  Christianity.-   Antioch, — Chronology  of  the  Acts.  —  Reign  of  Caligula. 

—  Claudius  and  Herod  Agrippa  I.  —  The  Year  44.  —  Conversion  of  the  Gentiles.  —  St 
Peter  and  Cornelius.  — Joppa  and  Caesarea.  —  St.  Peter's  Vision.  —  Baptism  of  Cornelius.  — 
Intelligence  from  Antioch.  —  Mission  of  Barnabas.  —  Saul  with  Barnabas  at  Antioch.  —  The 
Name  "  Christian."  —  Description  and  History  of  Antioch.  —  Character  of  its  Inhabitants. 

—  Earthquakes. —  Famine.  —  Barnabas  and  Saul  at  Jerusalem.  —  Death  of  St.  James  and 
of  Herod  Agrippa.  —  Return  with  Mark  to  Antioch.  —  Providential  Preparation  of  St.  Paul. 

—  Results  of  his  Mission  to  Jerusalem. 

HITHERTO  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  has  been  confined 
within  Jewish  limits.  We  have  followed  its  progress  beyond  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  but  hardly  yet  beyond  the  boundaries  of  Palestine.  If 
any  traveller  from  a  distant  country  has  been  admitted  into  the  commu- 
nity of  believers,  the  place  of  his  baptism  has  not  been  more  remote  than 
the  "  desert "  of  Gaza.  If  any  "  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel " 
have  been  admitted  to  the  citizenship  of  the  spiritual  Israelites,  they  have 
been  "  strangers  "  who  dwell  among  the  hills  of  Samaria.  But  the  time 
is  rapidly  approaching  when  the  knowledge  of  Christ  must  spread  more 
rapidly,  —  when  those  who  possess  not  that  Book,  which  caused  perplex- 
ity on  the  road  to  ^Ethiopia,  will  hear  and  adore  His  name,  —  and  greater 
strangers  than  those  who  drew  water  from  the  well  of  Sychar  will  come 
nigh  to  the  Fountain  of  Life.  The  same  dispersion  which  gathered  in 
the  Samaritans,  will  gather  in  the  Gentiles  also.  The  "  middle  wall  of 
partition  "  being  utterly  broken  down,  all  will  be  called  by  the  new  and 
glorious  name  of  "  Christian." 

And  as  we  follow  the  progress  of  events,  and  find  that  all  movements 
in  the  Church  begin  to  have  more  and  more  reference  to  the  Heathen,  we 
observe  that  these  movements  begin  to  circulate  more  and  more  round  a 
new  centre  of  activity.  Not  Jerusalem,  but  Antioch,  —  not  the  Holy 
City  of  God's  ancient  people,  but  the  profane  city  of  tlie  Greeks  and 
Romans,  —  is  the  place  to  which  the  student  of  sacred  history  is  now 
directed.  During  the  remainder  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  our  atten- 
tion is  at  least  divided  between  Jerusalem  and  Antioch,  until  at  last, 
after  following  St.  Paul's  many  journeys,  we  come  with  him  to  Rome. 
For  some  time  Constantinople  must  remain  a  city  of  the  future  ;  but  we 

101 


102  THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  ir. 

are  more  than  once  reminded  of  the  greatness  of  Alexandria :  ^  and  thus 
even  in  the  life  of  the  Apostle  we  find  prophetic  intimations  of  four  of 
the  five  great  centres  of  the  early  Catholic  Church.'* 

At  present  we  are  occupied  with  Antioch,  and  the  point  before  us  is 
that  particular  moment  in  the  Church's  history,  when  it  was  first  called 
"  Christian."  Both  the  place  and  the  event  are  remarkable  :  and  the 
time^  if  we  are  able  to  determine  it,  is  worthy  of  our  attention.  Though 
we  are  following  the  course  of  an  individual  biography,  it  is  necessary  to 
pause,  on  critical  occasions,  tO'  look  around  on  what  is  passing  in  the 
Empire  at  large.  And,  happily,  we  are  now  arrived  at  a  point  where  we 
are  able  distinctly  to  see  tlie  path  of  the  Apostle's  life  intersecting  the 
general  history  of  the  period.  This,  therefore,  is  the  right  place  for 
a  few  chronological  remarks.  A  few  such  remarks,  made  once  for  all, 
may  justify  what  has  gone  before,  and  prepare  the  way  for  subsequent 
chapters. 

Some  readers  may  be  surprised  that  up  to  this  point  we  have  made  no 
attempts  to  ascertain  or  to  state  exact  chronological  details.^  But  theo- 
logians are  well  aware  of  the  difficulties  with  which  such  inquiries  are 
attended,  in  the  beginnings  of  St.  Paul's  biography.  The  early  chapters 
in  the  Acts  are  like  the  narratives  in  the  Gospels.  It  is  often  hardly 
possible  to  learn  how  far  the  events  related  were  contemporary  or  consecu- 
tive. We  should  endeavor  in  vain  to  determine  the  relations  of  time, 
which  subsist  between  Paul's  retirement  into  Arabia  and  Peter'y  visit  to 
the  converted  Samaritans,*  or  between  the  journey  of  one  Apojtle  from 
Joppa  to  Caesarea  and  the  journey  of  the  other  from  Jerusalem  to 
Tarsus.'  Still  less  have  we  sufficient  data  for  pronouncing  upon  the 
absolute  chronology  of  the  earliest  transactions  in  the  Church.  No  one 
can  tell  what  particular  folly  or  crime  was  engaging  Caligula's  attention, 
when  Paul  was  first  made  a  Christian  at  Damascus.  No  one  can  tell  on 
what  work  of  love  the  Christians  were  occupied  when  the  emperor  was 
inaugurating  his  bridge  at  Puteoli,®  or  exhil)iting  his  fantastic  pride  on 
the  shores  of  the  British  Sea.''  In  a  work  of  this  kind  it  is  better  to 
place  the  events  of  the  Apostle's  life  in  the  broad  light  cast  by  the  lead- 
ing features  of  the  period,  than  to  attempt  to  illustrate  them  by  the  help 
of  dates,  which,  after  all,  can  be  only  conjectural.     Thus  we  have  been 

1  See   Acts   vi.   9    (with  ii.   10),  xxvii.  6,  ^  Acts  ix.  and  Acts  x. 

xxviii.  11  ;  and  compare  Acts  xviii.  24,  xix.  1,  ^  Where  St.  Paul  afterwards  landed,  Acta 

with  1  Cor.  i.  12,  iii.  4-6,  and  Tit.  iii.  13.  xxviii.  13. 

2  The  allusion  is  to  the  Patriarchates  of  ''  Herod  was  with  Caligula  in  this  j)rogres8. 
Jerusalem,  Alexandria,  Antioch,  Rome,  and  This  emperor's  triumph  had  no  more  meaning 
Constantinople.  than  Napoleon's  column  at  Boulogne  ;  but  in 

'  See  above,  pp.  42,  76,  77,  and  93.  the  next  reign  Britain  was  really  conquered 

*  Acts  viii.  and  Acts  ix.  (with  Gal.  i.)  See  below. 


CHAP.nr.  REIGNS  OF   CAI^IGtlLA  AND   CLAUDIUS.  103 

content  to  say,  that  he  was  born  in  the  strongest  and  most  flourishing 
period  of  the  reign  of  Augustus ;  and  that  he  was  converted  from  the 
religion  of  the  Pharisees  about  the  time  when  Caligula  succeeded 
Tiberius.  But  soon  after  we  enter  on  the  reign  of  Claudius  we  encounter 
a  coincidence  which  arrests  our  attention.  We  must  first  take  a  rapid 
glance  at  the  reign  of  his  predecessor.  Though  the  cruelty  of  that 
reign  stung  the  Jews  in  every  part  of  the  empire,  and  produced  an 
indignation  which  never  subsided,  one  short  paragraph  will  be  enough 
for  all  that  need  be  said  concerning  the  abominable  tyrant.^ 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  37  Tiberius  died,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
same  year  Nero  was  born.  Between  the  reigns  of  these  two  emperors 
are  those  of  Caligula  and  Claudius.  The  four  years  during  which 
Caligula  sat  on  the  throne  of  the  world  were  miserable  for  all  the  prov- 
inces, both  in  the  west  and  in  the  east.^  In  Gaul  his  insults  were  aggra- 
vated by  his  personal  presence.  In  Syria  his  caprices  were  felt  more 
remotely,  but  not  less  keenly.  The  changes  of  administration  were 
rapid  and  various.  In  the  year  36,  the  two  great  actors  in  the  crime  of 
the  crucifixion  had  disappeared  from  the  public  places  of  Judaea.  Pon- 
tius Pilate'  had  been  dismissed  by  Vitellius  to  Rome,  and  Marcellus  sent 
to  govern  in  his  stead.  Caiaphas  had  been  deposed  by  the  same  secular 
authority,  and  succeeded  by  Jonathan.  Now,  in  the  year  37,  Vitellius 
was  recalled  from  Syria,  and  Petronius  came  to  occupy  the  governor's 
residence  at  Antioch.  Marcellus  at  Caesarea  made  way  for  Marullus  : 
and  Theophilus  was  appointed  high  priest  at  Jerusalem  in  place  of  his 
brother  Jonathan.  Agrippa,  the  grandson  of  Herod  the  Great,  was 
brought  out  of  the  prison  where  Tiberius  had  confined  him,  and  Caligula 
gave  a  royal  crown,*  with  the  tetrarchies  of  two  of  his  uncles,  to  the 
frivolous  friend  of  his  youth.  And  as  this  reign  began  with  restless 
change,  so  it  ended  in  cruelty  and  impiety.  The  emperor,  in  the  career 
of  his  blasphemous  arrogance,  attempted  to  force  the  Jews  to  worship 
him  as  God.^  One  universal  feeling  of  horror  pervaded  the  scattered 
Israelites,  who,  though  they  had  scorned  the  Messiah  promised  to 
their  fathers,  were  unable  to  degrade  themselves  by  a  return  to  idolatry. 

^  The  reader  is  here  requested  to  refer  to  *  Tiberius  had  imprisoned  him,  because  of 

pp.  26,  27,  42,  43,  51,  52,  59,  65,   and  the  a  conversation  overheard  by  a  slave,  when  Ca- 

notes.  ligula  and  Herod  Agrippa  were  together  in  a 

'^  The  best  portraits  of  this  emperor  are  on  carriage.    Agrippa  was  much  at  Rome  both  at 

the  large  copper  imperial  coins.  the  beginning  and  end  of   Caligula's    reign 

^  He  did  not  arrive  at  Rome  till  after  the  See  p.  26,  n.  7. 
death  of  Tiberius.      Like  his  predecessor,  he  ^  It  appears  from  Dio  Cassias  and  Sueto- 

had  governed  Judaea  during  ten    or  eleven  nius  that  this  was  part  of  a  general  system  for 

years,  the  emperor  having  a  great  dislike  to  extending  the  worship  of  himself  through  the 

frequent  changes  in  the  provinces.  empire. 


104  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  iv 

Petronius,  who  foresaw  what  the  struggle  must  be,  wrote  letters  of 
expostulation  to  his  master :  Agrippa,  who  was  then  in  Italy,  implored 
his  patron  to  pause  in  what  he  did :  an  embassy  was  sent  from  Alexan- 
dria, and  the  venerable  and  learned  Philo  ^  was  himself  commissioned  to 
state  the  inexorable  requirements  of  the  Jewish  religion.  Every  thing 
appeared  to  be  hopeless,  when  the  murder  of  Caligula,  on  the  24th 
of  January,  in  the  year  41,  gave  a  sudden  relief  to  the  persecuted 
people. 

With  the  accession  of  Claudius  (a.d.  41)  the  Holy  Land  had  a  king 
once  more.  Judaea  was  added  to  the  tetrarchies  of  Philip  and  Antipas,  and 
Herod  Agrippa  I.  ruled  over  the  wide  territory  which  had  been  governed 
by  his  grandfather.  With  the  alleviation  of  the  distress  of  the  Jews,  pro- 
portionate suffering  came  upon  the  Christians.  The  "  rest "  which,  in  the 
distractions  of  Caligula's  reign,  the  Churches  had  enjoyed  "  throughout  all 
Judaea,  and  Galilee,  and  Samaria,"  was  now  at  an  end.  "  About  this  time 
Herod  the  king  stretched  forth  his  hands  to  vex  certain  of  the  Church." 
He  slew  one  Apostle,  and  "  because  he  saw  it  pleased  the  Jews,"  he  pro- 
ceeded to  imprison  another.  But  he  was  not  long  spared  to  seek  popularity 
among  the  Jews,  or  to  murder  and  oppress  the  Christians.  In  the  year  44 
he  perished  by  that  sudden  and  dreadful  death  which  is  recorded  in' detail 
by  Josephus  and  St.  Luke.'  In  close  coincidence  with  this  event  we  have 
the  mention  of  a  certain  journey  of  St.  Paul  to  Jerusalem.  Here,  then, 
we  have  one  of  those  lines  of  intersection  between  the  sacred  history  and 
the  general  history  of  the  world,  on  which  the  attention  of  intelligent 
Christians  ought  to  be  fixed.  This  year,  44  a.d.,  and  another  year,  the 
year  60  a.d.  (in  which  Felix  ceased  to  be  the  governor  of  Judasa,  and, 
leaving  St.  Paul  bound  at  Caesarea,  was  succeeded  by  Festus),  are  the 
two  chronological  pivots  of  the  apostolic  history.'  By  help  of  them  we 
find  its  exact  place  in  the  wider  history  of  the  world.     Between  these 

1  See  above,  pp.  9,  34,  and  60.  Philo's  ac-  (see  below,  p.  117).  Anger  has  sho>vn  that 
coant  of  this  embassy  is,  next  after  Josephus,  this  famine  must  be  assigned  to  the  interval 
the  most  important  writing  of  the  period  for  between  44  and  47  ;  and  Wieseler  has  fixed 
throwing  light  on  the  condition  of  the  Jews  in  it  more  closely  to  the  year  45.  See  the  Chron- 
Caligula's  reign.  The  Jewish  envoys  had  ological  Table  at  the  end  of  the  volume, 
their  interview  with  the  emperor  at  Puteoli,  in  ^  It  ought  to  be  stated,  that  the  latter  date 
the  autumn  of  the  same  year  (40  a.d.)  in  cannot  be  established  l)y  the  same  exact  proof 
which  he  had  made  his  progress  through  Gaul  as  the  former;  but,  as  a  polilicnl  fart,  it  must 
to  the  shore  of  the  ocean.  always  be  a  cardinal  jioint  of  reference  in  any 

2  Aiit.  xix.  8.  Acts  xii.  The  proof  that  his  system  of  Scripture  chronology.  Anger  and 
death  took  place  in  44  may  be  seen  in  Anger  Wieseler,  by  a  careful  induction  of  particulars, 
and  Wieseler;  and,  indeed,  it  is  hardly  doubted  have  made  it  highly  probable  that  Festus  sue- 
by  any.  A  coincident  and  corroborative  proof  ceedcd  Felix  in  the  year  60.  More  will  be 
of  the  time  of  St.  Paul's  journey  to  Jerusalem  said  on  this  subject  when  we  come  to  Acts 
in  afforded   by  the   mention   of   the   Famine, '  xxiv.  27. 

which  is  doubtless  that  recorded  by  Josephus 


chap.it.  date  of  ST.   PAUL'S   CONVERSION.  105 

two  limits  the  greater  part  of  what  we  are  told  of  St.  Paul  is  situated  and 
included. 

Using  the  year  44  as  a  starting-point  for  the  future,  we  gain  a  new  light 
for  tracing  the  Apostle's  steps.  It  is  evident  that  we  have  only  to  ascer- 
tain the  successive  intervals  of  his  life,  in  order  to  see  him  at  every  point, 
in  his  connection  with  the  transactions  of  the  Empire.  We  shall  observe 
this  often  as  we  proceed.  At  present  it  is  more  important  to  remark  that 
the  same  date  throws  some  light  on  that  earlier  part  of  the  Apostle's  path 
which  is  confessedly  obscure.  Reckoning  backwards,  we  remember  that 
"  three  years  "  intervened  between  his  conversion  and  return  to  Jerusa- 
lem.^ Those  who  assign  the  former  event  to  39  or  40,  and  those  who  fix 
on  37  or  some  earlier  year,  differ  as  to  the  length  of  time  he  spent  at 
Tarsus,  or  in  "  Syria  and  Cilicia."  ^  All  that  we  can  say  with  certainty 
is,  that  St.  Paul  was  converted  more  than  three  years  before  the  year  44.* 

The  date  thus  important  for  all  students  of  Bible  chronology  is  worthy 
of  special  regard  by  the  Christians  of  Britain.  For  in  that  year  the 
Emperor  Claudius  returned  from  the  shores  of  this  island  to  the  metropo- 
lis of  his  empire.  He  came  here  in  command  of  a  military  expedition,  to 
complete  the  work  which  the  landing  of  Caesar,  a  century  before,  had 
begun,  or  at  least  predicted.*  When  Claudius  was  in  Britain,  its  inhabit- 
ants were  not  Christian.  They  could  hardly  in  any  sense  be  said  to 
have  been  civilized.  He  came,  as  he  thought,  to  add  a  barbarous  province 
to  his  already  gigantic  empire ;  but  he  really  came  to  prepare  the  way  for 
the  silent  progress  of  the  Christian  Church.  His  troops  were  the  instru- 
ments of  bringing  among  our  barbarous  ancestors  those  charities  which 
were  just  then  beginning  to  display  themselves  ^  in  Antioch  and  Jerusalem. 
A  "  new  name''''  was  faintly  rising  on  the  Syrian  shore,  which  was  destined 
to  spread  like  the  cloud  seen  by  the  Prophet's  servant  from  ihe  brow  of 
Mount  Carmel.  A  better  civilization,  a  better  citizenship,  than  that  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  was  preparing  for  us  and  for  many.  One  Apostle  at 
Tarsus  was  waiting  for  his  call  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  of  Christ  to  the 
Gentiles.  Another  Apostle  at  Joppa  was  receiving  a  divine  intimation 
that  "  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  but  that  in  every  nation  he  that 
feareth  Him  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  with  Him."  ^ 

1  Gal.  i.  18.  very  early,  is  forced  to  allow  nine  or  ten  years 

2  Acts  ix.  30  ;  Gal.  i.  21.     Wieseler,  with  for  the  time  spent  in  Syria  and  Cilicia. 
Schrader,  thinks  that  he  staid  at  Tarsus  only  '^  Wieseler  places  the    Conversion  in   the 
half  a  year  or  a  year ;  Anger,  that  he  was  there  year  39  or  40. 

two  years,  between  41   and  43 ;  Hemsen,  that  *  It  may  be  gathered  from  Dio   Cassius, 

he  spent  there  the  years  40,  41,  and  42.  Among  that  the  emperor  left  Rome  in  July,  43,  and 

the  English  writers,  Bp.  Pearson  imagines  that  returned  in  January,  45. 

great  part  of  the  interval  after  39  was  passed  ^  See  Acts  xi.  22-24,  and  27-30. 

in  Syria ;  Burton,  who  places  the  conversion  ^  Acts  x.  34,  35. 


106  THE   LIFE   AKD   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  i» 

If  we  could  ascertain  the  exact  chronological  arrangement  of  these 
passages  of  Apostolical  histor}^,  great  light  would  be  thrown  on  the  circum- 
stantial details  of  the  admission  of  Gentiles  to  the  Church,  and  on  the 
growth  of  the  Church's  conviction  on  this  momentous  subject.  We  should 
then  be  able  to  form  some  idea  of  the  meaning  and  results  of  the  fortnight 
spent  by  Paul  and  Peter  together  at  Jerusalem  (p.  97).  But  it  is  not 
permitted  to  us  to  know  the  manner  and  degree  in  which  the  different 
Apostles  were  illuminated.  "We  have  not  been  informed  whether  Paul 
ever  felt  the  difficulty  of  Peter,  —  whether  he  knew  from  the  first  the  full 
significance  of  his  call,  —  whether  he  learnt  the  truth  by  visions,  or  by  the 
gradual  workings  of  his  mind  under  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit.^  All 
we  can  confidently  assert  is,  that  he  did  not  learn  from  St.  Peter  the 
mystery  "  which  in  other  ages  was  not  made  known  unto  the  sons  of  men, 
as  it  was  now  revealed  unto  God's  holy  Apostles  by  the  Spirit ;  that  the 
Gentiles  should  be  fellow-heirs,  and  of  the  same  body,  and  partakers  of 
His  promise  in  Christ  by  the  Gospel."  '^ 

If  St.  Paul  was  converted  in  39  or  40,  and  if  the  above-mentioned  rest 
of  the  Churches  was  in  the  last  years  of  Caligula  (a.d.  39-41),  and  if 
this  rest  was  the  occasion  of  that  journey  to  Lydda  and  Joppa  which  ulti- 
mately brought  St.  Peter  to  Caesarea,  then  it  is  evident  that  St.  Paul  was 
at  Damascus  or  in  Arabia  when  Cornelius  was  baptized.'  Paul  was  sum- 
moned to  evangelize  the  Heathen,  and  Peter  began  the  work,  almost 
simultaneously.  The  great  transaction  of  admitting  the  Gentiles  to  the 
Church  was  already  accomplished  when  the  two  Apostles  met  at  Jerusa- 
lem. St.  Paul  would  thus  learn  that  the  door  had  been  opened  for  him 
by  the  hand  of  another  ;  and  when  he  went  to  Tarsus,  the  later  agree- 
ment* might  then  have  been  partially  adopted,  that  he  should  "go 
to  the  Heathen,"  while  Peter  remained  as  the  Apostle  of  "  the  Circum- 
cision." 

If  we  are  to  bring  down  the  conversion  of  Cornelius  nearer  to  the  year 
44,  and  to  place  it  in  that  interval  of  time  which  St.  Paul  spent  at  Tarsus,* 
then  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  his  conversations  prepared  Peter's  mind 
for  the  change  which  was  at  hand,  and  sowed  the  seeds  of  that  revolution 
of  opinion,  of  which  the  vision  at  Joppa  was  the  crisis  and  completion. 
Paul  might  learn  from  Peter  (as  possibly  also  from  Barnabas)  many  oi  the 

^  The  question  touched  on  here,  viz.  when  ^  This  is  Wieselcr's  view ;   but  his  argu- 

the  complete  truth  of  Christ  was  communicat-  mcnts  are  not  conclusive.     By  some  (as  by 

ed  to  St.  Paul,  evidently  opens  a  wide  field  Schradcr)  it  is  hastily  taken  for  granted  that 

for  speculation.      It  is  well   treated   by  Dr.  St.  Paul  preached  the  Gospel  to  Gentiles  at 

Davidson    (lutrod.   vol.    ii.    pp.    75-80),   who  Damascus, 
believes  that  the  full  disclosures  of  the  gospel  *  Gal.  ii.  9. 

were  made  to  him  in  Arabia.  ^  On  the  duration  of  this  interral  see  above, 

2  Eph.  iii.  4-6.     See  Col.  i.  26,  27.  p.  105,  n.  2. 


OBAP.iv.  ST.    PETER   AND   CORNELIUS.  107 

details  of  our  blessed  Saviour's  life.  And  Peter,  meanwhile,  might  gather 
from  Paul  some  of  those  higher  views  concerning  the  Gospel  which  pre- 
pared him  for  the  miracles  which  he  afterwards  saw  in  the  household  of 
the  Roman  centurion.  Whatever  might  be  the  obscurity  of  St.  Paul's 
early  knowledge,  wliether  it  was  revealed  to  him  or  not  that  the  Gentile 
converts  would  be  called  to  overleap  the  ceremonies  of  Judaism  on  their 
entrance  into  the  Church  of  Christ,  —  he  could  not  fail  to  have  a  clear 
understanding  that  his  own  work  was  to  lie  among  the  Gentiles.  This 
had  been  announced  to  him  at  his  first  conversion  (Acts  xxvi.  17,  18),  in 
the  words  of  Ananias  (Acts  ix.  15)  :  and  in  the  vision  preceding  his  re- 
tirement to  Tarsus  (Acts  xxih  21),  the  words  which  commanded  him  to 
go  were,  "  Depart,  for  I  will  send  thee  far  hence  to  the  Gentiles." 

In  considering,  then,  the  conversion  of  Cornelius  to  have  happened 
after  this  journey  from  Jerusalem  to  Tarsus,  and  before  the  mission  of 
Barnabas  to  Antioch,  we  are  adopting  the  opinion  most  in  accordance 
with  the  independent  standing-point  occupied  by  St.  Paul.  And  this, 
moreover,  is  the  view  which  harmonizes  best  with  the  narrative  of  Scrip- 
ture, where  the  order  ought  to  be  reverently  regarded  as  well  as  the 
words.  In  the  order  of  Scripture  narration,  if  it  cannot  be  proved  that 
the  preaching  of  Peter  at  Caesarea  was  chronologically  earlier  than  the 
preaching  of  Paul  at  Antioch,  it  is  at  least  brought  before  us  theologi- 
cally, as  the  beginning  of  the  Gospel  made  known  to  the  Heathen. 
When  an  important  change  is  at  hand,  God  usually  causes  a  silent 
preparation  in  the  minds  of  men,  and  some  great  fact  occurs,  which  may 
be  taken  as  a  type  and  symbol  of  the  general  movement.  Such  a  fact 
was  the  conversion  of  Cornelius,  and  so  we  must  consider  it. 

The  whole  transaction  is  related  and  reiterated  with  so  much  minute- 
ness,^ that,  if  we  were  writing  a  history  of  the  Church,  we  should  be 
required  to  dwell  upon  it  at  length.  But  here  we  have  only  to  do  with  it 
as  the  point  of  union  between  Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  as  the  bright  start- 
ing-point of  St.  Paul's  career.  A  few  words  may  be  allowed,  which  are 
suggested  by  this  view  of  the  transaction  as  a  typical  fact  in  the  progress 
of  God's  dispensations.  The  two  men  to  whom  the  revelations  were  made, 
and  even  the  places  where  the  Divine  interferences  occurred,  were  charac- 
teristic of  the  event.  Cornelius  was  in  Caesarea  and  St.  Peter  in  Joppa ; 
—  the  Roman  soldier  in  the  modern  city,  which  was  built  and  named  in 
the  Emperor's  honor, —  the  Jewish  Apostle  in  the  ancient  seaport  which 
associates  its  name  with  the  early  passages  of  Hebrew  history,  —  with  tlie 
voyage  of  Jonah,  the  building  of  the  Temple,  the  wars  of  the  Maccabees.^ 

1  See  the  whole  narrative,  Actsx.  1-xi.  19.       the  Apocrypha,  1  Esd.  v.  55 ;  1  Mace.  x.  75, 

2  Jouah   i.   3;    2   Chr    ii.   16.      See   Josh.       xiv.  5;  2  Mace.  xii.  3,  &c. 
xix.  46 ;  Ezra  iii.  7,  and  yarious  passages  in 


108  THE   LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ir. 

All  the  splendor  of  Caesarea,  its  buildings  and  its  ships,  and  the  Temple 
of  Rome  and  the  Emperor,  which  the  sailors  saw  far  out  at  sea,^  all  has 
long'  since  vanished.  Herod's  magnificent  city  is  a  wreck  on  the  shore. 
A  few  ruins  are  all  that  remain  of  the  harbor.  Joppa  lingers  on,  like  the 
Jewish  people,  dejected  but  not  destroyed.  Caesarea  has  perished,  like 
the  Roman  Empire  which  called  it  into  existence. 

And  no  men  could  well  be  more  contrasted  with  each  other  than  those 
two  men,  in  whom  the  Heathen  and  Jewish  worlds  met  and  were  recon- 
ciled. We  know  what  Peter  was — a  Galilean  fisherman,  brought  up  in 
the  rudest  district  of  an  obscure  province,  with  no  learning  but  such  as 
he  might  have  gathered  in  the  synagogue  of  his  native  town.  All  his 
early  days  he  had  dragged  his  nets  in  the  lake  of  Genesareth.  And 
now  he  was  at  Joppa,  lodging  in  the  house  of  Simon  the  Tanner,  the 
Apostle  of  a  religion  that  was  to  change  the  world.  Cornelius  was  an 
officer  in  the  Roman  army.  No  name  was  more  honorable  at  Rome  than 
that  of  the  Cornelian  House.  It  was  the  name  borne  by  the  Scipios,  and 
by  Sulla,  and  the  mother  of  the  Gracchi.  In  the  Roman  army,  as  in  the 
army  of  modern  Austria,  the  soldiers  were  drawn  from  different  countries 
and  spoke  different  languages.  Along  the  coast  of  which  we  are  speak- 
ing, many  of  them  were  recruited  from  Syria  and  Judaea.^  But  the  corps 
to  which  Cornelius  belonged  seems  to  have  been  a  cohort  of  Italians  sep- 
arate from  the  legionary  soldiers,'  and  hence  called  the  "  Italian  cohort." 
He  was  no  doubt  a  true-born  Italian.  Educated  in  Rome,  or  some  pro- 
vincial town,  he  had  entered  upon  a  soldier's  life,  dreaming  perhaps  of 
military  glory,  but  dreaming  as  little  of  that  better  glory  which  now  sur- 
rounds the  Cornelian  name,  —  as  Peter  dreamed  at  the  lake  of  Genesa- 
reth of  becoming  the  chosen  companion  of  the  Messiah  of  Israel,  and  of 
throwing  open  the  doors  of  the  Catholic  Church  to  the  dwellers  in  Asia 
and  Africa,  to  the  barbarians  on  the  remote  and  un visited  shores  of  Europe, 
and  to  the  undiscovered  countries  of  the  West. 

But  to  return  to  our  proper  narrative.  When  intelligence  came  to 
Jerusalem  that  Peter  had  broken  through  the  restraints  of  the  Jewish 
Law,  and  had  even  "  eaten  "  at  the  table  of  the  Gentiles,*  there  was  gen- 
eral surprise  and  displeasure  among  "  those  of  the  circumcision."  But 
when  he  explained  to  them  all  the  transaction,  they  approved  his  conduct, 
and  praised  God  for  His  mercy  to  the  Heathen.*     And  soon  news  came 

1  A  fall  account  of  Caesarea  will  be  given,  be  certain  "  Italian  volunteers,"  mentioned  in 

when  we  come  to  the  period    of   St.  Paul's  an  inscription  as  serving  in  Syria.   Akermann's 

imprisonment  there.  Numismatic  III.  of  the  New  Test.  p.  34. 

■^  Joseph.  ^?^^  xiv.  15,  10;    PFar,  i.  17,  1.  *  Acts  xi.  3.     See  x.  48.     No  such  freedom 

*  Not  a  cohort  of  the  "  Legio  Italica,"  and  of  intercourse  took  place  in  his  own  reception 

which  was  raised  by  Nero.     See  above,  p.  26,  of  his  Gentile  guests,  x.  23. 

aote.     Possibly  the  corps  of  Cornelius  might  *  Acts  xi.  18. 


CHAP.  IV.  MISSION  OP  BARNABAS.  109 

from  a  greater  distance,  which  showed  that  the  same  unexpected  change 
was  operating  more  widely.  We  have  seen  that  the  persecution,  in  wliich 
Stephen  was  killed,  resulted  in  a  general  dispersion  of  the  Christians. 
"Wherever  they  went,  they  spoke  to  their  Jewish  brethren  of  their  faith 
that  the  promises  had  been  fulfilled  in  the  life  and  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ.  This  dispersion  and  preaching  of  the  Gospel  extended  even  to 
the  island  of  Cyprus,  and  along  the  Phoenician  coast  as  far  as  Antioch. 
For  some  time  the  glad  tidings  were  made  known  only  to  the  scattered 
children  of  Israel.'  But  at  length  some  of  the  Hellenistic  Jews,  natives 
of  Cyprus  and  Cyrene,  spoke  to  the  Greeks^  themselves  at  Antioch,  and 
the  Divine  Spirit  gave  such  power  to  the  Word,  that  a  vast  number 
"  believed  and  turned  to  the  Lord."  The  news  was  not  long  in  travelling 
to  Jerusalem.  Perhaps  some  message  was  sent  in  haste  to  the  Apostles  of 
the  Church.  The  Jewish  Christians  in  Antioch  might  be  perplexed  how 
to  deal  with  their  new  Gentile  converts  :  and  it  is  not  unnatural  to  sup- 
pose that  the  presence  of  Barnabas  might  be  anxiously  desired  by  the 
fellow-missionaries  of  his  native  island. 

We  ought  to  observe  the  honorable  place  which  the  island  of  Cyprus 
was  permitted  to  occupy  in  the  first  work  of  Christianity.  We  shall  soon 
trace  the  footsteps  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Heathen  in  the  beginning  of  his 
travels  over  the  length  of  this  island  ;  and  see  here  the  first  earthly 
potentate  converted,  and  linking  his  name  forever  with  that  of  St.  Paul.' 
Now,  while  Saul  is  yet  at  Tarsus,  men  of  Cyprus  are  made  the  instru- 
ments of  awakening  the  Gentiles ;  one  of  them  might  be  that  "  Mnason 
of  Cyprus,"  who  afterwards  (then  "  a  disciple  of  old  standing")  was  his 
host  at  Jerusalem  ;*  and  Joses  the  Levite  of  Cyprus,*  whom  the  Apostles 
had  long  ago  called  "  the  Son  of  Consolation,"  and  who  had  removed  all 
the  prejudice  which  looked  suspiciously  on  Saul's  conversion,®  is  the  first 
teacher  sent  by  the  Mother-Church  to  the  new  disciples  at  Antioch.  "  He 
was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith."  He  rejoiced 
when  he  saw  what  God's  grace  was  doing ;  he  exhorted  ^  all  to  cling  fast 
to  the  Saviour  whom  they  had  found  ;  and  he  labored  himself  with  abun- 

1  See  xi.  19,  20.  nearly  simultaneous,  that  of  Cornelius  being 

2  Acts  xi.  20.  We  are  strongly  of  opinion  the  great  typical  transaction  on  which  oar 
that  the  correct  reading  here  is  not  "  Grecians  "      attention  is  to  be  fixed. 

(A. v.),  but  Greeks,  probably  in  the  sense  of  ^  Acts  xiii.  6-9. 

proselytes  of  the  Gate.      Thus   they  were  in  *  Acts  xxi.  16. 

the  same  position  as  Cornelius.     It  has  been  ^  Acts  iv.  36.     See,  however,  the  next  note 

doubted  which  case  was  prior  in  point  of  time.  but  one. 

Some  are  of  opinion  that  the  events  at  Antioch  ®  Acts  ix.  27. 

look  place  first.     Others  believe  that  those  who  ^  Acts  xi.  23.     The  "  Son  of  Consolation," 

spoke  to  the  Greeks  at  Antioch  had  previously  of  iv.  36,  ought  rather  to  be  translated  "  Son 

heard  of  the  conversion  of  Cornelius.     There  of  Exhortation  "  or  "  Son  of  Prophecy."    See 

seems  no  objection  to  supposing  the  two  cases  xiii.  I. 


110  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  nr. 

dant  success.  But  foeling  the  greatness  of  the  work,  and  remembering 
the  zeal  and  strong  character  of  his  friend,  whose  vocation  to  this  par- 
ticular task  of  instructing  the  Heathen  was  doubtless  well  known  to  him, 
"  he  departed  to  Tarsus  to  seek  Saul." 

Whatever  length  of  time  had  elapsed  since  Saul  came  from  Jerusalem 
to  Tarsus,  and  however  that  time  had  been  employed  by  him, — whether 
he  had  already  founded  any  of  those  churches  in  his  native  Cilicia,  which 
we  read  of  soon  after  (Acts  xv.  41) ,  —  whether  (as  is  highly  probable) 
he  had  there  undergone  any  of  those  manifold  labors  and  sufferings 
recorded  by  himself  (2  Cor.  xi.)  but  omitted  by  St.  Luke,  —  whether 
by  active  intercourse  with  the  Gentiles,  by  study  of  their  literature,  by 
travelling,  by  discoursing  with  the  philosophers,  he  had  been  making 
himself  acquainted  with  their  opinions  and  their  prejudices,  and  so  pre- 
paring his  mind  for  the  work  that  was  before  him,  —  or  whether  he  had 
been  waiting  in  silence  for  the  call  of  God's  providence,  praying  for  guid- 
ance from  above,  reflecting  on  the  condition  of  the  Gentiles,  and  gazing 
more  and  more  closely  on  the  plan  of  the  world's  redemption,  —  how- 
ever this  may  be,  it  must  have  been  an  eventful  day  when  Barnabas, 
having  come  across  the  sea  from  Seleucia,  or  round  by  the  defiles  of 
Mount  Amanus,  suddenly  appeared  in  the  streets  of  Tarsus.  The  last 
time  the  two  friends  had  met  was  in  Jerusalem.  AH  that  they  then 
hoped,  and  probably  more  than  they  then  thought  possible,  had  occurred. 
"God  had  granted  to  the  Gentiles  repentance  unto  life"  (xi.  18). 
Barnabas  had  "  seen  the  grace  of  God  "  (xi.  23)  with  his  own  eyes  at 
Antioch  ;  and  under  his  own  teaching  "  a  great  multitude  "  (xi.  24}  had 
been  "  added  to  the  Lord."  But  he  needed  assistance.  He  needed  the 
presence  of  one  whose  wisdom  was  higher  than  his  own,  whose  zeal  was 
an  example  to  all,  and  whose  peculiar  mission  had  been  miraculously 
declared.  Saul  recognized  the  voice  of  God  in  the  words  of  Barnabas  : 
and  the  two  friends  travelled  in  all  haste  to  the  Syrian  metropolis. 

There  they  continued  "  a  whole  year,"  actively  prosecuting  the  sacred 
work,  teaching  and  confirming  those  who  joined  themselves  to  the  assem- 
blies ^  of  the  ever-increasing  Church.  As  new  converts,  in  vast  numbers, 
came  in  from  the  ranks  of  the  Gentiles,  the  Church  began  to  lose  its 
ancient  appearance  of  a  Jewish  sect,^  and  to  stand  out  in  relief,  as  a 
great  self-existent  community,  in  the  face  both  of  Jews  and  Gentiles. 
Hitherto  it  had  been  possible,  and  even  natural,  that  the  Christians 
should  be  considered,  by  the  Jews  themselves,  and  by  the  Heathen  whose 
notice  they  attracted,  as  only  one  among  the  many  theological  parties, 
which  prevailed  in  Jerusalem  and  in  the  Dispersion.     But  when  Gen« 

1  See  Acts  xi.  26.  '  See  above,  pp.  29  and  62. 


CHAP.  IV,  THE   NAME    "CHRISTIAN."  Ill 

tiles  began  to  listen  to  what  was  preached  concerning  Christ,  —  when 
they  were  united  as  bretliren  on  equal  terms,  and  admitted  to  baptism 
without  the  necessity  of  previous  circumcision,  —  when  the  Mosaic 
features  of  this  society  were  lost  in  the  wider  character  of  the  New 
Covenant,  —  then  it  became  evident  that  these  men  were  something  more 
than  the  Pharisees  or  Sadducees,  the  Essenes  ^  or  Herodians,  or  any  sect 
or  party  among  the  Jews.  Thus  a  new  term  in  the  vocabulary  of  the 
human  race  came  into  existence  at  Antioch  about  the  year  44.  Thus 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  who,  under  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul,  believed  that 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  "  were  first  called 
Cliristians." 

It  is  not  likely  that  they  received  this  name  from  the  Jews.  .  The 
"  Children  of  Abraham  "  "^  employed  a  term  much  more  expressive  of 
hatred  and  contempt.  They  called  them  "  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes." ' 
These  disciples  of  Jesus  traced  their  origin  to  Nazareth  in  Galilee  :  and 
it  was  a  proverb,  that  nothing  good  could  come  from  Nazareth,*  Besides 
this,  there  was  a  further  reason  why  the  Jews  would  not  have  called  the 
disciples  of  Jesus  by  the  name  of  "  Christians,"  The  word  "  Christ " 
has  the  same  meaning  with  "  Messiah ;  "  and  the  Jews,  however  blinded 
and  prejudiced  on  this  subject,  would  never  have  used  so  sacred  a  word 
to  point  an  expression  of  mockery  and  derision ;  and  they  could  not 
have  used  it  in  grave  and  serious  earnest  to  designate  those  whom  they 
held  to  be  the  followers  of  a  false  Messiah,  a  fictitious  Christ.  Nor  is  it 
likely  that  the  "  Christians  "  gave  this  name  to  themselves.  In  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  and  in  their  own  letters,  we  find  them  designating  them- 
selves as  "  brethren,"  "  disciples,"  "  believers,"  "  saints."  ^  Only  in  two 
places  *  do  we  find  the  term  "  Christians  ; "  and  in  both  instances  it  is 
implied  to  be  a  term  used  by  those  who  are  without.  There  is  little 
doubt  that  the  name  originated  with  the  Gentiles,  who  began  now  to  see 
that  this  new  sect  was  so  far  distinct  from  the  Jews,  that  they  might 
naturally  receive  a  new  designation.  And  the  form  of  the  word  implies 
that  ii  came  from  the  Romans,^  not  from  the  Greeks.  The  word 
"  Christ "  was  often  in  the  conversation  of  the  believers,  as  we  know  it  to 
have  been  coi:stantly  in  their  letters.  "  Christ "  was  the  title  of  Him, 
whom  they  avowed  as  their  leader  and  their  chief.     They  confessed  that 

1  See  above,  p.  32.  '^  So  we  read  in  the  Civil  Wars  of  "  Mari 

2  Matt.  iii.  9  ;  Luke  iii.  8  ;  John  viii.  39.  ans  "  and  "  Pompeians  "  for  the  partisans  ot 
8  Acts  xxiv.  5,  Marius  and  Pompey  ;  and,  under  the  Empire, 
*  John  i  46.     See  John  vii,  41,  52 ;  Luke  of  "  Othonians"  and  "  VitclHans  "  for  the  par 

xiii.  2,  &c,  tisans  of  Otho  and  Vitellius.     The  word  "  He 

6  Acts  XV.  23,  ix.  26,  v.  14,  ix.  32 ;  Rom.  rodians  "  (Matt.  xxii.  16  ;  Mark  iii.  6,  xiL  131 

XV.  25  ;  Col.  i,  2,  &c.  is  formed  exactly  in  the  same  way. 
®  Acts  xxvi.  28,  and  1  Pet.  iv.  16. 


112  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  iv 

this  Christ  had  been  crucified  ;  but  they  asserted  that  He  was  risen  from 
the  dead,  and  that  He  guided  them  by  His  invisible  power.  Thus 
"  Christian "  was  the  name  which  naturally  found  its  place  in  the 
reproachful  language  of  their  enemies.^  In  the  first  instance,  we  have 
every  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  a  term  of  ridicule  and  derision.'^  And 
it  is  remarkable  that  the  people  of  Antioch  were  notorious  for  inventing 
names  of  derision,  and  for  turning  their  wit  into  the  channels  of  ridi- 
cule.' In  every  way  there  is  something  very  significant  in  the  place 
where  we  first  received  the  name  we  bear.  Not  in  Jerusalem,  the  city 
of  the  Old  Covenant,  the  city  of  the  people  who  were  chosen  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  others,  but  in  a  Heathen  city,  the  Eastern  centre  of 
Greek  fashion  and  Roman  luxury ;  and  not  till  it  was  shown  that  the 
New  Covenant  was  inclusive  of  all  others  ;  then  and  there  we  were  first 
called  Christians,  and  the  Church  received  from  the  world  its  true  and 
honorable  name. 

In  narrating  the  journeys  of  St.  Paul,  it  will  now  be  our  duty  to  speak 
of  Antioch,  not  Jerusalem,  as  his  point  of  departure  and  return.  Let 
us  look,  more  closely  than  has  hitherto  been  necessary,  at  its  character, 
its  history,  and  its  appearance.  The  position  which  it  occupied  near  the 
abrupt  angle  formed  by  the  coasts  of  Syria  and  Asia  Minor,  and  in  the 
opening  where  the  Orontes  passes  between  the  ranges  of  Lebanon  and 
Taurus,  has  already  been  noticed.*  And  we  have  mentioned  the  numer- 
ous colony  of  Jews  which  Seleucus  introduced  into  his  capital,  and 
raised  to  an  equality  of  civil  rights  with  the  Greeks.^  There  was  every 
thing  in  the  situation  and  circumstances  of  this  city,  to  make  it  a  place 
of  concourse  for  all  classes  and  kinds  of  people.  By  its  harbor  of  Se- 
leueia  it  was  in  communication  with  all  the  trade  of  the  Mediterranean  ; 
and,  through  the  open  country  behind  the  Lebanon,  it  was  conveniently 
approached  by  the  caravans  from  Mesopotamia  and  Arabia.  It  united 
the  inland  advantages  of  Aleppo  with  the  maritime  opportunities  of 
Smyrna.  It  was  almost  an  oriental  Rome,  in  which  all  the  forms  of  the 
civilized  life  of  the  Empire  found  some  representative.     Through    the 

1  It  is  a  Latin  derivative  from  the  Greek  "  Christian  "  is  used  so  proverbially  for  al\ 
term  for  the  Messiah  of  the  Jews.     It  is  con-  that  is  good,  that  it  has  been  applied  to  benev- 
nected  with  the  ofBce,  not  the  name,  ci  our  olent  actions  in  which  Jews  have  participated. 
Saviour;  which  harmonizes  with  the   irapor-  ^  it  ;§  needless   to   remark   that   it   soon 
tant  fact,  that  in  the  Epistles  He  is  usually  became  a  title  of  glory.    Julian  tried  to  sub- 
called  not  "  Jesus  "  but  "  Christ."     The  word  stitute  the  term  "  Galilean  "  for  "  Christian." 
"Jesuit"  (which,  by  the  way,  is  rather  Greek  ^  Apollonius  of  Tyana  was  driven  out  of 
than  Latin)  did  not  come  into  the  vocabulary  the  city  by  their  insults,  and  sailed  away  (like 
of  the  Church  till  after  the  lapse  of  1,500  years.  St.  Paul)  from  Seleucia  to  Cyprus,  where  he 
It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  the  word  "  Jes-  visited  Paphos.     See  Ch.  X. 
uit "  is  a  proverbial  term  of  reproach,  even  in           *  P.  19. 
Roman-Catholic  countries ;    while    the  word           ^  P.  16. 


ca»j«.  IV,  ANTIOCH.  113 

first  two  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  it  was  what  Constantinople 
became  afterwards,  "  the  Gate  of  the  East."  And,  indeed,  the  glory  of 
the  city  of  Ignatius  was  only  gradually  eclipsed  by  that  of  the  city  of 
Chrysostom.  That  great  preacher  and  commentator  himself,  who  knew 
them  both  by  familiar  residence,  always  speaks  of  Antioch  with  peculiar 
reverence,^  as  the  patriarchal  city  of  the  Christian  name. 

There  is  something  curiously  prophetic  in  the  stories  which  are  told 
of  the  first  founding  of  this  city.  Like  Romulus  on  the  Palatine, 
Seleucus  is  said  to  have  watched  the  flight  of  birds  from  the  summit  of 
Mount  Casius.  An  eagle  took  a  fragment  of  the  flesh  of  his  sacrifice, 
and  carried  it  to  a  point  on  the  seashore,  a  little  to  the  north  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Orontes.  There  he  founded  a  city,  and  called  it  Seleucia^* 
after  his  own  name.  This  was  on  the  23d  of  April.  Again,  on  the  1st 
of  May,  he  sacrificed  on  the  hill  Silpius  ;  and  then  repeated  the  cere- 
mony and  watched  the  auguries  at  the  city  of  Antigonia,  which  his 
vanquished  rival,  Antigonus,  had  begun  and  left  unfinished.  An  eagle 
again  decided  that  this  was  not  to  be  his  own  metropolis,  and  carried  the 
flesh  to  the  hill  Silpius,  which  is  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  about 
the  place  where  it  turns  from  a  northerly  to  a  westerly  direction.  Five 
or  six  thousand  Athenians  and  Macedonians  were  ordered  to  convey  the 
stones  and  timber  of  Antigonia  down  the  river  ;  and  Antioch  was  founded 
by  Seleucus,  and  called  after  his  father's  name.^ 

This  fable,  invented  perhaps  to  give  a  mythological  sanction  to  what 
was  really  an  act  of  sagacious  prudence  and  princely  ambition,  is  well 
worth  remembering.  Seleucus  was  not  slow  to  recognize  the  wisdom 
of  Antigonus  in  choosing  a  site  for  his  capital,  which  should  place  it  in 
ready  communication  both  with  the  shores  of  Greece  and  with  his  eastern 
territories  on  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates ;  and  he  followed  the  example 
promptly,  and  completed  his  work  with  sumptuous  magnificence.  Few 
princes  have  ever  lived  with  so  great  a  passion  for  the  building  of  cities  ; 
and  this  is  a  feature  of  his  character  wliich  ought  not  to  be  unnoticed  in 
this  narrative.  Two  at  least  of  his  cities  in  Asia  Minor  have  a  close 
connection  with  the  life  of  St.  Paul.  These  are  the  Pisidian  Antioch* 
and  the  Phrygian  Laodicaea,^  one  called  by  the  name  of  his  father,  the 
other  of  his  mother.  He  is  said  to  have  built  in  all  nine  Seleucias,  six- 
teen Antiochs,  and  six  Laodicaeas.      This  love  of  commemorating   the 

1  In  his  homilies  on  St.  M  tthew  he  tells  ^  See  Acts  xiii.  4. 

the  people  of  Antioch,  that  though  they  boasted  ^  Some   say  that  Seleucus  called  the  city 

of  their  city's  pre-eminence  in  having  first  en-  after  his  son. 

ioyed  the   Christian  name,  they  were  willing  *  Acts  xiii.  14,  xiy.  21  ;  2  Tim.  iii.  11. 

enough  to  be  surpassed  in  Christian  virtue  by  *  Coloss.  iv.  13,  15,   16      See  Eev.  i.  11, 

wore  homely  cities.  iii-  14- 
8 


114  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  nr. 

members  of  his  family  was  conspicuous  in  his  works  by  the  Orontes. 
Besides  Seleucia  and  Antioch,  he  built,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood, 
a  Laodicaea  in  honor  of  his  mother,  and  an  Apamea  in  honor  of  his 
wife.  But  by  far  the  most  famous  of  these  four  cities  was  the  Syrian 
Antiocli. 

We  must  allude  to  its  edifices  and  ornaments  only  so  far  as  they  are 
due  to  the  Greek  kings  of  Syria  and  the  first  five  Caesars  of  Rome.^  If 
we  were  to  allow  our  description  to  wander  to  the  times  of  Justinian  or 
the  Crusaders,  though  these  are  the  times  of  Antioch's  greatest  glory,  we 
should  be  trespassing  on  a  period  of  history  which  does  not  belong  to  us 
Strabo,  in  the  time  of  Augustus,  describes  the  city  as  a  Totrapolis,  or 
union  of  four  cities.  The  two  first  were  erected  by  Seleucus  Nicator 
himself,  in  the  situation  already  described,  between  Mount  Silpius  and 
the  river,  on  that  wide  space  of  level  ground  where  a  few  poor  habita- 
tions still  remain  by  the  banks  of  the  Orontes.  The  river  has  gradually 
changed  its  course  and  appearance,  as  the  city  has  decayed.  Once  it 
flowed  round  an  island  which,  like  the  island  in  the  Seine,^  by  its  thor- 
oughfares and  bridges,  and  its  own  noble  buildings,  became  part  of  a 
magnificent  whole.  But,  in  Paris,  the  Old  City  is  on  the  island ;  in 
Antioch,  it  was  the  New  City,  built  by  the  second  Seleucus  and  the  third 
Antiochus.  Its  chief  features  were  a  palace,  and  an  arch  like  that  of 
Napoleon.  The  fourth  and  last  part  of  the  Tetrapolis  was  built  by 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  where  Mount  Silpius  rises  abruptly  on  the  south. 
On  one  of  its  craggy  summits  he  placed,  in  the  fervor  of  his  Romanizing 
mania,'  a  temple  dedicated  to  Jupiter  ,Capitolinus ;  and  on  another,  a 
strong  citadel,  which  dwindled  to  the  Saracen  Castle  of  the  first  Crusade. 
At  the  rugged  bases  of  the  mountain,  the  ground  was  levelled  for  a 
glorious  street,  which  extended  for  four  miles  across  the  length  of  the 
city,  and  where  sheltered  crowds  could  walk  through  continuous  colon- 
nades from  the  eastern  to  the  western  suburb.*  The  whole  was 
surrounded  by  a  wall,  which,  ascending  to  the  heights  and  returning  to 
the  river,  does  not  deviate  very  widely  in  its  course  from  the  wall  of  tlie 
Middle  Ages,  which  can  still  be  traced  by  the  fragments  of  ruined  tow- 
ers. This  wall  is  assigned  by  a  Byzanthie  writer  to  Tiberius,  but  it 
seems  more  probable  that  the  Emperor  only  rei)airGd  what  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  had  built.'     Turning  now  to  the  period  of  the  Empire,  we  find 

1  In  our  larger  editions  is  a  plan  of  the  *  See  above,  p.  25,  n.  1. 

ancient  city,  adopted  (with  some  modifications)  *  A  comparison  has  been  instituted  above 

from  the  plan  in  the  work  mentioned  below,  n.  between  Paris  and  Antioch:  and  it  is  hardly 

6.     See  a  fuller  account  of  Antioch  in  Dr.  possible  now  (1860)   to  revise  this  paragraph 

Smith's  Did.  of  Geoq.  for  the  press  without  alluding  to  the  Rue  de 

■•^  Julian  the  Apostate  suggests  a  parallel  Rivoli. 

>)etween   Paris   and  Antioch.      See  Gibbon's  *  See  Miiller,  Antiq.  Antioch.  pp.  54  and 

'<»th  and  2.3d  chapters.  81 . 


CHAP.  IV.  CHARACTER  OF  INHABITANTS   OF  ANTIOCH.  115 

that  Antioch  had  memorials  of  all  the  great  Romans  whose  names  have 
been  mentioned  as  yet  in  this  biography.  When  Pompey  was  defeated 
by  Csesar,  the  conqueror's  name  was  perpetuated  in  this  Eastern  city  by 
an  aqueduct  and  by  baths,  and  by  a  basilica  called  Caesarium.  In  the 
reign  of  Augustus,  Agrippa^  built  in  all  cities  of  the  Empire,  and  Herod 
of  Judaea  followed  the  example  to  the  utmost  of  his  power.  Both  found 
employment  for  their  munificence  at  Antioch.  A  gay  suburb  rose  under 
the  patronage  of  the  one,  and  the  other  contributed  a  road  and  a  portico. 
The  reign  of  Tiberius  was  less  remarkable  for  great  architectural  works ; 
but  the  Syrians  by  the  Orontes  had  to  thank  him  for  many  improvements 
and  restorations  in  their  city.  Even  the  four  years  of  his  successor  left 
behind  them  the  aqueduct  and  the  baths  of  Caligula. 

The  character  of  the  inhabitants  is  easily  inferred  from  the  influences 
which  presided  over  the  city's  growth.  Its  successive  enlargement  by  the 
Seleucids  proves  that  their  numbers  rapidly  increased  from  the  first. 
The  population  swelled  still  further,  when,  instead  of  the  metropolis 
of  the  Greek  kings  of  Syria,  it  became  the  residence  of  Roman  gov- 
ernors. The  mixed  multitude  received  new  and  important  additions 
in  the  officials  who  were  connected  with  the  details  of  provincial  admin- 
istration. Luxurious  Romans  were  attracted  by  its  beautiful  climate. 
New  wants  continually  multiplied  the  business  of  its  commerce.  Its 
gardens  and  houses  grew  and  extended  on  the  north  side  of  the  river. 
Many  are  the  allusions  to  Antioch,  in  the  history  of  those  times,  as  a  place 
of  singular  pleasure  and  enjoyment.  Here  and  there,  an  elevating 
thought  is  associated  with  its  name.  Poets  have  spent  their  young  days 
at  Antioch,^  great  generals  have  died  there,'  emperors  have  visited  and 
admired  it.^  But,  for  the  most  part,  its  population  was  a  worthless  rab- 
ble of  Greeks  and  Orientals.  The  frivolous  amusements  of  the  theatre 
were  the  occupation  of  their  life.  Their  passion  for  races,  and  the  ridic- 
ulous party  quarrels'  connected  with  them,  were  the  patterns  of  those 
which  afterwards  became  the  disgrace  of  Byzantium.  The  oriental  cle- 
ment of  superstition  and  imposture  was  not  less  active.  The  Chaldean 
astrologers  found  their  most  credulous  disciples  in  Antioch.®     Jewish 

1  This  friend  of  Augustus   and  Maecenas  to   Germauicus    and    his   noble-minded   wife 

must    be    carefully  distinguished    from    that  And  yet  they  were  the  parents  of  Caligula, 
grandson  of  Herod  who  bore  the  same  name,  *  For  all  that  long  series  of  emperors  whose 

and  whose  death  is  one  of  the  subjects  of  this  names  are  connected  with  Antioch,  see  Miiller. 
chapter.     For  the  works  of  Herod  the  Great  ^  The  Blae  Faction  and  the    Green  Faction 

at  Antioch,  see  Joseph.  Ant.  xri.  5,  3  ;   War,  were  notorious  under  the  reigns  of  Caligula 

i.  21,  11.  and  Claudius.     Both  emperors  patronized  the 

^  See  Cic.  pro  Archia  Poeta.  latter. 

s  All  readers  of  Tacitus  will  recognize  the  ®  Chrysostom  complains  that  even  Chris- 
allusion.  (See.4?m.  ii.  72.)  It  is  not  possible  tians,  in  his  day,  were  led  away  by  this  passion 
to  write  about  Antioch  without  some  allusion  for  horoscopes.     Juvenal  traces  the  supersti- 


116  THE  LIFE  A^B  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.it 

impostors,^  sufficiently  common  throughout  the  East,  found  their  best 
opportunities  here.  It  is  probable  that  no  populations  have  ever  been 
more  abandoned  than  those  of  oriental  Greek  cities  under  the  Roiiian 
Empire,  and  of  these  cities  Antioch  was  the  greatest  and  the  wonjt.^ 
If  we  wish  to  realize  the  appearance  and  reality  of  the  complicErted 
Heathenism  of  the  first  Christian  century,  we  must  endeavor  to  im- 
agine the  scene  of  that  suburb,  the  famous  Daphne,^  with  its  foun:,ains 
and  groves  of  bay-trees,  its  bright  buildings,  its  crowds  of  licen'ious 
votaries,  its  statue  of  Apollo, —  where,  under  the  climate  of  Syria  and 
the  wealthy  patronage  of  Rome,  all  that  was  beautiful  in  nature  a^id  in 
art  had  created  a  sanctuary  for  a  perpetual  festival  of  vice. 

Thus,  if  any  city,  in  the  first  century,  was  worthy  to  be  callecl  the 
Heathen  Queen  and  Metropolis  of  the  East,  that  city  was  Antioch.  She 
"was  represented,  in  a  famous  allegorical  statue,  as  a  female  figure,  seated 
on  a  rock  and  crowned,  with  the  river  Orontes  at  her  feet.*  With  this 
image,  which  art  has  made  perpetual,  we  conclude  our  description. 
There  is  no  excuse  for  continuing  it  to  the  age  of  Vespasian  and  Titus, 
when  Judaea  was  taken,  and  the  Western  Gate,  decorated  with  the  spoils, 
was  called  the  "  Gate  of  the  Cherubim,"*  —  or  to  the  Saracen  age,  when, 
after  many  years  of  Christian  history  and  Christian  mythology,  we  find 
the  "  Gate  of  St.  Paul "  placed  opposite  the  "  Gate  of  St.  George,"  and 
when  Duke  Godfrey  pitched  his  camp  between  the  river  and  the  city- 
wall.  And  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  earthquakes,  the  constant 
enemy  of  the  people  of  Antioch,  have  so  altered  the  very  appearance  of  its 
site,  that  such  description  would  be  of  little  use.  As  the  Vesuvius  of 
Virgil  or  Pliny  would  hardly  be  recognized  in  the  angry  neighbor  of  mod- 
ern Naples,  so  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  dislocated  crags,  which 
still  rise  above  the  Orontes,  are  greatly  altered  in  form  from  the  fort- 
crowned  heights  of  Seleucus  or  Tiberius,  Justinian  or  Tancred. 

Earthquakes  occurred  in  each  of  the  reigns  of  Caligula  and  Claudius.' 
And  it  is  likely  that,  when  Saul  and  Barnabas  were  engaged  in  their 

tions  of   Heathen   Rome   to   Antioch.     "In  *  For  this  celebrated   statue  of  the   Tvxv 

Tiberim  defluxit  Orontes."  'Avrioxdac,  or  Genius  of  Antioch,  so  constantly 

'  Compare  the  cases  of  Simon  Magus  (Acts  represented  on  coins,  see  Miiller,  Antiq.  Anti- 

viii.),   Elymas  the  Sorcerer  (Acts  xiii),  and  oc/j.  pp.  35-41.     The  engraving  here  given  is 

the  sons  of  Sceva  (Acts  xix.).     We  shall  have  from  Pistolcsi's  Vaticano. 
occasion  to  return  to  this  subject  again.  ^  The  Byzantine  writer  Malalas  says,  that 

2  Ausonius  hesitates  between  Antioch  and  Titus  built  a  theatre  at  Antioch  where  a  syna 

Alexandria,  as  to  the  rank  they  occupied  in  gogue  had  been, 
eminence  and  vice.  '^  One  earthquake,   according    to  Malalas, 

^  Gibbon's    description    of    Daphne    (ch.  occurred  on  tlie  morning  of  March  23,  in  the 

xxiii.)  is  well  known.     The  sanctuary  was  on  year  37,  and  another  soon  afterwards. 
Uie  high  ground,  four  or  five  miles   to   the 
S  W.  of  Antioch.    See  Smith's  Die.  of  the  Bible. 


Allegorical  Statue  of  Aiitiecb  in  Syria. 


CHAP.  IV.  FAMINE. — MISSION   TO   JEIIUSALEM.  117 

apostolic  work,  parts  of  the  city  had  something  of  that  appearance  which 
still  makes  Lisbon  dreary,  new  and  handsome  buildings  being  raised  in 
close  proximity  to  the  ruins  left  by  the  late  calamity.  It  is  remarkable 
how  often  great  physical  calamities  are  permitted  by  God  to  follow  in 
close  succession  to  each  other.  That  age,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  had 
been  visited  by  earthquakes,  was  presently  visited  by  famine.  The  reign 
of  Claudius,  from  bad  harvests  or  other  causes,  was  a  period  of  general 
distress  and  scarcity  "  over  the  whole  world."  ^  In  the  fourth  year  of  his 
reign,  we  are  told  by  Josephus  that  the  famine  was  so  severe,  that  the 
price  of  food  became  enormous,  and  great  numbers  perished.^  At  this 
time  it  happened  that  Helena,  the  mother  of  Izates,  king  of  Adiabene,  and 
a  recent  convert  to  Judaism,  came  to  worship  at  Jerusalem.  Moved  with 
compassion  for  the  misery  she  saw  around  her,  she  sent  to  purchase  corn 
from  Alexandria  and  figs  from  Cyprus,  for  distribution  among  the  poor. 
Izates  himself  (who  had  also  been  converted  by  one  who  bore  the  same 
name '  with  him  who  baptized  St.  Paul)  shared  the  charitable  feelings  of 
his  mother,  and  sent  large  sums  of  money  to  Jerusalem. 

While  this  relief  came  from  Assyria,  from  Cyprus,  and  from  Africa  to 
the  Jewish  sufferers  in  Judaea,  God  did  not  suffer  His  own  Christian 
people,  probably  the  poorest  and  certainly  the  most  disregarded  in  that 
country,  to  perish  in  the  general  distress.  And  their  relief  also  came  from 
nearly  the  same  quarters.  While  Barnabas  and  Saul  were  evangelizing 
the  Syrian  capital,  and  gathering  in  the  harvest,  the  first  seeds  of  which 
had  been  sown  by  "  men  of  Cyprus  and  Cyrene,"  certain  prophets  came 
down  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch,  and  one  of  them  named  Agabus  an- 
nounced that  a  time  of  famine  was  at  hand.*  The  Gentile  disciples  felt 
that  they  were  bound  by  the  closest  link  to  those  Jewish  brethren  whom 
though  they  had  never  seen  th^y  loved.  "  For  if  the  Gentiles  had  been 
made  partakers  of  their  spiritual  things,  their  duty  was  also  to  minister 
unto  them  in  carnal  things."  ^  No  time  was  lost  in  preparing  for  the 
coming  distress.  All  the  members  of  the  Christian  community,  according 
to  their  means,  "  determined  to  send  relief,"  Saul  and  Barnabas  being 
chosen  to  take  the  contribution  to  the  elders  at  Jerusalem.^ 

About  the  time  when  these  messengers  came  to  the  Holy  City  on  their 
errand  of  love,  a  worse  calamity  than  that  of  famine  had  fallen  upon  the 

1  Besides  the  famine  in  Judaea,  we  read  of  the  court  of  Adiabene,  and  thus  obtained  influ- 
three  others  in  the  reign  of  Claudius;  one  in  ence  with  the  king.  (Joseph.  Ant.  xx.  2,  3.) 
Greece,  mentioned  by  Eusebius,  and  two  in  See  wliat  has  been  said  above  (pp.  18,  and  93, 
Eome,  the  first  mentioned  by  Dio  Cassius,  the  n.  4)  about  the  female  proselytes  at  Damascus 
second  by  Tacitus.  anc^  Iconium. 

2  Ant.  iii.  15,  3,  xx.  2,  5,  and  5,  2.  *  Acts  xi.  28. 

'  This  Ananias  was   a  Jewish  merchant,  ^  Rom.  xv.  27. 

who  made  proselytes  among  the  women  about  •*  Acts  xi.  29,  30. 


118  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST,   PAUL.  cmvr.  nr. 

Church.  One  Apostle  had  been  murdered,  and  another  was  m  prison. 
There  is  something  touching  in  the  contrast  between  the  two  brothers, 
James  and  John.  One  died  before  the  middle  of  the  first  Christian  cen- 
tury ;  the  other  lived  on  to  its  close.  One  was  removed  just  when  his 
Master's  kingdom,  concerning  which  he  had  so  eagerly  inquired,'  was  be- 
ginning to  show  its  real  character ;  he  probably  never  heard  the  word 
"  Christian  "  pronounced.  Zebedee's  other  son  remained  till  the  anti- 
Christian^  enemies  of  the  faith  were  "  already  come,"  and  was  laboring 
against  them  when  his  brother  had  been  fifty  years  at  rest  in  the  Lord. 
He  who  had  foretold  the  long  service  of  St.  John  revealed  to  St.  Peter 
that  he  should  die  by  a  violent  death.^  But  the  time  was  not  yet  come. 
Herod  had  bound  him  with  two  chains.  Besides  the  soldiers  who  watched 
his  sleep,  guards  were  placed  before  the  door  of  the  prison.*  And  "  after 
the  passover  "  *  the  king  intended  to  bring  him  out  and  gratify  the  people 
with  his  death.  But  Herod's  death  was  nearer  than  St.  Peter's.  For  a 
moment  we  see  the  Apostle  in  captivity  and  the  king  in  the  plenitude  of 
his  power.  But  before  the  autumn  a  dreadful  change  had  taken  place. 
On  the  1st  of  August  (we  follow  a  probable  calculation,*  and  borrow  some 
circumstances  from  the  Jewish  historian)  '^  there  was  a  great  commemora- 
tion in  Caesarea.  Some  say  it  was  in  honor  of  the  Emperor's  safe  return 
from  the  island  of  Britain.  However  this  might  be,  the  city  was  crowded, 
and  Herod  was  there.  On  the  second  day  of  the  festival  he  came  into  the 
theatre.  That  theatre  had  been  erected  by  his  grandfather,^  who  had 
murdered  the  Innocents ;  and  now  the  grandson  was  there,  who  had  mur- 
dered an  Apostle.  The  stone  seats,  rising  in  a  great  semicircle,  tier  above 
tier,  were  covered  with  an  excited  multitude.  The  king  came  in,  clothed 
in  magnificent  robes,  of  which  silver  was  the  costly  and  brilliant  material. 
It  was  early  in  the  day,  and  the  sun's  rays  fell  upon  the  king,  so  that  the 
eyes  of  the  beholders  were  dazzled  with  the  brightness  which  surrounded 
him.  Voices  from  the  crowd,  here  and  there,  exclaimed  that  it  was  the 
apparition  of  something  divine.  And  when  he  spoke  and  made  an  oration 
to  the  people,  they  gave  a  shout,  saying,  "  It  is  the  voice  of  a  God  and  not 

1  See  Mark  x.  35-45  ;  Acts  i.  6.  '  See  Joseph.   Ant.  xv.  9,  6.     It  is  from 

2  1  John  ii.  18,  iv.  3  ;  2  John  7.  his   narrative   (xix.   8,  2)  that  we  know  tlie 

*  John  xxi.  18-22.     See  2  Pet.  i.  14.  theatre  to  have  been  the  scene  of  Agrippa's 

*  For  the  question  of  the  distribution  of  death-stroke.  The  "throne"  (Acts  xii.  21) 
soldiers  on  this  occasion,  we  may  refer  to  is  the  official  "  tribunal,"  as  in  Acts  xviii.  12, 
Hackett's  notes  on  v.  4  and  v.  40.  16,  17.     Josephus  says  nothing  of  the  quarrel 

5  Inadvertently  translated  "after  Easter"  with   the  Tyrians  and  Sidonians.     Probably 

in  the  A.  V.  Acts  xii.  4.  it  arose  simply  from  mercantile  relations  (see 

*  That  of  Wieseler.  1    Kings  v.   11;  Ezek.  xxvii.  17),  and  their 
"<  Compare  Acts  xii.  20-24  with  Josephus,  desire  for  reconciliation  (Acta  xii.  20)  would 

Ant.  xix.  8,  fi  naturally  be  increased  by  the  existing  famine. 


CHAP.  IV.  DEATH   OF  HEKOD  AGKIPPA  I.  119 

of  a  man."  But  in  the  midst  of  this  idolatrous  ostentation  the  angel  of 
God  suddenly  smote  him.  He  was  carried  out  of  the  theatre  a  dying  man, 
and  on  the  6th  of  August  he  was  dead. 

This  was  that  year,  44,^  on  which  we  have  already  said  so  much.  The 
country  was  placed  again  under  Roman  governors,  and  hard  times  were 
at  hand  for  the  Jews.  Herod  Agrippa  had  courted  their  favor.  He  had 
done  much  for  them,  and  was  preparing  to  do  more.  Josephus  tells  us, 
that  "  he  had  begun  to  encompass  Jerusalem  with  a  wall,  which,  had  it 
been  brought  to  perfection,  would  have  made  it  impracticable  for  the 
Romans  to  take  the  city  by  siege :  but  his  death,  which  happened  at 
Caesarea,  before  he  had  raised  the  walls  to  their  due  height,  prevented 
him."  "^  That  part  of  the  city,  which  this  boundary  was  intended  to  enclose, 
was  a  suburb  when  St.  Paul  was  converted.  The  work  was  not  completed 
till  the  Jews  were  preparing  for  their  final  struggle  with  the  Romans :  and 
the  Apostle,  when  he  came  from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem,  must  have  noticed 
the  unfinished  wall  to  the  north  and  west  of  the  old  Damascus  gate.  We 
cannot  determine  the  season  of  the  year  when  he  passed  this  way.  We 
are  not  sure  whether  the  year  itself  was  44  or  45.  It  is  not  probable  that 
he  was  in  Jerusalem  at  the  passover,  when  St.  Peter  was  in  prison,  or  that 
he  was  praying  with  those  anxious  disciples  at  the  "  house  of  Mary  the 
mother  of  John,  whose  surname  was  Mark."  ^  But  there  is  this  link  of 
Interesting  connection  between  that  house  and  St.  Paul,  that  it  was  the 
familiar  home  of  one  who  was  afterwards  (not  always  *  without  cause  for 
anxiety  or  reproof)  a  companion  of  his  journeys.  When  Barnabas  and 
Saul  returned  to  Antioch,  they  were  attended  by  "  John,  whose  surname 
was  Mark."  With  the  afiection  of  Abraham  towards  Lot,  his  kinsman* 
Barnabas  withdrew  him  from  the  scene  of  persecution.  We  need  not 
doubt  that  higher  motives  were  added,  — that  at  the  first,  as  at  the  last,* 
St.  Paul  regarded  him  as  "  profitable  to  him  for  the  ministry." 

Thus  attended,  the  Apostle  willingly  retraced  his  steps  towards  Antioch. 
A  field  of  noble  enterprise  was  before  him.  He  could  not  doubt  that  God, 
who  had  so  prepared  him,  would  work  by  his  means  great  conversions 
among  the  Heathen.  At  this  point  of  his  life,  we  cannot  avoid  noticing 
those  circumstances  of  inward  and  outward  preparation,  which  fitted  him 
for  his  peculiar  position  of  standing  between  the  Jews  and  Gentiles.     He 

1  Roman-Catholic  writers  here  insert  vari-  to  have  held  the  See  of  Antioch  for  seven  yean 

ous   passages  of  the  traditionary  life  of  St.  before  that  of  Rome. 
Peter;     his   journey  from  Antioch   through  ^  War,\\.\\,&. 

Asia  Minor  to  Rome  ;  his  meeting  with  Simon  ^  Acts  xii.  12. 

Magus,   &c.,  and   the   other  Apostles  ;   their  *  See  Acts  xiii.  13,  xv.  37-39. 

general  separation  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  ^  Not  necessarily  "  nephew."     See  ft  fatwe 

Gentiles  in  all  parts  of  the  world ;  the  formation  note  on  Col.  iv.  10. 
of  the  Apostles'  Creed,  &c.    St.  Peter  is  alleged  «  2  Tim.  iv.  11.     See  below. 


120  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OP   ST.    PAUL.  chap.it. 

was  not  a  Sadducee,  he  had  never  Hellenized,  —  he  had  been  educated  ai 
Jerusalem, —  every  thing  conspired  to  give  him  authority,  when  he  ad- 
dressed his  countrymen  as  a  "  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews."  At  the  same 
time,  in  his  apostolical  relation  to  Christ,  he  was  quite  disconnected  with 
the  other  Apostles ;  he  had  come  in  silence  to  a  conviction  of  the  truth  at 
a  distance  from  the  Judaizing  Christians,  and  had  early  overcome  those 
prejudices  which  impeded  so  many  in  their  approaches  to  the  Heathen. 
He  had  just  been  long  enough  at  Jerusalem  to  be  recognized  and  welcomed 
by  the  apostolic  college,^  but  not  long  enough  even  to  be  known  by  face 
"  unto  the  churches  in  Judasa."^  He  had  been  withdrawn  into  Cilicia 
till  the  baptism  of  Gentiles  was  a  notorious  and  familiar  fact  to  those  very 
churches.^  He  could  hardly  be  blamed  for  continuing  what  St.  Peter  had 
already  begun. 

And  if  the  Spirit  of  God  had  prepared  him  for  building  up  the  United 
Church  of  Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  the  Providence  of  God  had  directed  all 
the  steps  of  his  life  to  this  one  result,  we  are  called  on  to  notice  the 
singular  fitness  of  this  last  employment,  on  which  we  have  seen  him 
engaged,  for  assuaging  the  suspicious  feeling  which  separated  the  two 
•great  branches  of  the  Church.  In  quitting  for  a  time  his  Gentile  converts 
at  Antioch,  and  carrying  a  contribution  of  money  to  the  Jewish  Chris- 
tians at  Jerusalem,  he  was  by  no  means  leaving  the  higher  work  for  the 
lower.  He  was  building  for  aftertimes.  The  interchange  of  mutual 
benevolence  was  a  safe  foundation  for  future  confidence.  Temporal  com- 
fort was  given  in  gratitude  for  spiritual  good  received.  The  Church's 
first  days  were  christened  with  charity.  No  sooner  was  its  new  name 
received,  in  token  of  the  union  of  Jews  and  Gentiles,  than  the  sympa- 
thy of  its  members  was  asserted  by  the  work  of  practical  benevolence. 
We  need  not  hesitate  to  apply  to  that  work  the  words  which  St.  Paul 
used,  after  many  years,  of  another  collection  for  the  poor  Christians  in 
Judaea  :  —  "  The  administration  of  this  service  not  only  supplies  the  need 
of  the  Saints,  but  overflows  in  many  thanksgivings  unto  God  ;  while  they 
praise  God  for  this  proof  of  your  obedience  to  the  Glad  Tidings  of 
Christ."* 


Coin  of  ClaudluB  and  Agrippa  I.* 


1  Acts  ix.  27.  2  Gal.  i.  22.  *  2  Cor.  ix.  12-14. 

»  These  were  the  churches  of  Lydda.Saron,  &  From  the  British  Musenm.     See  p.  130. 

Joppa,  &c.,  which  Peter  had  been  visiting  when  We  may  refer  here  to  Dr.  "Wordsworth's  usefiil 

b«  was  summoned  to  Csesarea.    Acts  ix.  32-43.  note  on  Acts  xii.  1. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Second  Part  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  —  Reyelation  at  Antioch.  —  Public  Devotion*.  —  De- 
parture of  Barnabas  and  Saul.  —  The  Orontea.  —  History  and  Description  of  Seleucia.  — 
Voyage  to  Cyprus.  —  Salamis.  —  Roman  Provincial  System.  —  Proconsuls  and  Propraetora. 
—  Sergius  Paulus.  —  Oriental  Impostors  at  Rome  and  in  the  Provinces.  —  Elymas  Bar- 
jesus.  —  History  of  Jewish  Names.  —  Saul  and  Paul. 

THE  second  part  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is  generally  reckoned  to 
begin  with  the  thirteenth  chapter.  At  this  point  St.  Paul  begins 
to  appear  as  the  principal  character ;  and  the  narrative,  gradually  widen- 
ing and  expanding  with  his  travels,  seems  intended  to  describe  to  us,  in 
minute  detail,  the  communication  of  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles.  The 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  chapters  embrace  a  definite  and  separate  sub- 
ject :  and  this  subject  is  the  first  journey  of  the  first  Christian  missiona- 
ries to  the  Heathen.  These  two  chapters  of  the  inspired  record  are  the 
authorities  for  the  present  and  the  succeeding  chapters  of  this  work,  in 
which  we  intend  to  follow  the  steps  of  Paul  and  Barnabas,  in  their  cir- 
cuit through  Cyprus  and  the  southern  part  of  Lesser  Asia. 

The  history  opens  suddenly  and  abruptly.  We  are  told  that  there 
were,  in  the  Church  at  Antioch,^  "  prophets  and  teachers,"  and  among 
the  rest  "  Barnabas,"  with  whom  we  are  already  familiar.  The  others 
were  "  Simeon,  who  was  surnamed  Niger,"  and  "  Lucius  of  Cyrene  "  and 
"  Manaen,  the  foster-brother  of  Herod  the  Tetrarch,"  —  and  "  Saul '  who 
still  appears  under  his  Hebrew  name.  We  observe,  moreover,  not  only 
that  he  is  mentioned  after  Barnabas,  but  that  he  occupies  the  lowest  placp 
in  this  enumeration  of  "prophets  and  teachers."  The  distinction  between 
these  two  offices  in  the  Apostolic  Church  will  be  discussed  liereafter.' 
At  present  it  is  sufficient  to  remark  that  the  "prophecy"  of  the  New 
Testament  does  not  necessarily  imply  a  knowledge  of  things  to  come,  but 
rather  a  gift  of  exhorting  with  a  peculiar  force  of  inspiration.  In  the 
Church's  early  miraculous  days  the  "  prophet "  appears  to  have  been 
ranked  higher  than  the  "  teacher."'  And  we  may  perhaps  infer  that, 
up  to  this  point  of  the  history,  Barnabas  had  belonged  to  the  rank  of 
"  prophets,"  and  Saul  to  that  of  "  teachers  :  "  which  would  be  in  strict 

1  Actsxiii.  1.  2  SeeCh.  Xni. 

»  Compare  Acts  xiii.  I  with  1  Cor.  xii.  28,  29  ;  Eph.  iv.  11. 

121 


122  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  v. 

conformity  with  the  inferiority  of  the  latter  to  the  former,  which,  as  wo 
have  seen,  has  been  hitherto  observed. 

Of  the  other  three,  who  are  grouped  with  these  two  chosen  missiona- 
ries, we  do  not  know  enough  to  justify  any  long  disquisition.  But  we 
may  remark  in  passing  tliat  there  is  a  certain  interest  attaching  to  each 
one  of  them.  Simeon  is  one  of  those  Jews  who  bore  a  Latin  surname 
in  addition  to  their  Hebrew  name,  like  "  John  whose  surname  was 
Mark,"  mentioned  in  the  last  verse  of  the  preceding  chapter,  and  like 
Saul  himself,  whose  change  of  appellation  will  presently  oe  brought 
under  notice.^  Lucius,  probably  the  same  who  is  referred  to  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,^  is  a  native  of  Gyrene,  that  African  city  which  has 
already  been  noticed  as  abounding  in  Jews,  and  which  sent  to  Jerusalem 
our  Saviour's  cross-bearer.'  Manaen  is  spoken  of  as  the  foster-brother 
of  Herod  the  Tetrarch:  this  was  Herod  Antipas,  the  Tetrarch  of  Galilee  ; 
and  since  we  learn  from  Josephus*  that  this  Herod  and  his  brother  Arche- 
laus  were  children  of  the  same  mother,  and  afterwards  educated  together 
at  Rome,  it  is  probable  that  this  Christian  prophet  or  teacher  had  spent 
his  early  childhood  with  those  two  princes,  who  were  now  both  banished 
from  Palestine  to  the  banks  of  the  Rhone.* 

These  were  the  most  conspicuous  persons  in  the  Church  of  Antioch, 
when  a  revelation  was  received  of  the  utmost  importance.  The  occasion 
on  which  the  revelation  was  made  seems  to  have  been  a  fit  preparation 
for  it.  The  Christians  were  engaged  in  religious  services  of  peculiar 
solemnity.  The  Holy  Ghost  spoke  to  them  "  as  they  ministered  unto  the 
Lord  and  fasted."  The  word  here  translated  "  ministered,"  has  been 
taken  by  opposite  controversialists  to  denote  the  celebration  of  the 
"  sacrifice  of  the  mass  "  on  the  one  hand,  or  the  exercise  of  the  office  of 
"  preaching  "  on  the  other.  It  will  be  safer  if  we  say  simply  that  the 
Christian  community  at  Antioch  was  engaged  in  one  united  act  of 
prayer  and  humiliation.  That  this  solemnity  would  be  accompanied  by 
words  of  exhortation,  and  that  it  would  be  crowned  and  completed  by 
the  Holy  Communion,  is  more  than  probable  ;  that  it  was  accompanied 

1  See  Acts  xiii.  9.     Compare  Col.  iv.  11.  of  his  obscurity,  both  his  future  power  and 

2  Rom.  xvi.  21.  There  is  no  reason  what-  future  wickedness.  The  historian  adds,  that 
ever  for  supposing  that  St.  Luke  is  meant.  Herod  afterwards  treated  the  Essenes  with 
The  Latin  form  of  his  name  would  be  "  Luca-  great  kindness.  Nothing  is  more  likely  than 
nus,"  not  "  Lucius."  that  this  Manaen  was  the  father  of  the  com- 

^  See  above,  p.  16,  n.  6.  panion  of  Herod's  children.     Another  Jew  of 

*  Their  mother's  name  was  Malthace,  a  the  same  name  is  mentioned,  at  a  later  period 

Samaritan.     War,  i.  28,  4.    See  Ant.  xvii.  1,3.  (  War,  ii.   17,  8,  9  ;  Life,  5),  as  having  enconr- 

One  of  the  sect  of  the  Essenes  (see  p.  32),  aged   robberies,  and  come   to  a  violent  end. 

who  bore  the  name  of  Manaen  or  Manaem,  is  The  name  is  the  same  with  that  of  the  King 

mentioned  by  Josephus  {Ant.  xv.   10,  5)  as  of  Israel.     2  Bangs  xv.  14-22. 
Vuving  foretold  to  Herod  the  Great,  in  the  days  ^  See  above,  pp.  26  and  51. 


CHAP.v.  DEPARTURE   OF  BARNABAS  AND   SAUL.  123 

with  Fasting^  we  are  expressly  told.  These  religious  services  raight 
have  had  a  special  reference  to  the  means  which  were  to  be  adopted  for 
the  spread  of  the  Gospel  now  evidently  intended  for  all ;  and  the  words 
"  separate  me  now  ^  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I  have 
called  them,"  may  have  been  an  answer  to  specific  prayers.  How  this 
revelation  was  made,  whether  by  the  mouth  of  some  of  the  prophets 
who  were  present,  or  by  the  impulse  of  a  simultaneous  and  general 
inspiration,  —  whether  the  route  to  be  taken  by  Barnabas  and  Saul  was 
at  this  time  precisely  indicated,^  —  and  whether  they  had  previously 
received  a  conscious  personal  call,  of  which  this  was  the  public  ratifi- 
cation,*—  it  is  useless  to  inquire.  A  definite  work  was  pointed  out,  as 
now  about  to  be  begun  under  the  counsel  of  God  ;  two  definite  agents 
in  this  work  were  publicly  singled  out:  and  we  soon  see  them  sent 
forth  to  their  arduous  undertaking,  with  the  sanction  of  the  Church  at 
Antioch. 

Their  final  consecration  and  departure  was  the  occasion  of  another 
religious  solemnity.  A  fast  was  appointed,  and  prayers  were  offered  up ; 
and,  with  that  simple  ceremony  of  ordination'  which  we  trace  through 
the  earlier  periods  of  Jewish  history,  and  which  we  here  see  adopted 
under  the  highest  authority  in  the  Christian  Church,  "  they  laid  their 
hands  on  them,  and  sent  them  away."  The  words  are  wonderfully  simple  ; 
but  those  who  devoutly  reflect  on  this  great  occasion,  and  on  the  posi- 
tion of  the  first  Christians  at  Antioch,  will  not  find  it  difficult  to  imagine 
the  thoughts  which  occupied  the  hearts  of  the  Disciples  during  these 
first  "  Ember  Days  of  the  Church  ^ —  their  deep  sense  of  the  importance 
of  the  work  which  was  now  beginning,  —  their  faith  in  God,  on  whom 
they  could  rely  in  the  midst  of  such  difficulties,  —  their  suspense  du- 
ring the  absence  of  those  by  whom  their  own  faith  had  been  forti- 
fied,—  their  anxiety  for  the  intelligence  they  might  bring  on  their 
return. 

Their  first  point  of  destination  was  the  island  of  Cyprus.  It  is  not 
necessary,  though  quite  allowable,  to  suppose  that  this  particular  course 
was   divinely  indicated   in  the   original   revelation   at  Antioch.      Four 

1  For  the  association  of  Fasting  with  Ordi-  *  St.  Paul  at  least  had  long  been  conscious 
nation,  see  Bingham's  Antiq.  of  the  Christ.  Ch.  of  his  own  vocation,  and  could  only  be  waiting 
IV.  vi.  6  XXI.  ii.  8.  to  be  summoned  to  his  work. 

2  This  little  word  is  important,  and  should  ^  It  forms  no  part  of  the  plan  of  this  work 
have  been  in  the  A.  V.  to  enter  into  ecclesiastical  controversies.     It  is 

»  It  is  evident  that  the  course  of  St.  Paul's       sufficient  to  refer  to  Acts  vi.  6  ;  1  Tim.  iv    U. 
journeys  was  often  indeterminate,  and  regu-      v.  22  ;  2  Tim.  i.  6  ;  Heb.  vi.  2. 
lated  either  by  convenient  opportunities  (as  in  ®  See  Bingham,  as  above. 

Acts  xxi.  2,  xxviii.  11),  or  by  compulsion  (as 
in  xiv.  6,  xvii.  14),  or  by  supernatural  admo- 
nitions (xxii.  21,  xvi.  6-10). 


124  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chaf.t. 

reasons  at  least  can  be  stated,  which  may  have  induced  the  Apostles,  in 
the  exercise  of  a  wise  discretion,  to  turn  in  the  first  instance  to  this 
island.  It  is  separated  by  no  great  distance  from  the  mainland  of 
Syria ;  its  high  mountain-summits  are  easily  seen  ^  in  clear  weather  from 
the  coast  near  the  mouth  of  the  Orontes  ;  and  in  the  summer  season 
many  vessels  must  often  have  been  passing  and  repassing  between 
Salamis  and  Seleucia.  Besides  this,  it  was  the  native-place  of  Barnabas,'^ 
Since  the  time  when  "  Andrew  found  his  brother  Simon,  and  brought  him 
to  Jesus,"  *  and  the  Saviour  was  beloved  in  the  house  of  "  Martha  and 
her  sister  and  Lazarus,"  *  the  ties  of  family  relationship  had  not  been 
without  effect  on  the  progress  of  the  Gospel.^  It  could  not  be  unnat- 
ural to  suppose  that  the  truth  would  be  welcomed  in  Cyprus,  when  it 
was  brought  by  Barnabas  and  his  kinsman  Mark  ®  to  their  own  connec- 
tions or  friends.  Moreover,  the  Jews  were  numerous  in  Salamis.''  By 
sailing  to  that  city  they  were  following  the  track  of  the  synagogues. 
Their  mission,  it  is  true,  was  chiefly  to  the  Gentiles ;  but  their 
surest  course  for  reaching  them  was  through  the  medium  of  the  Prose- 
lytes and  the  Hellenistic  Jews.  To  these  considerations  we  must 
add,  in  the  fourth  place,  that  some  of  the  Cypriotes  were  already 
Christians.  No  one  place  out  of  Palestine,  with  the  exception  of 
Antioch,  had  been  so  honorably  associated  with  the  work  of  successful 
evangelization.' 

The  palaces  of  Antioch  were  connected  with  the  sea  by  the  river 
Orontes.  Strabo  says  that  in  his  time  they  sailed  up  the  stream  in  one 
day  ;  and  Pausanias  speaks  of  great  Roman  works  which  had  improved 
the  navigation  of  the  channel.  Probably  it  was  navigable  by  vessels  of 
some  considerable  size,  and  goods  and  passengers  were  conveyed  by 
water  between  the  city  and  the  sea.  Even  in  our  own  day,  though  there 
is  now  a  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  there  has  been  a  serious  project 
of  uniting  it  by  a  canal  with  the  Euphrates,  and  so  of  re-establishing  one 
of  the  old  lines  of  commercial  intercourse  between  the  Mediterranean 
and  the  Indian  Sea.  The  Orontes  comes  from  the  valley  between 
Lebanon  and  Anti-Lebanon,  and  does  not,  like  many  rivers,  vary 
capriciously  between  a  winter-torrent  and  a  thirsty  watercourse,  but 
flows  on  continually  to  the  sea.  Its  waters  are  not  clear,  but  they  are 
deep  and  rapid.  Their  course  has  been  compared  to  that  of  the  Wye. 
They  wind  round  the  bases  of  high  and  precipitous  clifls,  or  by  richly 

^  Colonel   Chesney  speaks  of  "  the   lofty  Paul  himself.    Acts  xxiii.   16-33.      Compare 

island  of  Cyprus  as  seen  to  the  S.  W.  in  the  1  Cor.  vii.  16. 
distant  horizon,"  from  the  bay  of  Antioch.  ®  Acts  xiii.  5.     See  xii.  25,  and  p.  120,  ib 

^  Acts  iv.  36.  4,  above. 

'  John  i.  41,  42.  *  John  xi.  5.  ''  Acts  xiii.  5.     See  below,  pp.  129,  130. 

*  See  an  instance  of  this  in  the  life  of  St  *  See  Acts  iv.  36,  xi.  19,  20,  xxi.  16. 


CBAT.v.  DESCRIPTION   OF   SEiiEUCIA,  125 

cultivated  banks,  where  the  vegetation  of  tlie  south,  —  the  vine  and  the 
fig-tree,  the  myrtle,  the  bay,  the  ilex,  and  the  arbutus,  —  is  mingled  with 
dwarf  oak  and  English  sycamore.^  If  Barnabas  and  Saul  came  down  by 
water  from  Antioch,  this  was  the  course  of  the  boat  which  conveyed 
them.  If  they  travelled  the  five  or  six  leagues  '^  by  land,  they  crossed 
the  river  at  the  north  side  of  Antioch,  and  came  along  the  base  of  the 
Pierian  hills  by  a  route  which  is  now  roughly  covered  with  fragrant  and 
picturesque  shrubs,  but  which  then  doubtless  was  a  track  well  worn  by 
travellers,  like  the  road  from  the  Piraeus  to  Athens,  or  from  Ostia  to  Rome.' 

Seleucia  united  the  two  characters  of  a  fortress  and  a  seaport.  It  was 
situated  on  a  rocky  eminence,  which  is  the  southern  extremity  of  an 
elevated  range  of  hills  projecting  from  Mount  Amanus.  From  the  south- 
east, where  the  ruins  of  the  Antioch  Gate  are  still  conspicuous,  the 
ground  rose  towards  the  north-east  into  high  and  craggy  summits ;  and 
round  the  greater  part  of  its  circumference  of  four  miles  the  city  was 
protected  by  its  natural  position.  The  harbor  and  mercantile  suburb 
were  on  level  ground  towards  the  west ;  but  here,  as  on  the  only  weak 
point  at  Gibraltar,  strong  artificial  defences  had  made  compensation  for 
the  deficiency  of  nature.  Seleucus,  who  had  named  his  metropolis  in 
his  father's  honor  (p.  113),  gave  his  own  name  to  this  maritime  fortress  ; 
and  here,  around  his  tomb,*  his  successors  contended  for  the  key  of 
Syria.*  "  Seleucia  by  the  sea  "  was  a  place  of  great  importance  under 
the  Seleucids  and  the  Ptolemies  ;  and  so  it  remained  under  the  sway  of 
the  Romans.  In  consequence  of  its  bold  resistance  to  Tigranes,  when  he 
was  in  possession  of  all  the  neighboring  country,  Pompey  gave  it  the 
privileges  of  a  "  Free  City  ;  "  ^  and  a  contemporary  of  St.  Paul  speaks  of 
it  as  having  those  privileges  still.'' 

The  most  remarkable  work  among  the  extant  remains  of  Seleucia  is 
an  immense  excavation, —  probably  the  same  with  that  which  is  mentioned 
by  Polybius, —  leading  from  the  upper  part  of  the  ancient  city  to  the  sea. 
It  consists  alternately  of  tunnels  and  deep  open  cuttings.  It  is  difficult 
to  give  a  confident  opinion  as  to  the  uses  for  which  it  was  intended.     But 


1  For  views,  with  descriptions,  see  Fisher's  *  Seleucus  was  buried  here. 

Syria,  i.  5,  19,  77,  ii.  28.  ^  We  may  refer  especially  to  the  chapters 

2  Colonel  Chcsney  says,  "  The  windings  in  which  Polybius  gives  an  account  of  the 
give  a  distance  of  about  forty-one  miles,  whilst  siege  of  Seleucia  in  the  war  of  Antiochus  the 
the  journey  by  land  is  only  sixteen  miles  and  Great  with  Ptolemy.  In  these  chapters  we 
a  half"  —  R.  G.  J.  viii.  p.  230.  find  the  clearest  description  both  of  its  militiiry 

8  Dr.  Yates  observed  traces  of  Koman  pave-  importance  and  of  its  topography, 

ment  on  the  line  of  road  between  Antioch  and  ^  Strabo.     See  p.  43.     Compare  p.  22, n.  I. 

Seleucia.      See  his    comprehensive  paper  on  ''  Pliny. 
Seleucia,  in  the  Museum  of  Classical  Antiquities 
for  June,  1852. 


126  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  v 

the  best  conjecture  seems  to  be  that  it  was  constructed  for  the  purpose  of 
drawing  off  the  water,  which  might  otherwise  have  done  mischief  to  the 
houses  and  shipping  in  the  lower  part  of  the  town ;  and  so  arranged  at 
the  same  time,  as,  when  needful,  to  supply  a  rush  of  water  to  clear  out 
the  port.  The  inner  basin,  or  dock,  is  now  a  morass  ;  but  its  dimensions 
can  be  measured,  and  the  walls  that  surrounded  it  can  be  distinctly 
traced.^  The  position  of  the  ancient  flood-gates,  and  the  passage  through 
which  tlie  vessels  were  moved  from  the  inner  to  the  outer  harbor,  can  be 
accurately  marked.  The  very  piers  of  the  outer  harbor  are  still  to  be 
Been  under  the  water.  The  southern  jetty  takes  the  wider  sweep,  and 
overlaps  the  northern,  forming  a  secure  entrance  and  a  well-protected 
basin.  The  stones  are  of  great  size,  "  some  of  them  twenty  feet  long, 
five  feet  deep,  and  six  feet  wide  ; "  ^  and  they  were  fastened  to  each  other 
with  iron  cramps.  The  masonry  of  ancient  Seleucia  is  still  so  good,  that 
not  long  since  a  Turkish  Pacha  ^  conceived  the  idea  of  clearing  out  and 
repairing  the  harbor. 

These  piers  *  were  unbroken  when  Saul  and  Barnabas  came  down  to 
:Seleucia,  and  the  large  stones  fastened  by  their  iron  cramps  protected  the 
vessels  in  the  harbor  from  the  swell  of  the  western  sea.  Here,  in  the 
midst  of  unsympathizing  sailors,  the  two  missionary  Apostles,  with  their 
younger  companion,  stepped  on  board  the  vessel  which  was  to  convey 
them  to  Salamis.  As  they  cleared  the  port,  the  whole  sweep  of  the  bay 
of  Antioch  opened  on  their  left, — the  low  ground  by  the  mouth  of  the 
Orontes,  —  the  wild  and  woody  country  beyond  it, —  and  then  the  peak  of- 
Mount  Casius,  rising  symmetrically  from  the  very  edge  of  the  sea  to  a 
height  of  five  thousand  feet.^  On  the  right,  in  the  south-west  horizon,  if 
the  day  was  clear,  they  saw  the  island  of  Cyprus  from  the  first.^  The 
current  sets  north-east  and  northerly  between  the  island  and  the  Syrian 
coast.^     But  with  a  fair  wind,  a  few  hours  would  enable  them  to  run  down 

1  Pococke  gives  a  mde  plan  of   Selencia,  tiful  feature  of  this  bay.     St.  Paul  must  hare 

with   the  harbor,  &c.      A  more    exact    and  seen  it  in  all  his  voyages  to  and  from  Antioch. 

complete  one  will  be  found  in  the  memoir  of  *^  See  above,  p.  124,  n.  2. 

Dr.  Yates.  ^  "  I"  sailing  from  the  southern  shores  of 

*  Pococke,  p.  183.  Cyprus,  with  the  winds  adverse,  you  should 
8  Ali  Pasha,  governor  of  Bagdad  in  1835,  endeavor  to  obtain  the  advantage  of  the  set 

once  governor  of  Aleppo.  of  the  current,  which  between  Cyprus  and  the 

*  It  seems  that  the  names  of  the  piers  still  mouths  of  the  Nile  always  runs  to  the  east- 
retain  the  memory  of  this  occasion.  Dr.  ward,  changing  its  direction  to  the  N.  E.  and 
Yates  says  that  the  southern  pier  is  called  N.  as  you  near  the  coast  of  Syria."  —  None, 
after  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  contradistinction  to  p.  149.  "  The  current,  in  general,  continues 
its  fellow,  the  pier  of  St.  Barnabas.  easterly  along  the  Libyan  coast,  and  E.  N.  E 

"5  "The  lofty  Jebel-el-Akrab,  rising  ."Jj-SlS  off  Alexandria  ;  thence  advancing  to  the  coast 

feet  above  the  sea,  with  its  abutments  extend-  of  Syria,  it  sets  N.  E.  and  more  nortiierly  ;  so 

ing   to  Antioch."  —  Chesney,  p.   228.      This  that  country  vessels  bound  from  Daraictta  to 

oaonntain  is,  however,  a  conspicuous  and  beau-  an  eastern  port  of  Cyprus   have  been  carricJ 


€HAP.  T.  SALAMIS.  .127 

from  Seleucia  to  Salamis  ;  and  the  land  would  rapidly  rise  in  forms  well 
known  and  familiar  to  Barnabas  and  Mark. 

The  coast  of  nearly  every  island  of  the  Mediterranean  has  been 
minutely  surveyed  and  described  by  British  naval  officers.  The  two 
islands  which  were  most  intimately  connected  with  St.  Paul's  voyages 
have  been  among  the  latest  to  receive  this  kind  of  illustration.  The 
soundings  of  the  coast  of  Crete  are  now  proved  to  furnish  a  valuable 
commentary  on  the  twenty-seventh  chapter  of  the  Acts :  and  the  chart  of 
Cyprus  should  at  least  be  consulted  when  we  read  the  thirteenth  chapter. 
Prom  Cape  St.  Andrea,  the  north-eastern  point  of  the  island,  the  coast 
trends  rapidly  to  the  west,  till  it  reaches  Cape  Grego,^  the  south-eastern 
extremity.  The  wretched  modern  town  of  Famagousta  is  nearer  the 
latter  point  than  the  former,  and  the  ancient  Salamis  was  situated  a  short 
distance  to  the  north  of  Famagousta.  Near  Cape  St.  Andrea  are  two  or 
three  small  islands,  anciently  called  "  The  Keys."  These,  if  they  were, 
seen  at  all,  would  soon  be  lost  to  view.  Cape  Grego  is  distinguished  by 
a  singular  promontory  of  table  land,  which  is  very  familiar  to  the  sailors 
of  our  merchantmen  and  ships  of  war :  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the 
woodcut  given  >n  one  of  their  manuals  of  sailing  directions  ^  represents 
that  very  "  rougn,  lofty,  table-shaped  eminence  "  which  Strabo  mentions 
in  his  description  of  the  coast,  and  which  has  been  identified  with  the 
Idalium  of  the  classical  poets. 

The  ground  lies  low  in  the  neighborhood  of  Salamis ;  and  the  town 
was  situated  on  a  bight  of  the  coast  to  the  north  of  the  river  Pediieus. 
This  low  land  is  the  largest  plain  in  Cyprus,  and  the  Pediasus  is  the  only 
true  river  12.  the  island,  the  rest  being  merely  winter-torrents,  flowing  in 
the  wet  season  from  the  two  mountain  ranges  which  intersect  it  from  east 
to  west.  This  plain  probably  represents  the  kingdom  of  Teucer,  which  is 
familiar  to  us  in  the  early  stories  of  legendary  Greece.  It  stretches  in- 
wards between  the  two  mountain  ranges  to  the  very  heart  of  the  country, 
where  the  modern  Turkish  capital,  Nicosia,  is  situated.^  In  the  days  of 
historical  Greece,  Salamis  was  the  capital.  Under  the  Roman  Empire,  if 
not  the  seat  of  government,  it  was  at  least  the  most  important  mercantile 

by  the  current  past  the  island."  —  Purdy,  p.  Cyprus,  if  the  yessel  which  conveyed  the  news 

276.     After  leaving  the  Gulf  of  Scanderoon,  could  not  cross  to  Antioch. 
the  current  sets   to   the  westward   along  the  ^  The  Pedalium  of  Strabo  and  Ptolemy, 

south  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  as  we  shall  have  ^  See  the  sketch  of  Cape  Grego  "  N.  W. 

occasion  to  notice  hereafter.     A  curious  illus-  by  W.,  six  miles,"  in  Purdy,  Pt.  ii.  p.  253. 
tratlon  of  the  diificulty  sometimes  experienced  ^  See  Pococke's  description,   vol.   ii.    pp. 

in  making  this  passage  will  be  found  in  Meur-  214-217.     He  gives   a  rude  plan   of  ancient 

sius,  Q/prus,  ^c,  p.  158;  where  the  decree  of  Salamis.       The  ruined    aqueduct   which    he 

an  early  council  is  cited,  directing  the  course  mentions   appears   to   be   subsequent    to    the 

to   bo   adopted  on  the  death  of  a  bishop  in  time  of  St.  Paul. 


128  THE   LIFE  AiSTD   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  ■» 

town.  We  have  the  best  reasons  for  believing  tbat  the  harbor  was  con- 
venient and  capacious.'  Thus  we  can  form  to  ourselves  some  idea  of  the 
appearance  of  the  place  in  the  reign  of  Claudius.  A  large  city  by  the 
seashore,  a  wide-spread  plain  with  corn-fields  and  orchards,  and  the  blue 
distance  of  mountains  beyond,  composed  the  view  on  which  the  eyes 
of  Barnabas  and  Saul  rested  when  they  came  to  anchor  in  the  bay  of 
Salamis. 

The  Jews,  as  we  should  have  been  prepared  to  expect,  were  numerous 
in  Salamis.  This  fact  is  indicated  to  us  in  the  sacred  narrative  ;  for  we 
learn  that  this  city  had  several  synagogues,  while  other  cities  had  often 
only  one.^  The  Jews  had  doubtless  been  established  here  in  considerable 
numbers  in  the  active  period  which  succeeded  the  death  of  Alexander.^ 
The  unparalleled  productiveness  of  Cyprus,  and  its  trade  in  fruit,  wine, 
flax,  and  honey,  would  naturally  attract  them  to  the  mercantile  port.  The 
farming  of  the  copper  mines  by  Augustus  to  Herod  may  probably  have 
swelled  their  numbers.*  One  of  the  most  conspicuous  passages  in  the 
history  of  Salamis  was  the  insurrection  of  the  Jews  in  the  reign  of 
Trajan,  when  great  part  of  the  city  was  destroyed.*  Its  demolition  waa 
completed  by  an  earthquake.  It  was  rebuilt  by  a  Christiaii  emperor,  from 
whom  it  received  its  mediaeval  name  of  Constantia.^ 

It  appears  that  the  proclamation  of  the  Gospel  was  confined  by 
Barnabas  and  Saul  to  the  Jews  and  the  synagogues.  We  have  no  in- 
formation of  the  length  of  their  stay,  or  the  success  of  their  labors. 
Some  stress  seems  to  be  laid  on  the  fact  that  John  {i.  e.  Mark)  "  was  their 
minister."  Perhaps  we  are  to  infer  from  this,  that  his  hands  baptized 
the  Jews  and  Proselytes,  who  were  convinced  by  the  preaching  of  the 
Apostles. 

From  Salamis  they  travelled  to  Paphos,  at  the  other  extremity  of  the 


1  See  especially  the  account   in  Diodorus  on  the  island,  and  marched  to  the  assistance 
Siculus  of  the  great  naval  victory  off  Salamis,  of  the  few  inhabitants  who  had  been  able  to 
won  by  Demetrius  Poliorcetes  over  Ptolemy.  act  on  the  defensive.     He  defeated  the  Jews, 
Scylax   also   says   that   Salamis   had  a  good  expelled  them  from  the  island,  to  whose  beau- 
harbor,  tiful  coasts  no  Jew  was  ever  after  permitted  to 
^  Acts  xiii.  5.     Compare  vi.  9,  ix.  20,  and  approach.    If  one  were  accidentally  wrecked  on 
contrast  xvii.  1,  xviii.  4.  the  inhospitable  shore,  he  was  instantly  put  to 
8  Philo  speaks  of  the  Jews  of  Cyprus.  death."  —  Milman,  iii.  111,112.     The  author 
*  See  above,  p.  16,  n.  2.  says  above  (p.  104),  that  tlie  Rabbinical   tradi- 
6  "  The  flame  spread  to  Cyprus,  where  the  tions  are  full  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Jews  in 
Jews  were  numerous  and  wealthy.     One  Arte-  this  period.     In  this  island  there  was  a  massa- 
mio  placed  himself  at  their  head.     They  rose  ere  before  the  time  of  the  rebellion,  "  and  the 
and  massacred  240,000  of  their  fellow-citizens ;  sea  that  broke  upon  the  shores  of  Cyprus  was 
the  whole  populous  city  of  Salamis  became  a  tinged  with  the  red  hue  of  carnage." 
desert.     The  revolt  of  Cyprus  was  first  sup-  "  Jerome  speaks  of  it  under  this  name, 
pressed ;  Hadrian,  aftenvards  emperor,  landed 


CHAP.  T.  EOMAN  PROVINCIAL  SYSTEM.  129 

island.  The  two  towns  were  probably  connected  together  by  a  well- 
travelled  and  frequented  road.^  It  is  indeed  likely  that,  even  under  the 
Empire,  the  islands  of  the  Greek  part  of  the  Mediterranean,  as  Crete  and 
Cyprus,  were  not  so  completely  provided  with  lines  of  internal  commu- 
nication as  those  which  were  nearer  the  metropolis,  and  had  been  longer 
under  Roman  occupation,  such  as  Corsica  and  Sardinia.  But  we  cannot 
help  believing  that  Roman  roads  were  laid  down  in  Cyprus  and  Crete, 
after  the  manner  of  the  modern  English  roads  in  Corfu  and  the  other 
Ionian  islands,  which  islands,  in  their  social  and  political  condition,  pro- 
sent  many  points  of  resemblance  to  those  which  were  under  the  Roman 
sway  in  the  time  of  St.  Paul.  On  the  whole,  there  is  little  doubt  that  his 
journey  from  Salamis  to  Paphos,  a  distance  from  east  to  west  of  not  more 
than  a  hundred  miles,  was  accomplished  in  a  short  time  and  without 
difficulty. 

Paphos  was  the  residence  of  the  Roman  governor.  The  appearance  of 
the  place  (if  due  allowance  is  made  for  the  differences  of  the  nineteenth 
century  and  the  first)  may  be  compared  with  that  of  the  town  of  Corfu  in 
the  present  day,  with  its  strong  garrison  of  imperial  soldiers  in  the  midst 
of  a  Greek  population,  with  its  mixture  of  two  languages,  with  its  symbols 
of  a  strong  and  steady  power  side  by  side  with  frivolous  amusements,  and 
with  something  of  the  style  of  a  court  about  the  residence  of  its  governor. 
All  the  occurrences,  which  are  mentioned  at  Paphos  as  taking  place  on 
the  arrival  of  Barnabas  and  Saul,  are  grouped  so  entirely  round  the 
governor's  person,  that  our  attention  must  be  turned  for  a  time  to  the 
condition  of  Cyprus  as  a  Roman  province,  and  the  position  and  character 
of  Sergius  Paulus. 

From  the  time  when  Augustus  united  the  world  under  his  own  power, 
the  provinces  were  divided  into  two  different  classes.  The  business  of  the 
first  Emperor's  life  was  to  consolidate  the  imperial  system  under  the  show 
of  administering  a  republic.  He  retained  the  names  and  semblances  of 
those  liberties  and  rights  which  Rome  had  once  enjoyed.  He  found  two 
names  in  existence,  the  one  of  which  was  henceforth  inseparably  blended 
with  the  Imperial  dignity  and  Military  command,  the  other  with  the 
authority  of  the  Senate  and  its  Civil  administration.  The  first  of  these 
names  was  "  Praetor,"  the  second  was  "  Consul."  Both  of  them  were 
retained  in  Italy  ;  and  both  were  reproduced  in  the  Provinces  as  "  Propraa- 
tor  "  and  "  Proconsul."  ^    He  told  the  senate  and  people  that  he  would 

1  On  the  west  of  Salamis,  in  the  direction  marked  between  Salamis  and  Paphos  in  the 

of  Paphos,  Pococke  saw  a  church  and  monas-  Peutingerian  Table. 

tery  dedicated  to  Barnabas,  and  a  grotto  where  ^  It  is  important,  as  we  shall  see  presently, 

he  is  said  to  hare  been  buried,  after  suffering  to  notice  Dio  Cassius's  further  statement,  that 

martyrdom  in  the  reign  of  Nero.    A  road  is  all  gOTemors  of  the  Senate's  provinces  were  to 
» 


130  THE   LIFE   AND  EPISTLES  OP  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  v. 

reliere  them  of  all  the  anxiety  of  military  proceedings,  and  that  he  would 
resign  to  them  those  provinces  where  soldiers  were  unnecessary  to  secure 
the  fruits  of  a  peaceful  administration.^  He  would  take  upon  himself  all 
the  care  and  risk  of  governing  the  other  provinces,  where  rebellion  might 
be  apprehended,  and  where  the  proximity  of  warlike  tribes  made  the 
presence  of  the  legions  perpetually  needful.  These  were  his  professions 
to  the  Senate :  but  the  real  purpose  of  this  ingenious  arrangement  was  the 
disarming  of  the  Republic,  and  the  securing  to  himself  the  absolute  con- 
trol of  the  whole  standing  army  of  the  Empire.^  The  scheme  was  suf- 
ficiently transparent ;  but  there  was  no  sturdy  national  life  in  Italy  to 
resist  his  despotic  innovations,  and  no  foreign  civilized  powers  to  arrest 
the  advance  of  imperial  aggrandizement ;  and  thus  it  came  to  pass  that 
Augustus,  though  totally  destitute  of  the  military  genius  either  of  Crom- 
well or  Napoleon,  transmitted  to  his  successors  a  throne  guarded  by  an 
invincible  army,  and  a  system  of  government  destined  to  endure  through 
several  centuries. 

Hence  we  find  in  the  reign,  not  only  of  Augustus,  but  of  each  of  his 
successors,  from  Tiberius  to  Nero,  the  provinces  divided  into  these  two 
classes.  On  the  one  side  we  have  those  which  are  supposed  to  be  under 
the  Senate  and  people.  The  governor  is  appointed  by  lot,  as  in  the  times 
of  the  old  republic.  He  carries  with  him  the  lictors  and  fasces,  the 
insignia  of  a  Consul ;  but  he  is  destitute  of  military  power.  His  ofiico 
must  be  resigned  at  the  expiration  of  a  year.  He  is  styled  "  Proconsul," 
and  the  Greeks,  translating  the  term,  call  him  ' Avdvnaxoq?  On  the  other 
side  are  the  provinces  of  Caesar.  The  Governor  may  be  styled  "  Proprae- 
tor," or  ' AvxiGZQoxriyoq  ;  but  he  is  more  properly  "  Legatus,"  or  TlQeG^iEVTrjg, 
—  the  representative  or  "  Commissioner  "  of  the  Emperor.  He  goes  out 
from  Italy  with  all  the  pomp  of  a  military  commander,  and  he  does  not 
return  till  the  Emperor  recalls  him.*  And  to  complete  the  symmetry  and 
consistency  of  the  system,  the  subordinate  districts  of  these  imperial 
provinces  are  regulated  by  the  Emperor's  "  Procurator  "  QEmxQmoi),  or 
"  High  Steward."     The  New  Testament,  in  the  strictest  conformity  with 

be  called  Proconsuls,  whatever  their  previous  Acts  xiii.  7.      "  The  deputy  of  the  country, 

office  might  have  been,  and  all  governors  of  Sergius  Paulas."    "  Galllo  was  the  deputy  of 

the  Emperor's  provinces  were   to   be  styled  Achaia,"  Ibid,  xviii.  12.     "  There  are  rfe/ju^/cs," 

Lcgati  or  Proprators,  even  if  they  had  been  Ibid.  xix.  38. 

Consuls.  *  AH  these  details  arc  stated,  and  the  two 

1  The  "unarmed  provinces"  of  Tacitus,  kinds  of  governors  very  accurately  distin- 
in  his  account  of  the  state  of  the  Empire  at  guished,  in  the  53d  Book  of  Dio  Cassius,  ch. 
the  death  of  Nero.     Hist.i.W.  13.     It  should  be  remarked  that  ^7rap;t«a  (the 

2  Suetonius  and  Dio  Cassias.  word   still   used   for  the  subdivisions   of  the 
8  Which  our  English  translators  have  ren-      modem  Greek  Kingdom)  is  applied  indiscrimi- 

dered    by   the    ambiguous    word    "  deputy."       nately  to  both  kinds  of  provinces. 


CHAP.  y.  SERGIUS   PAULUS.  131 

the  other  historical  authorities  of  the  period,  gives  us  examples  of  both 
kinds  of  provincial  administration.  We  are  told  by  Strabo,  and  by  Dio 
Cassius,  tliat  "  Asia  "  and  "  Achaia  "  were  assigned  to  the  Senate  ;  and 
the  title,  which  in  each  case  is  given  to  the  Governor  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  is  "  Proconsul."  ^  The  same  authorities  inform  us  that  Syria 
was  an  imperial  province,^  and  no  such  title  as  "  Proconsul "  is  assigned 
by  the  sacred  writers  to  "  Cyrenius  Governor  of  Syria," '  or  to  Pilate, 
Festus,  and  Felix,*  the  Procurators  of  Judaea,  which,  as  we  have  seen 
(p.  23),  was  a  dependency  of  that  great  and  unsettled  province. 

Dio  Cassius  informs  us,  in  the  same  passage  where  he  tells  us  that 
Asia  and  Achaia  were  provinces  of  the  Senate,  that  Cyprus  was  retained 
by  the  Emperor  for  himself.*  If  we  stop  here,  we  naturally  ask  the 
question, —  and  some  have  asked  the  question  rather  hastily,  —  how  it 
comes  to  pass  that  St.  Luke  speaks  of  Sergius  Paulus  by  the  style  of  "  Pro- 
consul "  ?  But  any  hesitation  concerning  the  strict  accuracy  of  the  sacred 
historian's  language  is  immediately  set  at  rest  by  the  very  next  sentence 
of  the  secular  historian,®  —  in  which  he  informs  us  that  Augustus  restored 
Cyprus  to  the  Senate  in  exchange  for  another  district  of  the  Empire,  —  a 
statement  which  he  again  repeats  in  a  later  passage  of  his  work.'^  It  is 
evident,  then,  that  tlie  governor's  style  and  title  from  this  time  forward 
would  be  ■"  Proconsul."  But  this  evidence,  however  satisfactory,  is  not 
all  that  we  possess.  The  coin,  which  is  engraved  at  the  end  of  the  chap- 
ter, distinctly  presents  to  us  a  Cyprian  Proconsul  of  the  reign  of  Claudius. 
And  inscriptions,  which  could  easily  be  adduced,^  supply  us  with  the 
names  of  additional  governors,^  who  were  among  the  predecessors  or 
successors  of  Sergius  Paulus. 

It  is  remarkable  that  two  men  called  Sergius  Paulus  are  described  iu 
very  similar  terms  by  two  physicians  who  wrote  in  Greek,  the  one  a 
Heathen,  the  other  a  Christian.  The  Heathen  writer  is  Galen.  He 
speaks  of  his  contemporary  as  a  man  interested  and  well  versed  in  philos- 
ophy.'''    The  Christian  writer  is  St.  Luke,  who  tells  us   here   that   the 

1  'Avdvnarog,  xviii.  12,  xix.  38.  ^  Along  with  Syria  and  Cilicia. 

»  Strabo  and  Dio.  6  djq  Cass.  liii.  12. 

'  Luke  ii.  2.  7  ibid.  liv.  4. 

*  The  word   invariably   used  in   the  New  '  One  is  given  in  the  larger  editions  of  this 

Testament    is   'Hye/iuv.      This    is  a  general  work. 

terra,  like  the  Roman  "  Praeses  "  and  the  Eng-  ®  When  we  find,  either  on  coins  and  inscrip- 

lish  "  (Governor ;  "  as  may  be  seen  by  compar-  tions,   or   in    Scripture,   detached   notices    of 

ing  Luke  ii.  2  with  iii.  1,  and  observing  that  provincial  governors  not  mentioned  elsewhere, 

the  very  same  word  is  applied  to  the  offices  we  should  bear  in  mind  what  has  been  said 

of  the  Procurator  of  Judaea,   the  Legatus  of  above    (p.    131),  that   the  Proconsul  was  ap- 

Syria,  and   the   Emperor  himself.     Josephus  pointed  annually. 

generally  uses  "Emrponoc:  for  the  Procurator  of  i"  The  two  were  separated  by  an  interval  <• 

Judaea,  and  'Hye/zwv  for  the  Legatus  of  Syria.  a  hundred  years. 


132  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  vuj^.  r. 

governor  of  Cyprus  was  a  "prudent"  man,  who  "desired  to  hear  the 
Word  of  God."  This  governor  seems  to  have  been  of  a  candid  and  in- 
quiring mind  ;  nor  will  this  philosophical  disposition  be  thought  inconsis- 
tent with  his  connection  with  the  Jewish  impostor,  whom  Saul  and 
Barnabas  found  at  the  Paphian  court,  by  those  who  are  acquainted  with 
the  intellectual  and  religious  tendencies  of  the  age. 

For  many  years  before  this  time,  and  many  years  after,  impostors  from 
the  East,  pretending  to  magical  powers,  had  great  influence  over  the 
Roman  mind.  All  the  Greek  and  Latin  literature  of  the  empire,  from 
Horace  to  Lucian,  abounds  in  proof  of  the  prevalent  credulity  of  tllis 
sceptical  period.  Unbelief,  when  it  has  become  conscious  of  its  weakness, 
is  often  glad  to  give  its  hand  to  superstition.  The  faith  of  educated 
Romans  was  utterly  gone.  We  can  hardly  wonder,  when  the  East  was 
thrown  open,  —  the  land  of  mystery,  —  the  fountain  of  the  earliest  migra- 
tions, —  the  cradle  of  the  earliest  religions,  —  that  the  imagination  both 
of  the  populace  and  the  aristocracy  of  Rome  became  fanatically  excited, 
and  that  they  greedily  welcomed  the  most  absurd  and  degrading  super- 
stitions. Not  only  was  the  metropolis  of  the  empire  crowded  with  "  hungry 
Greeks,"  but  "  Syrian  fortune-tellers  "  flocked  into  all  the  haunts  of  public 
amusement.  Athens  and  Corinth  did  not  now  contribute  the  greatest  or 
the  worst  part  of  the  "  dregs  "  of  Rome  ;  but  (to  adopt  Juvenal's  use  of 
that  river  of  Antioch  we  have  lately  been  describing)  "  the  Orontes  itself 
flowed  into  the  Tiber." 

Every  part  of  the  East  contributed  its  share  to  the  general  superstition. 
The  gods  of  Egypt  and  Phrygia  found  unfailing  votaries.  Before  the  close 
of  the  republic,  the  temples  of  Isis  and  Serapis  had  been  more  than  once 
erected,  destroyed,  and  renewed.  Josephus  tells  us  that  certain  disgrace- 
ful priests  of  Isis  ^  were  crucified  at  Rome  by  the  second  Emperor ;  but 
this  punishment  was  only  a  momentary  check  to  their  sway  over  the 
Roman  mind.  The  more  remote  districts  of  Asia  Minor  sent  their 
itinerant  soothsayers ;  Syria  sent  her  music  and  her  medicines  ;  Chaldaea 
her  "  Babylonian  numbers "  and  "  mathematical  calculations."  ^  To 
these  corrupters  of  the  people  of  Romulus  we  must  add  one  more  Asiatic 
nation,  —  the  nation  of  the  Israelites  ;  —  and  it  is  an  instructive  employ- 
ment to  observe  that,  while  some  members  of  the  Jewish  people  were 
rising,  by  the  Divine  power,  to  the  highest   position  ever  occupied   by 

1  Ant.  xviii.  3,  4.  Gellius,  i.  9.  "  Vnlgus,  quos  gentilitio  vocab- 
'  Babylonii  Numeri,  Hor.  i.  Od.  xi.  2.  ulo  Chaldseos  dlcere  oportct,  mathematicot 
Chaldaicae  rationes,  Cic.  Div.  ii.  47.  See  the  dicit."  There  is  some  account  of  their  pro- 
whole  passage  42-47.  The  Chaldean  astrol-  ceedings  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth 
ogers  were  called  "  Mathematici  "  ( Juv.  vi.  book  of  the  Nodes  Attica. 
562,  xIt.  248).     See  the  definition  in  Aulns 


CBAr.y.  OKIENTAL   IMPOSTORS.  133 

men  on  earth,  others  were  sinking  themselves,  and  others  along  with  them, 
to  the  lowest  and  most  contemptible  degradation.  The  treatment  and 
influence  of  the  Jews  at  Rome  were  often  too  similar  to  those  of  other 
Orientals.  One  year  we  find  them  banished  ;  ^  another  year  we  see  them 
quietly  re-established.^  The  Jewish  beggar-woman  was  the  gypsy  of  the 
first  century,  shivering  and  crouching  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  and 
telling  fortunes,'*  as  Ezekiel  said  of  old,  "  for  handfuls  of  bai-ley,  and  for 
pieces  of  bread."  *  All  this  catalogue  of  Oriental  impostors,  whose  influx 
into  Rome  was  a  characteristic  of  the  period,  we  can  gather  from  that  re- 
volting satire  of  Juvenal,  in  which  he  scourges  the  follies  and  vices  of  the 
Roman  women.  But  not  only  were  tlie  women  of  Rome  drawn  aside  into 
this  varied  and  multiplied  fanaticism  ;  but  the  eminent  men  of  the  declin- 
ing republic,  and  the  absolute  sovereigns  of  the  early  Empire,  were  tainted 
and  enslaved  by  the  same  superstitions.  The  great  Marius  had  in  his 
camp  a  Syrian,  probably  a  Jewish,'  prophetess,  by  whose  divinations  he 
regulated  the  progress  of  his  campaigns.  As  Brutus,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  republic,  had  visited  the  oracle  of  Delphi,  so  Pompey,  Crassus,  and 
Caesar,  at  the  close  of  the  republic,  when  the  oracles  were  silent,®  sought 
information  fi:om  Oriental  astrology.  No  picture  in  the  great  Latin 
satirist  is  more  powerfully  drawn  than  that  in  which  he  shows  us  the 
Emperor  Tiberius  "  sitting  on  the  rock  of  Capri,  with  his  flock  of  Chal- 
daeans  round  him." '  No  sentence  in  the  great  Latin  historian  is  more 
bitterly  emphatic  than  that  in  which  he  says  that  the  astrologers  and 
sorcerers  are  a  class  of  men  who  "  will  always  be  discarded  and  always 
cherished."  * 

What  we  know,  from  the  literature  of  the  period,  to  have  been  the  case 
in  Rome  and  in  the  Empire  at  large,  we  see  exemplified  in  a  province  in 
the  case  of  Sergius  Paulus.  He  had  attached  himself  to  "  a  certain  sor- 
cerer, a  false  prophet,  a  Jew,  whose  name  was  Barjesus,  and  who  had 
given  himself  the  Arabic  name  of  "Elymas,"  or  "The  Wise."  But  the 
Proconsul  was  not  so  deluded  by  the  false  prophet,^  as  to  be  unable,  or 
unwilling,  to  listen  to  the  true.  "  He  sent  for  Barnabas  and  Saul,"  of 
whose  arrival  he  was  informed,  and  whose  free  and  public  declaration 
of  the  "  Word  of  God "  attracted  his  inquiring  mind.  Elymas  used 
every  exertion  to  resist  them,  and  to  hinder  the  Proconsul's  mind  from 
falling  under  the  influence  of  their  Divine  doctrine.    Truth  and  falsehood 

1  Acts  xviii.  2.  *  Tac.  Hist.  i.  22. 

■•*  Acts  xxviii.  17.  *  For  the  good  and  bad  senses  in  wliich  the 

»  Juv.  Sat.  iii.  13-16,  vi.  542-546.  word  Mdyog  was  used,  see  Professor  Trench's 

*  Ezek.  xiii.  19.  recent  book  on   the   Second  Chapter  of  St. 

*  Niebuhr  thinks  she  was  a  Jewess.  Her  Matthew.  It  is  worth  observing,  that  Simon 
luune  was  Martha.  Magus  was  a  Cyprian,  if  he  is   the  person 

*  Cic.  Div.  ii.  47.         ''  Jut.  Sat.  x.  93.  mentioned  by  Josephus.    Ant.  xx.  5,  2. 


134  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chaf.  t. 

were  brought  into  visible  conflict  with  each  other.  It  is  evident,  from  the 
graphic  character  of  the  narrative,  —  the  description  of  Paul  "  setting 
his  eyes"^  on  the  sorcerer,  —  "the  mist  and  the  darkness"  which  fell 
on  Barjcsus, — the  "groping  about  for  some  one  to  lead  him,"^ — that  the 
opposing  wonder-workers  stood  face  to  face  in  the  presence  of  the  Pro- 
consul, —  as  Moses  and  Aaron  withstood  the  magicians  at  the  Egyptian 
court. —  Sergius  Paulus  being  in  this  respect  different  from  Pharaoh,  thai 
he  did  not  "  harden  his  heart." 

The  miracles  of  the  New  Testament  are  generally  distinguished  from 
those  of  the  Old  by  being  for  the  most  part  works  of  mercy  and  restora- 
tion, not  of  punishment  and  destruction.  Two  only  of  our  Lord's  mira- 
cles were  inflictions  of  severity,  and  these  were  attended  with  no  harm  to 
the  bodies  of  men.  The  same  law  of  mercy  pervades  most  of  those 
interruptions  of  the  course  of  nature  which  He  gave  His  servants,  the 
Apostles,  power  to  effect.  One  miracle  of  wrath  is  mentioned  as  worked 
in  His  name  by  each  of  the  great  Apostles,  Peter  and  Paul ;  and  we  can 
see  sufficient  reasons  why  liars  and  hypocrites,  like  Ananias  and  Sapphira, 
and  powerful  impostors,  like  Elymas  Barjesus,  should  be  publicly  pun- 
ished in  the  face  of  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  worlds,  and  made  the  exam- 
ples and  warnings  of  overy  subsequent  age  of  the  Church.'  A  different 
passage  in  the  life  of  St.  Peter  presents  a  parallel  which  is  closer  in  some 
respects  with  this  interview  of  St.  Paul  with  the  sorcerer  in  Cyprus.  As 
Simon  Magus,  —  who  had  "  long  time  bewitched  the  people  of  Samaria 
with  his  sorceries,"  —  was  denounced  by  St.  Peter  "as  still  in  the  gall 
of  bitterness  and  bond  of  iniquity,"  and  solemnly  told  that  "  his  heart  was 
not  right  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  "  *  —  so  St.  Paul,  conscious  of  his  apostolic 
power,  and  under  the  impulse  of  immediate  inspiration,  rebuked  Bar- 
jesus, as  a  child  of  that  Devil  who  is  the  father  of  lies,*  as  a  worker 

1  The  word  in  Acts  xiii.   9  is    the    same  thought  that  "  the  thorn  in  his  flesh,"  2  Cor. 

which   is  used  in   xxiii.  1   for  "  to   look   in-  xii.  7,  was  an  affection  of  the  eyes.     Hence, 

tently."     Our  first  impression   is,  that   there  perhaps,  the  statement  in  Gal.  iv.  14-16,  and 

was  something  searching  and  commanding  in  the  allusion  to  his  large  handwriting.  Gal.  vi. 

St.  Paul's  eye.     But  if  the  opinion  is  correct  11.     (See  our  Preface.) 

that  he  suffered  from  an  affection  of  the  eyes,  ^  It  may  be  added  that  these  phrases  seem 

this  word  may  express  a  peculiarity  connected  to  imply  that   the    person  from  whence  they 

with  his  defective  vision.     See  the  Bishop  of  came  was  an  eye-witness.     Some  have  inferred 

Winchester's   note    (Ministerial    Cliaracter   of  that  Luke  himself  was  present. 

Christ,  p.  555),  who   compares  the  LXX.  in  »  jt  jy   ^^t   necessary  to   infer  from  these 

Numb,  xxxiii.  55,  Josh,  xxiii.  13,  and  a[)plies  passages,  or  from  1   Cor.  v.  3-5,  1  Tim.  i.  20, 

this  view  to  the  explanation  of  the  difficulty  that  Peter  and  Paul  had  power  to  inflict  these 

in  Acts  xxiii.  1-5.     And  it  is  remarkable,  that,  judgments  at  their  will.     Though,  even  if  they 

in  both  the  traditional  accounts  of  Paul's  per-  had  this  power,  they  had  also  the  spirit  of  love 

Bonal  appearance  which  we  possess  (viz.  those  and  supernatural  knowledge  to  guide  them  is 

of  Malalas   and   Nicephorus),   he   is   said   to  the  use  of  it. 

have  had  contracted  eyebrows.      Many  have  *  Acts  viii.  21-23.             ^  John  viii.  44. 


•3HAP.  T.  ELYMAS  BAKJBSUS.  136 

of  deceit  and  mischief,'  and  as  one  who  sought  to  pervert  and  distort  that 
which  God  saw  and  approved  as  right.^  He  proceeded  to  denounce  an 
instantaneous  judgment ;  and,  accordmg  to  his  prophetic  word,  the  "  hand 
of  the  Lord  "  struck  the  sorcerer,  as  it  had  once  struck  the  Apostle  him- 
self on  the  way  to  Damascus  ;  —  the  sight  of  Elymas  began  to  waver,' 
and  presently  a  darkness  settled  on  it  so  thick,  that  he  ceased  to  behold 
the  sun's  light.  This  blinding  of  the  false  prophet  opened  the  eyes  of 
Sergius  Paulus.  That  which  had  been  intended  as  an  opposition  to  the 
Gospel,  proved  the  means  of  its  extension.  We  are  ignorant  of  the 
degree  of  this  extension  in  the  island  of  Cyprus.  But  we  cannot  doubt 
that  when  the  Proconsul  was  converted,  his  influence  would  make  Chris- 
tianity reputable  ;  and  that  from  this  moment  the  Gentiles  of  the  island, 
as  well  as  the  Jews,  had  the  news  of  salvation  brought  home  to  them. 

And  now,  from  this  point  of  the  Apostolical  history,  Paul  appears  as  the 
great  figure  in  every  picture.  Barnabas,  henceforward,  is  always  in  the 
background.  The  great  Apostle  now  enters  on  his  work  as  the  preacher  to 
the  Gentiles ;  and  simultaneously  with  his  active  occupation  of  the  field 
in  which  he  was  called  to  labor,  his  name  is  suddenly  changed.  As 
"  Abram  "  was  changed  into  "  Abraham,"  when  God  promised  that  he 
should  be  the  "  father  of  many  nations;  "  —  as  "  Simon  "  was  changed 
into  "  Peter,"  when  it  was  said,  "  On  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church  ; " 
—  so  "  Saul  "  is  changed  into  "  Paul,"  at  the  moment  of  his  first  great 
victory  among  the  Heathen.  What  "  the  plains  of  Marare  by  Hebron  " 
were  to  the  patriarch,  —  what  "  Caesarea  Philippi,"*  by  the  fountains  of 
the  Jordan,  was  to  the  fisherman  of  Galilee,  —  that  was  the  city  of 
"  Paphos,"  on  the  coast  of  Cyprus,  to  the  tent-mal^er  of  Tarsus.  Are  we 
to  suppose  that  the  name  was  now  really  given  him  for  the  first  time,  — 
that  he  adopted  it  himself  as  significant  of  his  own  feelings,  —  or  that 
Sergius  Paulus  conferred  it  on  him  in  grateful  commemoration  of  the 
benefits  he  had  received,  —  or  that "  Paul,"  having  been  a  Gentile  form  of 
the  Apostle's  name  in  early  life  conjointly  with  the  Hebrew  "  Saul,"  was 
now  used  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other,  to  indicate  that  he  had  receded 
from  his  position  as  a  Jewish  Christian,  to  become  the  friend  and  teacher 
of  the  Gentiles  ?  All  these  opinions  have  found  their  supporters  both  in 
ancient  and  modern  times.  The  question  has  been  alluded  to  before  in 
this  work  (p.  43).  It  will  be  well  to  devote  some  further  space  to  it 
now,  once  for  all. 

1  The  word  in  Acts  xiii.  10  expresses  the  of  the  blindness.     Compare  the  account  of  the 

cleverness  of  a  successful  imposture.  recovery  of  the  lame  man  in  iii.  8. 

■■2  With  Acts  xiii.  10  compare  viii.  21,  *  See  Gen.  xiii.  18,  xvii.  5 ;  Matt.  xvi.  13- 

*  Acts  xiii.   11.       This  may  be  used,  in  18;  and  Prof.  Stanley's  Sermon  on  St.  Peter. 
Luke's  medical  manner,  to  express  the  stages 


136  THE  LIFE  AJSTD  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  r. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  words  in  Acts  xiii.  9  —  "  Saul  who  is  also 
Paul " —  are  the  line  of  separation  between  two  very  distinct  portions  of 
St.  Luke's  biography  of  the  Apostle,  in  the  former  of  which  he  is  uniformly 
called  "  Saul,"  while  in  the  latter  he  receives,  with  equal  consistency,  the 
name  of  "  Paul."  It  must  also  be  observed  that  the  Apostle  always  speaks 
of  himself  under  the  latter  designation  in  every  one  of  his  Epistles,  with- 
out any  exception  ;  and  not  only  so,  but  the  Apostle  St.  Peter,  in  the  only 
passage  where  he  has  occasion  to  allude  to  him,^  speaks  of  him  as  "  our 
beloved  brother  Paul."  We  are,  however,  inclined  to  adopt  the  opinion 
that  the  Cilician  Apostle  had  this  Roman  name,  as  well  as  his  other  Hebrew 
name,  in  his  earlier  days,  and  even  before  he  was  a  Christian.  This  adop- 
tion of  a  Gentile  name  is  so  far  from  being  alien  to  the  spirit  of  a  Jewish 
family,  that  a  similar  practice  may  be  traced  through  all  the  periods 
of  Hebrew  History.  Beginning  with  the  Persian  epoch  (B.C.  550-350) 
we  find  such  names  as  "Nehemiah,"  "  Schammai,"  "  Belteshazzar,"  which 
betray  an  Oriental  origin,  and  show  that  Jewish  appellatives  followed 
the  growth  of  the  living  language.  In  the  Greek  period  we  encounter  the 
names  of  "  Philip,"  ^  and  his  son  "  Alexander,"  ^  and  of  Alexander's  suc- 
cessors, "  Antiochus,"  "  Lysimachus,"  "  Ptolemy,"  "  Antipater ;  "  *  the 
names  of  Greek  philosophers,  such  as  "  Zeno,"  and  "  Epicurus  ;  "  *  even 
Greek  mythological  names,  as  "  Jason  "  and  "  Menelaus."  ®  Some  of  these 
words  will  have  been  recognized  as  occurring  in  the  New  Testament  itself. 
"When  we  mention  Roman  names  adopted  by  the  Jews,  the  coincidence  is 
still  more  striking.  "  Crispus,"  '  "  Justus,"  ^  "  Niger,"  ^  are  found  in 
Josephus  ^^  as  well  as  in  the  Acts.  "  Drusilla  "  and  "  Priscilla  "  might 
have  been  Roman  matrons.  The  "  Aquila  "  of  St.  Paul  is  the  counter- 
part of  the  "  Apella  "  of  Horace.^^  Nor  need  we  end  our  survey  of  Jewish 
names  with  the  early  Roman  empire ;  for,  passing  by  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  we  see  Jews,  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  3Iiddle  Ages,  calling 
themselves,  "  Basil,"  "  Leo,"  "  Theodosius,"  "  Sophia ; "  and,  in  the  latter 
part,  "  Albert,"  "  Benedict,"  "  Crispin,"  "  Denys."     We  might  pursue 

1  2  Pet.  iii.  15.  •  Jason,  Joseph.  Ant.  xii.  10,  6  ;    perhaps 

'^  Matt.  X.  3 ;  Acts  ri.  5,  xxi.  8 ;  Joseph.  Acts  xvii.   5-9  ;    Rom.   xvi.   21  ;    Menelaug, 

Ant.  xiv.  10,  22.  Joseph.  Ant.  xii.  5,  1.     See  2  Mace.  iv.  5. 

8  Acts  xix.  33,  34.     See  2  Tim.  iv.  14.  "^  Acts  xviii.  8. 

Alexander  was  a  common  name  among  the  *  Acts  i.  23. 

Asmonseans.     It  is  said  that  when  the  great  '  Acts  xiii.  1. 

conqueror  passed  through  Judaea,  a  promise  ^^  Jo.seph.   Life,   68,    65,     War,    iv.   6,    1. 

was  made  to  him  that  all  the  Jewish  children  Compare  1   Cor.  i.  14 ;   Acts  xviii.   7  ;    Col. 

bom  that  year  should  be  called  "  Alexander."  iv.  11. 

*  1  Mace.  xii.  16,  xvi.  11  ;  2  Mace.  iv.  29;  ^^  Hor.  i.  Sat.  v.  100.  Priscilla  appears 
Joseph.  Ant.  xiv.  10.  under  the  abbreviated  fonu  "  Prisca,"  2  Tim. 

*  These  names  are  in  the  Mischna  and  the  iv.  19. 
Berenice  Inscription. 


CHAP.  T.  HISTORY  OF  JEWISH  NAMES.  137 

our  inquiry  into  the  nations  of  modern  Europe  ;  but  enough  has  been  said 
to  show,  that  as  the  Jews  have  successively  learnt  to  speak  Chaldee,  Greek, 
Latin,  or  German,  so  they  have  adopted  into  their  families  the  appellations 
of  those  Gentile  families  among  whom  they  have  lived.  It  is  indeed 
remarkable  that  the  Separated  Nation  should  bear,  in  the  very  names 
recorded  in  its  annals,  the  trace  of  every  nation  with  whom  it  has  come 
in  contact  and  never  united. 

It  is  important  to  our  present  purpose  to  remark  that  double  names 
often  occur  in  combination,  the  one  national,  the  other  foreign.  The 
earliest  instances  are  "  Belteshazzar-Daniel,"  and  "  Esther-Hadasa."  ^ 
Frequently  there  was  no  resemblance  or  natural  connection  between  the 
two  words,  as  in  "  Herod-Agrippa,"  "  Salome- Alexandra,"  "  Juda-Aristo- 
bulus,"  "  Simon-Peter."  Sometimes  the  meaning  was  reproduced,  as  in 
"  Malich-Kleodemus."  At  other  times  an  alliterating  resemblance  of 
sound  seems  to  have  dictated  the  choice,  as  in  "  Jose-Jason,"  "  Hillel- 
Julus,"  "  >S'awZ-PawZMS  "  —  '-'■  Saul,  who  is  also  Paul.''' 

Thus  it  seems  to  us  that  satisfactory  reasons  can  be  adduced  for  the 
double  name  borne  by  the  Apostle, —  without  having  recourse' to  the 
hypothesis  of  Jerome,  who  suggests  that,  as  Scipio  was  called  Africanus 
from  the  conquest  of  Africa,  and  Metcllus  called  Creticus  from  the  con- 
quest of  Crete,  so  Saul  carried  away  his  new  name  as  a  trophy  of  his 
victory  over  the  Heathenism  of  the  Proconsul  Paulus  —  or  to  that 
notion,  which  Augustine  applies  with  much  rhetorical  effect  in  various 
parts  of  his  writings,  where  he  alludes  to  the  literal  meaning  of  the  word 
"PawZws,"  and  contrasts  Saul,  the  unbridled  king,  the  proud  self-confi- 
dent persecutor  of  David,  with  Paul,  the  lowly,  the  penitent, — who  delib- 
erately wished  to  indicate  by  his  very  name,  that  he  was  "  the  least  of 
the  Apostles,"^  and  "  less  than  the  least  of  all  Saints."*  Yet  we  must  not 
neglect  the  coincident  occurrence  of  these  two  names  in  this  narrative  of 
the  events  which  happened  in  Cyprus.  We  need  not  hesitate  to  dwell  on 
the  associations  which  are  connected  with  the  name  of  "  Paulus,"  —  or 
on  the  thoughts  which  are  naturally  called  up,  when  we  notice  the  criti- . 
cal  passage  in  the  sacred  history,  where  it  is  first  given  to  Saul  of  Tai  sus. 
It  is  surely  not  unworthy  of  notice  that,  as  Peter's  first  Gentile  conv^ert 
was  a  member  of  the  Cornelian  House  (p.  108),  so  the  surname  of  the 
noblest  family  of  the  JEmilian  House^  was  the  link  between  the  Apostle 

1  Dan.  X.  1  ;  Esther  ii.  7.     So  Zerubabbel  ^  1  Cor.  xv.  9. 

was  called  Shcshbazzar.     Compare  Ezra  t.  16  *  Eph.  iii.  8. 

with  Zech.  iv.  9.      The  Oriental  practice  of  ^  Paulus  was  the  cognomen  of  a  family  or 

adopting  names  which  were  significant  must  the  Gens  iEmilia.     The  stemma  is  given  in 

not  be  left  out  of  view.  Smith's    Dictionary    of    Classical    Biography, 

'^  See  p.  43,  n.  7.  mnder  Paulus  -^milius.     The  name  must  of 


138 


TtlE   LIFE  A-ND   EribTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


of  the  Gentiles  and  his  convert  at  Paphos.  Nor  can  we  find  a  nobler 
Christian  version  of  any  line  of  a  Heathen  poet,  than  by  comparing  what 
Horace  says  of  him  who  fell  at  Cannae,  — "  animce  magnce  p7'odigum 
Paidu/n,^^  —  with  the  words  of  him  who  said  at  Miletus,  "J  count  iwt 
my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and 
the  ministry  which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  ^ 

And  though  we  imagine,  as  we  have  said  above,  that  Saul  had  the 
name  of  Paul  at  an  earlier  period  of  his  life,  —  and  should  be  inclined  to 
conjecture  that  the  appellation  came  from  some  connection  of  his  ances- 
tors (perhaps  as  manumitted  slaves)  with  some  member  of  the  Roman 
family  of  the  -^milian  Pauli  ;'^  —  yet  we  cannot  believe  it  accidental  that 
the  words,^  which  have  led  to  this  discussion,  occur  at  this  particular 
point  of  the  inspired  narrative.  The  Heathen  name  rises  to  the  surface 
at  the  moment  when  St.  Paul  visibly  enters  on  his  office  as  the  Apostle 
of  the  Heathen.  The  Roman  name  is  stereotyped  at  the  moment  when 
he  converts  the  Roman  governor.  And  the  place  where  this  occurs  is 
Paphos,  the  favorite  sanctuary  of  a  shameful  idolatry.  At  the  very  spot 
which  was  notorious  throughout  the  world  for  that  which  the  Gospel  for- 
bids and  destroys,  —  there,  before  he  sailed  for  Perga,  having  achieved 
his  victory,  the  Apostle  erected  his  trophy,*  —  as  Moses,  when  Amalek 
was  discomfited,  "  built  an  altar,  and  called  the  name  of  it  Jehovah- 
Nissi,  —  the  Lord  my  Banner."* 


Proconsular  coin  of  Cyprus. 6 


course  have  been  given  to  the  first  individual 
who  bore  it  from  the  smallness  of  his  stature. 
It  should  be  observed,  that  both  Mahilas  and 
Nicephorus  (quoted  above)  speak  of  St.  Paul 
as  short  of  stature. 

1  Hor.  I.  Od.  xii.  37  ;  Acts  xx.  24.  Com- 
pare Phil.  iii.  8. 

2  Compare  the  case  of  Josephus,  alluded 
to  above,  p.  43. 

*  Acts  xiii.  9. 

*  The  words  of  Jerome  alluded  to  above 
are  :  "  Victorise  su«  tropcea  retulit,  erexitque 
vexillum." 


6  Exod.  xvii.  15. 

6  The  woodcut  is  from  Akerman's  Numi»- 
matic  Illustrations,  p.  41.  Specimens  of  the 
coin  are  in  the  Imperial  Cabinet  at  Vienna, 
and  in  the  Bibliothbque  du  Roi.  There  are 
other  Cyprian  coins  of  the  Imperial  aj^e,  with 
PROCOS  in  Roman  characters.  Many  Cyp- 
rian coins  of  the  reign  of  Claudius  are  of 
the  red  copper  of  the  island  :  a  fact  peculiarly 
interesting  to  us,  if  the  notion,  mentioned 
p.  16,  n.  2,  and  p.  128,  be  correct. 


CHAPTER    VL 

Old  and  New  Paphos. — Departure  from  Cyprus.  —  Coast  of  Pamphylia. — Perga.  —  Mark's 
Return  to  Jerusalem.  — Mountain  Scenery  of  Pisidia.  —  Situation  of  Antioch.  —  The  Syna- 
gogue.—  Address  to  the  Jews. — Preaching  to  the  Gentiles.  —  Persecution  by  the  Jews. — 
History  and  Description  of  Iconium. —  Lycaonia. —  Derbe  and  Lystra. —  Healing  of  the 
Cripple.  —  Idolatrous  Worship  offered  to  Paul  and  Barnabas.  —  Address  to  the  Gentiles. 
—  St.  Paul  stoned.  —  Timotheus.  —  The  Apostles  retrace  their  Journey.  —  Perga  and 
Attaleia.  —  Return  to  Syria. 

THE  banner  of  the  Gospel  was  now  displayed  on  the  coasts  of  the 
Heathen.  The  Glad  Tidings  had  "  passed  over  to  the  isles  of  Chit- 
tim,"  ^  and  had  found  a  willing  audience  in  that  island,  which,  in  the 
vocabulary  of  the  Jewish  Prophets,  is  the  representative  of  the  trade  and 
civilization  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  Cyprus  was  the  early  meeting- 
place  of  the  Oriental  and  Greek  forms  of  social  life.  Originally  colon- 
ized from  Phoenicia,  it  was  successively  subject  to  Egypt,  to  Assyria,  and 
to  Persia.  The  settlements  of  the  Greeks  on  its  shores  had  begun  in  a 
remote  period,  and  their  influence  gradually  advanced,  till  the  older  links 
of  connection  were  entirely  broken  by  Alexander  and  his  successors. 
But  not  only  in  political  and  social  relations,  by  the  progress  of  conquest 
and  commerce,  was  Cyprus  the  meeting-place  of  Greece  and  the  East. 
Here  also  their  forms  of  idolatrous  worship  met  and  became  blended 
together.  Paphos  was,  indeed,  a  sanctuary  of  Greek  religion :  on  this 
shore  the  fabled  goddess  first  landed,  when  she  rose  from  the  sea :  this 
was  the  scene  of  a  worship  celebrated  in  the  classical  poets,  from  the  age 
of  Homer,  down  to  the  time  when  Titus,  the  son  of  Vespasian,  visited 
the  spot  in  the  spirit  of  a  Heathen  pilgrim,  on  his  way  to  subjugate 
Judasa.'^  But  the  polluted  worship  was  originally  introduced  from 
Assyria  or  Phoenicia :  the  Oriental  form  under  which  the  goddess  was 
worshipped  is  represented  on  Greek  coins :  ^  the  Temple  bore  a  curious 

1  The    general    notion    intended    by    the  Citium,   which  was   a  Phoenician   colony    in 

phrases  "  isles  "  and  "  coasts  "  of  "  Chittim  "  Cyprus. 

seems  to  have  been  "  the  islands  and  coasts  ^  Tac.  Hist.  ii.  2-4.     Compare  Suet.  Tit.  5. 

of  the  Mediterranean  to  the  west  and  north-  Tacitus  speaks   of  magnificent  offerings  pre- 

west  of  Judaea."    Numb.  xxiv.  24 ;    Jer.  ii.  sented  by  kings  and  others  to  the  Temple  at 

10 ;  Ezek.  xxvii.  6.     See  Gen.  x.  4,  5  ;  Isai.  Old  Paphos. 

xxiii.   1 ;    Dan.  xi.   30.     But  primarily   the  ^  A   specimen  is  given  in  the  larger  edi- 

name  is  believed  to  have  been  connected  with  tions. 

139 


140  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL,  chap.  n. 

resemblance  to  those  of  Astarte  at  Carthage  or  Tyre :  and  Tacitus  pauses 
to  describe  tlie  singularity  of  the  altar  and  the  ceremonies,  before  he  pro- 
ceeds to  narrate  the  campaign  of  Titus.  And  here  it  was  that  we  have 
seen  Christianity  firmly  established  by  St,  Paul,  —  in  the  very  spot  where 
the  superstition  of  Syria  had  perverted  man's  natural  veneration  and  love 
of  mystery,  and  where  the  beautiful  creations  of  Greek  thought  had 
administered  to  what  Athanasius,  when  speaking  of  Paphos,  well  de- 
scribes as  the  "  deification  of  lust." 

The  Paphos  of  the  poets,  or  Old  Paphos,  as  it  was  afterwards  called, 
was  situated  on  an  eminence  at  a  distance  of  nearly  two  miles  from  the 
sea.  iVew  Paphos  was  on  the  seashore,  about  ten  miles  to  the  north, ^ 
But  the  old  town  still  remained  as  the  sanctuary  which  was  visited  by 
Heathen  pilgrims ;  profligate  processions,  at  stated  seasons,  crowded  the 
road  between  the  two  towns,  as  they  crowded  the  road  between  Antioch 
and  Daphne  (p.  116)  ;  and  small  models  of  the  mysterious  image  were 
sought  as  eagerly  by  strangers  as  the  little  "  silver  shrines  "  of  Diana  at 
Ephesus.  (Acts  xix.  24.)  Doubtless  the  position  of  the  old  town  was 
an  illustration  of  the  early  custom,  mentioned  by  Thucydides,  of  building 
at  a  safe  distance  from  the  shore,  at  a  time  when  the  sea  was  infested  by 
pirates ;  and  the  new  town  had  been  established  in  a  place  convenient  for 
commerce,  when  navigation  had  become  more  secure.  It  was  situated 
on  the  verge  of  a  plain,  smaller  than  that  of  Salamis,  and  watered  by  a 
scantier  stream  than  the  Pediaeus.'^  Not  long  before  the  visit  of  Paul 
and  Barnabas  it  had  been  destroyed  by  an  earthquake.  Augustus  had 
rebuilt  it ;  and  from  him  it  had  received  the  name  of  Augusta,  or 
Sebaste.^  But  the  old  name  still  retained  its  place  in  popular  usage,  and 
has  descended  to  modern  times.  The  "  Paphos "  of  Strabo,  Ptolemy, 
and  St,  Luke,  became  the  "  Papho  "  of  the  Venetians  and  the  "  Baffa  " 
of  the  Turks.  A  second  series  of  Latin  architecture  has  crumbled  into 
decay.  Mixed  up  with  the  ruins  of  palaces  and  churches  are  the  poor 
dwellings  of  the  Greek  and  Mohammedan  inhabitants,  partly  on  the  beach 
but  chiefly  on  a  low  ridge  of  sandstone  rock,  about  two  miles  *  from  the 

1  Or  rather  the  north-west.     See  the  Admi-  ancient  remains  ;    but  when  so  many  towns 

ralty  Chart.  have  existed,  and  so  many  have  severally  been 

♦  See  p.  127.  destroyed,  all  must  be  'eft  to  conjecture.     A 
'  The  Greek  form  Sebaste,  instead  of  Au-  number  of  columns  broken  and   much  muti- 

fftista,  occurs  in  an  inscription  found  on  the  lated  are  lying  about,  and  some  substantial 

spot,  which  is  further  interesting  as  containing  and  well-built  vaults,  or  rather  subterraneous 

the  name  of  another  Pauhis.  communications,  under  a  hill  of  slight  elcvar 

*  This  is  the  distance  between  the  Ktcma  tion,  are  pointed  out  by  the  guides  as  the 
and  the  Marina  given  by  Captain  Graves.  In  remains  of  a  temple  dedicated  to  Venus.  Then 
Turdy's  Sailing  Directions  (p.  251),  it  is  stated  there  are  numerous  excavations  in  the  sand- 
to  be  only  half  a  mile.  Captain  Graves  says  :  stone  hills,  which  probably  served  at  variouH 
"  In   the    vicinity  are    numerous  ruins    and  periods  the  double  purpose  of  habitations  and 


CHAP.  Ti.  COAST   OF  PAIIPHYLIA.  141 

ancient  port ;  for  the  marsh,  which  once  formed  the  limit  of  the  port, 
makes  the  shore  oihealthy  during  the  heats  of  summer  by  its  noxious 
exhalations.  One  of  the  most  singular  features  of  the  neighborhood 
consists  of  the  curious  caverns  excavated  in  the  rocks,  whicli  have  been 
used  both  for  tombs  and  for  dwellings.  The  harbor  is  now  almost 
blocked  up,  and  affords  only  shelter  for  boats.  "  The  Venetian  strong- 
hold, at  the  extremity  of  the  Western  mole,  is  fast  crumbling  into  ruins. 
The  mole  itself  is  broken  up,  and  every  year  the  massive  stones  of  which 
it  was  constructed  are  rolled  over  from  their  original  position  into  the 
port."  ^  The  approaches  to  the  harbor  can  never  have  been  very  safe,  in 
consequence  of  the  ledge  of  rocks  ^  which  extends  some  distance  into  the 
sea.  At  present,  the  eastern  entrance  to  the  anchorage  is  said  to  be  the 
safer  of  the  two.  The  western,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  would  be 
more  convenient  for  a  vessel  clearing  out  of  the  port,  and  about  to  sail 
for  the  Gulf  of  Pamphylia. 

We  have  remarked  in  the  last  chapter,  that  it  is  not  difficult  to  imagine 
the  reasons  which  induced  Paul  and  Barnabas,  on  their  departure  from 
Seleucia,  to  visit  first  the  island  of  Cyprus.  It  is  not  quite  so  easy  to 
give  an  opinion  upon  the  motives  which  directed  their  course  to  the  coast 
of  Pamphylia,  when  they  had  passed  through  the  native  island  of 
Barnabas,  from  Salamis  to  Paphos.  It  might  be  one  of  those  circum- 
stances which  we  call  accidents,  and  which,  as  they  never  influence  the 
actions  of  ordinary  men  witliout  the  predetermining  direction  of  Divine 
Providence,  so  were  doubtless  used  by  the  same  Providence  to  determine 
the  course  even  of  Apostles.  As  St.  Paul,  many  years  afterwards,  joined 
at  Myra  that  vessel  in  which  he  was  shipwrecked,'  and  then  was  con- 
veyed to  Puteoli  in  a  ship  which  had  accidentally  wintered  at  Malta*  — 
so  on  this  occasion  there  might  be  some  small  craft  in  the  harbor  at 
Paphos,  bound  for  the  opposite  gulf  of  Attaleia,  when  Paul  and  Barnabas 
were  thinking  of  their  future  progress.  The  distance  is  not  great,  and 
frequent  communication,  both  political  and  commercial,  must  have  taken 
place  between  the  towns  of  Pamphylia  and   those   of  Cyprus.^    It  is 


tombs.      Several    monasteries    and    churches  sail  in  either  to  the  eastward  or  westward  of 

now  in  ruins,  of  a  low  Gothic  architecture,  it,  but  the  eastern  passage  is  the  widest  and 

are  more  easily  identified;  but  the  crumbling  best."  —  Purdy,  p.  251.     The  soundings  may 

fragments  of  the  sandstone  with  which  they  be  seen  in  the  Admiralty  Chart, 
were  constructed,  only  add  to  the  incongruous  ^  Acts  xxvii.  5,  6.        *  Acts  xxviii.  11-13. 

heap  around,  that  now  covers  the  palace  of  ^  And  perhaps  Paphos  more  especially,  as 

the  Paphian  "Venus."  — •  MS  note  by  Captain  the  seat  of  government.     At  present  Khalan- 

Graves,  R.N.  dri  (Gulnar),  to  the  south-east  of  Attaleia  and 

1  Captain  Graves,  MS.  Perga,    is    the  port  from  which   the   Tatars 

"^  "A  great  ledge  of  rocks  lies  in  the  entrance  from   Constantinople,  conveying  government 

to  Papho,  extending  about  a  league ;  you  may  despatches,  usually  cross  to  Cyprus. 


142  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAITL.  chat.  n. 

possible  that  St.  Paul,  having  already  preached  the  Gospel  in  Cilicia,* 
might  wish  now  to  extend  it  among  those  districts  which  lay  more  im- 
mediately contiguous,  and  the  population  of  which  was,  in  some  respects, 
similar  to  that  of  his  native  province.'^  He  might  also  reflect  that  the 
natives  of  a  comparatively  unsophisticated  district  might  be  more  likely 
to  receive  the  message  of  salvation,  than  the  inhabitants  of  those 
provinces  which  were  more  completely  penetrated  with  the  corrupt 
civilization  of  Greece  and  Rome.  Or  his  thoughts  might  be  turning  to 
those  numerous  families  of  Jews,  whom  he  well  knew  to  be  settled  in  the 
great  towns  beyond  Mount  Taurus,  such  as  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  and 
Iconium  in  Lycaonia,  with  the  hope  that  his  Master's  cause  would  be 
most  successfully  advanced  among  those  Gentiles,  who  flocked  there,  as 
everywhere,  to  the  worship  of  the  Synagogue.  Or,  finally,  he  may  have 
had  a  direct  revelation  from  on  high,  and  a  vision,  like  that  which  had 
already  appeared  to  him  in  the  Temple,^  or  like  that  which  he  afterwards 
saw  on  the  confines  of  Europe  and  Asia,*  may  have  directed  the  course 
of  his  voyage.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  calculations  of  his  own 
wisdom  and  prudence,  or  whatever  supernatural  intimations  may  have 
reached  him,  he  sailed,  with  his  companions  Barnabas  and  John,  in  some 
vessel,  of  which  the  size,  the  cargo,  and  the  crew,  are  unknown  to  us, 
past  the  promontories  of  Drepanum  and  Acamas,  and  then  across  the 
waters  of  the  Pamphylian  Sea,  leaving  on  the  right  the  cliffs '  which  are 
the  western  boundary  of  Cilicia,  to  the  innermost  bend  of  the  bay  of 
Attaleia. 

This  bay  is  a  remarkable  feature  in  the  shore  of  Asia  Minor  ;  and  it  is 
not  without  some  important  relations  with  the  history  of  this  part  of  the 
world.  It  forms  a  deep  indentation  in  the  general  coast-line,  and  is 
bordered  by  a  plain,  which  retreats  itself  like  a  bay  into  the  mountains. 
From  the  shore  to  the  mountains,  across  the  widest  part  of  the  plain, 
the  distance  is  a  journey  of  eight  or  nine  hours.  Three  principal  rivers 
intersect  this  level  space:  the  Catarrhactes,  which  falls  over  sea-cliffs 
near  Attaleia,  in  the  waterfalls  which  suggested  its  name  ;  and  farther  to 
the  east  the  Oestrus  and  Eurymedon,  which  flow  by  Perga  and  Aspen- 
dus  to  a  low  and  sandy  shore.  About  the  banks  of  these  rivers,  and  on 
the  open  waters  of  the  bay,  whence  the  eye  ranges  freely  over  the  ragged 
mountain  summits  which  enclose  the  scene,  armies  and  fleets  had  engaged 
in  some  of  those  battles  of  which  the  results  were  still  felt  in  the  day  of 
St.  Paul.     From   the  base   of  that   steep   shore   on   the  west,  where  a 

1  See  pp.  98-100.  ^  About   C.   Anaraour   (Anemurium,    the 

3  Strabo  states  this  distinctly.  southernmost  point  of  Asia  Minor),  and  Alaja 

•  Acts  xxii.  17-21.     Seep.  97.  (the  ancient  Coracesium),  there  are  cliffs  of 

*  Acta  xtI.  9.  500  and  600  feet  high. 


CHAP.  VI.  THE   CITY   OF  PEEGA.  143 

rugged  knot  of  mountains  is  piled  up  into  snowy  heights  above  tlie  rocks 
of  PhaseKs,  the  united  squadron  of  the  Romans  and  Rhodians  sailed 
across  the  bay  in  the  year  190  B.  C. ;  and  it  was  in  rounding  that 
promontory  near  Side  on  the  east,  that  they  caught  sight  of  the  ships  of 
Antiochus,  as  they  came  on  by  the  shore  with  the  dreadful  Hannibal  on 
board.  And  close  to  the  same  spot  where  the  Latin  power  then  defeated 
the  Greek  king  of  Syria,  another  battle  had  been  fought  at  an  earlier 
period,  in  which  the  Greeks  gave  one  of  their  last  blows  to  the  retreating 
force  of  Persia,  and  the  Atlienian  Cimon  gained  a  victory  both  by  land 
and  sea ;  thus  winning,  according  to  the  boast  of  Plutarch,  in  one  day 
the  laurels  of  Plataea  and  Salamis.  On  that  occasion  a  large  navy 
sailed  up  the  river  Eurymedon  as  far  as  Aspendus.  Now,  the  bar  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river  would  make  this  impossible.  The  same  is  the  case 
with  the  river  Oestrus,  which,  Strabo  says,  was  navigable  in  his  day  for 
sixty  stadia,  or  seven  miles,  to  the  city  of  Perga.  Ptolemy  calls  this 
city  an  inland  town  of  Pamphylia  ;  but  so  he  speaks  of  Tarsus  in  Cilicia. 
And  we  have  seen  that  Tarsus,  though  truly  called  an  inland  town,  as 
being  some  distance  from  the  coast,  was  nevertheless  a  mercantile  har- 
bor. Its  relation  with  the  Cydnus  was  similar  to  that  of  Perga  with  the 
Oestrus  ;  and  the  vessel  which  brought  St.  Paul  to  win  more  glorious 
victories  than  those  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  battles  of  the  Eurymedon 
came  up  the  course  of  the  Oestrus  to  her  moorings  near  the  Temple  of 
Diana. 

All  that  Strabo  tells  us  of  this  city  is  that  the  Temple  of  Diana  was  on 
an  eminence  at  some  short  distance,  and  that  an  annual  festival  was  held 
in  honor  of  the  goddess.  The  chief  associations  of  Perga  are  with  the 
Greek  rather  than  the  Roman  period :  and  its  existing  remains  are 
described  as  being  "  purely  Greek,  there  being  no  trace  of  any  later 
inhabitants." '  Its  prosperity  was  probably  arrested  by  the  building  of 
Attaleia^  after  the  death  of  Alexander,  in  a  more  favorable  situation  on  the 
shore  of  the  bay.  Attaleia  has  never  ceased  to  be  an  important  town  since 
the  day  of  its  foundation  by  Attalus  Philadelphus.  But  when  the  traveller 
pitches  his  tent  at  Perga,  he  finds  only  the  encampments  of  shepherds, 
who  pasture  their  cattle  amidst  the  ruins.  These  ruins  are  walls  and 
towers,  columns  and  cornices,  a  theatre  and  a  stadium,  a  broken  aque- 
duct incrusted  with  the  calcareous  deposit  of  tlie  Pamphylian  streams, 
and  tombs  scattered  on  both  sides  of  the  site  of  the  town.  Nothing 
else  remains  of  Perga,  but  the  beauty  of  its  natural  situation,  "be- 
tween and  upon  the  sides  of  two  hills,  with  an  exteiisive  valley  in  front, 

1  Perhaps  some  modification  is  requisite  tural  details  of  the  theatre  and  stadium  are 
here.     Mr.  Falkener  noticed  that  the  architec-       Roman.  ^  Acts  xir.  25. 


144  THE  LIFE   AND  EPISTLES   OP   ST.   PAUL.  chai-.  n 

watered  by  the   river   Oestrus,  and   backed    by  the   mouutains  of  the 
Taurus."  ^ 

The  coins  of  Perga  are  a  lively  illustration  of  its  character  as  a  city 
of  the  Greeks.^    We  have  no  memorial  of  its  condition  as  a  city  of  the 
Romans ;   nor  does   our  narrative   require   us  to   delay  any  longer  in 
describing  it.     The  Apostles  made  no  long  stay  in  Perga.     This  seems 
evident,  not  only  from  the  words  used  at  this  point  of  the  history,'  but 
from  the  marked  manner  in  which  we  are  told  that  they  did  stay,*  on 
their  return  from  the  interior.      One  event,  however,  is  mentioned  as 
occurring  at  Perga,  which,  though  noticed  incidentally  and  in  few  words, 
was  attended  with  painful  feelings  at  the  time,  and  involved  the  most 
serious  consequences.     It  must  have  occasioned  deep  sorrow  to  Paul  and 
Barnabas,   and    possibly   even   then   some    mutual    estrangement:    and 
afterwards  it  became  the  cause  of  their  quarrel  and  separation.^     Mark 
"  departed  from  them  from  Pamphylia,  and  went  not  with  them  to  the 
work."     He  came  with  them  up  the  Cestrus  as  far  as  Perga  ;  but  there 
he  forsook  them,  and,  taking  advantage  of  some  vessel  which  was  sailing 
towards  Palestine,  he  "  returned  to  Jerusalem,"  ®  which  had  been  his 
home  in  earlier  years.''     We  are  not  to  suppose  that   this   implied   an 
absolute  rejection  of  Christianity.     A  soldier  who  has  wavered  in  one 
battle  may  live  to  obtain  a  glorious  victory.     Mark  was  afterwards  not 
unwilling  to  accompany  the  Apostles  on  a  second  missionary  journey ; " 
and  actually   did  accompany  Barnabas  again  to  Cyprus.^    Nor  did  St. 
Paul  always  retain  his  unfavorable  judgment  of  him  (Acts  xv.  38),  but 
long  afterwards,  in  his  Roman  imprisonment,  commended  him  to  the 
Colossians,  as  one  who  was  "  a  fellow-worker  unto  the  Kingdom  of  God," 
and  "  a  comfort "  to  himself:^"  and  in  his  latest  letter,  just  before  his 
death,   he    speaks  of   him    again   as   one   "  profitable  to  him  for  the 
ministry."  ^^      Yet  if  we  consider  all  the  circumstances  of  his  life,  we 
shall  not  find  it  difficult  to  blame  his  conduct  in  Pamphylia,  and  to  see 
good   reasons   why   Paul   should   afterwards,   at   Antioch,   distrust  the 
steadiness  of  his  character.     The  child  of  a  religious  mother,  who  had 
sheltered  in  her  house  the  Christian  Disciples  in  a  fierce  persecution,  he 
had  joined   himself  to   Barnabas   and   Saul,  when  they  travelled  from 

1  This  description  is  qnoted   or  borrowed  Perga,   they  went    down,   &c."  —  Acts    xir. 

from  Sir  C.  Fellows's  Asia  Minor,  1839,  pp.  25. 

190-193.  6  Acts  XV.  37-39. 

^  One  of  them,  with  Diana  and  the  stag,  ia  '  Acts  xiii.  13. 

given  in  the  larger  edition.  i  Acts  xii.  12,  25. 

'  This  will  be  seen  by  comparing  the  Greek  ^  Acts  xv.  37. 

of  Acts  xiii.  14  with  xiv.  24.      Similarly,  a  »  Acts  xv.  39.                 ^°  Col.  iv.  10. 

rapid  journey  is  implied  in  xvii.  1.  u  Or  rather,   "profitable  to  minister "  to 

*  "  When  they  had  preached  the  Word  in  him.     2  Tim.  iv.  11. 


CHAP.  Ti,  PERLLS   OF  TRAVEL  IN  PISIDIA.  145 

Jerusalem  to  Antioch,  on  their  return  from  a  mission  of  charity.  He 
had  been  a  close  spectator  of  the  wonderful  power  of  the  religion  of 
Christ,  —  he  had  seen  the  strength  of  faith  under  trial  in  his  mother's 
home,  —  he  had  attended  his  kinsman  Barnabas  in  his  labors  of  zeal  and 
love,  —  he  had  seen  the  word  of  Paul  sanctioned  and  fulfilled  by 
miracles,  —  he  had  even  been  the  "  minister  "  of  Apostles  in  their  suc- 
cessful enterprise  ;  ^  and  now  he  forsook  them,  when  they  were  about 
to  proceed  through  greater  difficulties  to  more  glorious  success.  We 
are  not  left  in  doubt  as  to  the  real  character  of  his  departure.  He  was 
drawn  from  the  work  of  God  by  the  attraction  of  an  earthly  home.''  As 
he  looked  up  from  Perga  to  the  Gentile  mountains,  his  heart  failed  him, 
and  he  turned  back  with  desire  towards  Jerusalem.  He  could  not 
resolve  to  continue  persevering,  "  in  journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  rivers, 
in  perils  of  robbers."  ^ 

"Perils  of  rivers"  and  "perils  of  robbers"  —  these  words  express 
the  very  dangers  which  St.  Paul  would  be  most  likely  to  encounter  on 
his  journey  from  Perga  in  Pamphylia  to  Antioch  in  Pisidia.  The  law- 
less and  marauding  habits  of  the  population  of  those  mountains  which 
separate  the  table-land  in  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor  from  the  plains  on 
the  south  coast,  were  notorious  in  all  parts  of  ancient  history.  Strabo 
uses  the  same  strong  language  both  of  the  Isaurians*  who  separated 
Cappadocia  from  Cilicia,  and  of  their  neighbors  the  Pisidians,  whose 
native  fortresses  were  the  barrier  between  Phrygia  and  Pamphylia.  We 
have  the  same  character  of  the  latter  of  these  robber-tribes  in  Xenophon, 
who  is  the  first  to  mention  them ;  and  in  Zosimus,  who  relieves  the 
history  of  the  later  empire  by  telling  us  of  the  adventures  of  a  robber- 
chief,  who  defied  the  Romans,  and  died  a  desperate  death  in  these 
mountains.'  Alexander  the  Great,  when  he  heard  that  Memnon's  fleet 
was  in  the  ^gean,  and  marched  from  Perga  to  rejoin  Parmenio  in 
Phrygia,  found  some  of  the  worst  difficulties  of  his  whole  campaign  in 
penetrating  through  this  district.  The  scene  of  one  of  the  roughest 
campaigns  connected  with  the  wars  of  Antiochus  the  Great  was  among 
the  hill-forts  near  the  upper  waters  of  the  Oestrus  and  Eurymedon.  No 
population  through  the  midst  of  which  St.  Paul  ever  travelled,  abounded 
more  in  those  "  perils  of  robbers,"  of  which  he  himself  speaks,  than  the 
wild  and  lawless  clans  of  the  Pisidian  Highlanders. 


^  See  Acts  xiii.  5.  ^  The  beautiful  stoiy  of  St.  John  and  the 

2  Matthew  Henry  pithily  remarks :   "  Ei-      robber  (Euseb.   Eccl.  Hist.  iii.  23)  will  nata- 

thcr  he  did  not  like  the  work,  or  he  wanted  to      rally  occur  to  the  reader.     See  also  the  fre- 

eo  and  see  his  mother."  quent  mention    of   Isaurian   robbers    in    th« 

**  2  Cor.  xi.  26.  latter  part  of  the  life  of  Chrysostom,  prefixed 

*  See  p.  1 9.  to  the  Benedictine  edition  of  his  works. 

10 


146  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  vi. 

And  if  on  this  journey  he  was  exposed  to  dangers  from  the  attacks  of 
men,  there  might  be  other  dangers,  not  less  imminent,  arising  from  the 
natural  character  of  the  country  itself.  To  travellers  in  the  East  there  is 
a  reality  in  "  perils  of  rivers,"  which  we  in  England  are  hardly  able  to 
understand.  Unfamiliar  with  the  sudden  flooding  of  thirsty  watercourses, 
we  seldom  comprehend  the  full  force  of  some  of  the  most  striking  images 
in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.^  The  rivers  of  Asia  Minor,  like  all  the 
rivers  in  the  Levant,  are  liable  to  violent  and  sudden  changes.^  And  no 
district  in  Asia  Minor  is  more  singularly  characterized  by  its  "  water 
floods  "  than  the  mountainous  tract  of  Pisidia,  where  rivers  burst  out  at 
the  bases  of  huge  clifis,  or  dash  down  wildly  through  narrow  ravines. 
The  very  notice  of  the  bridges  in  Strabo,  when  he  tells  us  how  the  Oestrus 
and  Eurjxnedon  tumble  down  from  the  heights  and  precipices  of  Selge  to 
the  Pamphylian  Sea,  is  more  expressive  than  any  elaborate  description. 
We  cannot  determine  the  position  of  any  bridges  which  the  Apostle  may 
have  crossed  ;  but  his  course  was  never  far  from  the  channels  of  these  two 
rivers :  and  it  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  his  name  is  still  traditionally 
connected  with  one  of  them,  as  we  learn  from  tlie  information  recently 
given  to  an  English  traveller  by  the  Archbishop  of  Pisidia.^ 

Such  considerations  respecting  the  physical  peculiarities  of  the  country 
now  traversed  by  St.  Paul,  naturally  lead  us  into  various  trains  of  thought 
concerning  the  scenery,  the  climate,  and  the  seasons.*  And  there  aro 
certain  probabilities  in  relation  to  the  time  of  the  year  when  the  Apostle 
may  be  supposed  to  have  journeyed  this  way,  which  may  well  excuse  some 
remarks  on  these  subjects.  And  this  is  all  the  more  allowable,  because 
we  are  absolutely  without  any  data  for  determining  the  year  in  which 
this  first  missionary  expedition  was  undertaken.  All  that  we  can  assert 
with  confidence  is  that  it  must  have  taken  place  somewhere  in  the  interval 
between  the  years  45  and  50.^     But  this  makes  us  all  the  more  desirous 

1  Thus  the  true  meaning  of  2  Cor.  xi.  26  had  continued  its  course  so  far,  is  lost  in  the 

is  lost  in  the  English  translation.     Similarly,  mountains,  &c."  —  Arundell's  .4s/a  il//«or,  toI. 

in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (Matt.  vii.  25,  ii.  p.  31.     The  river  is  probably  the  Eurym©- 

27),    the    word    for    "rivers"    is    translated  don. 

"  floods,"  and  the  image  confused.     See  Ps.  *  The  descriptive    passages   which    follow 

xxxii.  6.  are  chiefly  borrowed  from  "  A.fia  Minor,  1839," 

-  The  crossing  of  the  Halys  by  Croesus,  as  and  "  Lycia,   1841,"   by  Sir  C.  Fellows,  and 

told  by   Herodotus,  is  an  illustration  of   the  "  Traw/s /n  L//c?V(,  1847,"  by  Lieutenant  Spratt, 

difficulties  presented  by  the  larger  rivers  of  R.N.,  and  Professor  K.  Forl)CS.     The  writer 

Asia  Minor.  desires  also  to  acknowledge  his  obligations  to 

*  "  About  two  hours  and  a  half  from  Is-  various  travellers,  especially  to  t!ie  lamented 

barta,  towards  the  south-east,  is  the  village  of  Professor  Forbes,  also  to  Mr.   Falkener,  and 

Sav,  where  is  the  source  of  a  river  called  the  Dr.  Wolff. 

Sav-Sou.     Five  hours  and  a  half  beyond,  and  ^  See    the    Chronological    Table    in   Ap- 

Uill  towards  the  south-east,  is  the  village  of  pendix  III. 
Paoli  (St.  Paul)  ;    and  here  the  river,  which 


MHJLi.Ti.  MOTJNTAIJSr-SCENERY   OF  PISIDIA.  147 

to  determine,  by  any  reasonable  conjectures,  the  movements  of  tlie  Apostle 
in  reference  to  a  better  chronology  than  that  which  reckons  by  successive 
years,  —  the  chronology  which  furnishes  us  with  the  real  imagery  round 
his  path,  —  the  chronology  of  the  seasons. 

Now  we  ma}  well  suppose  that  he  might  sail  from  Seleucia  to  Salamis 
at  the  beginning  of  spring.  In  that  age  and  in  those  waters,  the  com- 
mencement of  a  voyage  was  usually  determined  by  the  advance  of  the 
season.  The  sea  was  technically  said  to  be  "  open  "  in  the  month  of 
March.  If  St.  Paul  began  his  journey  in  that  month,  the  lapse  of  two 
months  might  easily  bring  him  to  Perga,  and  allow  sufficient  time  for  all 
that  we  are  told  of  his  proceedings  at  Salamis  and  Paphos.  If  we  suppose 
him  to  have  been  at  Perga  in  May,  this  would  have  been  exactly  the  most 
natural  time  for  a  journey  to  the  mountains.  Earlier  in  the  spring,  the 
passes  would  have  been  filled  with  snow.*  In  the  heat  of  summer  the 
weather  would  have  been  less  favorable  for  the  journey.  In  the  autumn 
the  disadvantages  would  have  been  still  greater,  from  the  approaching 
difficulties  of  winter.  But  again,  if  St.  Paul  was  at  Perga  in  May,  a 
further  reason  may  be  given  why  he  did  not  stay  there,  but  seized  all  the 
advantages  of  the  season  for  prosecuting  his  journey  to  the  interior.  The 
habits  of  a  people  are  always  determined  or  modified  by  the  physical  pe- 
culiarities of  their  country  ;  and  a  custom  prevails  among  the  inhabitants 
of  this  part  of  Asia  Minor,  which  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  has  been 
unbroken  for  centuries.  At  the  beginning  of  the  hot  season  they  move  up 
from  the  plains  to  the  cool  basin-like  hollows  on  the  mountains.  These 
yailahs  or  summer  retreats  are  always  spoken  of  with  pride  and  satisfac- 
tion, and  the  time  of  the  journey  anticipated  with  eager  delight.  When 
the  time  arrives,  the  people  may  be  seen  ascending  to  the  upper  grounds, 
men,  women,  and  children,  with  flocks  and  herds,  camels  and  asses,  like 
the  patriarchs  of  old.'^     If  then  St.  Paul  was  at  Perga  in  May,  he  would 

1  "  March  4.  —  The  passes  to  the  Yailahs  seer  make  of  such  a  pilgrimage  !     The  snowy 

from  the  upper  part  of  the  valley  heing  still  tops  of  the  mountains  were  seen  through  the 

shut  up  by  snow,  we  have  no  alternative  but  lofty  and  dark-green  fir-trees,  terminating  in 

to  prosecute  our  researches  amongst  the  low  abrupt  cliffs.  .  .  .  From  clefts  in  these  gushed 

country  and  valleys  which  border  the  coast."  out  cascades  .  .  .  and  the  waters  were  carried 

—  Sp.  and  F.  I.  p.  48.     The  valley  referred  to  away  by  the  wind  in   spray  over  the  green 

is  that  of  the  Xanthus,  in  Lycia.  woods.  ...  In  a  zigzag  course  up  the  wood 

^  "  April  50. — We  passed  many  families  en  lay  the  track  leading  to  the  cool  places.     In 

route  from  Adalia  to  the  mountain  plains  for  advance  of  the  pastoral  groups  were  the  strag- 

the  summer."  —  Sp.  and  F.  i.  p.  242.     Again,  gling  goats,  browsing  on  the  fresh  blossoms  of 

p.  248    [May  3).     See  p.  64.     During  a  halt  the  wild   almond   as   they  passed.      In  more 

in  the  valley  of  the  Xanthus  (May  10),  Sir  steady  courses  followed  the  small  black  cattle 

C.  Fellows  says  that  an  almost  uninterrupted  .  .  .  then  came  the  flocks  of  sheep,  and  the 

train  of  cattle  and  people  (nearly  twenty  fami-  camels  .  .  .  bearing  piled  loads  of   ploughs, 

Sies)  passed  by.    "  What  a  picture  would  Land-  tent-poles,  kettles  .  .  .  and  amidst  tuis  rustic 


148 


THE  LIFE   AUD   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


find  the  inhabitants  deserting  its  hot  and  silent  streets.  They  would  be 
moving  in  the  direction  of  his  own  intended  journey.  He  would  be  under 
no  temptation  to  stay.  And  if  we  imagine  him  as  joining  ^  some  such 
company  of  Pamphylian  families  on  his  way  to  the  Pisidian  mountains,  it 
gives  much  interest  and  animation  to  the  thought  of  this  part  of  his  prog- 
ress. 

Perhaps  it  was  in  such  company  that  the  Apostle  entered  the  first  passes 
of  the  mountainous  district,  along  some  road  formed  partly  by  artificial 
pavement,  and  partly  by  the  native  marble,  with  high  cliffs  frowning  on 
either  hand,  with  tombs  and  inscriptions,  even  then  ancient,  on  the  pro- 
jecting rocks  around,  and  with  copious  fountains  bursting  out  "  among 
thickets  of  pomegranates  and  oleanders."^  The  oleander,  "  the  favorite 
flower  of  the  Levantine  midsummer,"  abounds  in  the  lower  watercourses ; 
and  in  the  month  of  May  it  borders  all  the  banks  with  a  line  of  brilliant 
crimson.^  As  the  path  ascends,  the  rocks  begin  to  assume  the  wilder 
grandeur  of  mountains,  the  richer  fruit-trees  begin  to  disappear,  and  the 
pine  and  walnut  succeed ;  though  the  plane-tree  still  stretches  its  wide 
leaves  over  the  stream  which  dashes  wildly  down  the  ravine,  crossing  and 
recrossing  the  dangerous  road.  The  alteration  of  climate  which  attends 
on  the  traveller's  progress  is  soon  perceptible.  A  few  hours  will  make  the 
difference  of  weeks,  or  even  months.  When  the  corn  is  in  the  car  on  the 
lowlands,  ploughing  and  sowing  are  hardly  well  begun  upon  the  highlands. 
Spring  flowers  may  be  seen  in  the  mountains  by  the  very  edge  of  the 


load  wa3  always  seen  the  rich  Turkey  carpet 
and  damask  cushions,  the  pride  even  of  the 
tented  Turk."  —  Lycia,  pp.  238,  239. 

1  It  has  always  been  customary  for  travel- 
lers in  Asia  Minor,  as  in  the  patriarchal  East, 
to  join  caravans,  if  possible. 

^  In  ascending  from  Limyra,  a  small  plain 
on  the  coast  not  far  from  Phaselis,  Spratt  and 
Forbes  mention  "  a  rock-tablet  with  a  long 
Greek  inscription  ...  by  the  side  of  an  an- 
cient paved  road,  at  a  spot  where  numerous 
and  copious  springs  gush  out  among  thickets 
of  pomegranates  and  oleanders."  (i.  p.  160.) 
Fellows,  in  coming  to  Attaleia  from  the  north, 
"  suddenly  entered  a  pass  between  the  moun- 
tains, which  diminished  in  width  until  cliffs 
almost  perpendicular  enclosed  us  on  either 
side.  The  descent  became  so  abrupt  that  we 
were  compelled  to  dismount  and  walk  for  two 
hours,  during  which  time  we  continued  rapidly 
descending  an  ancient  paved  road,  formed 
priacipally  of   the  native  marble    rock,   but 


which  had  been  perfected  with  large  stones  at 
a  very  remote  age ;  the  deep  ruts  of  chariot- 
wheels  were  apparent  in  many  places.  The 
road  is  much  worn  by  time ;  and  the  people 
of  a  later  age,  diverging  from  the  track,  have 
formed  a  road  with  stones  very  inferior  both 
in  size  and  arrangement.  About  half  an  hour 
before  I  reached  the  plain  ...  a  view  burst 
upon  me  through  the  cliffs.  ...  I  looked 
down  from  the  rocky  steps  of  the  throne  of 
winter  upon  the  rich  and  verdant  plain  of 
summer,  with  the  blue  sea  in  the  distance.  .  .  . 
Nor  was  the  foreground  without  its  interest ; 
on  each  projecting  rock  stood  an  ancient  sar- 
cophagus, and  the  trees  half  concealed  the  lids 
and  broken  sculptures  of  innumerable  tombs." 
—  A.  M.  pp.  174,  175.  This  may  very  proba- 
bly have  been  the  pass  and  road  by  which 
St.  Paul  ascended. 

^  See  the  excellent  Chapter  on  the  "  Bota- 
ny of  Lycia "  in  Spratt  and  Forbes,  »ol.  il 
ch.  xiii. 


CHAF.  VI.  TABLE-LAJSTD   OF  ASIA  MINOR.  149 

snow,^  wheu  the  anemone  is  withered  in  the  plain,  and  the  pink  veins  in 
the  white  asphodel  flower  are  shrivelled  by  the  heat.  When  the  cottages 
are  closed  and  the  grass  is  parched,  and  every  thing  is  silent  below  in  the 
purple  haze  and  stillness  of  midsummer,  clouds  are  seen  drifting  among 
the  Pisidian  precipices,  and  the  cavern  is  often  a  welcome  shelter  from  a 
cold  and  penetrating  wind.^  The  upper  part  of  this  district  is  a  wild 
region  of  cliffs,  often  isolated  and  bare,  and  separated  from  each  other  by 
valleys  of  sand,  which  the  storm  drives  with  blinding  violence  among  the 
shivered  points.  The  trees  become  fewer  and  smaller  at  every  step. 
Three  belts  of  vegetation  are  successively  passed  through  in  ascending 
from  the  coast :  first  the  oak-woods,  then  the  forests  of  pine,  and  lastly 
the  dark  scattered  patches  of  the  cedar-juniper :  and  then  we  reach  the 
treeless  plains  of  the  interior,  which  stretch  in  dreary  extension  to  the 
north  and  the  east. 

After  such  a  journey  as  this,  separating,  we  know  not  where,  from  the 
companions  they  may  have  joined,  and  often  thinking  of  that  Christian 
companion  who  had  withdrawn  himself  from  their  society  when  they  needed 
him  most,  Paul  and  Barnabas  emerged  from  the  rugged  mountain- 
passes,  and  came  upon  the  central  table-land  of  Asia  Minor.  The  whole 
interior  region  of  the  peninsula  may  be  correctly  described  by  this  term  ; 
for,  though  intersected  in  various  directions  by  mountain-ranges,  it  is,  on 
the  whole,  a  vast  plateau,  elevated  higher  than  the  summit  of  Ben  Nevis 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.'  This  is  its  general  character,  though  a  long 
journey  across  the  district  brings  the  traveller  through  many  varieties  of 
scenery.  Sometimes  he  moves  for  hours  along  the  dreary  margin  of  an 
inland  sea  of  salt,*  —  sometimes  he  rests  in  a  cheerful  hospitable  town 

1  "May  9.  —  Ascending  through  a  winterly  Sp.  and  F.  i.  p.  242.  Again,  p.  293,  "Every 
climate,  with  snow  by  the  side  of  our  path,  step  led  us  from  spring  into  summer ; "  and 
and  only  the  crocus  and  anemones  in  bloom  ...  the  following  pages.  See  also  Fellows :  "  Two 
we  beheld  a  new  series  of  cultivated  plains  to  months  since  at  Syria  the  corn  was  beginning 
the  west,  being  in  foct  table-lands,  nearly  upon  to  show  the 'ear,  whilst  here  they  have  only  in 
a  level  with  the  tops  of  the  mountains  which  a  few  places  now  begun  to  plough  and  sow." 
form  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  valley  of  — A.  M.  \bs7  "  The  corn,  which  wc  had  the 
the  Xanthus.  .  .  .  Descending  to  the  plain,  day  before  seen  changing  color  for  the  bar- 
probably  1,000  feet,  we  pitched  our  tent,  after  vest,  was  here  not  an  inch  above  the  ground, 
a  ride  of  7|  hours.  .  .  .  Upon  boiling  the  and  the  buds  of  the  bushes  were  not  yet  burst- 
thermometer,  I  found  that  we  were  more  than  ing."  —  Lijcia,  p.  226. 

4,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and,  cutting  down  ^  The  yailah  of  Adalia  is  3,500  feet  above 

some  dead    trees,   we    provided   against    the  the  sea:  Sp.  and  F.  i.  p.  244.    The  vast  plain, 

coming  cold  of  the  evening  by  lighting  three  "  a<,  least  50  miles  long  and  20  wide,"  south 

large  fires  around  our  encampment."— Fell.  of  Kiuta^aih  in  Phrygia,  is  about  6,000  feet 

Lj/cia,  p.  234.     This  was  in  descending  from  al)ove  the  sea.     Fell.  ^.  ili.  p.  155.     This  may 

Almalee,  in  the  great  Lycian  yailah,  to  the  be  overstated,  but  the  plain  of  Erzeroum  is 

south-east  of  Cibyra.  quite  as  much. 

2  For  further  illustrations  of  the  change  of  *  We  shall  have  occasion  to  mention  tlie 
fcason  caused  by  difference  of  elevation,  see  salt  lakes  hereafter. 


150  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ▼!. 

by  the  shore  of  a  fresh-water  lake.*  In  some  places  the  ground  is  burnt 
and  volcanic,  in  others  green  and  fruitful.  Sometimes  it  is  depressed 
into  watery  hollows,  where  wild  swans  visit  the  pools,  and  storks  are  seen 
fishing  and  feeding  among  the  weeds :  '^  more  frequently  it  is  spread  out 
into  broad  open  downs,  like  Salisbury  Plain,  which  afford  an  inter- 
minable pasture  for  flocks  of  sheep.'  To  the  north  of  Pamphylia,  the 
elevated  plain  stretches  through  Phrygia  for  a  hundred  miles  from  Mount 
Taurus  to  Mount  Olympus.*  The  southern  portion  of  these  bleak  up- 
lands was  crossed  by  St.  Paul's  track,  immediately  before  his  arrival  at 
Antioch  in  Pisidia.  The  features  of  human  life  which  he  had  around 
him  are  probably  almost  as  unaltered  as  the  scenery  of  the  country,  — 
dreary  villages  with  flat-roofed  huts  and  cattle-sheds  in  the  day,  and  at 
night  an  encampment  of  tents  of  goat's  hair,  —  tents  of  cilicium  (see 
p.  45)  J  —  a  blazing  fire  in  the  midst,  —  horses  fastened  around,  —  and  in 
the  distance  the  moon  shining  on  the  snowy  summits  of  Taurus.® 

The  Sultan  Tareeh^  or  Turkish  Royal  Road  from  Adalia  to  Kiutayah 
and  Constantinople,  passes  nearly  due  north  by  the  beautiful  lake  of 
Buldur.®  The  direction  of  Antioch  in  Pisidia  bears  more  to  the  east. 
After  passing  somewhere  near  Selge  and  Sagalassus,  St.  Paul  approached 
by  the  margin  of  the  much  larger,  though  perhaps  not  less  beautiful,  lake 
of  Eyerdir.'  The  position  of  the  city  is  not  far  from  the  northern  shore 
of  this  lake,  at  the  base  of  a  mountain-range  which  stretches  through 
Phrygia  in  a  south-easterly  direction.  It  is,  however,  not  many  years 
since  this  statement  could  be  confidently  made.  Strabo,  indeed,  de- 
scribes its  position  with  remarkable  clearness  and  precision.  His  words 
are  as  follows :  —  "  In  the  district  of  Phrygia  called  Paroreia,  there  is  a 
certain  mountaiii-ridge,  stretching  from  east  to  west.  On  each  side 
there  is  a  large  plain  below  this  ridge :  and  it  has  two  cities  in  its  neigh- 
borhood ;  Philomelium  on  the  north,  and  on  the  other  side  Antioch,  called 
Antioch  near  Pisidia.  The  former  lies  entirely  in  the  plain,  the  latter 
(which  has   a  Roman  colony)  is  on  a  height."     With  this  description 

1  The   two  lakes  of  Buldur  and  Eyerdir  many  stately  wild  swans  {near  Almalee,  3,000 

are  mentioned  below.     Both  are  described  as  feet  above  the  sea)."  —  Fell.  Lycia,  p.  228. 
rery  beautiful.  ^  We  shall  have  occasion  to  return  prcs- 

'^  "  March  27  (near  Kiutayah).  —  I  counted  ently  to  this  character  of  much  of  the  interior 

180   storks   fishing  or  feeding   in   one   small  of  Asia  Minor  when  we  come  to   the  mention 

swampy  place  not  an   acre   in  extent.     The  of  Lycaonia  (Acts  xiv.  6). 
land  here  is  used  principally  for  breeding  and  *  Fellows's  Asia  Minor,  p.  155,  &c. 

grazing  cattle,  which  are  to  be  seen  in  herds  ^  See  Fellows's  Asia  Minor,  p.  177,  and  es- 

of  many  hundreds."     Fell.  Asia  Minor,  p.  155.  pecially  tbe  mention  of  the  goat's-hair  tents. 
"  May  8.  —  The  shrubs  are  the  rose,  the  bar-  ®  See  above,  n.  1. 

bary,  and  wild  almond ;  but  all  are  at  present  ''  See  the  descriptions  in  Arundell's  A»im 

fully  six  weeks  later  than  those  in  the  country  Minor,  ch.  xiii.,  and  especially  ch.  xt. 
we  hare  lately  passed.     I  observed  on  the  lake 


CHAP.  VI.  SITUATION  OF  ANTIOCH.  151 

before  him,  and  taking  into  account  certain  indications  of  distance 
furnished  by  ancient  authorities,  Colonel  Leake,  who  has  perhaps  done 
more  for  the  elucidation  of  Classical  Topography  than  any  other  man, 
felt  that  Ak-Sher,  the  position  assigned  to  Antioch  by  D'Anville  and 
other  geographers,  could  not  be  the  true  place  :  Ak-Sher  is  on  the  north 
of  the  ridge,  and  the  position  could  not  be  made  to  harmonize  with  the 
Tables.'  But  he  was  not  in  possession  of  any  information  which  could 
lead  him  to  the  true  position  ;  and  the  problem  remained  unsolved  till 
Mr.  Arundell  started  from  Smyrna,  in  1883,  with  the  deliberate  purpose 
of  discovering  the  scene  of  St.  Paul's  labors.  He  successfully  proved 
that  Ak-Sher  is  Philomelium,  and  that  Antioch  is  at  Yalobatch,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  ridge.  The  narrative  of  his  successful  journey  is  very 
interesting  :  and  every  Christian  ought  to  sympathize  in  the  pleasure  with 
which,  knowing  that  Antioch  was  seventy  miles  from  Apamea,  and  forty- 
five  miles  from  Apollonia,  he  first  succeeded  in  identifying  Apollonia ; 
and  then,  exactly  at  the  right  distance,  perceived,  in  the  tombs  near  a 
fountain,  and  the  vestiges  of  an  ancient  road,  sure  indications  of  his  ap- 
proach to  a  ruined  city  ;  and  then  saw,  across  the  plain,  the  remains  of 
an  aqueduct  at  the  base  of  the  mountain ;  and,  finally,  arrived  at 
Jalobatch,  ascended  to  the  elevation  described  by  Strabo,  and  felt,  as  he 
looked  on  the  superb  ruins  around,  that  he  was  "really  on  the  spot  con- 
secrated by  the  labors  and  persecution  of  the  Apostles  Paul  and 
Barnabas."  ^ 

The  position  of  the  Pisidian  Antioch  being  thus  determined  by  the  con- 
vergence of  ancient  authority  and  modern  research,  we  perceive  that  it 
lay  on  an  important  line  of  communication,  westward  by  Apamea  with 
the  valley  of  the  Maeander,  and  eastward  by  Iconium  with  the  country 
behind  the  Taurus.  In  this  general  direction,  between  Smyrna  and 
Ephesus  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Cilician  Gates  which  lead  down  to 
Tarsus  on  the  other,  conquering  armies  and  trading  caravans,  Persian 
satraps,  Roman  proconsuls,  and  Turkish  pachas,  have  travelled  for  cen- 
turies.^ The  Pisidian  Antioch  was  situated  about  half  way  between  these 
extreme  points.     It  was  built  (as  we  have  seen  in  an  earlier  chapter,  lY. 

^  See  Leake's   Asia  Minor,  p.   41.      The  ^  In  illustration  of  this  we  may  refer  to  the 

same  diflSculties  were  perceived  by  Manneri.  caravan  routes  and  Persian  militarj'  roads  as 

2  See  Arundell's  Asia  Minor,  ch.  xii.,  xiii.,  indicated  in  Kiepert's  Hellas,  to  Xenophon's 

xiv.,  and  the  view  as  given  in  our  quarto  edi-  Anabasis,  to  Alexander's  campaign  and  Cice- 

tion.     There  is  also  a  view  in  Laborde.     The  ro's  progress,  to  the  invasion  of  Tamerlane, 

opinion  of  Mr.  Arundell  is  fully  confirmed  by  and  the  movements  of  the  Turkish  and  Egyp- 

Mr.  Hamilton,  Researches  in  Asia  Minor,  vol.  tian  armies  in  1832  and  1833, 
I.  ch.  xxvii.      The  aqueduct  conveyed  water 
to  the  town  from  the  Sultan  Dagh   (Strabo's 
"  mountain  ridge  "). 


15S  THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  i*. 

p.  113)  by  the  founder  of  the  Syrian  Antioch ;  and  in  the  age  of  the 
Greek  kings  of  the  line  of  Seleucus  it  was  a  town  of  considerable  impor- 
tance. But  its  appearance  had  been  modified,  since  the  campaigns  of 
Scipio  and  Manlius,  and  the  defeat  of  Mithridates,^  by  the  introduction 
of  Roman  usages,  and  the  Roman  style  of  building.  This  was  true,  to 
a  certain  extent,  of  all  the  larger  towns  of  Asia  Minor:  but  this  change 
had  probably  taken  place  in  the  Pisidian  Antioch  more  than  in  many 
cities  of  greater  importance  ;  for,  like  Philippi,*  it  was  a  Roman  Colonia. 
Without  delaying,  at  present,  to  explain  the  full  meaning  of  this  term, 
we  may  say  that  the  character  impressed  on  any  town  in  the  Empire 
which  had  been  made  subject  to  military  colonization  was  particularly 
Roman,  and  that  all  such  towns  were  bound  by  a  tie  of  peculiar  closeness 
to  the  Mother  City.  The  insignia  of  Roman  power  were  displayed  more 
conspicuously  than  in  other  towns  in  the  same  province.  In  the  prov- 
inces where  Greek  was  spoken,  while  other  towns  had  Greek  letters  on 
their  coins,  the  money  of  the  colonies  was  distinguished  by  Latin  super- 
scriptions. Antioch  must  have  had  some  eminence  among  the  eastern 
colonies,  for  it  was  founded  by  Augustus,  and  called  Ciesarea.^  Such 
coins  as  that  represented  at  the  end  of  this  chapter  were  in  circulation 
here,  though  not  at  Perga  or  Iconium,  when  St.  Paul  visited  these  cities : 
and,  more  than  at  any  other  city  visited  on  this  journey,  he  would  hear 
Latin  spoken  side  by  side  with  the  Greek  and  the  ruder  Pisidian 
dialect.* 

Along  with  this  population  of  Greeks,  Romans,  and  native  Pisidians, 
a  greater  or  smaller  number  of  Jews  was  intermixed.  They  may  not 
have  been  a  very  numerous  body,  for  only  one  synagogue®  is  mentioned 
in  the  narrative.  But  it  is  evident,  from  the  events  recorded,  that  they 
were  an  influential  body,  that  they  had  made  many  proselytes,  and  that 
they  had  obtained  some  considerable  dominion  (as  in  the  parallel  cases 
of  Damascus  recorded  by  Josephus,®  and  Beroga  and  Thessalonica  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles)''  over  the  minds  of  the  Gentile  women. 

On  the  Sabbath  days  the  Jews  and  the  proselytes  met  in  the  synagogue. 

1  See  p.  13.  oxen,  which  illustrate  the   Roman   mode   of 

2  Acts  xvi.  12.     The  constitution  of  a  Co-  markinj^  out  by  a  plough  the  colonial  limits. 
hnia  will  be  explained  when  wc  come  to  this  *  We  shall  have  to  return  to  this  subject 
passage.  of  language  again,  in  speaking  of  the  "  speech 

3  We  should  learn  this  from  the  inscription  of  Lycaonia."     Acts  xiv.  11. 

on  the  coins,  COL.  CJ3S.  ANTIOCHLE,  if  ^  See  remarks  on  Salamis,  p.  127. 

we  did  not  learn  it  from  Strabo  and  Tliny.  ®  The  people  of  Damascus  were  obliged  to 

Mr.  Hamilton  found  an  inscription  at  Yalo-  use  caution  in  their  scheme  of  assassinating 

batch,    with    the    letters    ANTIOCH    EAE  the  Jews ;  —  "  through  fear  of   their  women, 

CAESARE.     Another   coin   of   this   colony,  all  of  whom,  except  a  few,  were  attached  to 

exhibiting  the  wolf  with  Romulus  and  Remus,  the  Jewish  worshippers."  —  War,  ii.  20,  2. 
ia  engraved  in  this  volume.     Others  exhibit  two  ''  Acts  xvii.  4,  12. 


CHAP.  VI.  THE    SYNAGOGUE.  153 

It  is  evident  that  at  this  time  full  liberty  of  public  worship  was  permitted 
to  the  Jewish  people  in  all  parts  of  tlie  Roman  Empire,  whatever  limita- 
tions might  have  been  enacted  by  law  or  compelled  by  local  opposition, 
as  relates  to  the  form  and  situation  of  the  synagogues.  We  infer  from 
Epiphanius  that  the  Jewish  places  of  worship  were  often  erected  in  open 
and  conspicuous  positions.^  This  natural  wish  may  frequently  have  been 
checked  by  the  influence  of  the  Heathen  priests,  who  would  not  will- 
ingly see  the  votaries  of  an  ancient  idolatry  forsaking  the  temple  for  the 
synagogue :  and  feelings  of  the  same  kind  may  probably  have  hindered 
the  Jews,  even  if  they  had  the  ability  or  desire,  from  erecting  religious 
edifices  of  any  remarkable  grandeur  and  solidity.  No  ruins  of  the 
synagogues  of  imperial  times  have  remained  to  us,  like  those  of  the  tem- 
ples in  every  province,  from  which  we  are  able  to  convince  ourselves  of 
the  very  form  and  size  of  the  sanctuaries  of  Jupiter,  Apollo,  and  Diana. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  the  sacred  edifices  of  the  Jews  have  been  modi- 
fied by  the  architecture  of  the  remote  countries  through  which  they  have 
been  dispersed,  and  the  successive  centuries  tlirough  which  they  have  con- 
tinued a  separated  people.  Under  the  Roman  Empire  it  is  natural  to 
suppose  that  they  must  have  varied,  according  to  circumstances,  through 
all  gradations  of  magnitude  and  decoration,  from  the  simple  proseucha 
at  Philippi^  to  the  magnificent  prayer-houses  at  Alexandria.'  Yet  there 
are  certain  traditional  peculiarities  which  have  doubtless  united  together 
by  a  common  resemblance  the  Jewish  synagogues  of  all  ages  and  coun- 
tries.* The  arrangement  for  the  women's  places  in  a  separate  gallery,  or 
behind  a  partition  of  lattice-work,  —  tlie  desk  in  the  centre,  where  the 
Reader,  like  Ezra  in  ancient  days, from  his  "pulpit  of  wood,"  may  "  open 
the  Book  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people  .  .  .  and  read  in  the  Book  the 
Law  of  God  distinctly,  and  give  the  sense,  and  cause  them  to  under- 
stand the  reading,"  *  —  the  carefully  closed  Ark  on  the  side  of  the  build- 
ing nearest  to  Jerusalem,  for  the  preservation  of  the  rolls  or  manuscripts 
of  the  Law  —  the  seats  all  round  the  building,  whence  "  the  eyes  of  all 
them  that  are  in  the  synagogue"  may  be  "fastened"  on  him  who  speaks,* 
—  the  "chief   seats," ^   which   were   appropriated   to   the   "ruler"    or 

1  He  is  speaking  of  the  synagogue  at  Na-  *  Besides  the  works  referred  to  in  the  notes 
blous.  Such  buildings  were  frequently  placed  to  Ch.  II.,  Allen's  Modern  Judaism  and  Ber- 
by  the  water-side  for  the  sake  of  ablutioa  nard's  Synagogue  and  Church  may  be  consulted 
Compare  Acts  xvi.  13,  with  Joseph.  Ant.  xiv.  with  advantage  on  subjects  connected  with 
10,  23.  the  synagogue. 

2  Acts  xvi.  13.     The  question  of  the  iden-  ^  Nehem.  viii.  4-8. 
tity  or  difference  of  the  proseucha  and  synagogue  ®  See  Luke  iv.  20. 

will  be  considered  hereafter.      Probably  the  "  These  chief  seats  (Matt,  xxiii.  6;  seem  to 

former  is  a  general  term.  have  faced  the  rest  of  the  congregation.     See 

8  Mentioned  by  Philo.  Jam.  ii.  3. 


154  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  CBAr.yt. 

"  rulers "  of  the  synagogue,  according  as  its  organization  might  be 
more  or  less  complete,^  and  which  were  so  dear  to  the  hearts  of  those 
who  professed  to  be  peculiarly  learned  or  peculiarly  devout, — these  are 
some  of  the  features  of  a  synagogue,  which  agree  at  once  with  the  notices 
of  Scripture,  the  descriptions  in  the  Talmud,  and  the  practice  of  modern 
Judaism. 

The  meeting  of  the  congregations  in  the  ancient  synagogues  may  be 
easily  realized,  if  due  allowance  be  made  for  the  change  of  costume,  by 
those  who  have  seen  the  Jews  at  their  worship  in  the  large  towns  of 
Modern  Europe.  On  their  entrance  into  the  building,  the  four-cornered 
Tallith^  was  first  placed  like  a  veil  over  the  head,  or  like  a  scarf  over  the 
shoulders.'  The  prayers  were  then  recited  by  an  ofiicer  called  the 
"  Angel,"  or  "  Apostle,"  of  the  assembly.*  These  prayers  were  doubtless 
many  of  them  identically  the  same  with  those  which  are  found  in  the 
present  service-books  of  the  German  and  Spanish  Jews,  though  their 
liturgies,  in  the  course  of  ages,  have  undergone  successive  developments, 
the  steps  of  which  are  not  easily  ascertained.  It  seems  that  the  prayers 
were  sometimes  read  in  the  vernacular  language  of  the  country  where 
the  synagogue  was  built ;  but  the  Law  was  always  read  in  Hebrew.  The 
sacred  roll  ®  of  manuscript  was  handed  from  the  Ark  to  the  Reader  by 
the  Chazan,  or  "  Minister ; "  *  and  then  certain  portions  were  read 
according  to  a  fixed  cycle,  first  from  the  Law  and  then  from  the  Proph- 
ets. It  is  impossible  to  determine  the  period  when  the  sections  from 
these  two  divisions  of  the  Old  Testament  were  arranged  as  in  use  at 
present ; ''  but  the  same  necessity  for  translation  and  explanation  existed 
then  as  now.  The  Hebrew  and  English  are  now  printed  in  parallel 
columns.  Then,  the  reading  of  the  Hebrew  was  elucidated  by  the 
Targum  or  the  Septuagint,  or  followed  by  a  paraphrase  in  the  spoken 


1  With  Luke  xiii.  14,  Acts  xviii.  8,  17,  reil  their  heads  during  their  exhortations  in 
compare  Luke  vii.  3,  Mark  v.  22,  and  Acts  the  synagogues."  It  is  quite  possible  that  the 
xiii.  15.  Some  are  of  opinion  that  the  smaller  Tallith,  though  generally  worn  in  the  congre- 
synagogues  had  one  "  ruler,"  the  larger  many.  gation,  might  be  removed  by  any  one  who 
It  is  more  probable   that   the  "  chief  ruler  "  rose  to  speak  or  who  prayed  aloud. 

with   the   "elders"  formed  a  congregational  *  Vitringa,  who  compares  Rev.  ii.  1. 

council,  like  the  kirk-session  in  Scotland.  ^  The  words  in  Luke  iv.   1 7,    20,    imply 

2  The  use  of  the  Tallith  is  said  to  have  the  acts  of  rolling  and  unrolling.  See  1 
arisen  from  the  Mosaic  commandment  direct-  Mace.  iii.  48. 

ing  tliat  fringes  should  be  worn  on  the  four  ''  Luke  iv.  17,  20. 

comers  of  the  garment.  ''  A  full  account  both  of  the  Paraschioth  or 

*  When  we  read  1   Cor.  xi.  4,  7,  we  must  Sections  of  the  Law,  and  the  Haphtaroth  or 

feel  some  doubt  concerning  the  wearing  of  the  Sections  of  the  Prophets,  as  used  both  by  the 

Tallith  on  the  head  during  worship  at  that  Portuguese  and  German  Jews,  may  be  seen  in 

period.     De  Wette  says   that  "  it  is  certain  Home's  Introduction,  vol.  iii.  pp.  254-258. 
that  in  the  Apostolic  age  the  Jews  did  not 


CHAP.  Ti.  THE   SYNAGOGUE,  155 

language  of  the  country.^  The  Reader  stood '  while  thus  employed,  and 
all  the  congregation  sat  around.  The  manuscript  was  rolled  up  and 
returned  to  the  Chazan."  Then  followed  a  pause,  during  which  strangers 
or  learned  men,  who  had  "  any  word  of  consolation  "  or  exhortation,  rose 
and  addressed  the  meeting.  And  thus,  after  a  pathetic  enumeration  of 
the  sufferings  of  the  chosen  people  *  or  an  allegorical  exposition  ^  of  some 
dark  passage  of  Holy  Writ,  the  worship  was  closed  with  a  benediction 
and  a  solemn  "  Amen."  ® 

To  such  a  worship  in  such  a  building  a  congregation  came  together  at 
Antioch  in  Pisidia,  on  the  Sabbath  which  immediately  succeeded  the 
arrival  of  Paul  and  Barnabas.  Proselytes  came  and  seated  themselves 
with  the  Jews  :  and  among  the  Jewesses  behind  the  lattice  were  "  honor- 
able women  "  "^  of  the  colony.  The  two  strangers  entered  the  synagogue, 
and,  wearing  the  Tallith,  which  was  the  badge  of  an  Israelite,^  "  sat 
down  "  ^  with  the  rest.  The  prayers  were  recited,  the  extracts  from  "  the 
Law  and  the  Prophets "  were  read ; '"  the  "  Book  "  returned  to  the 
"  Minister,"  "  and  then  we  are  told  that  "  the  rulers  of  the  synagogue  " 
sent  to  the  new-comers,  on  whom  many  eyes  had  already  been  fixed,  and 
invited  them  to  address  the  assembly,  if  they  had  words  of  comfort  or 
instruction  to  speak  to  their  fellow-Israelites.12  The  very  attitude  of  St. 
Paul,  as  he  answered  the  invitation,  is  described  to  us.  He  "  rose  "  from 
his  seat,  and,  with  the  animated  and  emphatic  gesture  which  he  used  on 
other  occasions,^^  "  beckoned  with  his  hand."  ^* 

After  thus  graphically  bringing  the  scene  before  our  eyes,  St.  Luke 
gives  us,  if  not  the  whole  speech  delivered  by  St.  Paul,  yet  at  least  the 
substance  of  what  he  said.  For  into  however  short  a  space  he  may  have 
condensed  the  speeches  which  he  reports,  yet  it  is  no  mere  outline,  no  dry 
analysis  of  them,  which  he  gives.  He  has  evidently  preserved,  if  not  all 
the  words,  yet  the  very  words  uttered  by  the  Apostle  ;  nor  can  we  fail  to 

1  See  p.  34.    In  Palestine  the  Sjro-Chal-  ^  gee  Neh.  viii.  6 ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  16. 
daic  language  would  be  used ;  in  the  Disper-  ^  Acts  xiii.  50. 

sion,  usually  the  Greek.     Lightfoot  seems  to  *  "  As  I  entered  the  synagogue  [at  Blidah 

think  that  the  Pisidian  language   was  used  in  Algeria],  they  offered  me  a  Tallith,  saying 

here.     Strabo  speaks  of  a  dialect  as  peculiar  in  French,  'Etes-vous  Israelite?'     I  could  not 

to  this  district.  wear  the  Tallith,  but  I  opened  my  English 

2  Acts  xiii.  16.  On  the  other  hand,  our  Bible  and  sat  down,  thinking  of  Paul  and 
Lord  was  seated  during  solemn  teaching,  Barnabas  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia."  —  Extract 
Luke  iv.  20.  Jrom  a  private  journal. 

'  See  Luke  iv.  20.  '  Acts  xiii.  14. 

*  The  sermon  in  the  synagogue  in  ''He-  ^'^  Acts  xiii.  15.  ^i  Luke  iv.  20. 

Ion's  Pilgrimage  "is  conceived  in  the  true  Jew-  ^^  Acts  xiii.  15.     The  word  is  the  same  aa 

ish  feeling.      Compare    the    address    of   St.  that  which  is  used  in  the  descriptive  title  of 

Stephen  Barnabas,  p.  115. 

^  We  see  how  an  inspired  Apostle  uses  al-  ^^  Acts  xxvi.  1,  xxi.  40.     See  xx.  34 

legory.     Gal.  iv,  21-31.  "  Acts  xiii.  16, 


156  THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OP   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  Ti. 

recognize  in  all  these  speeches  a  tone  of  thought,  and  even  of  expres- 
sion, which  stamps  them  with  the  individuality  of  the  speaker. 

On  the  present  occasion  we  find  St.  Paul  beginning  his  address  by 
connecting  the  Messiah  whom  he  preached  witli  the  preparatory  dis- 
pensation which  ushered  in  His  advent.  He  dwells  upon  the  previous 
history  of  the  Jewish  people,  for  the  same  reasons  which  had  led  St. 
Stephen  to  do  the  like  in  his  defence  before  the  Sanhedrin.  He  endeav- 
ors to  conciliate  the  minds  of  his  Jewish  audience  by  proving  to  tliem 
that  the  Messiah  whom  he  proclaimed  was  the  same  wliereto  their 
own  prophets  bare  witness  ;  come,  not  to  destroy  the  Law,  but  to  fulfil ; 
and  that  His  advent  had  been  duly  heralded  by  His  predicted  messenger. 
He  then  proceeds  to  remove  the  prejudice  which  the  rejection  of 
Jesus  by  the  authorities  at  Jerusalem  (the  metropolis  of  their  faith) 
would  naturally  raise  in  the  minds  of  the  Pisidian  Jews  against  His 
divine  mission.  He  shows  that  Christ's  death  and  resurrection  had 
accomplished  the  ancient  prophecies,  and  declares  this  to  be  the 
"  Glad  Tidings  "  which  the  Apostles  were  charged  to  proclaim.  Thus 
far  the  speech  contains  nothing  which  could  ofiend  the  exclusive  spirit  of 
Jewish  nationality.  On  the  contrary,  St.  Paul  has  endeavored  to  carry  his 
hearers  with  him  by  the  topics  on  which  he  has  dwelt ;  the  Saviour  whom 
he  declares  is  "  a  Saviour  unto  Israel ;  "  the  Messiah  whom  he  announces 
is  the  fulfiller  of  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  But  having  thus  concili- 
ated their  feelings,  and  won  their  favorable  attention,  he  proceeds  in  a 
bolder  tone  to  declare  the  Catholicity  of  Christ's  salvation,  and  the 
antithesis  between  the  Gospel  and  the  Law.  His  concluding  words,  as 
St.  Luke  relates  them,  might  stand  as  a  summary  representing  in  outline 
the  early  chapters  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans ;  and  tlierefore,  con- 
versely, those  chapters  will  enable  us  to  realize  the  manner  in  which  St. 
Paul  would  have  expanded  the  heads  of  argument  which  his  disciple  here 
records.  The  speech  ends  with  a  warning  against  that  bigoted  rejection 
of  Christ's  doctrine,  which  this  latter  portion  of  the  address  was  so  likely 
to  call  forth. 

The  following  were  the  words  (so  far  as  they  have  been  preserved  to 
us)  spoken  by  St.  Paul  on  this  memorable  occasion :  — 

AcTH      a  ^Q^  of  Israel,  and  ye,  proselytes  of   the  Gentiles,  who  f^^l^H^ 
10  worship  the  God  of  Abraham,  give  audience.  '"^*^  ^'" 

.  God's  choice 

17  "  The  God  of  this  people  Israel  chose  our  fathers,  and  raised  m^l^^^'lJ^ 
up  His  people,  when  they  dwelt  as  strangers  in  the  land  of  {'o  b(^^^^^i 
Egypt  ;  and  with  an  high  arm  brought  He  them  out  therefrom.  Mesuiah. 

18  And  about  the  time  of  forty  years,  even  as  a  nurse  beareth  her  child. 


CHAP.  VI.  ADDKESS   TO  THE  JEWS.  157 

SO   bare  He  tliem^  through   the  wilderness.     Aud  He  destroyed  seven  19 
nations  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and   gave  their  land  as  a  portion  unto 
His  people.      And  after  that  He  gave   unto   them  Judges   about  the  20 
space ^  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  years,   until   Samuel   the  Prophet; 
then  desired  they  a  king,  and    He   gave  unto  them  Saul,  the  son  of  21 
Cis,  a  man  of  the   tribe  of   Benjamin,^  to  rale  them  for   forty   years. 
Ind  when  He  had  removed  Saul,  He  raised  up  unto  them  David  to  be  22 
their  king ;  to  whom  also  He  gave  testimony,  and  said :  ^  hcl'ot  fouiTtt 

gabib,  l^e  Bon  of  Jesse,  a  mait  ato  mg  obrt  Ijeart,  toljulj  sfjall 
fulfil  all  mw  foilL*     Of  this  man's  seed  hath  God,  according  to  His  23 
promise,  raised  unto  Israel  a  Saviour  Jesus. 

«st  w*a8^mr     "-^nd  John  was  i\n  messenger  toljo  iuent  before  pis  face^  24 

predicted  .  »«>•,  Y     r  ■if 

forerunner,     t^  T^Xtl^diXt  JpiS  wR^  omxt  Jjtm,  and  lie  preached  the  bap- 
tism of  repentance  to  all  the  people  of  Israel.     And  as  John  fulfilled  his 
course  ^  his  saying  was,  '  Whom  think  ye  that  I  am  ?     I  am  not  He.     But  25 
behold  there  cometh  one  after  me  whose  shoes'  latchet  I  am  not  worthy  to 
(oose.' ' 
The  rulers  of       "  Mcii  and  Brethren,*  whether  ye  be  children  of  the  stock  of  26 

Jerusalem  fill- 

phefsbyc^us-  Abraham,  or  proselytes  of  the  Gentiles,  to  you  have  been  sent 
oI^.tIsus.  ^"'^    the  tidings  of  this  salvation  :  for  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  27 
and  their  rulers,  because  they  knew  Him  not,  nor  yet  the  voices  of  the 
prophets  which  are  read  in  their  synagogues  every  Sabbath  day,  have  ful- 
filled the  Scriptures  in  condemning  Him.     And  though  they  found  in  Him  28 
no  cause  of  death,  yet  besought  they  Pilate  that  He  should  be  slain.     And 

1  The  beauty  of  this  metaphor  has  been       the   tribe  of  Benjamin,   see  pp.  41,  42,  and 
lost  to  the  Authorized  Version  on  account  of       49.  —  H.] 

the   reading   adopted  in   the   Received  Text.  *  Compare  Ps.   Ixxxix.   20,  with  1    Sam. 

There  is  an  evident  allusion  to  Deut.  i.  31.  xiii.  14.     The  quotation  is  from  the  LXX., 

2  We  need  not  trouble  our  readers  with  the  but  not  verbatim,  being  apparently  made  from 
difBculties  which  have  been  raised  concerning  memory. 

the  chronology  of   this  passage.     Supposing  ^  jyiai.  iji.   i^  as  quoted  Matt.  xi.   10,  not 

it  could  be  proved  that  St.  Paul's  knowledge  exactly  after  the  LXX.,  but  rather  according 

of  ancient  chronology  was  imperfect,  this  need  to  the  literal  translation  of  the  Hebrew. 
not  surprise  us  ;  for  there  seems  no  reason  to  ^  [Here,  and  in  the  speech  at  Miletus  (xiii. 

duppose  (and  we  have  certainly  no   right  to  25),  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  St.  Paul  usea 

assume  a  priori)  that  Divine  inspiration  would  one  of  his  favorite  and  characteristic  metaphors 

instruct  the  Apostles  in  truth  discoverable  by  drawn  from  the  foot-race.  —  H.] 
uninspired  research,  and  non-essential  to  their  '  The  imperfect  is  used  here, 

religious  mission.     See  note  on  Galatians  iii.  *  Literally  "  men  that  are  my  brethren."     So 

17.  in  Acts  xvii.  22,  —  "men  of  Alliens."    It  might 

«  [For  the  speaker's  own  connection  with  be  rendered  simply  "  Brethren." 


158  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  vi. 

29  when  they  had  fulfilled  all  which  was  written  of  Him,  they  took  Him 

down  from  the  tree,  and  laid  Him  in  a  sepulchre. 
80       "  But  God  raised  Him  from  the  dead.  his  rebub- 

KECTION. 

31  *•'  And  He  was  seen  for  many  days  by  them  who  came  up  with  attested  b 
Him  from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem,  who  are  now  ^  His  witnesses  to  nessls.^** 
the  people  of  Israel.'^ 

82      "  And  while  they*  proclaim  it  in  Jerusalem,  we  declare  unto  l^f.^'^*^,  u 

"      >■  '  J  lamgs  of  the 

you  the  same  Glad  Tidings  concerning  the  promise  which  was  Innounce-^^" 

/»i  /^iiipi^nii  mcnt  that 

made  to  our  lathers  ;  even  that  God  hath  luJnlled  the  same  unto  Christ's  resur- 
rection had 

us  their  children,  in  that  He  hath  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  p^roml^s'l?.**'^'* 

33  dead;*  as  it  is  also  written  in  the  second  psalm,  CI^CU  art  ntu  Soit, 

34  t^XS  bag  l^afcr^  <|  b^gotltlt  tlj-C^.'     And  whereas  He  hath  raised  Him  from 
the  grave,  no  more  to  return  unto  corruption.  He  hath  said  on  this  wise, 

%\lt  blessings  of  gabitr  toill  J  gib^  gou,  t^Qtn  t^e  bUssht^s  to^k^ 

35  stattb  fast  in  ^nlincSS.*      Wherefore  it  is  written  also  in  another  psalm, 

36  CIjow  sljalt  not  sufc  t^im  Jolg  #ne  to  see  eorrnption.^    Now  David, 

after  he  had  ministered  in  his  own  generation  *  to  the  will  of  God,  fell 

37  asleep,  and  was  laid  unto  his  fathers,  and  saw  corruption  ;  but  He  whom 
God  raised  from  the  dead  saw  no  corruption.® 

88      "  Be  it  known  unto  you,  therefore,  men  and  brethren,  that  catholicity  of 

•'        '  '  '  Christ's  salva- 

through  this  Jesus  is  declared  unto  you  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  «  "i^'between''' 

39  And  in  Him  all  who  have  faith  are  justified  from  all  transgres-  the  Law. 
sions,  w^erefrom  in  the  Law  of  Moses  ye  could  not  be  justified. 

40  '*  Beware,  therefore,  lest  that  come  upon  you  which  is  spoken  Fiaai  wajming. 

1  The  word    for  "now,"    evidently  very  "^  Ps.  xvi.  10  (LXX.). 

important  here,  is  erroneously  omitted  by  the  *  David's  ministration  was  performed  (like 

Textus  Receptus.  that  of  other  men)  in  his  otmi  generation  ;  but 

2  "  The  people "  always  means  the  Jewish  the    ministration  of   Christ  extended   to   all 
people.  generations.     The  thought  is  similar  to  Heb. 

8  Observe,  "  we  preach  to  you  "  emphati-  vii.  23,  24.     We  depart  here  from  the  Author- 

cally  contrasted  with  .ae  preceding  "  they  to  ized  Version,  because  the  use  of  the  Greek 

the  Jewish  nation  "  (Humphry).  words,  for  "to  serve  one's  own  generation," 

*  "  Raised  up  from  the  dead."    Wc  cannot  does  not  accord  with  the  analogy  of  the  N.  T. 
agree  with  Mr.  Humphry  that  the  word  can  '  We  are  here  reminded  of  the  arguments 

here  (consistently  with  the  context)  have  the  of  St.  Peter  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  just  as. 

same  meaning  as  in  vii.  37.  the  beginning  of  the  speech  recalls  that  of 

^  Ps.  ii.  7,  according  to  LXX.  trans.  St.  Stephen  before  the  Sanhedrin.     Possibly, 

'  Isaiah  Iv.  3  (LXX.).    The  verbal  connec-  St  Paul  himself  had  been  an  auditor  of  the 

tion  {holy — Uoly   One)   between  w.   34   and  first,  as  he  certainly  was  of  the  last. 
35  should  be  carefully  noticed. 


CHAP,  VI.  ADDRESS  TO   THE  JEWS  159 

in  the  Prophets,  ^^^oltr,  ^t  bcspts^rs,  aittr  foonbtr,  nxiH  pih^ ;  for  4* 
1  foork  a  foorh  m  goxtr  bags,  a  toork  tojjtc^  ge  s^II  m  no  tobt 
b^lto,  t^jon^^  a  man  bttlare  tl  nnlo  gon."^ 

This  address  made  a  deep  and  thrilling  impression  on  the  audience. 
While  the  congregation  were  pouring  out  of  the  synagogue,  many  of  them  * 
crowded  round  the  speaker,  begging  that  "  these  words,"  which  had  moved 
their  deepest  feelings,  might  be  repeated  to  them  on  their  next  occasion 
of  assembling  together.^  And  when  at  length  the  mass  of  the  people  had 
dispersed,  singly  or  in  groups,  to  their  homes,  many  of  the  Jews  and 
proselytes  still  clung  to  Paul  and  Barnabas,  who  earnestly  exhorted  them 
(in  the  form  of  expression  which  we  could  almost  recognize  as  St.  Paul's, 
from  its  resemblance  to  the  phraseology  of  his  Epistles)  "  to  aoide  in  the 
grace  of  God."  * 

"  With  what  pleasure  can  we  fancy  the  Apostles  to  have  observed  these 
hearers  of  the  Word,  who  seemed  to  have  heard  it  in  such  earnest !  How 
gladly  must  they  have  talked  with  them,  —  entered  into  various  points  more 
fully  than  was  possible  in  any  public  address,  —  appealed  to  them  in  various 
ways  which  no  one  can  touch  upon  who  is  speaking  to  a  mixed  multitude  ! 
Yet  with  all  their  pleasure  and  their  hope,  their  knowledge  of  man's  heart 
must  have  taught  them  not  to  be  over-confident ;  and  therefore  they  would 
earnestly  urge  them  to  continue  in  the  grace  of  God ;  to  keep  up  the  im- 
pression which  had  already  outlasted  their  stay  within  the  synagogue  ;  — 
to  feed  it,  and  keep  it  alive,  and  make  it  deeper  and  deeper,  that  it  should 
remain  with  them  forever.  What  the  issue  was  we  know  not,  —  nor  does 
that  concern  us,  —  only  we  may  be  sure  that  here,  as  in  other  instances, 
there  were  some  in  whom  their  hopes  and  endeavors  were  disappointed  ; 
there  were  some  in  whom  they  were  to  their  fullest  extent  realized."* 

The  intervening  week  between  this  Sabbath  and  the  next  had  not  only 
its  days  of  meeting  in  the  synagogue,®  but  would  give  many  opportunities 
for  exhortation  and  instruction  in  private  houses  ;  the  doctrine  would  be 
noised  abroad,  and,  through  the  proselytes,  would  come  to  the  hearing  of 
the  Gentiles.      So  that  "  on  the  following  Sabbath  almost  the  whole  city 

*  Habak.  i.  5  (LXX.).  meeting  during  the  week.      The  Jews  were 

^  The  words  rendered  "  Gentiles "  ( Auth.  accustomed   to  meet  in   the  synagogues    on 

Vers.)  in  the  Textus  Receptus  have  caused  a  Monday  and  Thursday  as  well  as  on  Saturday. 

great  confusion   in   this  passage.      They  are  *  Acts  xiii.  43.     Compare  Acts  xx.  24 ;  1 

omitted  in  the  best  MSS.     See  below,  p.  164,  Cor.  xv.  10  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  1 ;  Gal.  ii.  21. 

n.  2.  ^  Dr.  Arnold's  Twenty-fourth   Sermon  on 

^  It  is  not  quite  certain  whether  we  are  to  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

understand  the  words  in  v.  42  to  mean  "  the  ®  See  n.  3  on  this  page. 

next  Sabbath  "  or  some  inteimediate  days  of 


160  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES  OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap.  ri. 

came  together  to  hear  the  Word  of  God."  The  synagogae  was  crowded.' 
Multitudes  of  Gentiles  were  there  in  addition  to  the  Proselytes.  This  was 
more  tlian  tlie  Jews  could  bear.  Their  spiritual  pride  and  exclusive 
bigotry  was  immediately  roused.  They  could  not  endure  the  notion  of 
others  being  freely  admitted  to  the  same  religious  privileges  with  them- 
selves. This  was  always  the  sin  of  the  Jewish  people.  Instead  of  realizing 
their  position  in  the  world  as  the  prophetic  nation  for  the  good  of  the  whole 
earth,  they  indulged  the  self-exalting  opinion,  that  God's  highest  blessings 
were  only  for  themselves.  Their  oppressions  and  their  dispersions  had 
not  destroyed  this  deeply-rooted  prejudice  ;  but  they  rather  found  comfort 
under  the  yoke,  in  brooding  over  their  religious  isolation :  and  even  in 
their  remote  and  scattered  settlements,  they  clung  with  the  utmost  tenacity 
to  the  feeling  of  their  exclusive  nationality.  Thus,  in  the  Pisidian 
Antioch,  they  who  on  one  Sabbath  had  listened  with  breathless  interest  to 
the  teachers  who  spoke  to  them  of  the  promised  Messiah,  were  on  the  next 
Sabbatli  filled  with  the  most  excited  indignation,  when  they  found  that 
this  Messiah  was  "  a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,"  as  well  as  "  the  glory 
of  His  people  Israel."  They  made  an  uproar,  and  opposed  the  words  of 
Paul  2  with  all  manner  of  calumnious  expressions,  "  contradicting  and 
blaspheming." 

Then  the  Apostles,  promptly  recognizing  in  the  willingness  of  the  Gentiles 
and  the  unbelief  of  the  Jews  the  clear  indications  of  the  path  of  duty, 
followed  that  bold  *  course  which  was  alien  to  all  the  prejudices  of  a  Jewish 
education.  They  turned  at  once  and  without  reserve  to  the  Gentiles. 
St.  Paul  was  not  unprepared  for  the  events  which  called  for  this  decision. 
The  prophetic  intimations  at  his  first  conversion,  his  vision  in  the  Temple 
at  Jerusalem,  his  experience  at  the  Syrian  Antioch,  his  recent  success  in 
the  island  of  Cyprus,  must  have  led  him  to  expect  the  Gentiles  to  listen 
to  that  message  which  the  Jews  were  too  ready  to  scorn.  The  words  with 
which  he  turned  from  his  unbelieving  countrymen  were  these  :  "  It  was 
needful  that  the  Word  of  God  should  first  be  spoken  unto  you :  but  inas- 
much as  ye  reject  it,  and  deem  yourselves  unworthy  of  eternal  life,  lo  !  we 
turn  to  the  Gentiles."  And  then  he  quotes  a  prophetical  passage  from 
their  own  sacred  writings.  "  For  tlius  hath  the  Lord  commanded  us, 
saying,  I  have  set  thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  shouldst  be  for 
salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth."  *  This  is  the  first  recorded  instance 
of  a  scene  which  was  often  re-enacted.  It  is  the  course  which  St.  Paul 
himself  defines  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  when  he  describes  the  Gospel 

1  Acts  xiii.  44.  '  Compare  1  Tliess.  ii.  2,  where  the  circum 

'  The  words  in  Acts  xiii.  45  imply  indi-  stances  appear  to  have  been  very  similar, 

rectly  that  Paul  was  the  "  chief  speaker,"  as  *  Isai.  xlix.  6,  quoted  with  a  slight  variatioi 

we  are  told,  xiv.  12.  from  the  LXX.     See  Isai.  xiii.  6  ;  Luke  ii.  32 


OHAi-.yi.  PREACHING  TO  THE  GENTILES.  161 

as  coming  first  to  the  Jew,  and  then  to  the  Gentile ;  ^  and  it  is  the  course 
which  he  followed  himself  on  various  occasions  of  his  life,  at  Corinth,^  at 
Ephesus,'  and  at  Rome.* 

That  which  was  often  obscurely  foretold  in  the  Old  Testament,  —  that 
those  should  "  seek  after  God  who  knew  Him  not,"  and  that  He  should  be 
honored  by  "  those  who  were  not  a  people  ;  "  *  —  that  which  had  already 
seen  its  first  fulfilment  in  isolated  cases  during  our  Lord's  life,  as  in  the 
centurion  and  the  Syrophoenician  woman,  whose  faith  had  no  parallel  in 
all  the  people  of  "  Israel ;  "  ^  —  that  which  had  received  an  express  ac- 
complishment through  the  agency  of  two  of  the  chiefest  of  the  Apostles,  in 
Cornelius,  the  Roman  officer  at  Caesarea,  and  in  Sergius  Paulus,  the 
Roman  governor  at  Paphos,  — began  now  to  be  realized  on  a  large  scale 
in  a  whole  community.  While  the  Jews  blasphemed  and  rejected  Christ, 
the  Gentiles  "  rejoiced,  and  glorified  the  Word  of  God."  The  counsels  of 
God  were  not  frustrated  by  the  unbelief  of  His  chosen  people.  A  new 
"  Israel,"  a  new  "  election,"  succeeded  to  the  former,''  A  Church  was 
formed  of  united  Jews  and  Gentiles  ;  and  all  who  were  destined  to  enter 
the  path  of  eternal  life  ^  were  gathered  into  the  Catholic  brotherhood  of 
the  hitherto  separated  races.  The  synagogue  had  rejected  the  inspired 
missionaries,  but  the  apostolic  instruction  went  on  in  some  private  house 
or  public  building  belonging  to  the  Heathen.  And  gradually  the  knowl- 
edge of  Christianity  began  to  be  disseminated  through  the  whole  vicinity.' 

The  enmity  of  the  Jews,  however,  was  not  satisfied  by  the  expulsion 
of  the  Apostles  from  their  synagogue.  What  they  could  not  accomplish 
by  violence  and  calumny,  they  succeeded  in  effecting  by  a  pious  intrigue. 
That  influence  of  women  in  religious  questions,  to  which  our  attention 
will  be  repeatedly  called  hereafter,  is  here  for  the  first  time  brought 
before  our  notice  in  the  sacred  narrative  of  St.  Paul's  life.  Strabo,  who 
was  intimately  acquainted  with  the  social  position  of  the  female  sex  in 
the  towns  of  Western  Asia,  speaks  in  strong  terms  of  the  power  which 
they  possessed  and  exercised  in  controlling  and  modifying  the  rehgious 
opinions  of  the  men.  This  general  fact  received  one  of  its  most  striking 
illustrations  in  the  case  of  Judaism.  We  have  already  more  than  once 
alluded  to  the  influence  of  the  female  proselytes  at  Damascus : '"  and  the 
good  service  which  women  contributed  towards  the  early  progress  of 

•  Rom.  i.  16,  ii.  9.     Compare  xi.  12,  25.  passage  has  been  made  the  subject  of  much 
'  Acts  xviii.  6.                   *  Acts  xix.  9.  controversy  with  reference  to  the  doctrine  of 

•  Acts  xxTiii.  28.  predestination.    Its  bearing  on  the  question  is 

•  See  Hosea,  i.  10,  ii.  23,  as  quoted  in  Rom.  very  doubtful.  The  same  participle  is  used  in 
ix.  25,  26.  Acts  XX.   13,  and  also  in  Luke  iii.   13,  and 

•  Matt.  viii.  5-10,  xv.  21-28.  Rom.  xiii.  1. 

T  See  Rom  xi.  7  ;  and  Gal.  vi.  16.  ^  Acts  xiii.  49. 

•  Acts  xiii.  48.    It  is  well  known  that  this  i"  See  above,  p.  18,  and  p.  152,  n.  6. 

11 


162  THE  LIFE    AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  vi 

Christianity  is  abundantly  known  both  from  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles.' 
Here  they  appear  in  a  position  less  honorable,  but  not  less  influential. 
The  Jews  contrived,  through  the  female  proselytes  at  Antioch,  to  win 
over  to  their  cause  some  influential  members  of  their  sex,  and  through 
them  to  gain  the  ear  of  men  who  occupied  a  position  of  eminence  in  the 
city.  Thus  a  systematic  persecution  was  excited  against  Paul  and 
Barnabas.  Whether  the  supreme  magistrates  of  the  colony  were  in- 
duced by  this  unfair  agitation  to  pass  a  sentence  of  formal  banishment, 
we  are  not  informed ;  ^  but  for  the  present  the  Apostles  were  compelled  to 
retire  from  the  colonial  limits. 

In  cases  such  as  these,  instructions  had  been  given  by  our  Lord  himself 
how  His  Apostles  were  to  act.  During  His  life  on  earth,  He  had  said  to 
the  Twelve,  "  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  you,  nor  hear  you,  when  ye 
depart  thence,  shake  off  the  dust  under  your  feet  for  a  testimony  against 
them.  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  that  city."  '  And  while  Paul 
and  Barnabas  thus  fulfilled  our  Lord's  words,  shaking  off  from  their  feet 
the  dust  of  the  dry  and  sunburnt  road,*  in  token  of  God's  judgment  on 
wilful  unbelievers,  and  turning  their  steps  eastwards  in  the  direction  of 
Lycaonia,  another  of  the  sayings  of  Christ  was  fulfilled,  in  the  midst  of 
tliose  who  had  been  obedient  to  the  faith  :  "  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall 
revile  you  and  persecute  you,  and  shall  say  all  manner  of  evil  against 
you  falsely,  for  my  sake.  Rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad  :  for  great  is 
your  reward  in  heaven  ;  for  so  persecuted  tliey  the  prophets  whicli  were 
before  you."  ^  Even  while  their  faithful  teachers  were  removed  from  them, 
and  travelling  across  the  bare  uplands®  which  separate  Antioch  from  the 
plain  of  Iconium,  the  disciples  of  the  former  city  received  such  manifest 

1  See  Acts  xvi.  14,  xviii.  2;  Philipp.  iv.  3  ;  ^  Matt.  v.  11,  12.' 

1  Cor.  vii.  16.  *>  Leake    approached    Iconium    from    the 

*  We  should  rather  infer  the  contrary,  northern  side  of  the  mountains  which  separate 
iince  they  revisited  the  place  on  their  return  Antioch  from  Philomelium  (see  p.  204).  He 
from  Derbe  (xiv.  21).  says  :  "On  the  descent  from  a  ridge  branching 

'  Mark  vi.  11  ;  Matt.  x.  14,  15;  Luke  ix.  5.  eastward  from  these  mountains,  we  came  in 

For  other  symbolical  acts  expressing  the  same  sight  of  the  vast  plain  around  Konich,  and  of 

thing,  see  Nehem.  v.  13  ;   Acts  xviii.  6.     It  the  lake  which  occupies  the  middle  of  it ;  and 

was  taught  in  the  schools  of  the  Scribes  that  we  saw  the  city  with  its  mosques  and  ancient 

the    dust    of  a  Heathen  land   defiled  by  the  walls,  still  at  the  distance  of  twelve  or  fourteen 

touch.     Hence  the  shaking  of  the  dust  oflF  the  miles  from  us,"  i>.  45.     Ainsworth  travelled 

feet  implied   that  the  city   was   regarded   as  in  the  same  direction,  and  says  :  "  We  trav- 

profane.  ellcd  three  hours  along  the  plain  of  Konieh, 

*  "  Literally  may  they  have  shaken  off  the  always  in  sight  of  the  city  of  the  Sultans  of 
dust  of  their  feet,  for  even  now  (Nov.  9)  the  Roum,  before  we  reached  it."  —  Trav.  in  Asia 
roads   abound   with  it,   and   in   the    summer  Minor,  ii.  p.  58. 

months  it  must  be  a  plain  of  dust."  —  Arun- 

dell's  Asia  Minor,  vol.  i.  p.  319.  ^ 


CH^.  VI.  ICONIUM.  163 

tokens  of  the  love  of  God,  and  the  power  of  the  "  Holy  Ghost,"  that  they 
were  "  filled  with  joy  "  in  the  midst  of  persecution. 

Iconium  has  obtained  a  place  in  history  far  more  distinguished  than 
that  of  the  Pisidian  Antioch.  It  is  famous  as  the  cradle  of  the  risino- 
power  of  the  conquering  Turks.'  And  the  remains  of  its  Mohammedan 
architecture  still  bear  a  conspicuous  testimony  to  the  victories  and  strong 
government  of  a  tribe  of  Tatar  invaders.  But  there  are  other  features  iu 
the  view  of  modern  Konieh  which  to  us  are  far  more  interesting.  To  the 
traveller  in  the  footsteps  of  St.  Paul,  it  is  not  the  armorial  bearings  of  the 
Knights  of  St.  John,  carved  over  the  gateways  in  the  streets  of  Rhodes, 
which  arrest  the  attention,  but  the  ancient  harbor  and  the  view  across 
the  sea  to  the  opposite  coast.  And  at  Konieh  his  interest  is  awakened,  not 
by  minarets  and  palaces  and  Saracenic  gateways,  but  by  the  vast  plain 
and  the  distant  mountains.- 

These  features  remain  what  they  were  in  the  first  century,  wliile  the 
town  has  been  repeatedly  destroyed  and  rebuilt,  and  its  architectural 
character  entirely  altered.  Little,  if  any  thing,  remains  of  Greek  or  Roman 
Iconium,  if  we  except  the  ancient  inscriptions  and  the  fragments  of  sculp- 
tures which  are  built  into  the  Turkish  walls.*  At  a  late  period  of  the 
Empire  it  was  made  a  Colonia,  like  its  neighbor,  Antioch ;  but  it  was 
not  so  in  the  time  of  St.  Paul.  These  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  its 
character  was  different  from  that  of  the  otlier  important  towns  on  the 
principal  lines  of  communication  through  Asia  Minor.  The  elements  of 
its  population  would  be  as  follows :  —  a  large  number  of  trifling  and  frivo- 
lous Greeks,  whose  principal  places  of  resort  would  be  the  theatre  and  the 
market-place;  some  remains  of  a  still  older  population,  coming  in  occa- 
sionally from  the  country,  or  residing  in  a  separate  quarter  of  the  town,; 
some  few  Roman  officials,  civil  or  military,  holding  themselves  proudly 
aloof  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  subjugated  province ;  and  an  old 
established  colony  of  Jews,  who  exercised  their  trade  during  the  week, 
and  met  on  the  Sabbatli  to  read  the  Law  in  the  Synagogue. 

The  same  kind  of  events  took  place  here  as  in  Antioch,  and  almost  in 

1  Iconium  was  the  capital  of  the  Seljukian  have  been  built  from  the  ruins  of  more  an- 

Sultans,  and  had  a  great  part  in  the  growth  cient  })uilding«,  as   broken  columns,  capitals, 

of  the  Ottoman  empire.  pedestals,   bass-reliefs,    and    other    pieces    of 

*  "  Konieh  extends  to  the  east  and  south  sculpture,  contribute  towards  its  construction. 

over  the  plain  far  beyond  the  walls,  which  are  It  has  eighty  gates,  of  a  square  form,  each 

about  two  miles  in  circumference.  .  .  .   Moun-  known  by  a  separate  name,  and,  as  well   as 

tains  covered  with   snow  rise  on  every  side,  most  of  the  towers,  embellished  with  Arabic 

excepting  towards  the  east,  where  a  plain,  as  inscriptions.  ...  I    observed    a    few    Greek 

flat  as   the  desert  of  Arabia,  extends  far  be-  characters  on  the  walls,  but  they  were  in  so 

yond  the  reach  of  the  eye."  —  Capt.  Kinneir.  elevated    a  situation   that  I    c:)uld    not    de^ 

'"The   city  wall   is   said   to    have    been  cipher  them."  —  Capt.  Kinneir. 
erected  by  the  Seljukian  Sultans :  it  seems  to 


164  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL  chap,  vi 

the  same  order.^  The  Apostles  went  first  to  the  Synagogue,  and  the 
effect  of  their  discourses  there  was  such,  that  great  numbers  both  of 
the  Jews  and  Greeks  {{.  e.  Proselytes  or  Heathens,  or  both)  -  believed  the 
Gospel.  The  unbelieving  Jews  raised  up  an  indirect  persecution  by 
exciting  the  minds  of  the  Gentile  population  against  those  who  received 
the  Christian  doctrine.  But  the  Apostles  persevered  and  remained  in  the 
city  some  considerable  time,  having  their  confidence  strengthened  by  the 
miracles  which  God  worked  through  their  instrumentality,  in  attestation 
of  the  truth  of  His  Word.  There  is  an  apocryphal  narrative  of  certain 
events  assigned  to  this  residence  at  Iconium  :  ^  and  we  may  innocently 
adopt  so  much  of  the  legendary  story,  as  to  imagine  St.  Paul  preaching 
long  and  late  to  crowded  congregations,  as  he  did  afterwards  at  Assos,* 
and  his  enemies  bringing  him  before  the  civil  authorities,  with  the  cry 
that  he  was  disturbing  their  households  by  his  sorcery,  or  with  complaints 
like  those  at  Philippi  and  Ephesus,  that  he  was  "  exceedingly  troubling 
their  city,"  and  "  turning  away  much  people."  ^  We  learn  from  an  in- 
epired  source®  that  the  whole  population  of  Iconium  was  ultimately 
divided  into  two  great  factions  (a  common  occurrence,  on  far  less  impor- 
tant occasions,  in  these  cities  of  Oriental  Greeks),  and  that  one  party 
took  the  side  of  the  Apostles,  the  other  that  of  the  Jews.  But  here,  as 
at  Antioch,  the  influential  classes  were  on  the  side  of  the  Jews.  A 
determined  attempt  was  at  last  made  to  crush  the  Apostles,  by  loading 
them  with  insult  and  actually  stoning  them.  Learning  this  wicked  con- 
spiracy, in  which  the  magistrates  themselves  were  involved,''  they  fled  to 
some  of  the  neighboring  districts  of  Lycaonia,  where  they  might  be  more 
secure,  and  have  more  liberty  in  preaching  the  Gospel. 

It  would  be  a  very  natural  course  for  the  Apostles,  after  the  cruel 
treatment  they  had  experienced  in  the  great  towns  on  a  frequented  route, 
to  retire  into  a  wilder  region  and  among  a  ruder  population.  In  any 
country,  the  political  circumstances  of  which  resemble  those  of  Asia 
Minor  under  the  early  emperors,  there  must  be  many  districts,  into 
which  the  civilization  of  the  conquering  and  governing  people  has  hardly 
penetrated.  An  obvious  instance  is  furnished  by  our  Eastern  presi- 
dencies, in  the  Hindoo  villages,  which  have  retained  their  character  with- 
out alteration,  notwithstanding  the  successive  occupations  by  Moham- 
medans  and    English.     Thus,  in   the  Eastern  provinces  of  the  Roman 

1  See  Acta  xiv.  1-5.  *  Acts  xx.  7-11. 

'  Perhaps    "  Greeks  "    (v.   1 )   may    mean  6  ^(.jg  xvi.  20,  xix.  26. 

"  proselytes,"  as  opposed  to  the  "  Gentiles  "  of  o  ^^ts  xiv.  4. 

T.  2.  ''  It  is  impossible  to  determine  exactly  tha 

•  The  legend  of  Paul  and  Thecla.     The  meaning  of  the  word  rendered  "  rulers." 
■tory  will  be  found  in  Jones  on  the  Canon  (toI. 
fi.  pp.  353-403). 


CBAT.  VI.  LYCAONIA.  165 

Empire  there  must  have  been  many  towns  and  villages  where  local  customs 
were  untouched,  and  where  Greek,  though  certainly  understood,  was  not 
commonly  spoken.  Such,  perhaps,  were  the  places  which  now  come 
before  our  notice  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  —  small  towns,  with  a  rude 
dialect  and  primitive  superstition  ^  — "  Lystra  and  Derbe,  cities  of 
Lycaonia."  "^ 

The  district  of  Lycaonia  extends  from  the  ridges  of  Mount  Taurus  and 
the  borders  of  Cilicia,  on  the  south,  to  the  Cappadocian  hills,  on  the 
north.  It  is  a  bare  and  dreary  region,  unwatered  by  streams,  though  in 
parts  liable  to  occasional  inundations.  Strabo  mentions  one  place  where 
water  was  even  sold  for  money.  In  this  respect  there  must  be  a  close 
resemblance  between  this  country  and  large  tracts  of  Australia.  Nor  is 
this  the  only  particular  in  which  the  resemblance  may  be  traced.  Both 
regions  afford  excellent  pasture  for  flocks  of  sheep,  and  give  opportunities 
for  obtaining  large  possessions  by  trade  in  wool.  It  was  here,  on  the 
downs  of  Lycaonia,  that  Amyntas,  while  he  yet  led  the  life  of  a  nomad 
chief,  before  the  time  of  his  political  elevation,'  fed  his  three  hundred 
flocks.  Of  the  whole  district  Icouium  *  was  properly  the  capital :  and 
the  plain  round  Iconium  may  be  reckoned  as  its  great  central  space, 
situated  midway  between  Cilicia  and  Cappadocia.  This  plain  is  spoken 
of  as  the  largest  in  Asia  Minor.*  It  is  almost  like  the  steppes  of  Great 
Asia,  of  which  the  Turkish  invaders  must  often  have  been  reminded,^ 
when  they  came  to  these  level  spaces  in  the  west ;  and  the  camels  which 
convey  modern  travellers  to  and  from  Konieh,  find  by  the  side  of  their 
path  tufts  of  salt  and  prickly  herbage,  not  very  dissimilar  to  that  which 
grows  in  their  native  deserts.'^ 

Across  some  portion  of  this  plain  Paul  and  Barnabas  travelled  before 
as  well  as  after  their  residence  in  Iconium.  After  leaving  the  high  land 
to  the  north-west,^  during  a  journey  of  several  hours  before  arriving  at 
the  city,  the  eye  ranges  freely  over  a  vast  expanse  of  level  ground  to  the 
south  and  the  east.  The  two  most  eminent  objects  in  the  view  are  cer- 
tain snowy  summits,'  which  rise  high  above  all  the  intervening  hills  in 
the    direction  of  Armenia,  —  and,  in  the   nearer  horizon,  the  singular 

1  Acts  xiv.  11,  12,  &c.  as  he  crossed  this  plain,  eagerly  eating  the  tufts 

^  Acts  xiv.  6.  of  Mesemhryanthcmum  and  Salicornia,  "  re- 

8  See  above,  Ch.  I.  p.  21.  minding  them  of  plains  with  which  they  were 

♦  Xenophon,  who  is  the  first  to  mention  probably  more  familiar  than  those  of  Asia 
Iconium,  calls  it  "  the  last  city  of  Phrygia,"  Minor."  The  plain,  however,  is  naturally 
in  the  direction  of  "  Lycaonia."  rich. 

6  See  Leake,  p.  93,  '  See  above,  p.  150. 

*  The  remark  is  made  by  Texier  in  his  ®  Leake  supposed  these  summits  to  be  those 
"  Asie  Mineure."                                                       of  Mount  Argseus,  but  Hamilton  thinks  h« 

''  Ainsworth  (ii.  p.  68)  describes  the  camels,      was  in  error. 


166 


THE  LIFE  A2?D  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


mountain  mass  called  the  "  Kara-Dagh,"  or  "  Black  Mount,"  south- 
eastwards  in  the  direction  of  Cilicia.^  And  still  these  features  continue 
to  be  conspicuous  after  Iconium  is  left  behind,  and  the  traveller  moves 
on  over  the  plain  towards  Lystra  and  Derbe.  Mount  Argaeus  still  rises 
far  to  the  north-east,  at  tlie  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  The 
Black  Mountain  is  gradually  approached,  and  discovered  to  be  an 
isolated  mass,  with  reaches  of  the  plain  extending  round  it  like  channels 
of  the  sea.'^  The  cities  of  Lystra  and  Derbe  were  somewhere  about  the 
bases  of  the  Black  Mountain.  We  have  dwelt  thus  minutely  on  the 
physical  characteristics  of  this  part  of  Lycaonia,  because  the  positions  of 
its  ancient  towns  have  not  been  determined.  "We  are  only  acquainted 
with  the  general  features  of  the  scene.  While  the  site  of  Iconium  has 
never  been  forgotten,  and  that  of  Antioch  in  Pisidia  has  now  been  clearly 
identified,  those  of  Lystra  and  Derbe  remain  unknown,  or  at  best  are 
extremely  uncertain.*  No  conclusive  coins  or  inscriptions  have  been 
discovered  ;  nor  has  there  been  any  such  convergence  of  modern  investi- 
gation and  ancient  authority  as  leads  to  an  infallible   result.     Of  the 


1  See  Leake,  p.  45.  "  To  the  south-east  the 
same  plains  extend  as  far  as  the  mountains  of 
Karaman  (Laranda).  At  the  south-east  ex- 
tremity of  the  plains  heyond  Konieh,  we  are 
much  struck  with  the  appearance  of  a  remark- 
able insulated  mountain,  called  Kara-Dagh 
(Black  Mountain),  rising  to  a  great  height, 
covered  at  the  top  with  snow  [Jan.  31],  and 
appearing  like  a  lofty  island  in  the  midst  of 
the  sea.  It  is  about  sixty  miles  distant."  The 
lines  marked  on  the  Map  are  the  Roman  roads 
mentioned  in  the  Itineraries. 

A  view  of  the  Kara-Dagh  is  given  in  Ch. 

vni. 

2  See  Leake,  pp.  93-97.  "{Feb.  1.  From 
Konieh  to  Tshumra.) — Our  road  pursues  a 
perfect  level  for  upwards  of  twenty  miles. 
(Feb.  2.  From  Tshumra  to  Kassaba.)  —  Nine 
hours  over  the  same  uninterrupted  level  of  the 
finest  soil,  but  quite  uncultivated,  except  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  a  few  widely 
dispersed  villages.  It  is  painful  to  behold 
such  desolation  in  the  midst  of  a  region  so 
highly  favored  by  nature.  Another  character- 
istic of  these  Asiatic  plains  is  the  exactness  of 
the  level,  and  the  peculiarity  of  their  extend- 
ing, without  any  previous  slope,  to  the  foot  of 
the  mountains,  which  rise  from  them  like  lofty 
islands  out  of  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  The 
Karamanian  ridge  seems  to  recede  as  we  ap- 
proach it,  and  the  snowy  summits  of  Argseus 


[?]  are  still  to  be  seen  to  the  north-east.  .  . 
At  three  or  four  miles  short  of  Kassaba,  we 
are  abreast  of  the  middle  of  the  very  lofty 
insulated  mountain  already  mentioned,  called 
Kara-Dagh.  It  is  said  to  be  chiefly  inhabited 
by  Greek  Christians,  and  to  contain  1,001 
churches  ;  but  we  afterwards  learnt  that  these 
1,001  churches  (Bin-bir-Kilisseh)  was  a  name 
given  to  the  extensive  ruins  of  an  ancient  city 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  (Feb.  3.  From 
Kassaba  to  Karaman.)  —  Four  hours ;  the  road 
still  passing  over  a  plain,  which  towards  the 
mountains  begins  to  be  a  little  intersected  with 
low  ridges  and  ravines.  .  .  .  Between  these 
mountains  and  the  Kara-Dagh  there  is  a 
kind  of  strait,  which  forms  the  communica- 
tion between  the  plain  of  Karaman  and  the 
great  levels  lying  eastward  of  Konieh.  .  .  . 
Advancing  towards  Karaman,  I  perceive  a 
passage  into  the  plains  to  the  north-west,  round 
the  northern  end  of  Kara-Dagh,  similar  to  that 
on  the  south,  so  that  this  mountain  is  com- 
pletely insulated.  We  still  sec  to  the  north- 
east the  great  snowy  summit  of  Argaeus,  [7] 
which  is  probably  the  highest  point  of  Asia 
Minor."  See  a  similar  description  of  the  iso- 
lation of  the  Kara-Dagh  in  Hamilton  (ii.  3I.S, 
320),  who  approached  it  from  the  east. 

*  Col.  Leake  wrote  thus  in  1824  :  "  Noth- 
ing can  more  strongly  snow  the  little  progress 
that  has  hitherto  been  made  in  a  knowledge 


ST.  PAUL  AT  LYSTEA. 


io7 


different  hypotheses  which  have  been  proposed,  we  have  been  content  in 
the  accompanying  map  to  indicate  those  ^  which  appear  the  most  probable. 
We  resume  the  thread  of  our  narrative  with  the  arrival  of  Paul 
and  Barnabas  at  Lystra.  One  peculiar  circumstance  strikes  us  immedi- 
ately in  what  we  read  of  the  events  in  this  town ;  that  no  mention  occurs 
of  any  synagogue  or  of  any  Jews.  It  is  natural  to  infer  that  there  were 
few  Israelites  in  the  place,  though  (as  we  shall  see  hereafter)  it  would  be 
a  mistake  to  imagine  that  there  were  none.  We  are  instantly  brought 
in  contact  with  a  totally  new  subject,  —  with  Heathen  superstition  and 
mythology ;  yet  not  the  superstition  of  an  educated  mind,  as  that  of  Ser- 
gius  Paulus, —  nor  the  mythology  of  a  refined  and  cultivated  taste,  like 
that  of  the  Athenians,  —  but  the  mythology  and  superstition  of  a  rude 
and  unsophisticated  people.  Thus  does  the  Gospel,  in  the  person  of  St. 
Paul,  successively  clash  with  opposing  powers,  with  sorcerers  and  philoso- 
phers, cruel  magistrates  and  false  divinities.  Now  it  is  the  rabbinical 
master  of  the  Synagogue,  now  the  listening  proselyte  from  the  Greeks, 


of  the  ancient  geography  of  Asia  Minor,  than 
that,  of  the  cities  which  the  journey  of  St. 
Paul  has  made  so  interesting  to  us,  the  site 
of  one  only  (Iconiura)  is  yet  certainly  known. 
Perga,  Antioch  of  Pisidia,  Lystra,  and  Derbe, 
remain  to  be  discovered."  —  P.  103.  We  have 
seen  that  two  of  these  four  towns  have  been 
fully  identified,  —  Perga  by  Sir  C.  Fellows, 
and  Antioch  by  Mr.  Arundell.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  other  two  will  yet  be  clearly 
ascertained. 

^  The  general  features  of  the  map  here 
given  are  copied  from  Kiepert's  large  map  of 
Asia  Minor,  and  his  positions  for  Lystra  and 
Derbe  are  adopted.  Lystra  is  marked  near  the 
place  where  Leake  conjectured  that  it  might 
be,  some  twenty  miles  S.  of  Iconium.  It  does 
not  appear,  however,  that  he  saw  any  ruins  on 
the  spot.  There  are  very  remarkable  Chris- 
tian ruins  on  the  N.  side  of  the  Kara-Dagh, 
at  Bin-bir-Kilisseh  ("the  1,001  cnurches"), 
and  Leake  thinks  that  they  may  mark  the  site 
of  Derbe.  We  think  Mr.  Hamilton's  conjec- 
ture much  more  probable,  that  they  mark  the 
site  of  Lystra,  which  has  a  more  eminent  ec- 
clesiastical reputation  than  Derbe. 

While  this  was  passing  through  the  press, 
the  writer  received  an  indirect  communication 
from  Mr.  Hamilton,  which  will  be  che  best 
commentary  on  the  map.  "  There  are  ruins 
(though  slight)  at  the  spot  where  Derbe 
is  marked  on  Kiepert's  map,  ana  as  this  spot 


is  certainly  on  a  line  of  Roman  road,  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  it  may  represent  Derbe.  He  did 
not  actually  visit  Divle,  but  the  coincidence 
of  name  led  him  to  think  it  might  be  Derbe. 
He  does  not  know  of  any  ruins  at  the  place 
where  Kiepert  writes  Lystra,  but  was  not  on 
that  spot.  There  may  be  ruins  there,  but  he 
thinks  they  cannot  be  of  importance,  as  he  did 
not  hear  of  them,  though  in  the  neighbor- 
hood; and  he  prefers  Bin-bir-Kilisseh  as  the 
site  of  Lystra." 

The  following  description  of  the  Bin-bir- 
Kilisseh  is  supplied  by  a  letter  from  Mr.  E. 
Falkeuer.  "  The  principal  group  of  the  Bin- 
bir-Kilisseh  lies  at  the  foot  of  Kara-Dagh.  .  .  . 
Perceiving  ruins  on  the  slope  of  the  mountain, 
I  began  to  ascend,  and  on  reaching  these  dis- 
covered they  were  churches ;  and,  looking 
upwards,  descried  others  yet  above  rae,  and 
climbing  from  one  to  the  other  I  at  length 
gained  the  summit,  where  I  found  two  church- 
es. On  looking  down,  I  perceived  churches 
on  all  sides  of  the  mountain,  scattered  about 
in  various  positions.  The  number  ascribed  to 
them  by  the  Turks  is  of  course  metaphorical ; 
but  including  those  in  the  plain  below,  there 
are  about  two  dozen  in  tolerable  preservation, 
and  the  remains  of  perhaps  forty  may  be 
traced  altogether.  .  .  .  The  mountain  must 
have  been  considered  sacred  ;  all  the  ruins  are 
of  Christian  epoch,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
a  huge  palace,  every  building  is  a  church." 


168  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  vi 

that  is  resisted  or  convinced,  —  now  the  honest  inquiry  of  a  Roman 
officer,  now  the  wild  fanaticism  of  a  rustic  credulity,  that  is  addressed 
with  bold  and  persuasive  eloquence. 

It  was  a  common  belief  among  the  ancients  that  the  gods  occasionally 
visited  the  earth  in  the  form  of  men.  Such  a  belief  with  regard  to  Jupi- 
ter, "  the  father  of  gods  and  men,"  would  be  natural  in  any  rural  dis- 
trict :  but  nowhere  should  we  be  prepared  to  find  the  traces  of  it  more 
than  at  Lystra ;  for  Lystra,  as  it  appears  from  St.  Luke's  narrative,^  was 
under  the  tutelage  of  Jupiter,  and  tutelary  divinities  were  imagined  to 
haunt  the  cities  under  their  protection,  though  elsewhere  invisible. 
The  temple  of  Jupiter  was  a  conspicuous  object  in  front  of  the  city- 
gates  :'■*  what  wonder  if  the  citizens  should  be  prone  to  believe  that  their 
"  Jupiter,  which  was  before  the  city,"  would  willingly  visit  his  favorite 
people  ?  Again,  the  expeditions  of  Jupiter  were  usually  represented  as 
attended  by  Mercury.  He  was  the  companion,  the  messenger,  the  ser- 
vant of  the  gods.'  Thus  the  notion  of  these  two  divinities  appearing 
together  in  Lycaonia  is  quite  in  conformity  with  what  we  know  of  the 
popular  belief.  But  their  appearance  in  that  particular  district  would  be 
welcomed  with  more  than  usual  credulity.  Those  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  literature  of  the  Roman  poets  are  familiar  with  a  beautiful  tra- 
dition of  Jupiter  and  Mercury  visiting  in  human  form  these  very  regions* 
in  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor.  And  it  is  not  without  a  singular  interest 
that  we  find  one  of  Ovid's  stories  re-appearing  in  the  sacred  pages  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles.  In  this  instance,  as  in  so  many  others,  the  Scrip- 
ture, in  its  incidental  descriptions  of  the  Heathen  world,  presents 
"  undesigned  coincidences ' '  with  the  facts  ascertained  from  Heathen 
memorials. 

These  introductory  remarks  prepare  us  for  considering  the  miracle 
recorded  in  the  Acts.  We  must  suppose  that  Paul  gathered  groups  of 
the  Lystrians  about  him,  and  addressed  them  in  places  of  public  resort,  as 
a  modern  missionary  might   address   the  natives  of  a  Hindoo  village.' 

1  It  is  more  likely  that  a  temple  than  a  always  used  the  nearest  Latin  equivalents  for  the 
statue  of  Jupiter  is  alluded  to.  The  temple  Greek  divinities,  t.e.  Jupiter,  Mercury,  Diana, 
of  the  tutelary  divinity  was  outside  the  walls  Minerva,  for  Zeus,  Hermes,  Artemis,  Athene, 
at  Perga  (see  p.  143)  and  at  Ephesus,  as  we  *  See  the  story  of  Baucis  and  Philemon, 
learn  from  the  story  in  Herodotus  (i.  26),  who  Ovid.  Met.  viii.  611,  cS-c.  Even  if  the  Lycao- 
tells  us  that  in  a  time  of  danger  the  citizens  nians  were  a  Semitic  tribe,  it  is  not  unnatural 
put  themselves  under  the  protection  of  Diana,  to  suppose  them  familiar  with  Greek  mytholo- 
by  attaching  her  temple  by  a  rope  to  the  city  gy.  An  identification  of  chissical  and  "  bar- 
^all.  barian  "  divinities  had  taken  place  in  innumer- 

2  Acts  xiv.  13.  able  instances,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Tyrian 
*  See  the  references  in  Smith's  Dictionary       Hercules  and  Paphian  Venus. 

■!>/   Classical  Biography  and  Mythology,  under  ^  See  for  instance  Fox's  C^fl/^ters  on  Msston*. 

'  Hermes."    We  may  remark  here  that  we  have      p.  153,  &c. 


CHAJ.  Ti.  HEAIiING   OF  THE   CRIPPLE.  169 

But  it  would  not  be  necessary  in  liis  case,  as  in  that  of  Schwartz  or  Mar- 
^yn,  to  have  learnt  the  primitive  language  of  those  to  whom  he  spoke. 
He  addressed  them  in  Greek,  for  Greek  was  well  understood  in  this 
border-country  of  the  Lystrians,  though  their  own  dialect  was  either  a 
barbarous  corruption  of  that  noble  language,  or  the  surviving  remainder 
of  some  older  tongue.  He  used  the  language  of  general  civilization,  as 
English  may  be  used  now  in  a  Welsh  country-town  like  Dolgelly  or  Car- 
marthen. The  subjects  he  brought  before  these  illiterate  idolaters  of 
Lycaonia  were  doubtless  such  as  would  lead  them,  by  the  most  natural 
steps,  to  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  and  the  belief  in  His  Son's 
resurrection.  He  told  them,  as  he  told  the  educated  Athenians,^  of  Him 
whose  worship  they  had  ignorantly  corrupted ;  whose  unity,  power,  and 
goodness  they  might  have  discerned  through  the  operations  of  nature  ; 
whose  displeasure  against  sin  had  been  revealed  to  them  by  the  admoni- 
tions of  their  natural  conscience. 

On  one  of  these  occasions'^  St.  Paul  observed  a  cripple,  who  was 
earnestly  listening  to  his  discourse.  He  was  seated  on  the  ground,  for 
he  had  an  infirmity  in  his  feet,  and  had  never  walked  from  the  hour  of 
his  birth.  St.  Paul  looked  at  him  attentively,  with  that  remarkable 
expression  of  the  eye  which  we  have  already  noticed  (p.  134).  The 
same  Greek  word  is  used  as  when  the  Apostle  is  described  as  "  ear- 
nestly beholding  the  council,"  and  "  as  setting  his  eyes  on  Elymas  the 
sorcerer."'  On  this  occasion  that  penetrating  glance  saw,  by  the  power 
of  the  Divine  Spirit,  into  the  very  secrets  of  the  cripple's  soul.  Paul 
perceived  "  that  he  had  faith  to  be  saved."*  These  words,  implying  so 
much  of  moral  preparation  in  the  heart  of  this  poor  Heathen,  rise  above 
all  that  is  told  us  of  the  laaie  Jew,  whom  Peter,  "  fastening  his  eyes  upon 
him  with  John,"  had  once  healed  at  the  temple  gate  in  Jerusalem.^  In 
other  respects  the  parallel  between  the  two  cases  is  complete.  As  Peter 
said  in  the  presence  of  the  Jews,  "  In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Naza- 
reth, rise  up  and  walk,"  so  Paul  said  before  his  idolatrous  audience  at 
Lystra,  "  Stand  upright  on  thy  feet."  And  in  this  case,  also,  the  word 
which  had  been  suggested  to  the  speaker  by  a  supernatural  intuition  was 
followed  by  a  supernatural  result.  The  obedient  alacrity  in  tlie  spirit, 
and  the  new  strength  in  the  body,  rushed  together  simultaneously.  The 
lame  man  sprang  up  in  the  joyful  consciousness  of  a  power  he  had 
never  felt  before,  and  walked  like  those  who  had  never  had  experience 
of  infirmity. 

^  It  is  very  important  to  compare  together  *  Acts  xir.  9.     The  word  is  the  same  as  ia 

the  speeches  at  Lystra  and  Athens,  and  both      xvi.  30. 

with  the  first  chapter  of  the  Romans.     See  °  Acts  iii.    Wetstein  remarks  on  the  greater 

pp.  171,  172.  faith  manifested  by  the  Heathen  at  Lystra  than 

*  Acts  xir.  8,  &c.  Acts  xxiii.  1,  xiii.  9.       the  Jew  at  Jerusalem. 


170  THK   L1F&  AKD   EPISTLES   OE   ST.    PAUL,.  chap.  vt. 

And  now  arose  a  great  tumult  of  voices  from  the  crowd.  Such  a  cure 
of  a  congenital  disease,  so  sudden  and  so  complete,  would  haVe  con- 
founded the  most  skilful  and  sceptical  physicians.  An  illiterate  people 
would  be  filled  with  astonishment,  and  rush  immediately  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  supernatural  powers  were  present  among  them.  These  Lyca- 
onians  thought  at  once  of  their  native  traditions,  and  crying  out  vocifer- 
ously in  their  mother-tongue,^  —  and  we  all  know  how  the  strongest  feel- 
ings of  an  excited  people  find  vent  in  the  language  of  childhood,  —  they 
exclaimed  that  the  gods  had  again  visited  them  in  the  likeness  of  men, 
—  that  Jupiter  and  Mercury  were  again  in  Lycaonia, —  that  the  persua- 
sive speaker  was  Mercury,  and  his  companion  Jupiter.  They  identified 
Paul  with  Mercury,  because  his  eloquence  corresponded  with  one  of  that 
divinity's  attributes.  Paul  was  the  "  chief  speaker,"  and  Mercury  was 
the  god  of  eloquence.  And  if  it  be  asked  why  they  identified  Barnabas 
with  Jupiter,  it  is  evidently  a  sufficient  answer  to  say  that  these  two 
divinities  were  always  represented  as  companions^  in  their  terrestrial 
expeditions,  though  we  may  well  believe  (with  Chrysostom  and  others) 
that  there  was  something  majestically  benignant  in  his  appearance,  while 
the  personal  aspect  of  St.  Paul  (and  for  this  we  can  quote  his  own  state- 
ments)' was  comparatively  insignificant. 

How  truthful  and  how  vivid  is  the  scene  brought  before  us !  and  how 
many  thoughts  it  suggests  to  those  who  are  at  once  conversant  with 
Heathen  mythology  and  disciples  of  Christian  theology !  Barnabas, 
identified  with  the  Father  of  Gods  and  Men,  seems  like  a  personification 
of  mild  beneficence  and  provident  care;*  while  Paul  appears  invested 
with  more  active  attributes,  flying  over  the  world  on  the  wings  of  faith 
and  love,  with  quick  words  of  warning  and  persuasion,  and  ever  carry- 
ing in  his  liand  the  purse  of  the  "  unsearchable  riches."^ 

The  news  of  a  wonderful  occurrence  is  never  long  in  spreading  through 
a  small  country  town.  At  Lystra  the  whole  population  was  presently 
in  an  uproar.  They  would  lose  no  time  in  paying  due  honor  to  their 
heavenly  visitants.  The  priest  attached  to  that  temple  of  Jupiter  before 
the  city  gates,  to  which  we  have  before  alluded,*  was  summoned  to  do 
sacrifice  to  the  god  whom  he  served.     Bulls  and  garlands,  and  whatever 

1  Some  are  of  opinion  that  the  "  speech  of  *  See  Acts  iv.  36,  37,  ix.  27,  xi.  22-25,  30. 

Lycaonia"  was  a   Semitic  language;   others  It  is  also  very  possible  that  Barnabas  was  o?der, 

that  it  was  a  corrupt  dialect  of  Greek.     See  and  therefore   more   venerable  in  appearance, 

the  Dissertations  of  Jablonski  and  Giihling  in  than  St.  Paul. 
Iken's  T/wsaurus.  ^  The  winged  heels  and  the  purse  are  the 

'■^  See,  for  instance,  Ovid.  Fast.  v.  495.  well-known  insignia  of  Mercury. 

'  See  2   Cor.  x.  1,  10,  where,  however,  we  *  P.  168. 

must  remember  that  he  is  quoting  the  state- 
ments of  his  adversaries. 


CHAP.Ti.  ADDRESS  TO  THE   GENTILES.  171 

else  was  requisite  to  the  performance  of  the  ceremony,  were  July  pre- 
pared, and  the  procession  moved  amidst  crowds  of  people  to  the  residence 
of  the  Apostles.  They,  hearing  the  approach  of  the  multitude,  and  learn- 
ing their  idolatrous  intention,  were  filled  with  the  utmost  horror.  They 
"  rent  their  clothes,"  and  rushed  out^  of  the  house  in  which  they  lodged, 
and  met  the  idolaters  approaching  the  vestibule.^  There,  standing  at  the 
doorway,  they  opposed  the  entrance  of  the  crowd  ;  and  Paul  expressed 
his  abhorrence  of  their  intention,  and  earnestly  tried  to  prevent  their 
fulfilling  it,  in  a  speech  of  which  only  the  following  short  outline  is 
recorded  by  St.  Luke  :  — 

"  Sirs,  why  do  ye    these   things  ?     We   also   are   men,  of  like   pas-  ^^ 
sions  with  you ;  and  we  are  come  to  preach  to  you  the  Glad  Tidings,  15 
that  you    may   turn   from   these   vain   idols   to   the   living   God,   who 
made   the   heavens,  and   the   earth,  and   the  sea,  and   all   things   that 
are    therein.     For  in   the  generations   that   are  past.   He   suffered    all  16 
the    nations   of    the    Gentiles    to   walk   in   their    own   ways.       Never- 
theless   He    left    not    Himself    without   witness,    in    that    He    blessed  1"! 
you,   and    gave   you   rain   from   heaven,   and    fruitful    seasons,    filling 
your  hearts  with  food  and  gladness."' 

This  address  held  tnem  listening,  but  they  listened  impatiently.  Even 
with  this  energetic  disavowal  of  his  divinity  and  this  strong  appeal  to 
their  reason,  St.  Paul  found  it  difficult  to  dissuade  the  Lycaonians  from 
ofiering  to  him  and  Barnabas  an  idolatrous  worship.*  There  is  no  doubt 
that  St.  Paul  was  the  speaker,  and,  before  we  proceed  further  in  the 
narrative,  we  cannot  help  pausing  to  observe  the  essentially  Pauline 
character  which  this  speech  manifests,  even  in  so  condensed  a  summary 
of  its  contents.  It  is  full  of  undesigned  coincidences  in  argument,  and 
even  in  the  expressions  employed,  with  St.  Paul's  language  in  other 
parts  of  the  Acts,  and  in  his  own  Epistles.  Thus,  as  here  he  declares 
the  object  of  his  preaching  to  be  that  the  idolatrous  Lystrians  sliould 

1  "  Ran  out,"  not  "  ran  in,"  is  the  reading  lodged  at  Joppa ;  Acts  xii.  13,  of  the  house 

sanctioned  by  tho  later  critics  on  full  manu-  of  Mary  the   mother  of  John  Mark.       It  is 

script  authority.     See  Tischendorf.  nowhere  used  for  the  gate  of  a  city  except  in 

'^  The  word  used  here  does  not  mean  the  the  Apocalypse.     Moreover,  it  seems  obvious 

rate  of  the   city,  but  the  vestibule   or  gate  that  if  the  priest  had  only  brought  the  victims 

■which  gave  admission  from  the  public  street  to  sacrifice  them  at  the   city  gates,  it  would 

into  the  court  of  the  house.     So  it  is  used,  have  been  no  offering  to  Paul  and  Barnabas. 

Matt.  xxvi.  71,  for  the  vestibule  of  the  high  ^  "You"    and    "your"   are    the   correct 

priest's   palace ;    Luke   xvi.    20,   for   that   of  readings,  not  "  us  "  and  "  our." 

Dives;  Acts  x.  17.  of  the  house  where  Peter  *  Acts  xiv.  18. 


172  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ti. 

"  turn  from  these  vain  idols  to  the  living  God,"  so  he  reminds  the 
Thessalonians  how  they,  at  his  preaching,  had  "  turned  from  idols  to 
serve  the  living  and  true  God."  ^  Again,  as  he  tells  the  Lystrians  that 
"  God  had,  in  the  generations  that  were  past,  suffered  the  nations  of  the 
Gentiles  to  walk  in  their  own  ways,"  so  he  tells  the  Romans  that  "  God 
in  His  forbearance  had  passed  over  the  former  sins  of  men,  in  the  times 
that  were  gone  by  ;  "  '^  and  so  he  tells  the  Athenians,^  that  "  the  past 
times  of  ignorance  God  had  overlooked."  Lastly,  how  striking  is  the 
similarity  between  the  natural  theology  with  which  the  present  speech 
concludes,  and  that  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  where,  speaking  of  the 
Heathen,  he  says  that  atheists  are  without  excuse  ;  "  for  that  which  can 
be  known  of  God  is  manifested  in  their  hearts,  God  himself  having  shown 
it  to  them.  For  His  eternal  power  and  Godhead,  though  they  be  invisi- 
ble, yet  are  seen  ever  since  the  world  was  made,  being  understood  by  the 
works  which  He  hath  wrought." 

The  crowd  reluctantly  retired,  and  led  the  victims  away  without 
offering  them  in  sacrifice  to  the  Apostles.  It  might  be  supposed  that  at 
least  a  command  had  been  obtained  over  their  gratitude  and  reverence, 
which  would  not  easily  be  destroyed ;  but  we  have  to  record  here  one  of 
those  sudden  changes  of  feeling,  which  are  humiliating  proofs  of  the 
weakness  of  human  nature  and  of  the  superficial  character  of  religious 
excitement.  The  Lycaonians  were  proverbially  fickle  and  faithless  ;  but 
we  may  not  too  hastily  decide  that  they  were  worse  than  many  others 
might  have  been  under  the  same  circumstances.  It  would  not  be  diffi- 
cult to  find  a  parallel  to  their  conduct  among  the  modern  converts  from 
idolatry  to  Christianity.  And  certainly  no  later  missionaries  have  had 
more  assiduous  enemies  than  the  Jews  whom  the  Apostles  had  every- 
where to  oppose.  Certain  Jews  from  Iconium,  and  even  from  Antioch,* 
followed  in  the  footsteps  of  Paul  and  Barnabas,  and  endeavored  to 
excite  the  hostility  of  the  Lystrians  against  them.  When  they  heard  of 
the  miracle  worked  on  the  lame  man,  and  found  how  great  an  effect  it 
had  produced  on  the  people  of  Lystra,  they  would  be  ready  with  a  new 
interpretation  of  this  occurrence.  They  would  say  that  it  had  been 
accomplished,  not  by  Divine  agency,  but  by  some  diabolical  magic ;  as 
once  they  had  said  at  Jerusalem,  that  He  who  came  "  to  destroy  the 
works  of  the  Devil "  cast  out  devils  "  by  Beelzebub  the  prince  of  the 
devils."  ^     And  this  is  probably  the  true  explanation   of    that   sudden 

1  1  Thess.  i.  9.     The  coincidence  is  more      in   the  Authorized  "Version  entirely  alten    .a 
striking  in  the  Greek,  because  the  very  same       meaning. 

verb  is  used  in  each  passage,  and  is  intransi-  '  Acts  xvii.  30. 

tive  in  both.  *  Acts  xiv.  19. 

2  Roro.  iii.  25  :  the  mistranslation  of  which  *  Matt.  xii.  24. 


CHAP.  VI.  ST.   PAUL  STONED.  173 

change  of  feeling  among  the  Lystrians,  which  at  first  sight  is  very 
surprising.  Their  own  interpretation  of  what  they  had  witnessed  liaving 
been  disavowed  by  the  authors  of  the  miracle  themselves,  they  would 
readily  adopt  a  new  interpretation,  suggested  by  those  who  appeared  to 
be  well  acquainted  with  the  strangers,  and  who  had  followed  them  from 
distant  cities.  Their  feelings  changed  with  a  revulsion  as  violent  as  that 
which  afterwards  took  place  among  the  "  barbarous  people  "  of  Malta,^ 
who  first  thought  St.  Paul  was  a  murderer,  and  then  a  God,  The  Jews, 
taking  advantage  of  the  credulity  of  a  rude  tribe,  were  able  to  accom- 
plish at  Lystra  the  design  they  had  meditated  at  Iconium.^  St.  Paul  was 
stoned,  —  not  hurried  out  of  the  city  to  execution  like  St.  Stephen,^  the 
memory  of  whose  death  must  have  come  over  St.  Paul  at  this  moment 
with  impressive  force,  —  but  stoned  somewhere  in  the  streets  of  Lystra, 
and  then  dragged  through  the  city-gate,  and  cast  outside  the  walls,  under 
the  belief  that  he  was  dead.  This  is  that  occasion  to  which  the  Apostle 
afterwards  alluded  in  the  words,"  once  I  was  stoned,"*  in  that  long 
catalogue  of  sufferings,  to  which  we  have  already  referred  in  this 
chapter.*  Thus  was  he  "  in  perils  by  his  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by 
the  Heathen,"  —  "  in  deaths  oft,"  —  "  always  bearing  about  in  the  body 
the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  the  life  also  of  Jesus  might  be 
made  manifest  in  his  body«  .  .  .  Alway  delivered  unto  death  for 
Jesus'  sake,  that  the  life  also  of  Jesus  might  be  made  manifest  in  his 
mortal  flesh."  ® 

On  the  pr-^sent  occasion  these  last  words  were  literally  realized,  for  by 
the  power  and  goodness  of  God  he  rose  from  a  state  of  apparent  death  as 
if  by  a  sudden  resurrection.'  Though  "  persecuted,"  he  was  not  "  for- 
saken," —  though  "  cast  down,"  he  was  "  not  destroyed."   "  As  the  disciples 

1  Acts  xxTiii.  4-6.  that  Paul  and  his  companions  were  '  aware  of 

i  Acts  xiv.  5.  the  danger  and  fled,'  a  contradiction  between 

»  See  the  end  of  Ch.   II.     At  Jerusalem  the  history  and  the  epistles  would  have  ensued, 

the  law  required  that  these  executions  should  Truth  is    necessarily   consistent ;    but    it    is 

take  place  outside   the  city.     It  must  be  re-  scarcely  possible    that  independent  accounts, 

membered  that  stoning  was  a  Jewish  punish-  not  having  truth  to  guide  them,  should  thus 

ment,  and  that  it  was  proposed  by  Jews  at  advance  to   the  very  brink  of   contradiction 

Iconium,  and  instigated  and  begun  by  Jews  without    falling    into    it."  —  Bora   Paulina, 

at  Lystra.  p.  69. 

*  See  Paley's  remark  on   the   expression  6  See  pp.  145,  146. 

"once  I  was  stoned,"  in  reference  to  the  pre-  ^  Compare  2  Corinthians  iv.  8-12  and  xi. 

rious  design  of  stoning  St.  Paul  at  Iconium.  23-27. 

"  Had  the   assault   been   completed,  had  the  ^  The  natural  inference  from  the  narrative 

history  related  that  a  stone  was  thrown,  as  it  is,  that  the  recovery  was  miraculous  ;  and  it  is 

relates  that  preparations  were  made  both  by  evident  that  such  a  recovery  must  have  pro 

Jews  and  Gentiles  to  stone  Paul  and  his  com-  duced   a  strong  effect  on   the  minds  of  the 

panions,  or  even  had  the  account  of  this  trans-  Christians  who  witnessed  it. 
action  stopped,  without  going  on  to  inform  us 


174  THE   LEB^E   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  vi. 

stood  about  him,  he  rose  up,  and  came  into  the  city."  ^  We  see  from  this 
expression  that  his  labors  in  Lystra  had  not  been  in  vain.  He  had  found 
some  wilHng  listeners  to  the  truth,  some  "  disciples  "  who  did  not  hesitate 
to  show  their  attachment  to  their  teacher  by  remaining  near  his  body, 
which  the  rest  of  their  fellow-citizens  had  wounded  and  cast  out.  These 
courageous  disciples  were  left  for  the  present  in  the  midst  of  the  enemies 
of  the  truth.  Jesus  Christ  had  said,^  "  when  they  persecute  you  in  one 
city,  flee  to  another';  "  and  the  very  "  next  day  "  ^  Paul  "  departed  with 
Barnabas  to  Derbe." 

But  before  we  leave  Lystra,  we  must  say  a  few  words  on  one  spectator 
of  St.  Paul's  sufferings,  who  is  not  yet  mentioned  by  St.  Luke,  but  who 
was  destined  to  be  the  constant  companion  of  his  after-years,  the  zealous 
follower  of  his  doctrine,  the  faithful  partner  of  his  danger  and  distress. 
St.  Paul  came  to  Lystra  again  after  the  interval  of  one  or  two  years,  and 
on  that  occasion  we  are  told  *  that  he  found  a  certain  Christian  tliere, 
"  whose  name  was  Timotheus,  whose  mother  was  a  Jewess,  while  his 
father  was  a  Greek,"  and  whose  excellent  character  was  highly  esteemed 
by  his  fellow-Christians  of  Lystra  and  Iconium.  It  is  distinctly  stated 
that  at  the  time  of  this  second  visit  Timothy  was  already  a  Christian  ;  and 
since  we  know  from  St.  Paul's  own  expression,  — "  my  own  son  in  the 
faith,"  ^ — that  he  was  converted  by  St.  Paul  himself,  we  must  suppose 
this  change  to  have  taken  place  at  the  time  of  the  first  visit.  And  the 
reader  will  remember  that  St.  Paul  in  the  second  Epistle  to  Timothy 
(iii.  10,  11)  reminds  him  of  his  own  intimate  and  personal  knowledge  of 
the  sufferings  he  had  endured,  "  at  Antioch,  at  Iconium,  at  Lystra,^''  — 
the  places  (it  will  be  observed)  being  mentioned  in  the  exact  order  in 
which  they  were  visited,  and  in  which  the  successive  persecutions  took 
place.  We  have  thus  the  strongest  reasons  for  believing  that  Timothy 
was  a  witness  of  St.  Paul's  injurious  treatment,  and  this  too  at  a  time  of 
life  when  the  mind  receives  its  deepest  impressions  from  the  spectacle  of 
innocent  suffering  and  undaunted  courage.  And  it  is  far  from  impossible 
that  the  generous  and  warm-hearted  youth  was  standing  in  that  group  of 
disciples,  who  surrounded  the  apparently  lifeless  body  of  the  Apostle  at  the 
outside  of  the  walls  of  Lystra. 

We  are  called  on  to  observe  at  this  point,  witli  a  thankful  acknowledge 

1  Acts  xiv.  20.  through  the  recollection  of  St.  Paul's  suffer 

2  Matt.  X.  23.  ings ;  but  the  common  view  is  the  most  natu- 

3  Acts  xiv.  20.  *  Ibid.  xvi.  1.              ral.     See  what  is  said  1  Cor.  iv.  14,  15  :  "  As 
s  1  Tim   i.  2.  Compare  i.  18  and  2  Tim.       my  beloved  sons  I  warn  you;  for  though  ye 

ii.  1.  It  is  indeed  possible  that  these  expres-  have  ten  thousand  instructors  in  Christ,  yel 
sions  might  be  used,  if  Timothy  became  a  have  ye  not  many  fathers  ;  for  in  Christ  Jesu* 
Christian    by    his    mother's    influence,    and       I  have  begotten  you  through  the  Gospel." 


CHAP.  VI.  TIMOTHEUS. — DEEBE.  175 

ment  of  God's  providence,  that  the  flight  from  Iconium,  and  the  cruel  per- 
secution at  Lystra,  were  events  which  involved  the  most  important  and 
beneficial  consequences  to  universal  Christianity.  It  was  here,  in  the 
midst  of  barbarous  idolaters,  that  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  found  an 
associate,  who  became  to  him  and  the  Church  far  more  than  Barnabas, 
the  companion  of  his  first  mission.  As  we  have  observed  above,^  there 
appears  to  have  been  at  Lystra  no  synagogue,  no  community  of  Jews  and 
proselytes,  among  whom  such  an  associate  might  naturally  have  been  ex- 
pected. Perhaps  Timotheus  and  his  relations  may  have  been  almost  the 
only  persons  of  Jewish  origin  in  the  town.  And  his  "  grandmother 
Lois  "  and  "  mother  Eunice  "  ^  may  have  been  brought  there  originally  by 
some  accidental  circumstance,  as  Lydia  ^  was  brought  from  Thyatira  to 
Philippi.*  And,  though  there  was  no  synagogue  at  Lystra,  this  family 
may  have  met  with  a  few  others  in  some  proseucha,  like  that  in  which 
Lydia  and  her  fellow-worshippers  met  "  by  the  river-side."  ^  Whatever 
we  conjecture  concerning  the  congregational  life  to  which  Timotheus  may 
have  been  accustomed,  we  are  accurately  informed  of  the  nature  of  that 
domestic  life  which  nurtured  him  for  his  future  labors.  The  good  soil  of 
his  heart  was  well  prepared  before  Paul  came,  by  the  instructions*  of 
Lois  and  Eunice,  to  receive  the  seed  of  Christian  truth,  sown  at  the 
Apostle's  first  visit,  and  to  produce  a  rich  harvest  of  faith  and  good  works 
before  the  time  of  his  second  visit. 

Derbe,  as  we  huve  seen,  is  somewhere  not  far  from  the  "  Black  Moun- 
tain," which  rises  like  an  island  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  plain  of 
Lycaonia.  A  few  hours  would  suffice  for  the  journey  between  Lystra  and 
its  neighbor-city.  We  may,  perhaps,  infer  from  the  fact  that  Derbe  is 
not  mentioned  in  the  list  of  places  which  St.  Paul ''  brings  to  the  recollec- 
tion of  Timothy  as  scenes  of  past  suffering  and  distress,  that  in  this  town 
the  Apostles  were  exposed  to  no  persecution.  It  may  have  been  a  quiet 
resting-place  after  a  journey  full  of  toil  and  danger.  It  does  not  appear 
that  they  were  hindered  in  "  evangelizing  "  the  city :  and  the  fruit  of 
their  labors  was  the  conversion  of  "  many  disciples."  ^ 

And  now  we  have  reached  the  limit  of  St.  Paul's  first  missionary 
journey.  About  this  part  of  the  Lycaonian  plain,  where  it  approaches, 
through  gradual  undulations,"  to  the  northern  bases  of  Mount  Taurus,  he 


1  See  p.  167.  ^2  Tim.  iii.  11. 

*  2  Tim.  i.  5.  *  Acts  xiv.  21. 

'  Acts  xvi.  14.  ®  So  Leake  describes  the  neighborhood  of 

*  See  also  the  remarks  on  the  Jews  settled  Karaman  (Laranda),  pp.  96,  97.  Hamilton, 
in  Asia  Minor,  Ch.  I.  p.  16  ;  and  on  the  Hel-  speaking  uf  the  same  district,  mentions  "  low 
lenistic  and  Aramean  Jews,  Ch.  II.  p.  35.  ridges  of  cretaceous  limestone,  extending  into 

'  Acts  xri.  13.  ®  2  Tim.  i.  5.  the  plain  from  the  mountains."     ii.  324. 


176  THE  LIFE  AlfD  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  n. 

was  not  far  from  that  well-knowu  pass^  which  leads  down  from  the 
central  table-land  to  Cilicia  and  Tarsus.  But  his  thoughts  did  not  centre 
in  an  earthly  home.  He  turned  back  upon  his  footsteps ;  and  revisited 
the  places,  Lystra,  Iconium,  and  Antioch,^  where  he  himself  had  been 
reviled  and  persecuted,  but  where  he  had  left,  as  sheep  in  tlie  desert,  the 
disciples  whom  his  Master  had  enabled  him  to  gather.  They  needed 
building  up  and  strengthening  in  the  faith,'  comforting  in  the  midst  of 
their  inevitable  sufferings,  and  fencing  round  by  permanent  institutions. 
Therefore  Paul  and  Barnabas  revisited  the  scenes  of  their  labors,  un- 
daunted by  the  dangers  which  awaited  them,  and  using  words  of 
encouragement,  which  none  but  the  founders  of  a  true  religion  would 
have  ventured  to  address  to  their  earliest  converts,  that  "  we  can  only 
enter  the  kingdom  of  God  by  passing  through  much  tribulation."  But 
not  only  did  they  fortify  their  faith  by  passing  words  of  encouragement ; 
they  ordained  elders  in  every  church  after  the  pattern  of  the  first 
Christian  communities  in  Palestine,*  and  with  that  solemn  observance 
which  had  attended  their  own  consecration,**  and  which  has  been  trans- 
mitted to  later  ages  in  connection  with  ordination,  — "  with  fasting  and 
prayer," — tliey  "made  choice  of  fit  persons  to  serve  in  the  sacred 
ministry  of  the  Church."  ^ 

Thus,  having  consigned  their  disciples  to  Him  "  in  whom  they  had 
believed,"  and  who  was  "  able  to  keep  that  which  was  intrusted  to 
Him,"  "^  Paul  and  Barnabas  descended  through  the  Pisidian  mountains  to 
the  plain  of  Pamphylia.  If  our  conjecture  is  correct  (see  pp.  147,  148), 
that  they  went  up  from  Perga  in  spring,  and  returned  at  the  close  of 
autumn,^  and  spent  all  the  hotter  months  of  the  year  in  the  elevated  dis- 
tricts, they  would  again  pass  in  a  few  days  through  a  great  change  of 
seasons,  and  almost  from  winter  to  summer.  The  people  of  Pamphylia 
would  have  returned  from  their  cold  i-esidences  to  the  warm  shelter  of  the 
plain  by  the  seaside ;  and  Perga  would  be  full  of  its  inhabitants.  The 
Gospel  was  preached  within  the  walls  of  this  city,  through  which  the 
Apostles  had  merely  passed '  on  their  journey  to  the  interior.     But  from 


1  The  "  Cilician  Gates,"  to  which  we  shall  *  Ch.  V.  p.  123. 

return  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  mission-  ^  The  First  Collect  for  the  Ember  Weeks, 

ary  journey  (Acts  xv.  41).     See  the  Map.  ''  Acts  xiv.  23.     Compare  2  Tim.  i.  12. 

•2  Mentioned  (Acts  xiv.  21)  in  the  inverse  '  Wieseler  thinks  the  events  on  this  journey 

order  from  that  in  which  they  had  been  visited  must  have  occupied  more  than  one  year.     It 

before  (xiii.  14,  51,  xiv.  6).  is  evident  that  the  case  does  not  admit  of  any 

'  Acts  xiv.  22.  thing  more  than  conjecture. 

*  The  first  mention  of   presbyters  in  the  •  See  above,  p.  143,  and  notes. 

Christian,  opposed  to  the  Jewish  sense,  occurs 
Acts  xi.  30,  in  reference  to  the  church  at  Jera- 
salem.     See  Chapter  XUI. 


OHAP.  VI.  PERGA   AND  ATTALEIA.  177 

St.  Luke's  silence  it  appears  that  the  preaching  was  attended  with  no 
marked  results.  We  read  neither  of  conversions  nor  persecutions.  The 
Jews,  if  any  Jews  resided  there,  were  less  inquisitive  and  less  tyrannical 
than  those  at  Antioch  and  Iconium  ;  and  the  votaries  of  "  Diana  before 
the  city "  at  Perga  (see  p.  143)  were  less  excitable  than  those  who 
worshipped  "  Jupiter  before  the  city  "  at  Lystra.^  When  the  time  came 
for  returning  to  Syria,  they  did  not  sail  down  the  Oestrus,  up  the  channel 
of  which  river  they  had  come  on  their  arrival  from  Cyprus,'^  but  travelled 
across  the  plain  to  Attaleia,'  which  was  situated  on  the  edge  of  the 
Pamphylian  gulf. 

Attaleia  had  something  of  the  same  relation  to  Perga  which  Cadiz  has 
to  Seville.  In  each  case  the  latter  city  is  approached  by  a  river-voyage, 
and  the  former  is  more  conveniently  placed  on  the  open  sea.  Attains 
Philadelphus,  king  of  Pergamus,  whose  dominions  extended  from  the 
north-western  corner  of  Asia  Minor  to  the  Sea  of  Pamphylia,  had  built 
this  city  in  a  convenient  position  for  commanding  the  trade  of  Syria  or 
Egypt.  When  Alexander  the  Great  passed  this  way,  no  such  city  was  in 
existence :  but  since  the  days  of  the  kings  of  Pergamus,  wlio  inherited  a 
fragment  of  his  vast  empire,  Attaleia  has  always  existed  and  flourished, 
retaining  the  name  of  the  monarch  who  built  it.*  Behind  it  is  the  plaiir 
through  which  the  calcareous  waters  of  the  Catarrhactes  flow,  perpetually 
constructing  and  destroying  and  reconstructing  their  fantastic  channels.* 
In  front  of  it,  and  along  the  shore  on  each  side,  are  long  lines  of  cliffs,* 
over  which  the  river  finds  its  way  in  waterfalls  to  the  sea,  and  which 
conceal  the  plain  from  those  who  look  toward  the  land  from  the  inner 
waters  of  the  bay,  and  even  encroach  on  the  prospect  of  the  mountains 
themselves. 

When  this  scene  is  before  us,  the  mind  reverts  to  another  band  of 
Christian  warriors,  who  once  sailed  from  the  bay  of  Satalia  to  the  Syrian 
Antioch.  Certain  passages,  in  which  the  movements  of  the  Crusaders 
and  Apostles  may  be  compared  with  each  other,  are  among  the  striking 
contrasts  of  history.  Conrad  and  Louis,  each  with  an  army  consisting 
at  first  of  70,000  men,  marched  through  part  of  the  same  districts  which 
were  traversed  by  Paul  and  Barnabas  alone  and  unprotected.  The 
shattered  remains  of  the  French  host  had  come  down  to  Attaleia  through 

1  Acts  xiv.  13.  2  Pp.  143,  144.  *  Its  modern  name  is  Satalia. 

^  A  view  may  be  seen  in  the  work  of  Ad-  ^  See  Spratt  and  Forbes  for  a  full  account 

miral   Beaufort,    who    describes    the    city   as  of   the   irregular   deposits   and  variations  of 

"  beautifully  situated  round  a  small  harbor,  channel  observable  in  this  river, 
the  streets  appearing  to  rise  behind  each  other  ^  There  are  also  ancient  sea-cliffs  at  some 

like  the  seats  of  a  theatre  .  .  .  with  a  double  distance  behind  the  present  coast-line, 
wall  and  a  series  of  square  towers  on  the  level 
snmmit  of  the  hill." 

12 


178 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


"  the  abrupt  mountain-passes  and  the  deep  valleys  "  which  are  so  well 
described  by  the  contemporary  historian.^  They  came  to  fight  the  battle 
of  the  Cross  with  a  great  multitude,  and  with  the  armor  of  human 
power :  their  journey  was  encompassed  with  defeat  and  death  ;  their 
arrival  at  Attaleia  was  disastrous  and  disgraceful ;  and  they  sailed  to 
Antioch  a  broken  arid  dispirited  army.  But  the  Crusaders  of  the  first 
century,  the  Apostles  of  Christ,  though  they  too  passed  "  through  much 
tribulation,"  advanced  from  victory  to  victory.  Their  return  to  the 
place  "  whence  they  had  been  recommended  to  the  grace  of  God  for  the 
work  which  they  fulfilled,"  ^  was  triumphant  and  joyful,  for  the  weapons 
of  their  warfare  were  "  not  carnal."  ^  The  Lord  Himself  was  their 
tower  and  their  shield. 


Coin  of  Antioch  in  Pisidla.* 


>  ^nUkm  of  Tttb.         'Actaxir.  26.         >  See  2  Cor.  z.  4.         *  See  note,  p.  152. 


CHAPTER    Vn. 

ControTcrsy  in  the  Chnrch.  —  Separation  of  Jews  and  Gentiles.  —  Difficulty  in  the  Narrative.  — 
Discontent  at  Jerusalem.  —  Intrigues  of  the  Judaizers  at  Antioch.  —  Mission  of  Paul  and 
Barnabas  to  Jerusalem.  —  Divine  Revelation  to  St.  Paul. — Titus.  —  Private  Conferences. 
—  Public  Meeting.  —  Speech  of  St.  Peter.  —  Narrative  of  Barnabas  and  Paul.  —  Speech  of 
St.  James.  —  The  Decree.  —  Public  Recognition  of  St.  Paul's  Mission  to  the  Heathen.  —  St. 
John.  —  Return  to  Antioch  with  Judas,  Silas,  and  Mark.  —  Reading  of  the  Letter.  —  Weak 
Conduct  of  St.  Peter  at  Antioch.  —  He  is  rebuked  by  St.  Paul.  —  Personal  Appearance  ©f 
the  two  Apostles.  —  Their  Reconciliation. 

IF,  when  we  contrast  the  voyage  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  across  the  bay 
of  Attaleia  with  the  voyage  of  those  who  sailed  over  the  same 
waters  in  the  same  direction,  eleven  centuries  later,  our  minds  are  power- 
fully drawn  towards  the  pure  age  of  early  Christianity,  when  the  power 
of  faith  made  human  weakness  irresistibly  strong  ;  —  the  same  thoughts 
are  not  less  forcibly  presented  to  us,  when  we  contrast  the  reception  of 
the  Crusaders  at  Antioch,  with  the  reception  of  the  Apostles  in  the 
same  city.  We  are  told  by  the  chroniclers,  that  Raymond,  "  Prince 
of  Antioch,"  waited  with  much  expectation  for  the  arrival  of  the 
French  king ;  and  that  when  he  heard  of  his  landing  at  Seleucia,  he 
gathered  together  all  the  nobles  and  chief  men  of  the  people,  and  went 
out  to  meet  him,  and  brought  him  into  Antioch  with  much  pomp  and 
magnificence,  showing  him  all  reverence  and  homage,  in  the  midst  of  a 
great  assemblage  of  the  clergy  and  people.  All  that  St.  Luke  tells  us 
of  the  reception  of  the  Apostles  after  their  victorious  campaign,  is,  that 
they  entered  into  the  city  and  "  gathered  together  the  Church,  and  told 
them  how  God  had  worked  with  them,  and  how  He  had  opened  a  door 
of  faith  to  the  Gentiles."  ^  Thus  the  kingdom  of  God  came  at  the  first 
"without  observation,"^ — with  the  humble  acknowledgment  that  all 
power  is  given  from  above,  —  and  with  a  thankful  recognition  of  our 
Fatlier's  merciful  love  to  all  mankind. 

No  age,  however,  of  Christianity,  not  even  the  earhest,  has  been  with- 
out  its  difiiculties,  controversies,  and  corruptions.  The  presence  of  Judas 
among  the  Apostles,  and  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  among  the  first  dis- 
ciples,* were  proofs  of  the  power  which  moral  evil  possesses  to  combine 

»  Acts  xiv.  27  2  Luke  xvii.  20.  »  Acts  v. 

17» 


180  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OP   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  vd, 

itself  with  the  holiest  works.  The  misunderstanding  of  "  the  Grecians 
and  Hebrews  "  in  the  days  of  Stephen,^  the  suspicion  of  the  Apostles 
when  Paul  came  from  Damascus  to  Jerusalem,^  the  secession  of  Mark  at 
the  beginning  of  the  first  missionary  journey/  were  symptoms  of  the  preju- 
dice, ignorance,  and  infirmity,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  Gospel  was  to 
win  its  way  in  the  hearts  of  men.  And  the  arrival  of  the  Apostles  at 
Antioch  at  the  close  of  their  journey  was  presently  followed  by  a  troubled 
controversy,  which  involved  the  most  momentous  consequences  to  all 
future  ages  of  the  Church ;  and  led  to  that  visit  to  Jerusalem  which, 
next  after  his  conversion,  is  perhaps  the  most  important  passage  in  St. 
Paul's  life. 

We  have  seen  (Ch.  I.)  that  great  numbers  of  Jews  had  long  been 
dispersed  beyond  the  limits  of  their  own  land,  and  were  at  this  time 
distributed  over  every  part  of  the  Roman  Empire.  "  Moses  had  of  old 
time,  in  every  city,  them  that  preached  him,  being  read  in  the  syna- 
gogues every  Sabbath  day."  *  In  every  considerable  city,  both  of  the 
East  and  West,  were  established  some  members  of  that  mysterious  peo- 
ple, —  who  had  a  written  Law,  which  they  read  and  re-read,  in  the  midst 
of  the  contempt  of  those  who  surrounded  them,  week  by  week,  and  year 
by  year,  —  who  were  bound  everywhere  by  a  secret  link  of  affection  to 
one  City  in  the  world,  where  alone  their  religious  sacrifices  could  be 
offered, — whose  whole  life  was  utterly  abhorrent  from  the  temples  and 
images  which  crowded  the  neighborhood  of  tlieir  Synagogues,  and  from 
the  gay  and  licentious  festivities  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  worship. 

In  the  same  way  it  might  be  said  that  Plato  and  Aristotle,  Zeno 
and  Epicurus,^  "  had  in  every  city  those  that  preached  them."  Side  by 
side  with  the  doctrines  of  Judaism,  the  speculations  of  Greeli  philoso- 
phers were  —  not  indeed  read  in  connection  with  religious  wori^hip  —  but 
orally  taught  and  publicly  discussed  in  the  schools.  Hence  the  Jews,  in 
their  foreign  settlements,  were  surrounded,  not  only  by  an  idolatry  which 
shocked  all  their  deepest  feelings,  and  by  a  shameless  profligacy  unfor- 
bidden by,  and  even  associated  with,  that  which  the  Gentiles  called 
religion,  —  but  also  by  a  proud  and  contemptuous  philosophy  that 
alienated  the  more  educated  classes  of  society  to  as  great  a  distance  as 
the  unthinking  multitude. 

Thus  a  strong  line  of  demarcation  between  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  ran 
through  the  whole  Roman  Empire.  Though  their  dwellings  were  often 
contiguous,  they  were  separated  from  each  other  by  deep-rooted  feelings 
of  aversion  and  contempt.     The  "  middle  wall  of  partition  "  ^  was  built 

1  p.  61.  «  P.  145.  6  See  Acts  xvii.  18. 

a  P.  96.  *  Acts  XT.  21.  »  Eph.  ii.  14. 


CHAP.  vu.  SEPARATION  OF  JEWS  AND   GENTILES.  181 

up  by  diligent  hands  on  both  sides.  This  mutual  alienation  existed,  not- 
withstanding the  vast  number  of  proselytes,  who  were  attracted  to  the 
Jewish  doctrine  and  worship,  and  who,  as  we  have  already  observed 
(Ch.  I.),  were  silently  preparing  the  way  for  the  ultimate  union  of  the 
two  races.  The  breach  was  even  widened,  in  many  cases,  in  consequence 
of  this  work  of  proselytism  :  for  those  who  went  over  to  the  Jewisli 
camp,  or  hesitated  on  the  neutral  ground,  were  looked  on  with  some 
suspicion  by  the  Jews  themselves,  and  tiioroughly  hated  and  despised  by 
the  Gentiles. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  separation  of  which  we  speak  was  both 
religious  and  social.  The  Jews  had  a  divine  Law,  which  sanctioned  the 
principle,  and  enforced  the  practice,  of  national  isolation.  They  could 
not  easily  believe  tliat  this  Law,  with  which  all  the  glorious  passages  of 
their  history  were  associated,  was  meant  only  to  endure  for  a  limited 
period:  and  we  cannot  but  sympathize  in  the  difficulty  they  felt  in 
accepting  the  notion  of  a  cordial  union  with  the  un circumcised,  even 
after  idolatry  was  abandoned  and  morality  observed.  And  again,  the 
peculiar  character  of  the  religion  which  isolated  the  Jews  was  such  as 
to  place  insuperable  obstacles  in  the  way  of  social  union  with  other  men. 
Their  ceremonial  observances  precluded  the  possibility  of  their  eating 
with  the  Gentiles.  The  nearest  parallel  we  can  find  to  this  barrier  be- 
tween the  Jew  and  Gentile,  is  the  institution  of  caste  among  the  ancient 
populations  of  India,  which  presents  itself  to  our  politicians  as  a  perplex- 
ing fact  in  the  government  of  the  presidencies,  and  to  our  missionaries 
as  the  great  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  Christianity  in  the  East.*  A 
Hindoo  cannot  eat  with  a  Parsee,  or  a  Mohammedan, —  and  among  the 
Hindoos  themselves  the  meals  of  a  Brahmin  are  polluted  by  the  presence 
of  a  Pariah, — though  they  meet  and  have  free  intercourse  in  the  ordinary 
transaction  of  business.  So  it  was  in  the  patriarchal  age.  It  was  "  an 
abomination  for  the  Egyptians  to  eat  bread  with  the  Hebrews."-  The 
same  principle  was  divinely  sanctioned  for  a  time  in  the  Mosaic  In- 
stitutions. The  Israelites,  who  lived  among  the  Gentiles,  met  them 
freely  in  the  places  of  public  resort,  buying  and  selling,  conversing  and 
disputing :  but  their  families  were  separate :  in  the  relations  of  domestic 
life,  it  was  "  unlawful,"  as  St.  Peter  said  to  Cornelius,  "  for  a  man  that 
was  a  Jew  to  keep  company  or  come  unto  one  of  another  nation."' 
When  St,  Peter  returned  from  the  centurion  at  Caesarea  to  his  brother- 
Christians  at  Jerusalem,  their  great  charge  against  him  was  that  he  had 

^  See  for  instance  the  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  cerning  the  slaughtering  of  animals  for  food 

H.  'W.  Fox  (1850),  pp.    123-125.     A   short  and  the  sale  of  the  meat,  is  given  in   Allen'g 

statement  of  the  strict  regulations  of  the  mod-  Modern  Judaism,  ch.  xxii. 
em  Jews,  in  their  present  dispersed  state,  con-  ■^  Gen.  xliii.  32.  *  Acts  x.  28. 


182  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OE  ST,   PAUL.  chap.  vn. 

"  gone  in  to  men  uncircumcised,  and  had  eaten  with  them:  "^  and  the 
weak  compliance  of  which  he  was  guilty,  after  the  true  principle  of  social 
unity  had  been  publicly  recognized,  and  whiclf  called  forth  the  stern 
rebuke  of  his  brother-apostle,  was  that,  after  eating  with  the  Gentiles, 
he  "  withdrew  and  separated  himself,  fearing  them  which  were  of  the 
circumcision."^ 

How  these  two  difficulties,  which  seem  to  forbid  the  formation  of  a 
united  Church  on  earth,  were  ever  to  be  overcome,  —  how  the  Jews  and 
Gentiles  were  to  be  religiously  united,  without  the  enforced  obliga- 
tion of  the  whole  Mosaic  Law, — how  they  were  to  be  socially  united  as 
equal  brethren  in  the  family  of  a  common  Father,  —  the  solution  of  this 
problem  must  in  that  day  have  appeared  impossible.  And  without  the 
direct  intervention  of  Divine  grace  it  would  have  been  impossible.  We 
now  proceed  to  consider  how  that  grace  gave  to  the  minds  of  the  Apostles 
the  wisdom,  discretion,  forbearance,  and  firmness  which  were  required ; 
and  how  St.  Paul  was  used  as  the  great  instrument  in  accomplishing  a 
work  necessary  to  the  very  existence  of  the  Christian  Church. 

We  encounter  here  a  difficulty,  well  known  to  all  who  have  examined 
this  subject,  in  combining  into  one  continuous  narrative  the  statements 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  and  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  In  the 
latter  book  we  are  informed  of  five  distinct  journeys  made  by  the  Apostle 
to  Jerusalem  after  the  time  of  his  conversion ;  —  first,  when  he  escaped 
from  Damascus,  and  spent  a  fortnight  with  Peter ; '  secondly,  when  he 
took  the  collection  from  Antioch  with  Barnabas  in  the  time  of  the  famine  ;* 
thirdly,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Council,  which  is  now.  before  us  in  the 
fifteenth  chapter  of  the  Acts ;  fourthly,  in  the  interval  between  his  sec- 
ond and  third  missionary  journeys;^  and,  fifthly,  when  the  uproar  was 
made  in  the  Temple,  and  he  was  taken  into  the  custody  of  the  Roman 
garrison.®  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  St.  Paul  speaks  of  two  jour 
neys  to  Jerusalem, —  the  first  being  "three  years"  after  his  conversion,' 
the  second  "  fourteen  years "  later,^  when  his  own  Apostleship  was 
asserted  and  recognized  in  a  public  meeting  of  the  other  Apostles." 
Now,  while  we  have  no  difficulty  in  stating,  as  we  have  done  (p.  95), 
that  the  first  journey  of  one  account  is  the  first  journey  of  the  other, 
theologians  have  been  variously  divided  in  opinion,  as  to  whether  the  sec- 
ond journey  of  the  Epistle  must  be  identified  with  the  second,  third,  or 

1  Acts  xi.  3.  '  Acts  xviii.  22.  conversion.      This  question,  as  well  as   that 

*  Gal.  ii.  12,  ^  Acts  xxi.  &c.  of  the  reading  "  four,"  is  discussed  in   Appen- 
8  p.  95.  T  Gal.  i.  18.  dix    I.     See  also  the  Chronological  Table  in 

*  P.  117.  Apj)cridix  III. 

»  We  take  the  "fourteen"  (Gal.  ii.  1)  to  »  Om\.  ii.  1-10, 

refer  to  the  preceding  journey,  and  not  to  the 


CHAP.  VII.  DIFFICULTY  LN  THE  NAUEATIVE.  188 

fourth  of  the  Acts  ;  or  whether  it  is  a  separate  journey,  distinct  from  any 
of  them.  It  is  agreed  by  all  that  the  fifth  cannot  possibly  be  intended.' 
The  view  we  have  adopted,  that  the  second  journey  of  the  Epistle  is  the 
third  of  the  Acts,  is  that  of  the  majority  of  the  best  critics  and  commen- 
tators. For  the  arguments  by  which  it  is  justified,  and  for  a  full  discus- 
sion of  the  whole  subject,  we  must  refer  the  reader  to  Appendix  I. 
Some  of  the  arguments  will  be  indirectly  presented  in  the  following  nar 
rative.  So  far  as  the  circumstances  combined  together  in  the  present 
chapter  appear  natural,  consecutive  and  coherent,  so  far  some  reason  will 
be  given  for  believing  that  we  are  not  following  an  arbitrary  assumption 
or  a  fanciful  theory. 

It  is  desirable  to  recur  at  the  outset  to  the  first  instance  of  a  Gentile's 
conversion  to  Christianity.'^  After  the  preceding  remarks,  we  are  prepared 
to  recognize  the  full  significance  of  the  emblematicaP  vision  which  St. 
Peter  saw  at  Joppa.  The  trance  into  which  he  fell  at  the  moment  of  his 
hunger,  —  the  vast  sheet  descending  from  heaven,  —  the  promiscuous 
assemblage  of  clean  and  unclean  animals,*  —  the  voice  from  heaven 
which  said,  "  Arise,  Peter,  kill  and  ea^,"  —  the  whole  of  this  imagery  is 
invested  with  the  deepest  meaning,  when  we  recollect  all  the  details  of 
religious  and  social  life,  which  separated,  up  to  that  moment,  the  Gentile 
from  the  Jew.  The  words  heard  by  St.  Peter  in  his  trance  came  like  a 
shock  on  all  the  prejudices  of  his  Jewish  education.'  He  had  never  so 
broken  the  Law  of  his  forefathers  as  to  eat  any  thing  it  condemned  as 
unclean.  And  though  the  same  voice  spoke  to  him  "  a  second  time, '' 
and  "  answered  him  from  heaven,"''  —  "  What  God  has  made  clean  that 
call  not  thou  common," — it  required  a  wonderful  combination  of  natu- 
ral^ and  supernatural  evidence  to  convince  him  that  God  is  "no  respecter 
of  persons,"  but  "  in  every  nation  "  accepts  him  that  "  feareth  Him  and 


1  Some  writers,  e.  g,  Paley  and  Schrader,  consequently  lay  no  longer  a  claim  to  holiness ; 

have  contended  that  an  entirely  different  jour-  for  the  term   '  holiness,'  applied   to  mortals, 

ney,  not  mentioned  in  the  Acts,  is  alluded  to.  means  only  a  framing  of  our  desires  by  the 

This  also  is  discussed  in  Appendix  I.  will    of   God.    .    .    .    Have   we    not    enough 

*  Acts  X.,  xi.  to  eat  without  touching  forbidden    things  ? 
^  The  last  emblematical  visions  (properly  Let  me  beseech  my  dear  fellow-believers  not  to 

80  called)   were   those   seen  by  the    prophet  deceive  themselves  by  saying,  '  there  is  no  sin 

Zachariah.  in   eating  of  aught  that  lives ; '  on  the  con- 

*  See  Levit.  xi.  trary,  there  is  sin  and  contamination  too."  — 
^  The  feeling  of  the  Jews  in  all   ages  is  Leeser's  Jews  and  the  Mosaic  Law;    ch.   on 

well  illustrated  by  the  following  extract  from  a  "  The  forbidden  Meats."    Philadelphia,  5594. 
modem  Jewish  work  :  "If  we  disregard  this  '  Acts  x.  15.  ^  Actsxi.  9. 

precept,  and  say, '  What  difference  can  it  make  *  The  coincidence  of  outward  events  and 

to  God  if  I  eat  the  meat  of  an  ox  or  swine  ? '  inward  admonitions  was  very  similar  to  the  cir- 

we  offend   against   His  will,  we  pollute  our-  cumstances  connected  with  St.  Paul's  baptism 

selves  by  what  goes  into  the  mouth,  and  can  by  Ananias  at  Damascus.     See  above,  p.  87. 


18 1  THE  LIFE  AlfD  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  to, 

worketh  righteousness,"  ^  —  that  all  such  distinctions  as  depend  on 
"  meat  and  drink,"  on  "  holydays,  new  moons,  and  sabbaths,"  were  to 
pass  awaj,  —  that  these  things  were  only  "  a  shadow  of  things  to  come," 
—  that  "  the  body  is  of  Christ,"  —  and  that  "  in  Him  we  are  complete 
.  .  .  circumcised  with  a  circumcision  not  made  with  hands  .  .  .  buried 
with  Him  in  baptism,"  and  risen  with  Him  through  faith.^ 

The  Christians  "  of  the  circumcision,"'  who  travelled  with  Peter  from 
Joppa  to  Caesarea,  were  "  astonished  "  when  they  saw  "  the  gift  of  tlie 
Holy  Ghost  poured  out "  on  uncircumcised  Gentiles :  and  much  dissatis- 
faction was  created  in  the  Church,  when  intelligence  of  the  whole  trans- 
action came  to  Jerusalem.  On  Peter's  arrival,  his  having  "  gone  in  to 
men  uncircumcised,  and  eaten  with  them,"  was  arraigned  as  a  serious 
violation  of  religious  duty.  When  St.  Peter  "  rehearsed  the  matter  from 
the  beginning,  and  expounded  it  by  order,"  appealing  to  the  evidence 
of  the  "  six  brethren  "  who  had  accompanied  him,  —  his  accusers  were 
silent;  and  so  much  conviction  was  produced  at  the  time,  that  they 
expressed  their  gratitude  to  God,  for  His  mercy  in  "  granting  to  the 
Gentiles  repentance  unto  life."  *  But  subsequent  events  too  surely 
proved  that  the  discontent  at  Jerusalem  was  only  partially  allayed. 
Hesitation  and  perplexity  began  to  arise  in  the  minds  of  the  Jewish 
Christians,  with  scrupulous  misgivings  concerning  the  rectitude  of  St. 
Peter's  conduct,  and  an  uncomfortable  jealousy  of  the  new  converts. 
And  nothing  could  be  more  natural  than  all  this  jealousy  and  perplexity. 
To  us,  with  our  present  knowledge,  it  seems  that  the  slightest  relaxation 
of  a  ceremonial  law  should  have  been  willingly  and  eagerly  welcomed. 
But  the  view  from  the  Jewish  standing-point  was  very  different.  The 
religious  difficulty  in  the  mind  of  a  Jew  was  greater  than  we  can  easily 
imagine.  We  can  well  believe  that  the  minds  of  many  may  have  been 
perplexed  by  the  words  and  the  conduct  of  our  Lord  Himself:  for  He 
had  not  been  sent  "  save  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,"  and 
He  had  said  that  it  was  "  not  meet  to  take  the  children's  bread  and  cast 
it  to  dogs."^  Until  St.  Paul  appeared  before  the  Church  in  his  true 
character  as  the  Apostle  of  the  uncircumcision,  few  understood  that 
"  the  law  of  the  commandments  contained  in  ordinances  "  had  been 
abolished  by  the  cross  of  Christ;®  and  that  the  "other  sheep,"  not  of 
the  Jewish  fold,  should  be  freely  united  to  the  "one  flock"  by  the 
"One  Shepherd."^ 

The  smouldering  feeling  of  discontent,  which  had  existed  from  tlie  first, 
increased  and  became  more  evident  as  new  Gentile  converts  were  admitted 

1  Acts  X.  34,  35,        2  See  Col.  ii.  8-23.  "  Matt.  xv.  24,  26. 

»  Acts  X.  45  with  xi.  12.  ^  Eph.  ii.  15. 

♦  Acts  xi.  1-18.  '  Not  literally  "  one  fold."    John  x.  16. 


CHAP.  vn.  DISCONTENT  AT  JERUSALEM.  185 

into  the  Church.  To  pass  over  all  the  other  events  of  the  interval  which 
had  elapsed  since  the  baptism  of  Cornelius,  the  results  of  the  recent 
journey  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  through  the  cities  of  Asia  Minor  must 
have  excited  a  great  commotion  among  the  Jewish  Christians.  "  A  door 
of  faith  "  had  been  opened  "  unto  the  Gentiles."  ^  "  He  that  wrought 
effectually  in  Peter  to  the  Apostleship  of  the  circumcision,  the  same  had 
been  mighty  in  Paul  toward  the  Gentiles."  -  And  we  cannot  well  doubt 
that  both  he  and  Barnabas  had  freely  joined  in  social  intercourse  with 
the  Gentile  Christians,  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  at  Iconium,  Lystra,  and 
Derbe,  as  Peter  "  at  the  first " '  "a  good  while  ago  "  *  had  eaten  with 
Cornelius  at  Caesarea.  At  Antioch  in  Syria,  it  seems  evident  that  both 
parties  lived  together  in  amicable  intercourse  and  in  much  "freedom."* 
Nor,  indeed,  is  this  the  city  where  we  should  have  expected  the  Jewish 
controversy  to  have  come  to  a  crisis :  for  it  was  from  Antioch  that  Paul 
and  Barnabas  had  first  been  sent  as  missionaries  to  the  Heathen :  ®  and  it 
was  at  Antioch  that  Greek  proselytes  had  first  accepted  the  truth  ,^ 
and  that  the  united  body  of  believers  had  first  been  called  "  Chris- 
tians." ^ 

Jerusalem  was  the  metropolis  of  the  Jewish  world.  The  exclusive 
feelings  which  the  Jews  carried  with  them  wherever  they  were  diffused, 
were  concentrated  in  Jerusalem  in  their  most  intense  degree.  It  was  there, 
in  the  sight  of  the  Temple,  and  with  all  the  recollections  of  their  ancestors 
surrounding  their  daily  life,  that  the  impatience  of  the  Jewish  Christians 
kindled  into  burning  indignation.  They  saw  that  Christianity,  instead  of 
being  the  purest  and  holiest  form  of  Judaism,  was  rapidly  becoming  a 
universal  and  indiscriminating  religion,  in  which  the  Jewish  element 
would  be  absorbed  and  lost.  This  revolution  could  not  appear  to  them 
in  any  otlier  light  than  as  a  rebellion  against  all  they  had  been  taught  to 
hold  inviolably  sacred.  And  since  there  was  no  doubt  that  the  great 
instigator  of  this  change  of  opinion  was  that  Saul  of  Tarsus  whom  they 
had  once  known  as  a  young  Pharisee  at  the  "  feet  of  Gamaliel,"  the  con- 
test took  the  form  of  an  attack  made  by  "  certain  of  the  sect  of  the 
Pharisees  "  upon  St.  Paul.  The  battle  which  had  been  fought  and  lost 
in  the  "  Cilician  synagogue  "  was  now  to  be  renewed  within  the  Church 
itself. 

Some  of  the  "  false  brethren"  (for  such  is  the  name  which  St.  Paul 
gives  to  the  Judaizers)  ^  went  down  "  from  Judaea  "  to  Antioch.^"  The 
course  they  adopted,  in  the  first  instance,  was  not  that  of  open  antagonism 
to  St.  Paul,  but  rather  of  clandestine  intrigue.     They  came  as  "  spies  " 


1  Acts  xiv.  27.      8  Acts  xv  U.      ^  See  Gal.  ii.  4.  ''  Acts  xi.  19-21.      »  Gal.  ii.  4. 

■■'  Gal.  ii.  8.  *  Acts  xv   7.       ^  Acts  xiii.  1,  &c.  *  Acts  xi.  26.  i*^  Acts  xt   1. 


186  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  vn. 

into  an  enemy's  camp,  creeping  in  "  unawares,"  *  that  tliey  might  ascertain 
how  far  the  Jewish  Law  had  been  relaxed  by  the  Christians  at  Antioch  ; 
their  purpose  being  to  bring  the  whole  Church,  if  possible,  under  the 
"  bondage "  of  the  Mosaic  yoke.  It  appears  that  they  remained  some 
considerable  time  at  Antioch,^  gradually  insinuating,  or  openly  inculcat- 
ing, their  opinion  that  the  observance  of  the  Jewish  Law  was  necessai-y  to 
salvation.  It  is  very  important  to  observe  the  exact  form  which  their 
teaching  assumed.  They  did  not  merely  recommend  or  enjoin,  for 
prudential  reasons,  the  continuance  of  certain  ceremonies  in  themselves 
indifferent :  but  they  said,  "  Except  ye  be  circumcised  after  the  manner 
of  Moses,  ye  cannot  he  saved.'''  Such  a  doctrine  must  have  been  instantly 
opposed  by  St.  Paul  with  his  utmost  energy.  He  was  always  ready  to  go 
to  the  extreme  verge  of  charitable  concession,  when  the  question  was  one 
of  peace  and  mutual  understanding :  but  when  the  very  foundations  of 
Christianity  were  m  danger  of  being  undermined,  when  the  very  con- 
tinuance of  "  the  truth  of  the  Gospel " '  was  in  jeopardy,  it  was  impossible 
that  he  should  "  give  place  by  subjection,"  even  "  for  an  hour." 

The  "  dissension  and  disputation,"  *  which  arose  between  Paul  and 
Barnabas  and  the  false  brethren  from  Judaea,  resulted  in  a  general  anxiety 
and  perplexity  among  the  Syrian  Christians,  The  minds  of  "  those  who 
from  among  the  Gentiles  were  turned  unto  God  "  were  "  troubled  "  and 
unsettled.'  Those  "words"  which  "perverted  the  Gospel  of  Christ" 
tended  also  to  "  subvert  the  souls  "  of  those  who  heard  them.®  It  was 
determined,  therefore,  "  that  Paul  and  Barnabas,  with  certain  others, 
should  go  up  to  Jerusalem  unto  the  Apostles  and  elders  about  this  ques- 
tion." It  was  well  known  that  those  who  were  disturbing  the  peace  of 
the  Church  had  their  headquarters  in  Judaea.  Such  a  theological  party 
could  only  be  successfully  met  in  the  stronghold  of  Jewish  nationality. 
Moreover,  the  residence  of  the  principal  Apostles  was  at  Jerusalem,  and 
the  community  over  which  "  James  "  presided  was  still  regarded  as  the 
Mother  Church  of  Christendom. 

In  addition  to  this  mission  with  which  St.  Paul  was  intrusted  by  the 
Church  at  Antioch,  he  received  an  intimation  of  the  Divine  Will,  com- 
municated by  direct  revelation.  Such  a  revelation  at  so  momentous  a 
crisis  must  appear  perfectly  natural  to  all  who  believe  that  Christianity 
was  introduced  into  the  world  by  the  immediate  power  of  God.  If  "  a 
man  of  Macedonia  "  appeared  to  Paul  in  the  visions  of  the  night,  when 
he  was  about  to  carry  the  Gospel  from  Asia  into  Europe  :  "^  if  "  the  angel 

1  Gal.  ii.  4.  *  Acts  xv.  2. 

2  This  may  be  inferred  from  the  imperfect  ^  Acts  xv.  19. 

in  tlie  Greek.     Compare  xiv.  28.  *  Gal.  i.  7.     Acta  xt.  24. 

»  Gal.  ii.  5.  ''  Acts  xvi.  9 


CHAP.  vn.  DIVLNE  EEVELATION  TO   ST.   PAUL.  187 

of  God  "  stood  by  him  in  the  night,  when  the  ship  thai  was  conveying 
him  to  Rome  was  in  danger  of  sinking ;  '^  we  cannot  wonder  when  he  tells 
us  that,  on  this  occasion,  when  he  "  went  up  to  Jerusalem  with  Barna- 
bas," he  went  "  by  revelation."  ^  And  we  need  not  be  surprised,  if  we 
find  that  St.  Paul's  path  was  determined  by  two  different  causes;  that  he 
went  to  Jerusalem  partly  because  the  Church  deputed  him,  and  partly 
because  he  was  divinely  admonished.  Such  a  combination  and  co-opera- 
tion of  the  natural  and  the  supernatural  we  have  observed  above,'  in  the 
case  of  that  vision  which  induced  St.  Peter  to  go  from  Joppa  to  Caesarea. 
Nor  in  adopting  this  view  of  St.  Paul's  journey  from  Antioch  to 
Jerusalem,  need  we  feel  any  great  difficulty  —  from  this  circumstance, 
that  the  two  motives  which  conspired  to  direct  him  are  separately  men- 
tioned in  different  parts  of  Scripture.  It  is  true  that  we  are  told  in  the 
Acts*  simply  that  it  was  "  determined  "  at  Antioch  that  Paul  should  go 
to  Jerusalem ;  and  that  in  Galatians  ®  we  are  informed  by  himself  that 
he  went  "  by  revelation."  But  we  have  an  exact  parallel  in  an  earlier 
journey,  already  related,®  from  Jerusalem  to  Tarsus.  In  St.  Luke's 
narrative'  it  is  stated  that  "the  brethren,"  knowing  the  conspiracy 
against  his  life,  "  brought  him  down  to  Caesarea  and  sent  him  forth  ;  " 
while  in  the  speech  of  St.  Paul  himself,^  we  are  told  that  in  a  trance  he 
saw  Jesus  Christ,  and  received  from  Him  a  command  to  depart  "  quickly 
out  of  Jerusalem." 

Similarly  directed  from  without  and  from  within,  he  travelled  to 
Jerusalem  on  the  occasion  before  us.  It  would  seem  that  his  companions 
were  carefully  chosen  with  reference  to  the  question  in  dispute.  On  the 
one  hand  was  Barnabas,^  a  Jew  and  "  a  Levite  "  by  birth,^"  a  good  repre- 
sentative of  the  church  of  the  circumcision.  On  the  other  hand  was 
Titus,"  now  first  mentioned  ^^  in  the  course  of  our  narrative,  a  convert 
from  Heathenism,  an  uncircumcised  "  Greek."  From  the  expression 
used  of  the  departure  of  this  company  it  seems  evident  that  the  majority 
of  the  Christians  at  Antioch  were  still  faithful  to  the  truth  of  the  Gospel. 
Had  the  Judaizers  triumphed,  it  would  hardly  have  been  said  that  Paul 
and  his  fellow-travellers  were  "  brought  on  their  way  by  the  Church."  " 

1  Ibid,  xxvii.  23.  *  Acts  xxii.  17,  18. 

2  Gal.  ii.  2.     Schrader  (who  does  not,  how-  *  Acts  xt.  2. 

ever,  identify  this  journey  with  that  in  Acts  i°  Acts  iv.  36.  "  Gal.  ii.  1-5. 

XT.)  translates  thus  —  "  to  make  a  revelation,"  i^  Titus  is  not  mentioned  at  all  in  the  Acts 

which   is   a  meaning  the  words  can  scarcely  of  the  Apostles,  and  besides  the  present  Epistle 

bear.  and  that  to  Titus  himself,  he  is  only  mentioned 

8  Pp.  183,  184.  in  2  Cor.  and  2  Tim.     In  a  later  part  of  thi» 

*  Acts  XT.  2.  work  he  will  be  noticed  more  particularly  as 

*  Gal.  ii.  2.  St.  Paul's  "fellow-laborer"  (2  Cor.  viii.  23). 

*  Ch.  in.  p.  97.  '  Acts  ix.  30.  "  Acts  xt.  3.     So  the  phrase  in  xv.  40  may 


188 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OE  ST.   PAUL. 


Their  course  was  along  the  great  Roman  Road,  which  followed  the 
Phoenician  coast-line,  and  traces  of  which  are  still  seen  on  the  cliffs  over- 
hanging the  sea :  ^  and  thence  through  the  midland  districts  of  Samaria 
and  Judaea.  When  last  we  had  occasion  to  mention  Phoenice,^  we  were 
alluding  to  those  who  were  dispersed  on  the  death  of  Stephen,  and 
preached  the  Gospel  "to  Jews  only  "on  this  part  of  the  Syrian  coast. 
Now,  it  seems  evident  that  many  of  the  heathen  Syro-Phoenicians  had 
been  converted  to  Christianity :  for,  as  Paul  and  Barnabas  passed  through, 
"  declaring  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles,  they  caused  great  joy  unto  all 
the  brethren."  As  regards  the  Samaritans,*  we  cannot  be  surprised  that 
they  who,  when  Philip  first  "  preached  Christ  unto  them,"  had  received 
the  Glad  Tidings  with  "  great  joy,"  should  be  ready  to  express  their 
sympathy  in  the  happiness  of  those  who,  like  themselves,  had  recently 
been  "  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel." 

Fifteen  years  *  had  now  elapsed  since  that  memorable  journey,  when 
St.  Paul  left  Jerusalem,  with  all  the  zeal  of  a  Pharisee,  to  persecute  and 
destroy  the  Christians  in  Damascus.*  He  had  twice  entered,  as  a  Chris- 
tian, the  Holy  City  again.  Both  visits  had  been  short  and  hurried,  and 
surrounded  with  danger.  The  first  was  three  years  after  his  conversion, 
when  he  spent  a  fortnight  with  Peter,  and  escaped  assassination  by  a  pre- 
cipitate flight  to  Tarsus.^  The  second  was  in  the  year  44,  when  Peter 
himself  was  in  imminent  danger,  and  when  the  messengers  who  brought 
the  charitable  contribution  from  Antioch  were  probably  compelled   to 


be  reasonably  adduced  as  a  proof  that  the 
feeling  of  the  majority  was  with  Paul  rather 
than  Barnabas. 

1  Dr.  Robinson  passed  two  Roman  mile- 
stones between  Tyre  and  Sidon  (iii.  415),  and 
observed  traces  of  a  Roman  road  between  Sidon 
and  Beyrout.  See  also  Fisher's  Syria  (i.  40) 
for  a  notice  of  the  Via  Antonina  between 
Beyrout  and  Tripoli. 

2  P.  109.  Acts  xi.  19,  20.  It  may  be 
interesting  here  to  allude  to  the  journey  of  a 
Jew  in  the  Middle  Ages  from  Antioch  to 
Jerusalem.  It  is  probable  that  the  stations, 
the  road,  and  the  rate  of  travelling,  were  the 
same,  and  the  distribution  of  the  Jews  not 
very  diflFerent.  We  find  the  following  passage 
in  the  Itinerary  of  Benjamin  of  Tudcla,  who 
travelled  in  1163.  "  Two  days  bring  us  from 
Antioch  to  Lega,  which  is  Latachia,  and  con- 
tains about  200  Jews,  the  principal  of  whom 

are  R.  Chiia  and  R.  Joseph One  day's 

journey  to  Gebal  of  the  children  of  Ammon ; 
it  contains  about   150  Jews.  .  .  .  Two  days 


hence  is  Beyrut.  The  principal  of  its  50 
Jewish  inhabitants  are  R.  Solomon,  R.  Oba- 
diah,  and  R.  Joseph.  It  is  hence  one  day's 
journey  to  Saida,  which  is  Sidon  of  Scripture 
[Acts  xxvii.  3],  a  large  city,  with  about  20 
Jewish  families.  .  .  .  One  day's  journey  to 
New  Sur  [Tyre,  Acts  xxi.  3],  a  very  beautiful 
city.  .  .  .  The  Jews  of  Sur  are  shiyj-owners 
and  manufacturers  of  the  celebrated  Tyriau 
glass.  ...  It  is  one  day  hence  to  Acre  [Ptole- 
raais.  Acts  xxi.  7].  It  is  the  frontier  town 
of  Palestine ;  and,  in  consequence  of  its  situa- 
tion on  the  shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  and 
of  its  large  port,  it  is  the  principal  place  of 
disembarkation  of  all  pilgrims  who  visit  Jeru- 
salem by  sea."  —  Early  Travels  to  Palestine, 
pp.  78-81. 

^  See  p.  74. 

*  Gal.  ii.  1,  where  we  ought  probably  to 
reckon  inclusively.     See  Appendix  I. 

6  See  Ch.  III. 

8  P.  94.     Compare  p.  182. 


CHAP.  vn.  JOURNEY  TO  JERUSALEM.  189 

return  immediately.^  Now  St.  Paul  came,  at  a  more  peaceful  period  of 
the  Church's  history,  to  be  received  as  the  successful  champion  of  the 
Gospel,  and  as  the  leader  of  the  greatest  revolution  vrhich  the  world  has 
seen.  It  was  now  undeniable  that  Christianity  had  spread  to  a  wide 
extent  in  the  Gentile  world,  and  that  he  had  been  the  great  instrument 
in  advancing  its  progress.  He  came  to  defend  his  own  principles  and 
practice  against  an  increasing  torrent  of  opposition,  which  had  disturbed 
him  in  his  distant  ministrations  at  Antioch,  but  the  fountain-head  of 
which  was  among  the  Pharisees  at  Jerusalem. 

The  Pharisees  had  been  the  companions  of  St.  Paul's  younger  days. 
Death  had  made  many  changes  in  the  course  of  fifteen  years  ;  but  some 
must  have  been  there  who  had  studied  with  him  "  at  the  feet  of 
Gamaliel."  Their  opposition  was  doubtless  imbittered  by  remembering 
what  he  had  been  before  his  conversion.  Nor  do  we  allude  here  to  those 
Pharisees  who  opposed  Christianity.  These  were  not  the  enemies  whom 
St.  Paul  came  to  resist.  The  time  was  past  when  the  Jews,  unassisted 
by  the  Roman  power,  could  exercise  a  cruel  tyranny  over  the  Church. 
Its  safety  was  no  longer  dependent  on  the  wisdom  or  caution  of  Gamaliel. 
The  great  debates  at  Jerusalem  are  no  longer  between  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians in  tlie  Hellenistic  synagogues,  but  between  the  Judaizing  and 
spiritual  parties  of  the  Christians  themselves.  Many  of  the  Pharisees, 
after  the  example  of  St.  Paul,  had  believed  that  Jesus  was  Christ.^  But 
they  had  not  followed  the  example  of  their  school-companion  in  the 
surrender  of  Jewish  bigotry.  The  battle,  therefore,  which  had  once  been 
fought  without,  was  now  to  be  renewed  within,  the  Church.  It  seems 
that,  at  the  very  first  reception  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  at  Jerusalem,  some 
of  these  Pharisaic  Christians  "  rose  up,"  and  insisted  that  the  observance 
of  Judaism  was  necessary  to  salvation.  They  said  that  it  was  absolutely 
"  needful  to  circumcise  "  the  new  converts,  and  to  "  command  them  to 
keep  the  Law  of  Moses."  The  whole  course  of  St.  Paul's  procedure 
among  the  Gentiles  was  here  openly  attacked.  Barnabas  was  involved 
ni  the  same  suspicion  and  reproach ;  and  with  regard  to  Titus,  wlio  was 
with  them  as  the  representative  of  the  Gentile  Church,  it  was  asserted 
that,  without  circumcision,  he  could  not  hope  to  be  partaker  of  the  bless- 
ings of  the  Gospel. 

But  far  more  was  involved  than  any  mere  opposition,  however  factious, 
to  individual  missionaries,  or  than  the  severity  of  any  conditions  imposed 
on  individual  converts.  The  question  of  liberty  or  bondage  for  all  future 
ages  was  to  be  decided ;  and  a  convention  of  the  whole  Church  at  Jeru- 
salem was  evidently  called  for.     In  the  mean  time,  before  "  the  Apostles 

1  p.  117.     Compare  p.  182.  "  Acts  xt.  6. 


190  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  vn. 

and  elders  came  together  to  consider  of  this  matter,"^  St.  Paul  had 
private  conferences  with  the  more  influential  members  of  the  Christian 
community,'  and  especially  with  James,  Peter,  and  John,'  the  Great 
Apostles  and  "  Pillars  "  of  the  Church.  Extreme  caution  and  manage- 
ment were  required,  in  consequence  of  the  intrigues  of  the  "  false 
brethren,"  both  in  Jerusalem  and  Antioch.  He  was,  moreover,  himself 
the  great  object  of  suspicion ;  and  it  was  his  duty  to  use  every  effort  to 
remove  the  growing  prejudice.  Thus,  though  conscious  of  his  own  in- 
spiration, and  tenaciously  holding  the  truth  which  he  knew  to  be 
essential,  he  yet  acted  with  that  prudence  which  was  characteristic  of  hie 
whole  life,*  and  which  he  honestly  avows  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians. 
If  we  may  compare  our  own  feeble  imitations  of  Apostolic  zeal  and 
prudence  with  the  proceedings  of  the  first  founders  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  we  may  say  that  these  preliminary  conferences  were  like  the  pri 
vate  meetings  which  prepare  the  way  for  a  great  religious  assembly  in  Eng 
land.  Paul  and  Barnabas  had  been  deputed  from  Antioch ;  Titus  war 
with  them  as  a  sample  of  Gentile  conversions,  and  a  living  proof  of 
their  reality  ;  and  the  great  end  in  view  was  to  produce  full  conviction  iu 
the  Church  at  large.  At  length  the  great  meeting  was  summoned,^  which 
was  to  settle  the  principles  of  missionary  action  among  the  Gentiles.  It 
was  a  scene  of  earnest  debate,  and  perhaps,  in  its  earlier  portion,  of  angry 
"  disputing :  "  ®  but  the  passages  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  caused  to  be 
recorded  for  our  instruction  are  those  which  relate  to  the  Apostles  them- 
selves, —  the  address  of  St.  Peter,  the  narrative  of  Barnabas  and  Paul, 
and  the  concluding  speech  of  St.  James.  These  three  passages  must  be 
separately  considered  iu  the  order  of  Scripture. 
■  St.  Peter  was  the  first  of  the  Apostles  who  rose  to  address  the 
assembly.''  He  gave  his  decision  against  the  Judaizers,  and  in  favor  of 
St.  Paul.  He  reminded  his  hearers  of  the  part  which  he  himself  had 
taken  in  admitting  the  Gentiles  into  the  Christian  Church.  They  were 
well  aware,  he  said,  that  these  recent  converts  in  Syria  and  Cilicia  were 


1  Acta  XV.  6.  however,  in  this  verse,  is  disputed.     See  nott 

'  Gal.  ii.  2.  below,  on  the  superscription  of  the  decree,  p. 

*  Gal.  ii.  9.  197.]      Hence  we  must  suppose,  either  that 

*  See,  for  instance,  the  sixth  and  seventeenth  the  decision  was  made  by  the  synod  of  the 
verses  of  Acts  xxiii.  Apostles  and  Elders,  and  afterwards  ratified 

6  Tliis  meeting  is  described  (Acts  xv.  6)  as  by  another  larger  meeting  of  the  whole 
consisting  of  the  "  Apostles  and  Elders;  "  but  Church,  or  that  there  was  only  one  meeting, 
the  decision  afterwards  given  is  said  to  be  the  in  which  the  whole  Church  took  part,  although 
decision  of  "  the  Apostles  and  Elders  with  the  only  the  "  Apostles  and  Elders  "  are  men- 
whole  Church"  (ver.  22),  and  the  decree  was  tioned. 
sent  in  the  names  of  "  the  Apostles,  and  Eld-  ®  Acts  xv.  7. 
prs,  and  Brethren"  (ver.  23).     [The  reading,           "^  Acts  xv.  7-11. 


CHAP.  vu.  PUBLIC  MEETING.  191 

not  the  first  Heathens  who  had  believed  the  Gospel,  and  that  he  himself 
had  been  chosen  by  God  to  begin  the  work  which  St.  Paul  had  only  been 
continuing.  The  communication  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  the  true  test  of 
God's  acceptance :  and  God  had  shown  that  He  was  no  respecter  of  per 
sons,  by  shedding  abroad  the  same  miraculous  gifts  on  Jew  and  Gentile, 
and  purifying  by  faith  the  hearts  of  both  alike.  And  then  St.  Peter 
went  on  to  speak,  in  touching  language,  of  the  yoke  of  the  Jewish  Law. 
Its  weight  had  pressed  heavily  on  many  generations  of  Jews,  and  was 
well  known  to  the  Pharisees  who  were  listening  at  that  moment.  They 
had  been  relieved  from  legal  bondage  by  the  salvation  ofiered  through 
faith  ;  and  it  would  be  tempting  God,  to  impose  on  others  a  burden  which 
neither  they  nor  their  fathers  had  ever  been  able  to  bear. 

The  next  speakers  were  Paul  and  Barnabas.  There  was  great  silence 
through  all  the  multitude,'  and  every  eye  was  turned  on  the  missionaries, 
while  they  gave  the  narrative  of  their  journeys.  Though  Barnabas  is 
mentioned  here  before  Paul,^  it  is  most  likely  that  the  latter  was  "  the 
chief  speaker.  But  both  of  them  appear  to  have  addressed  the  audience.^ 
They  had  much  to  relate  of  what  they  had  done  and  seen  together :  and 
especially  they  made  appeal  to  the  miracles  which  God  had  worked  among 
the  Gentiles  by  them.  Such  an  appeal  must  have  been  a  persuasive  argu- 
ment to  the  Jew,  who  was  familiar,  in  his  ancient  Scriptures,  with  many 
Divine  interruptions  of  the  course  of  nature.  These  interferences  had 
signalized  all  the  great  passages  of  Jewish  history.  Jesus  Christ  had 
proved  His  Divine  mission  in  the  same  manner.  And  the  events  at 
Paphos,*  at  Iconium,®  and  Lystra,®  could  not  well  be  regarded  in  any 
otlier  light  than  as  a  proof  that  the  same  Power  had  been  with  Paul  and 
Barnabas,  which  accompanied  the  words  of  Peter  and  John  in  Jerusalem 
and  Judaea.'' 

But  the  opinion  of  another  speaker  still  remained  to  be  given.  This 
was  James,  the  brother  of  the  Lord,^  who,  from  the  austere  sanctity  of  his 
character,  was  commonly  called,  both  by  Jews  and  Christians,  "  James 
the  Just."  No  judgment  could  have  such  weight  with  the  Judaizing  party 
as  his.     Not  only  in  the  vehement  language  in  which  he  denounced  tho 

^  Acta  XV.   12.     The  imperfect,  which  is  *  Acts  xiii.  11. 

here  used,  implies  attention  to  a  continued  '  Acts  xiy.  3. 

narrative.  "  Acts  xiv.  8. 

2  This  order  of  the  names  in  the  narrative,  "^  Acts  ii.,  v.,  ix. 

XV.  12,  and  in  the  letter  below,  ver.  25  (not  in  ^  See  Acts  xv.  13-22.     It  is  well  known 

ver.   22),   is   a  remarkable   exception    to  the  that  there  is  much  perplexity  connected  with 

phrase  "  Paul  and  Barnabas,"  which  has  been  those  apostles  who  bore  tlie  name  of  James, 

usual   since  Acts   xiii.      See   below,   p.   197,  We  are  not  required  here  to  enter  into  the 

n.  4.  investigation,  and  are  content  to   adopt   the 

'  See  ver.  13,  "after  thet/  were  silent."  opinion  which  is  most  probable. 


192  TUE   LIFE   AJS'O  EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap. -iti. 

sins  of  the  age,  but  even  in  garb  and  appearance,  he  resembled  John  tlie 
Baptist,  or  one  of  the  older  prophets,  rather  than  the  other  Apostles  of 
the  new  dispensation.  "  Like  the  ancient  saints,  even  in  outward  aspect, 
with  the  austere  features,  the  linen  ephod,  the  bare  feet,  the  long  locks 
and  unshorn  head  of  the  Nazarite,"  ^  —  such,  according  to  tradition,  was 
the  man  who  now  came  forward,  and  solemnly  pronounced  that  Mosaic 
rites  were  not  of  eternal  obligation.  After  alluding  to  the  argument  of 
Peter  (whose  name  we  find  him  characteristically  quoting  in  its  Jewish 
form),^  he  turns  to  the  ancient  prophets,  and  adduces  a  passage  from 
Amos'  to  prove  that  Christianity  is  the  fulfilment  of  Judaism.  And  then 
he  passes  to  the  historical  aspect  of  the  subject,  contending  that  this  ful- 
filment; was  predetermined  by  God  Himself,  and  that  the  Jewish  dispen- 
sation was  in  truth  the  preparation  for  the  Christian.*  Such  a  decision, 
pronounced  by  one  who  stood  emphatically  on  the  confines  of  tlie  two 
dispensations,  came  with  great  force  on  all  who  heard  it,  and  carried  with 
it  the  general  opinion  of  the  assembly  to  the  conclusion  that  those  "  who 
from  among  the  Gentiles  had  turned  unto  God  "  should  not  be  "  trou- 
bled" with  any  Jewish  obligations,  except  such  as  were  necessary  for 
peace  and  the  mutual  good  understanding  of  the  two  parties. 

The  spirit  of  charity  and  mutual  forbearance  is  very  evident  in  the 
decree  which  was  finally  enacted.  Its  spirit  was  that  expressed  by  St. 
Paul  in  his  Epistles  to  the  Romans  and  Corinthians.  He  knew,  and  was 
persuaded  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  nothing  is  unclean  of  itself:  but  to 
him  that  esteemeth  any  thing  to  be  unclean,  to  him  it  is  unclean.  He 
knew  that  an  idol  is  nothing  in  the  world,  and  that  there  is  none  other  God 
but  one.  But  all  men  have  not  this  knowledge  :  some  could  not  eat  that 
which  had  been  offered  in  sacrifice  to  an  idol  without  defiling  their  con- 
science. It  is  good  to  abstain  from  every  thing  whereby  a  weaker  brother 
may  be  led  to  stumble.  To  sin  thus  against  our  brethren  is  to  sin  against 
Christ.*  In  accordance  with  these  principles  it  was  enacted  that  the  Gen 
tile  converts  should  be  required  to  abstain  from  that  which  had  been 
polluted  by  being  offered  in  sacrifice  to  idols,  from  the  flesh  of  animals 
which  had  been  strangled,  and  generally  from  the  eating  of  blood.  The 
reason  for  these  conditions  is  stated  in  the  verse  to  which  particular 

^  Stanley's    Sermons    and  Essays,   &c.,   p.  ecy  to  the  fixture  destiny  of  the  Jews;  but  we 

295.     We  must  refer  here  to  the  whole  of  the  must  observe,  that  the  Apostles  themselves  ap- 

Sermon  on  the  Epistle  of  St.  James,  and  of  the  ply  such  prophecies  as  this  to    the   Christian 

Essay  on  the  Traditions  of  James  the  Just,  espe-  Dispensation.     See  Acts  ii.  17. 
cially  pp.  292,  302,  327.  ♦  "Known  from   the   beginning,"   &c.,  18 

'^  Acts  XV.  14.     So  St.  Peter  names  himself  Compare  Acts  xvii.  26 ;  Rom.  i.  2 ;  Eph.  i.  10, 

at  the  beginning  of  his  Second  Epistle.  iii.  9,  10 ;  Col.  i.  26. 

*  Amos  ix.  11,  12.     We  are  not  required  to  ^  Rom.  xiv;  1  Cor.  viii. 

express  any  opinion  on  the  application  of  proph- 


CHAP.  vu.  THE  DECREE.  193 

allusion  has  been  made  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  chapter.'  The 
Law  of  Moses  was  read  every  Sabbath  in  all  the  cities  where  the  Jews 
were  dispersed.^  A  due  consideration  for  the  prejudices  of  the  Jews  made 
it  reasonable  for  the  Gentile  converts  to  comply  with  some  of  the  restric- 
tions which  the  Mosaic  Law  and  ancient  custom  had  imposed  on  every 
Jewish  meal.  Li  no  other  way  could  social  intercourse  be  built  up  and 
cemented  between  the  two  parties.  If  some  forbearance  were  requisite 
on  the  part  of  the  Gentiles  in  complying  with  such  conditions,  not  less 
forbearance  was  required  from  the  Jews  in  exacting  no  more.  And  to 
the  Gentiles  themselves  the  restrictions  were  a  merciful  condition :  for  it 
helped  them  to  disentangle  themselves  more  easily  from  the  pollutions 
connected  with  their  idolatrous  life.  We  are  not  merely  concerned  here 
with  tlie  question  of  social  separation,  the  food  which  was  a  delicacy'  to 
tlie  Gentile  being  abominated  by  the  Jew,  —  nor  with  the  difficulties  of 
weak  and  scrupulous  consciences,  who  might  fear  too  close  a  contact 
between  "  the  table  of  the  Lord  "  and  "  the  table  of  Demons,"  *  —  but 
this  controversy  had  an  intimate  connection  with  the  principles  of  univer- 
sal morality.  The  most  shameless  violations  of  purity  took  place  in  con- 
nection with  the  sacrifices  and  feasts  celebrated  in  honor  of  Heathen 
divinities.*  Every  thing,  therefore,  which  tended  to  keep  the  Gentile 
converts  even  from  accidental  or  apparent  association  with  these  scenes 
of  vice,  made  their  own  recovery  from  pollution  more  easy,  and  enabled 
the  Jewish  converts  to  look  on  their  new  Christian  brethren  with  less 
suspicion  and  antipathy.  This  seems  to  be  the  reason  why  we  find  an 
acknowledged  sin  mentioned  in  the  decree  along  with  ceremonial  observ- 
ances which  were  meant  to  be  only  temporary^  and  perhaps  local.''     We 

1  Above,  p.  180.     There  is  some  difference  ^  Acts  xv.  21. 

of  opinion  as  to  the  connection  of  this  verse  '  We  loam  from  Athenseus  that  the  meat 

with  the  context.     Some  consider  it  to  imply  from   "  things  strangled  "  was  regarded  as  a 

that,  while  it  was  necessary  to  urge  these  con-  delicacy  among  the  Greeks, 
ditions  on  the  Gentiles,  it  was  needless  to  say  *  1  Cor.  x.  21. 

any  thing  to  the  Jews  on  the  subject,  since  they  ^  See  Tholuck  in  his  Nature  and  Moral  In- 

had  the  Law  of  Moses,  and  knew  its  require-  fluence  of  Heathenism,  part  iii. 
ments.     Dean  Milman  infers  that  the  regula-  ^  We  cannot,  however,  be  surpnjed  that  one 

tions  were  made  because  the  Christians  in  gene-  great  branch  of  the  Christian  Church  takes  a 

ral  met  in  the  same  places  of  religious  worship  different  view.     The   doctrine    of   the  Greek 

with  the  Jews.     "  These  provisions  were  neces-  Church,  both  Ancient  and  Modern,  is  in  har- 

sary,  because  the  Mosaic  Law  was  universally  mony  with  the  letter,  as  well  as  the  spirit,  of 

read,   and   from    immemorial    usage,   in    the  the  Apostolic  council. 

synagogue.     The  direct  violation  of  its  most  ^  At  least  the  decree  (Acts  xv.  23)  is  ad- 
vital  principles  by  any  of  those  who  joined  in  dressed  only  to  the  churches  of  "  Syria  and 
the  common  worship  would  be  incongruous,  Cilicia  ; "  and  we  do  not  see  the  subject  alluded 
and  of  course  highly  offensive  to   the  more  to  again  after  xvi.  4. 
sealous  Mosaists."  —  Hist,  of  Christianity,  vol. 
i.  p.  426,  n. 

13 


194  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  vd 

must  look  on  the  whole  subject  from  the  Jewish  point  of  view,  and  con- 
sider how  violations  of  morality  and  contradictions  of  the  ceremonial  law 
were  associated  together  in  the  Gentile  world.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
remark  that  much  additional  emphasis  is  given  to  the  moral  part  of  the 
decree,  when  we  remember  that  it  was  addressed  to  those  who  lived  in 
close  proximity  to  the  profligate  sanctuaries  of  Antioch  and  Paphos.^ 

We  have  said  that  the  ceremonial  part  of  the  decree  was  intended  for 
a  temporary  and  perhaps  only  a  local  observance.  It  is  not  for  a  moment 
implied  that  any  Jewish  ceremony  is  necessary  to  salvation.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  great  principle  was  asserted,  once  for  all,  that  man  is  justified, 
not  by  the  law,  but  by  faith  :  one  immediate  result  was  that  Titus,  the 
companion  of  Paul  and  Barnabas,  "  was  not  compelled  to  be  circum- 
cised."'^ His  case  was  not  like  that  of  Timothy  at  a  later  period,'  whose 
circumcision  was  a  prudential  accommodation  to  circumstances,  without 
endangering  the  truth  of  the  Gospel.  To  have  circumcised  Titus  at  the 
time  of  the  meeting  in  Jerusalem,  would  have  been  to  have  asserted  that 
he  was  "bound  to  keep  the  whole  law."*  And  when  the  alternative  was 
between  "  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free,"  and  the  re- 
imposition  of  "  the  yoke  of  bondage,"  St.  Paul's  language  always  was,' 
that  if  Gentile  converts  were  circumcised,  Christ  could  "profit  them 
nothing."  By  seeking  to  be  justified  in  the  law,  they  fell  from  grace.^ 
In  this  firm  refusal  to  comply  with  the  demand  of  the  Judaizers,  the  case 
of  all  future  converts  from  Heathenism  was  virtually  involved.  It  was 
asserted  once  for  all,  that  in  the  Christian  Church  there  is  "  neither  Greek 
nor  Jew,  circumcision  nor  uncircumcision,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond,  nor 
free  :  but  that  Christ  is  all  and  in  all."  ^  And  St.  Paul  obtained  the  vic- 
tory for  that  principle,  which,  we  cannot  doubt,  will  hereafter  destroy  the 
distinctions  that  are  connected  with  the  institutions  of  slavery  in  America 
and  of  caste  in  India. 

Certain  other  points  decided  in  this  meeting  had  a  more  direct  personal 
reference  to  St.  Paul  himself.  His  own  independent  mission  had  been 
called  in  question.  Some,  perhaps,  said  that  he  was  antagonistic  to  the 
Apostles  at  Jerusalem,  others  that  he  was  entirely  dependent  on  them.® 
All  the  Judaizers  agreed  in  blaming  his  course  of  procedure  among  the 
Gentiles.  This  course  was  now  entirely  approved  by  the  other  Apostles. 
His  independence  was  fully  recognized.  Those  who  were  universally 
regarded  as  "  pillars  of  the  truth,"  James,  Peter,  and  John,''  gave  to  him 

1  See  above,  pp.  116  and  140.  *  The  charges  brought  against  St.  Paul  by 

*  Gal.  ii.  3.  '  Acts  xvi.  8.  the  Judaizers  were  very  various  at  different 

♦  Gal.  V.  3.  •  Gal.  t.  2.  times. 

^  Gal.  V.  4.  '  It  should  be  carefully  observed  here  that 

'  Col.  iii.  11.  James  is  mentioned  first  of  these  Apostles  ■who 


CHAp.vn.  KECOGNITION  OF  ST.   PAUL'S  MISSION.  195 

and  Barnabas  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  and  agreed  that  they  should 
be  to  the  Heathen  what  themselves  were  to  the  Jews.  Thus  was  St.  Paul 
publicly  acknowledged  as  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  openly  placed 
in  that  position  from  which  "  he  shall  never  more  go  out,"  as  a  pillar  of 
the  Temple  of  the  "  New  Jerusalem,"  inscribed  with  the  "  New  Name  " 
which  proclaims  the  union  of  all  mankind  in  one  Saviour.' 

One  of  those  who  gave  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  to  St.  Paul  was 
the  "  beloved  disciple  "  of  that  Saviour.^  This  is  the  only  meeting  of  St. 
Paul  and  St.  John  recorded  in  Scripture.  It  is,  moreover,  the  last  notice 
which  we  find  there  of  the  life  of  St.  John,  until  the  time  of  the  apoca- 
lyptic vision  in  the  island  of  Patmos.  For  both  these  reasons  the  mind 
seizes  eagerly  on  tlie  incident,  though  it  is  only  casually  mentioned  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  Like  other  incidental  notices  contained  in  Scrip- 
ture, it  is  very  suggestive  of  religious  thoughts.  St.  John  had  been  silent 
during  the  discussion  in  the  public  assembly ;  but  at  the  close  of  it  he 
expressed  his  cordial  union  with  St.  Paul  in  "  the  truth  of  the  Gospel."' 
That  union  has  been  made  visible  to  all  ages  by  the  juxtaposition  of  their 
Epistles  in  the  same  Sacred  Volume.  They  stand  together  among  the 
pillars  of  the  Holy  Temple ;  and  the  Church  of  God  is  thankful  to  learn 
liow  Contemplation  may  be  united  with  Action,  and  Faith  with  Love, 
in  the  spiritual  life. 

To  the  decree  with  which  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  charged,  one  con- 
dition was  annexed,  with  which  they  gladly  promised  to  comply.  We 
have  already  had  occasion  to  observe  (p.  61)  that  the  Hebrews  of  Judaea 
were  relatively  poor,  compared  with  those  of  the  dispersion,  and  that  the 
Jewish  Christians  in  Jerusalem  were  exposed  to  peculiar  sufferings  from 
poverty  ;  and  we  have  seen  Paul  and  Barnabas  once  before  the  bearers 
of  a  contribution  from  a  foreign  city  for  their  relief  (p.  118).  They 
were  exhorted  now  to  continue  the  same  charitable  work,  and  in  their 
journeys  among  the  Gentiles  and  the  dispersed  Jews,  "to  remember  the 
poor "  at  Jerusalem.*    In  proof  of  St.  Paul's  faithful  discharge  of  this 

were  "  pillars,"  and  that  Peter  is  mentioned  by  in  the  passage  quoted  from  Revelation :  "  I 

the  name  of  Cephas,  as  in  I  Cor.  i.  12.  will  write  upon  him  .  .  .  my  new  name." 

1  See  Rev.  iii.  12.     The  same  metaphor  is  ^  Gal.  ii.  9. 

found  in  1  Tim.  iii.  15,  where  Timothy  is  called  *  Gal  ii.  5. 

(for  this    seems   the    natural    interpretation)  *  "  Only  that  we  should  remember  the  poor ; 

"a  pillar  and  support  of  the  truth."     In  these  which  also  I  was  forward  to  do."     Gal.  ii.  10, 

passages  it  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  the  where  the  change  from  the  plural  to  tlie  singa- 

peculiarity  of  ancient  architecture,  which  was  lar  should  be  noticed.     Is  this  because  Barnabas 

characterized  by  vertical  columns,  supporting  was  soon  afterwards  separated  from  St.  Paul 

horizontal  entablatures.   Inscriptions  were  often  (Acts  xv.  39),  who  had  thenceforth  to  proso- 

engraved  on  these  columns.     Hence  the  words  cute  the  charitable  work  alone  « 


196  THE  LIFE  AJmB  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  m, 

promise,  we  need  only  allude  to  his  zeal  in  making  "  the  contribution  for 
the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem"  in  Galatia,  Macedonia,  and  Achaia,*  and 
to  that  last  journey  to  the  Holy  Land,  when  he  went,  "after  many  years," 
to  take  "  alms  to  his  nation."^  It  is  more  important  here  to  consider 
(what  indeed  we  have  mentioned  before)  the  effect  which  this  charitable 
exertion  would  have  in  binding  together  the  divided  parties  in  the 
Church.  There  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  the  Apostles  had  this  result 
in  view.  Their  anxiety  on  this  subject  is  the  best  commentary  on  the 
spirit  in  which  they  had  met  on  this  great  occasion ;  and  we  may  rest 
assured  that  the  union  of  the  Gentile  and  Jewish  Christians  was  largely 
promoted  by  the  benevolent  efforts  which  attended  the  diffusion  of  the 
Apostolic  Decree. 

Thus  the  controversy  being  settled,  Paul's  mission  to  the  Gentiles 
being  fully  recognized,  and  his  method  of  communicating  the  Gospel 
approved  by  the  other  Apostles,  and  the  promise  being  given,  that,  in 
their  journeys  among  the'  Heathen,  they  would  remember  the  necessities 
of  the  Hebrew  Christians  in  Judaea,  the  two  missionaries  returned  from 
Jerusalem  to  Antioch.  They  carried  with  them  the  decree  which  was  to 
give  peace  to  the  consciences  that  had  been  troubled  by  the  Judaizing 
agitators ;  and  the  two  companions,  Judas  and  Silas,'  who  travelled  with 
them,  were  empowered  to  accredit  their  commission  and  character.  It 
seems  also  that  Mark  was  another  companion  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  on 
this  journey  ;  for  the  last  time  we  had  occasion  to  mention  his  name  was 
when  he  withdrew  from  Pamphylia  to  Jerusalem  (p.  144),  and  presently 
we  see  him  once  more  with  his  kinsman  at  Antioch.* 

The  reception  of  the  travellers  at  Antioch  was  full  of  joy  and  satis- 
faction.^ The  whole  body  of  the  Church  was  summoned  together  to  hear 
the  reading  of  the  letter ;  and  we  can  well  imagine  the  eagerness  with 
which  they  crowded  to  listen,  and  the  thankfulness  and  "  consolation  " 
with  which  such  a  communication  was  received,  after  so  much  anxiety 
and  perplexity.  The  letter  indeed  is  almost  as  interesting  to  us  as  to 
them,  not  only  because  of  the  principle  asserted  and  the  results  secured, 
but  also  because  it  is  the  first  document  preserved  to  us  from  the  acts  of 
the  Primitive  Church.  The  words  of  the  original  document,  literally 
translated,  are  as  follows  :  — 


1  "As  I  have  given  order  to  the  Chnrches  ^  Acts  xxiv.  17. 

of   Galatia,"  &c.,  1   Cor.  xvi.  1-4.  "  It    hath  »  Acts  xv.  22,  27,  32. 

pleased  them  of  Macedonia  and  Achaia,"  &c  *  Acts  xv.  37.  •  Act!  xr,  31. 

Rom.  XV.  25,  26.     See  2  Cor.  viii.,  ix. 


chat.  vii.  the  lettek.  197 

"  The  Apostles,   a.nd  the   Elders,  and  the  Brethren,*  to  the  Gen-  ^<»" 
TILE  Brethren  in  Antioch,  and  Syria,  and  Cilicia,  GREETmo.'       23 


"  Whereas  we  have  heard  that  certain  men  who  went  out  from  us  have  2 
troubled  you  with  words,  and  unsettled  your  souls '  by  telling  you  to  cir- 
cumcise yourselves  and  keep  the  Law,  although  we  gave  them  no  such 
commission  : 

"  It  has  been  determined  by  us,  being  assembled  with  one  accord,  to  25 
choose  some  from   amongst  ourselves   and  send  them  to  you  with  our 
beloved*  Barnabas  and  Saul,  men  that  have  offered  up  their  lives  for  the  26 
name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     We  have  sent  therefore  Judas  and  Silas,  27 
who  themselves  also '  will  tell  you  by  word  the  same  which  we  tell  you 
by  letter. 

"  For  it  has  been  determined  by  the  Holy  Spirit  and  by  us,  to  lay  upon  28 
you  no  greater  burden  than  these  necessary  things  :  that  ye  abstain  from  29 
meats  offered  to  idols,  and  from  blood,  and  from  things  strangled,  and 
from  fornication.     Wherefrom  if  ye  keep  yourselves  it  shall  be  well  with 
you.     Farewell." 

The  encouragement  inspired  by  this  letter  would  be  increased  by  the 
sight  of  Judas  and  Silas,  who  were  ready  to  confirm  its  contents  by  word 
of  mouth.  These  two  disciples  remained  some  short  time  at  Antioch. 
They  were  possessed  of  that  power  of  "  prophecy  "  which  was  one  of  the 
forms  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  made  His  presence  known :   and  the 

1  We  adhere  to  the  Textus  Receptus,  al-  '  Although  the  best  MSS.  omit  the  word* 
though  the"  an<i"  before  "  Brethren"  is  omit-  "by  telling.  .  .  Law,"  yet  we  think  they 
ted  in  many  weighty  MSS.     But  it  is  supported       cannot  possibly  be  an  interpolation. 

by  Chrysostom,  by  several  of  the  uncial  MSS.,  *  It  is  another  undesigned  coincidence  that 

and  by  many  of  the  most  ancient  versions.     Its  the  names  of  these  two  Apostles  are  here  in  the 

omission  might  have  been  caused  by  hierarchi-  reverse  order  to  that  which,  in  St.  Luke's  nar- 

cal  tendencies.     It  should  be  observed  that  the  rative  (except  when  he  speaks  of  Jerusalem), 

phrase  without  the  conjunction  is  entirely  un-  they  have  assumed  since   chap.  xiii.     In   the 

known  elsewhere,  which  is  a  strong  argument  view  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem,  Paul's  name 

against  its   being   the    correoc  reading    here.  would  naturally  come  after  that  of  Barnabas. 

Also  the  omission  appears  to  render  the  super-  See  above,  p.  191,  n.  2. 

scription  of  this  document  inconsistent  with  the  ^  The  present  participle  may  be  explained 

enumeration  of  the  three  distinct  parties  to  it  by  the  ancient  idiom  of  letter-writing,  by  which 

in  verse  22.  the  writer  transferred  himself  into  the  time  of 

2  "  Greeting."     The  only  other  place  where  the  reader, 
this  salutation  occurs  is  James  i.  1  ;  an  unde- 
signed coincidence  tending  to  prove  the  genu- 
ineness of  this  document. 


198  THE  LIFE  AHD  EPISTLES   OP  ST.   PAUL.  ohap.  vu. 

Syrian  Ch)  istians  were  "  exhorted  and  confirmed  "  by  the  exercise  of  this 
miraculous  gift.^  The  minds  of  all  were  in  great  tranquillity  when  the 
time  came  for  the  return  of  these  messengers  "  to  the  Apostles  "  at  Jeru- 
salem. Silas,  however,  either  remained  at  Antioch,  or  soon  came  back 
thither.'^  fie  was  destined,  as  we  shall  see,  to  become  the  companion  of 
St.  Paul,  and  to  be  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  missionary  journey 
what  Barnabas  had  been  at  the  beginning  of  the  first. 

Two  painful  scenes  were  witnessed  at  Antioch  before  the  Apostle 
started  on  that  second  journey.  We  are  informed  ^  that  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas protracted  their  stay  in  this  city,  and  were  dilligently  occupied,  with 
many  others,  in  making  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel  known,  and  in  the 
general  work  of  Christian  instruction.  It  is  in  this  interval  of  time  that 
we  must  place  tliat  visit  of  St.  Peter  to  Antioch,^  which  St.  Paul  men- 
tions in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,'  immediately  after  his  notice  of 
the  affairs  of  the  Council.  It  appears  that  Peter,  having  come  to  Antioch 
for  some  reason  which  is  unknown  to  us,®  lived  at  first  in  free  and  unre- 
strained intercourse  with  the  Gentile  converts,  meeting  them  in  social 
friendship,  and  eating  with  them,  in  full  consistency  with  the  spirit  of  the 
recent  decree,  and  with  his  own  conduct  in  the  case  of  Cornelius.  At 
this  time  certain  Jewish  brethren  came  "  from  James,"  who  presided  over 
the  Church  at  Jerusalem.  Whether  they  were  really  sent  on  some 
mission  by  the  Apostle  James,  or  we  are  merely  to  understand  that  they 
came  from  Jerusalem,  they  brought  with  them  their  old  Hebrew  repug- 
nance against  social  intercourse  with  the  uucircumcised ;  and  Peter  in' 
their  society  began  to  vacillate.  In  weak  compliance  with  their  preju- 
dices, he  "  withdrew  and  separated  himself "  from  those  whom  he  had 
lately  treated  as  brethren  and  equals  in  Christ.     Just  as  in  an  earlier 

^  Acts  XT.  32.     Compare  xiii.  1.  objection   to   say  that  his  conduct  here  was 

*  Acts  XV.  34.  The  reading  here  is  doubt-  equally  inconsistent  with  his  own  previous  con- 
ful.     The  question,  however,  is  immaterial.    If      duct  in  the  case  of  Cornelius. 

the  verse  is  genuine,  it  modifies   the   phrase  Abp.  Whately  (in  the  work  quoted  below,  p. 

"  they  were  let  go  "  in  the  preceding  verse ;  if  201,  n.  1)  assumes  that  Peter  went  to   meet 

not,  we  have  merely  to  suppose  that  Silas  went  Paul  at  Jerusalem  after  the  scene  at  Antioch, 

to  Jerusalem  and  then  returned.  and  sees  a  close  resemblance  between  Peter's 

^  Acts  XV.  35.  words  (Acts  xv.  11)  and  those  of  Paul  (Gal.  ii. 

*  Neander  places  this  meeting  of  Peter  and  14-16). 

Paul  later;  but  his  reasons  are  far  from  satis-  ®  Gal.  ii.  11,  &c. 

factory.    From  the  order  of  narration  in  the  ^  The  tradition  which  represents  Peter  aa 

Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  it  is  most  natural  to  having  held  the  See  of  Antioch  before  that  of 

infer  that  the  meeting  at  Antioch  took  place  Rome  has  been  mentioned  before,  p.  119,  n.  1. 

soon  after  the  Council   at  Jerusalem.     Some  Tilleraont  places  the  period  of  this  episcopate 

writers  wish  to  make  it  anterior  to  the  Council,  about  36-42,  a.  d.     He  says  it  is  "  nne  chose 

from  an  unwillingness  to  believe  that  St.  Peter  assez  embarrasse'e  ;  "  and  it  is  certainly  difficult 

would  have  acted  in  this  manner  after  the  de-  to  reconcile  it  with  Scripture, 
cree.     But   it   is  a  suflBcient  answer   to  this 


CHAP.  vn.  ST.    PETER  REBUKED   BY   ST.   PAUL.  199 

part  of  his  life  he  had  first  asserted  his  readiness  to  follow  his  Master  to 
death,  and  then  denied  Him  through  fear  of  a  maid-servant,  —  so  now, 
after  publicly  protesting  against  the  notion  of  making  any  difference 
between  the  Jew  and  the  Gentile,  and  against  laying  on  the  neck  of  the 
latter  a  yoke  which  the  former  had  never  been  able  to  bear,^  we  find 
him  contradicting  his  own  principles,  and  "  through  fear  of  those  who 
were  of  the  circumcision  "  ^  giving  all  the  sanction  of  his  example  to 
the  introduction  of  easte  into  the  Church  of  Christ. 

Such  conduct  could  not  fail  to  excite  in  St.  Paul  the  utmost  indigna- 
tion. St.  Peter  was  not  simply  yielding  a  non-essential  point,  through  a 
tender  consideration  for  the  consciences  of  others.  This  would  have 
been  quite  in  accordance  with  the  principle  so  often  asserted  by  his 
brother-Apostle,  that  "  it  is  good  neither  to  eat  flesh  nor  to  drink  wine, 
nor  any  thing  whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth,  or  is  made  weak."  Nor 
was  this  proceeding  a  prudent  and  innocent  accommodation  to  circum- 
stances, for  the  sake  of  furthering  the  Gospel,  like  St.  Paul's  conduct  in 
circumcising  Timothy  at  Iconium  ; '  or,  indeed,  like  the  Apostolic  Decree 
itself.  St.  Peter  was  acting  under  the  influence  of  a  contemptible  and 
sinful  motive,  —  the  fear  of  man:  and  his  behavior  was  giving  a  strong 
sanction  to  the  very  heresy  which  was  threatening  the  existence  of  the 
Church ;  namely,  the  opinion  that  the  observance  of  Jewish  ceremonies 
was  necessary  to  salvation.  Nor  was  this  all.  Other  Jewish  Christians, 
as  was  naturally  to  be  expected,  were  led  away  by  his  example  :  and 
even  Barnabas,  the  chosen  companion  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles, 
who  had  been  a  witness  and  an  actor  in  all  the  great  transactions  in 
Cyprus,  in  Pisidia,  and  Lycaonia,  —  even  Barnabas,  the  missionary,  was 
"  carried  away  "  with  the  dissimulation  of  the  rest.*  When  St.  Paul  was 
a  spectator  of  such  inconsistency,  and  perceived  both  the  motive  in  which 
it  originated  and  the  results  to  which  it  was  leading,  he  would  have  been 
a  traitor  to  his  Master's  cause,  if  he  had  hesitated  (to  use  his  own 
emphatic  words)  to  rebuke  Peter  "  before  all,"  and  to  "  withstand  him  to 
the  face."  * 

It  is  evident  from  St.  Paul's  expression,  that  it  was  on  some  public 
occasion  that  this  open  rebuke  took  place.  The  scene,  though  slightly 
mentioned,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  Sacred  History :  and  the 
mind  naturally  labors  to  picture  to  itself  the  appearance  of  the  two  men. 
It  is,  therefore,  at  least  allowable  to  mention  here  that  general  notion  of 
the   forms  and  features  of  the  two   Apostles,  which   has  been   handed 

1  Acts  XV.  9,  10.  2  Gal.  j;.  12.  early  writers,  that  the  whole  scene  was   pre- 

*  Acts  xvi.  3.  *  Gal.  ii.  13.  arranged  between   Peter  and  Paul,  and   that 

5  Gal.  ii.  14,  11.  there   was  no  real   misunderstanding.     Even 

We  can  only  allude  to  the  opinion  of  some  Chrysostom  advocates  this  unchristian  view. 


200  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OE   ST.    PAUL.  chap,  vu 

down  in  tradition,  and  was  represented  by  the  early  artists.^  St.  Paul^ 
is  set  before  us  as  having  the  strongly  marked  and  prominent  features 
of  a  Jew,  yet  not  without  some  of  the  finer  lines  indicative  of  Greek 
thought.  His  stature  was  diminutive,  and  his  body  disfigured  by  some 
lameness  or  distortion,  which  may  have  provoked  the  contemptuous 
expressions  of  his  enemies.'  His  beard  was  long  and  thin.  His  head 
was  bald.  The  characteristics  of  his  face  were,  a  transparent  complexion, 
which  visibly  betrayed  the  quick  changes  of  his  feelings,  a  bright  gray 
eye  under  thickly  overhanging  united  eyebrows,*  a  cheerful  and  winning 
expression  of  countenance,  which  invited  the  approach  and  inspired  the 
confidence  of  strangers.  It  would  be  natural  to  infer,*  from  his  contin- 
ual journeys  and  manual  labor,  that  he  was  possessed  of  great  strength 
of  constitution.  But  men  of  delicate  health  have  often  gone  through  the 
greatest  exertions :  ®  and  his  own  words  on  more  than  one  occasion  show 
that  he  suffered  much  from  bodily  infirmity.''  St.  Peter  is  represented  to 
us  as  a  man  of  larger  and  stronger  form,  as  his  character  was  harsher 
and  more  abrupt.  The  quick  impulses  of  his  soul  revealed  themselves 
in  the  flashes  of  a  dark  eye.  The  complexion  of  his  face  was  pale  and 
sallow :  and  the  short  hair,  which  is  described  as  entirely  gray  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  curled  black  and  thick  round  his  temples  and  his  chin, 
when  the  two  Apostles  stood  together  at  Antioch,  twenty  years  before 
their  martyrdom. 

Believing,  as  we  do,  that  these  traditionary  pictures  have  probably 
some  foundation  in  truth,  we  gladly  take  them  as  helps  to  the  imagina- 
tion.     And   they  certainly  assist   us  in   realizing  a  remarkable   scene, 
« 

1  For  the  representations  of  St.  Peter  and  all  which  the  sturdy  dignity  and  broad  rustic 

St.  Paul  in  early  pictures  and  mosaics,  see  the  features  of  St.  Peter,  and  the  elegant  contem- 

first  volume   of  Mrs.   Jameson's   Sacred  and  plativeheadof  St.  Paul,  who  looks  like  a  Greek 

Legendary  .^rt,  especially  pp.  145,  159,161, 162,  philosopher,  form  a  most  interesting  and  sug- 

201.     They  correspond  with  the  traditionary  gestive  contrast."     The  dispute  at  Antioch  is 

descriptions  referred  to  in  the  next  note.  "  St.  the  subject  of  a  picture  by  Guido.  See  p.  187. 
Peter  is  a  robust  old  man,  with  a  broad  fore-  ^  The  descriptions  of  St.  Paul's  appearance 

head,  and  rather  coarse  features,  an  open  un-  by  Malalas  and  Nicephorus  are  given  at  length 

daunted  countenance,  short  gray  hair,  and  short  in  the  larger  editions, 
thick   beard,  curled,  and  of  a   silvery   white.  ^  See  above,  p.  170. 

Paul  was  a  man  of  small  and  meagre  stature,  *  See  above,  p.  134,  n.  1. 

with  an  aquiline  nose,  and  sparkling  eyes :  in  ^  See  Acts  xx.  7 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  9 ;  2  Thess. 

the  Greek  type  the  face  is  long  and  oval,  the  iii.  8 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  23-28.     See  Tholuck's  Essay 

forehead  high  and  bald ;  the  hair  brown,  the  on  St.  Paul's  early  Life,  for  some  speculations 

beard   long,   flowing,  and  pointed.  .  .  .  These  on  the  Apostle's  temperament, 
traditional  characteristic  types  of  the  features  ®  The  instance  of  Alfred  the  Great  may  be 

and  person  of  the  two  greatest  Apostles  were  rightly  alluded   to.     His    biographer,    Asser, 

long  adhered  to.     We  find  them  most  strictly  says  that  from  his  youth  to  his  death  he  was 

followed  in  the  old  Greek  mosaics,  in  the  early  always  either  suffering  pain  or  expecting  it. 
Christian  sculpture,  and  the  early  pictures,  in  ^  See  2  Cor.  xii.  7 ;  Gal.  iv.  13,  14. 


CHAP.  rn.  THEIR   RECONCILIATION.  201 

where  Judaism  and  Christianity,  in  the  persons  of  two  Apostles,  are 
for  a  moment  brought  before  us  in  strong  antagonism.  The  words 
addressed  by  St.  Paul  to  St.  Peter  before  the  assembled  Christians  at 
Antioch,  contain  the  full  statement  of  the  Gospel  as  opposed  to  the  Law. 
"  If  thou,  being  born  a  Jew,  art  wont  to  live  ^  according  to  the  customs 
of  the  Gentiles  and  not  of  the  Jews,  why  wouldest  thou  now  constrain  the 
Gentiles  to  keep  the  ordinances  of  the  Jews  ?  We  are  Jews  by  birth,  and 
not  unhallowed  Gentiles  ;  yet,  knowing  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the 
works  of  the  law,  but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  ourselves  also 
have  put  our  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  the 
faith  of  Christ,  and  not  by  the  works  of  the  law.     For  by  the  works  of 

the  law  sl;aU  no  flfislj  ht  justtfi^b."  ^  These  sentences  contain  in  a 
condensed  form  the  whole  argument  of  the  Epistles  to  the  Galatians  and 
Romans. 

Though  the  sternest  indignation  is  expressed  in  this  rebuke,  we  have 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  any  actual  quarrel  took  place  between  the  two 
Apostles.  It  is  not  improbable  that  St.  Peter  was  immediately  convinced 
of  his  fault,  and  melted  at  once  into  repentance.  His  mind  was  easily 
susceptible  of  quick  and  sudden  changes  ;  his  disposition  was  loving  and 
generous  :  and  we  should  expect  his  contrition,  as  well  as  his  weakness, 
at  Antioch,  to  be  what  it  was  in  the  high  priest's  house  at  Jerusalem. 
Yet,  when  we  read  the  narrative  of  this  rebuke  in  St.  Paul's  epistle,  it  is 
a  relief  to  turn  to  that  passage  at  the  conclusion  of  one  of  St.  Peter's 
letters,  where,  in  speaking  of  the  "long-suffering  of  our  Lord"  and  of 
the  prospect  of  sinless  happiness  in  the  world  to  come,  he  alludes,  in 
touching  words,  to  the  Epistles  of  "  our  beloved  brother  Pauiy '  We  see 
how  entirely  all  past  differences  are  forgotten,  —  how  all  earthly  misun- 

1  A  spiritual  sense  is  assigned  to  the  word  —  "  If  thou  art  in  the  habit  of  living  with  the 

"  live,"  in  this  passage,  by  Abp.  Whately  (Lee-  freedom  of  a  Gentile,  and  not  the  strictness  of  a 

tures  on  tlie  Characters  of  our  Lord's  Apostles,  Jew,  why  dost  thou  attempt  to  coerce  the  Gen- 

1853,  p.  193),  and  by  Bp.  Hinds  (Scripture  and  tiles  into  Judaism  ?  " 

tJie    Authorized    Version,    1853,    p.  18).     The  ^  -phe  quotation   is   from  Psalm  cxliii.  2, 

Archbishop  says,  rather  strongly,  that  he  be-  which  is  also  quoted  in  the  same  connection, 

lieves  that  "  any  competent  judge,  who  care-  Rom.  iii.   20.     There  is  much  difference  of 

fully  examines  the  original,"  will  acknowledge  opinion  among  commentators  on  Gal.  ii.  as  to 

the  following  to  be  the  true  sense  of  the  passage  :  the  point  where  Paul's  address  to  Peter  termi- 

"  If  thou,  though  a  Jew  by  birth,  yet  hast  life  nates.     Many  writers  think  it  continues  to  the 

[i.  Q.  spiritHol  life)   on  the  same  terms  as  the  end  of  the  chapter.     We  are  inclined  to  believe 

Gentiles,  and  not  by  virtue  of  thy  being  a  Jew,  that  it  ends  at  v.  16  ;  and  that  the  words  which 

why  dost  thou  urge  the  Gentiles  to  Judaize  ? "  follow  are  intended   to  meet  doctrinal  objec- 

It  is,  however,  certain  that   many  competent  tions   (similar  to  those  in  Rom.  iii.  3,  5,  vi.  1, 

persons  have  examined  the  passage  carefully  15,  vii.  7,  13)  which  the  Galatians  might  natu- 

without  coming  to  this  conclusion  ;    and  we  rally  be  supposed  to  make, 
cannot  sec  that  there  is  any  real  difficulty  in  ^2  Pet.  iii.  15,  16. 

following  the  natural  translation  of  the  words  : 


202  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  vii. 

derstandings  are  absorbed  and  lost  in  the  contemplation  of  Christ  and 
eternal  life.  Not  only  did  the  Holy  Spirit  overrule  all  contrarieties,  so 
that  the  writings  of  both  Apostles  teach  the  Church  the  same  doctrine : 
but  the  Apostle  who  was  rebuked  "  is  not  ashamed  to  call  the  attention  of 
the  Church  to  epistles  in  one  page  of  which  his  own  censure  is  recorded."  ^ 
It  is  an  eminent  triumph  of  Christian  humility  and  love.  We  shall  not 
again  have  occasion  to  mention  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  together,  until  we 
come  to  the  last  scene  of  all.'^  But,  though  they  might  seldom  meet 
whilst  laboring  in  their  Master's  cause,  their  lives  were  united,  "  and  in 
their  deaths  they  were  not  divided." 


C!oin  of  Aatloch.* 


1  Dr.  Vaughan's  Harrow  Sermons  (1846),  ■  From  the  British  Maseum.  See  Mr. 
p.  410.  Scharfs  drawing  above,  p.  116,  and  what  is 

2  The  martyrdom  at  Rome.  See  Mrs.  said  there  of  the  emblematical  representation 
Jameson's  Work,  especially  pp.  180-183,  193-  of  Antioch.  On  this  coin  the  seated  figure  bears 
195.  a  palm-branch,  as  the  emblem  of  victory. 


CHAPTER    Vm 

Pulitical  Divisions  of  Asia  Minor.  —  Difficulties  of  the  Subject. — Provinces  m  the  Reigns  of 
Claudius  and  Nero.  — I.  ASIA.  — II.  BITHYNIA.  —  HI.  PAMPHYLIA.  —  IV.  GALA- 
TIA.  — V.  PONTUS.  — VI.  CAPPADOCIA.  —  VII.  —  CILICIA.  —  Visitation  of  the 
Churches  proposed.  —  Quarrel  and  Separation  of  Paul  and  Barnabas.  —  Paul  and  Silas  in 
Cilicia.  —  They  cross  the  Taurus.  —  Lystra.  —  Timothy.  —  His  Circumcision.  —  Journey 
through  Phrygia.  —  Sickness  of  St.  Paul. —  His  Reception  in  Galatia. — Journey  to  the 
JEgean.  —  Alexandria  Troas.  —  St.  Paul's  Vision. 

TTIHE  life  of  St.  Paul  being  that  of  a  traveller,  and  our  purpose  being 
-L  to  give  a  picture  of  the  circumstances  by  which  he  was  surrounded, 
it  is  often  necessary  to  refer  to  the  geography,  both  physical  and  political, 
of  the  countries  through  which  he  passed.  This  is  the  more  needful  in 
the  case  of  Asia  Minor,  not  only  because  it  was  the  scene  of  a  very  great 
portion  of  his  journeys,  but  because  it  is  less  known  to  ordinary  readers 
than  Palestine,  Italy,  or  Greece.  "We  have  already  described,  at  some 
length,  the  physical  geography  of  those  southern  districts  which  are  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Mount  Taurus.^  And  now  that  the 
Apostle's  travels  take  a  wider  range,  and  cross  the  Asiatic  peninsula  from 
Syria  to  the  frontiers  of  Europe,  it  is  important  to  take  a  general  view  of 
the  political  geography  of  this  part  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Unless  such 
a  view  is  obtained  in  the  first  place,  it  is  impossible  to  understand  the 
topographical  expressions  employed  in  the  narrative,  or  to  conjecture  the 
social  relations  into  which  St.  Paul  was  brought  in  the  course  of  his  jour- 
neys ^  through  Asia  Minor. 

It  is,  however,  no  easy  task  to  ascertain  the  exact  boundaries  of  the 
Roman  provinces  in  this  part  of  the  world  at  any  given  date  between 
Augustus  and  Constantine.  In  the  first  place,  these  boundaries  were  con- 
tinually changing.  The  area  of  the  different  political  districts  was  liable 
to  sudden  and  arbitrary  alterations.  Such  terms  as  "  Asia," '  "  Pam- 
phylia,"  *  <fec.,  though  denoting  the  extent  of  a  true  political  jurisdiction, 
implied  a  larger  or  smaller  territory  at  one  time  than  another.  And 
again,  we  find  the  names  of  earlier  and  later  periods  of  history  mixed 

1  Ch.  I.  pp.  19-21.  Ch.  VI,  pp.  141,  *  Acts  ii.  9,  vi.  9,  xvi.  6,  xix.  10,  27,  31, 
U2.                                                                             XX.  16,  18,  xxvii.  2 ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  19;  2  Cor.  i 

2  t.  e.  the  journeys  in  Acts  xvi.  and  Acts       8  ;  2  Tim.  i.  1 5  ;  1  Pet.  i.  1 . 

^viii.  *  Acts  ii.  10,  xiii.  13,  xv.  38,  xxvii.  5. 

203 


204  THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  cha*.  tui. 

up  together  in  inextricable  confusion.  Some  of  the  oldest  geographical 
terms,  such  as  "  ^olis,"  "  Ionia,"  "  Caria,"  "  Ljdia,"  were  disappearing 
from  ordinary  use  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles  :  *  but  others,  such  as 
"Mjsia""^  and  "Lycaonia,"'  still  remained.  Obsolete  and  existing 
divisions  are  presented  to  us  together :  and  the  common  maps  of  Asia 
Minor  *  are  as  unsatisfactory  as  if  a  map  of  France  were  set  before  us, 
distributed  half  into  provinces  and  half  into  departments.  And  in  the  third 
place,  some  of  the  names  have  no  political  significance  at  all,  but  express 
rather  the  ethnographical  relations  of  ancient  tribes.  Thus,  "  Pisidia  "  ^ 
denotes  a  district  which  might  partly  be  in  one  province  and  partly  in 
another;  and  "  Phrygia  "  ^  reminds  us  of  the  diffusion  of  an  ancient 
people,  the  broken  portions  of  whose  territory  were  now  under  the  juris- 
diction of  three  or  four  distinct  governors.  Cases  of  this  kind  are,  at 
first  sight,  more  embarrassing  than  the  others.  They  are  not  merely 
similar  to  the  twofold  subdivision  of  Ireland,  where  a  province,  like 
Ulster,  may  contain  several  definite  counties :  but  a  nearer  parallel  is  to 
be  found  in  Scotland,  where  a  geographical  district,  associated  with  many 
historical  recollections,  —  such  as  Galloway  or  Lothian,  —  may  be  partly 
in  one  county  and  partly  in  another. 

Our  purpose  is  to  elucidate  the  political  subdivisions  of  Asia  Minor  as 
they  were  in  the  reigns  of  Claudius  and  Nero,  —  or,  in  other  words,  to 
enumerate  the  provinces  which  existed,  and  to  describe  the  boundaries 
which  were  assigned  to  them,  in  the  middle  of  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era.  The  order  we  shall  follow  is  from  West  to  East,  and  in  so 
doing  we  shall  not  deviate  widely  from  the  order  in  which  the  provinces 
were  successively  incorporated  as  substantive  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
We  are  not,  indeed,  to  suppose  that  St.  Luke  and  St.  Paul  used  all  their 
topographical  expressions  in  the  strict  political  sense,  even  when  such  a 
sense  was  more  or  less  customary.  There  was  an  exact  usage  and  a 
popular  usage  of  all  these  terms.  But  the  first  step  towards  fixing  our 
geographical  ideas  of  Asia  Minor,  must  be  to  trace  the  boundaries  of  the 
provinces.  When  this  is  done,  we  shall  be  better  able  to  distinguish 
those  terms  which,  about  the  year  50  a.d.,  had  ceased  to  have  any  true 
political  significance,  and  to  discriminate  between  the  technical  and  the 
popular  language  of  the  sacred  writers. 


1  Tacitus,  Vitrarius,  Justin.  &c.,  speak  of  political  divisions  of  three  or  four  different 
Pergamus,  Ephesus,  Cnidus,  Thyatira,  &c.,  as  periods  are  confused  together.  In  some  of 
towns  of  Asia,  not  of  .^olis,  Ionia,  Caria,  the  more  recent,  the  Roman  provincial  divis- 
Lydia,  &c.,  respectively.  See  Acts  xxvii.  2,  ions  are  indicated,  and  the  emperor's  and  sen* 
Rev.  i.  11 .  ate's  provinces  distinguished. 

2  Acts  xvi.  7,  8.              *  Acts  xiv.  6,  II.  ^  Acts  xiii.  14,  xiv.  24. 

*  In  the  ordinary  maps,  ethnographical  and  *  Acts  ii.  10,  xvi.  6,  xviii.  23. 


CHAP.  vm.  ASIA.  205 

I.  Asia. — There  is  sometimes  a  remarkable  interest  associated  with 
the  history  of  a  geographical  term.  One  case  of  this  kind  is  suggested 
by  the  allusion  which  has  just  been  made  to  the  British  islands.  Early 
writers  speak  of  Ireland  under  the  appellation  of  "  Scotia."  Certain  of 
its  inhabitants  crossed  over  to  the  opposite  coast  :^  their  name  spread  along 
with  their  influence  :  and  at  length  the  title  of  Scotland  was  entirely  trans- 
ferred from  one  island  to  the  other.  In  classical  history  we  have  a  simi- 
lar instance  in  the  name  of  "  Italy,"  which  at  first  only  denoted  the 
southernmost  extremity  of  the  peninsula :  then  it  was  extended  so  as  to 
include  the  whole  with  the  exception  of  Cisalpine  Gaul :  and  finally, 
crossing  the  Rubicon,  it  advanced  to  the  Alps  ;  while  the  name  of  "  Gaul " 
retreated  beyond  them.  Another  instance,  on  a  larger  scale,  is  presented 
to  us  on  the  south  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  "  Africa  "  of  the  Romans 
spread  from  a  limited  territory  on  the  shore  of  that  sea,  till  it  embraced 
the  whole  continent  which  was  circumnavigated  by  Vasco  di  Gama.  And 
similarly  the  term,  by  whicli  we  are  accustomed  to  designate  the  larger 
and  more  famous  continent  of  the  ancient  world,  traces  its  derivation  to 
the  "  Asian  meadow  by  the  streams  of  the  Cayster,"  '^  celebrated  in  the 
poems  of  Homer. 

This  is  the  earliest  occurrence  of  the  word  "  Asia."  We  find,  how- 
ever, even  in  the  older  poets,'  the  word  used  in  its  widest  sense  to  denote 
all  the  countries  in  the  far  East.  Either  the  Greeks,  made  familiar  with 
the  original  Asia  by  the  settlement  of  their  kindred  in  its  neighborhood, 
applied  it  as  a  generic  appellation  to  all  the  regions  beyond  it :  *  or  the 
extension  of  the  kingdom  of  Lydia  from  the  banks  of  the  Cayster  to  the 
Halys  as  its  eastern  boundary,  diffused  the  name  of  Asia  as  far  as .  that 
river,  and  thus  suggested  the  division  of  Herodotus  into  "  Asia  within 
the  Halys  "  and  "  Asia  beyond  the  Halys."  ^  However  this  might  be,  the 
term  retained,  through  the  Greek  and  Roman  periods,  both  a  wider  and  a 
narrower  sense  ;  of  which  senses  we  are  concerned  only  with  the  latter 
The  Asia  of  the  New  Testament  is  not  the  continent  which  stretches  into 
the  remote  East  from  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Red  Sea,  but  simply  the 
western  portion  of  that  peninsula  which,  in  modern  times,  has  received 
the  name  of  "  Asia  Minor."  «     What  extent  of  country,  and  what  political 

1  See  beginning^f  Bede's  History.  Minor)    have    come    into    use    in   the   same 

2  Virgil  adopts  the  phrase  from  Homer.     It      way. 

does  not  appear  that  the  Roman  prose  writers  ^  "We  may  compare  the  case  of  "  Paics- 

erer  used  the  word  in  its  primitive  and  nar-  tine,"  which  at  first  meant  only  the  countrj 

ro'west  sense.  of  the  Philistines,  and  then  was  used  by  the 

8  As  in  ^schylus.  Greeks  and  Romans  to  designate  the  whole  of 

*  Having  the  same  general  meaning  as  our  the  land  of  Canaan, 

phrase  "  The  East."     The  words  "  Levant "  «  The  peninsula  which  we  call  Asia  Minof 

and  "Anadoli"  (the  modern  name  of  Asia  was  never  treated  by  the  ancients  as  a  geo- 


206  THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST,   PAUL.  chap.  Tm. 

significance,  we  are  to  assign  to  the  term,  will  be  shown  by  a  statement  of 
a  few  historical  changes. 

The  fall  of  Croesus  reduced  the  Lydian  kingdom  to  a  Persian  satrapy. 
With  the  rest  of  the  Persian  empire,  this  region  west  of  the  Halys  fell 
before  the  armies  of  Alexander.  In  the  confusion  which  followed  the 
conqueror's  death,  an  independent  dynasty  established  itself  at  Pergamus, 
not  far  from  the  site  of  ancient  Troy.  At  first  their  territory  was  nar- 
row, and  Attains  I.  had  to  struggle  with  the  Gauls  who  had  invaded  the 
peninsula,  and  with  the  neighboring  chieftains  of  Bithynia,  who  had 
invited  them.^  Antagonists  still  more  formidable  were  the  Greek  kings 
of  Syria,  who  claimed  to  be  "  Kings  of  Asia,"  and  aimed  at  the  possession 
of  the  wliole  peninsula.^  But  the  Romans  appeared  in  the  East,  and 
ordered  Antiochus  to  retire  beyond  the  Taurus,  and  then  conferred 
substantial  rewards  on  their  faithful  allies.  Rhodes  became  the  mistress 
of  Caria  and  Lycia,  on  the  opposite  coast ;  and  Eumenes,  the  son  of  Attains, 
received,  in  the  West  and  North-west,  Lydia  and  Mysia,  and  a  good 
portion  of  that  vague  region  in  the  interior  which  was  usually  denominat- 
ed "  Phrygia,"  ^  —  stretching  in  one  direction  over  the  district  of 
Lycaonia.*  Then  it  was  that,  as  150  years  since  the  Margraves  of  Bran- 
denburg became  Kings  of  Prussia,  so  the  Princes  of  Pergamus  became 
•'  Kings  of  Asia."  For  a  time  they  reigned  over  a  highly-civilized 
territory,  which  extended  from  sea  to  sea.  The  library  of  Pergamus  was 
the  rival  of  that  of  Alexandria :  and  Attaleia,  from  whence  we  have 
lately  seen  the  Apostle  sailing  to  Syria  ^  (Acts  xiv.  25,  26)  and  Troas, 
from  whence  we  shall  presently  see  him  sailing  to  Europe  (Acts  xvi.  11), 
were  the  southern  and  northern  (or  rather  the  eastern  and  western) 
harbors  of  King  Attalus  II.  At  length  the  debt  of  gratitude  to  the 
Romans  was  paid  by  King  Attalus  III.,  who  died  in  the  year  133  B.  c, 
and  left  by  testament  the  whole  of  his  dominions  to  the  benefactors  of 

graphical  whole.  The  common  divisions  were,  driven  beyond  the  Taurns  by  the  Romans,  we 
"Asia  within  the  Halys"  and  "Asia  be-  see  it  retained  by  them,  as  the  title  of  "  King 
vend  the  Halys  "  (as  above) ;  or,  "  Asia  with-  of  France  "  was  retained  by  our  own  mon- 
in  the  Taurus  "  and  "  Asia  beyond  the  Tan-  archs  until  a  very  recent  period.  See  1  Mace, 
rus."  It  is  very  important  to  bear  this  in  xi.  13,  xii.  39,  xiii.  32 ;  2  Mace.  iii.  3. 
mind  for  some  interpreters  of  the  New  Tea-  8  -phe  case  of  Mysia,  in  consequence  of 
tament  imagine  that  the  Asia  there  spoken  of  the  difficulties  of  Acts  xvi.  7,  8,  will  be  ex- 
is  the  peninsula  of  Lesser  Asia.  The  term  amined  particularly,  when  we  come  to  this 
"  Asia  Minor  "  is  first  found  in  Orosius,  a  writer  part  of  St.  Paul's  journey, 
of  the  fourth  century,  though  "  Asia  Major  "  *  Thus  Iconium,  Lystra,  and  Derbe  were 
is  used  by  Justin  to  denote  the  remote  and  probably  once  in  "  Asia."  See  below,  under 
eastern  parts  of  the  continent.  Galatia. 

1  See  below,  p.  207.  ^  Pp-  177,    178.     Another  Scripture  city, 

2  In  the  first  book  of  Maccabees  (viii.  6)  the  Philadelphia  of  Rev.  i.  11,  iii.  7,  was  also 
we  find  Antiochus  the  Great  called   by  this  buUt  by  Attains  IL  (PhUadelphus). 

title.      And  even   after  hi»    succesoors   were 


CHAF.  Tin.  BITHYNIA.  207 

his  house.  And  now  the  "  Frovmce  of  Asia  "  appears  for  the  first  time 
as  a  new  and  significant  term  in  the  history  of  the  "world.  The  newly- 
acquired  possession  was  placed  under  a  praetor,  and  ultimately  a  pro- 
consul.^ The  letters  and  speeches  of  Cicero  make  us  familiar  with  the 
names  of  more  than  one  who  enjoyed  this  distinction.  One  was  the 
orator's  brother,  Quintus ;  another  was  Flaccus,  whose  conduct  as 
governor  he  defended  before  the  Senate.  Some  slight  changes  in  the 
extent  of  the  province  may  be  traced.  Pamphylia  was  withdrawn  from 
this  jurisdiction.  Rhodes  lost  her  continental  possessions,  and  Caria  was 
added  to  Asia,  while  Lycia  was  declared  independent.  The  boundary 
on  the  side  of  Phrygia  is  not  easily  determined,  and  was  probably 
variable.'^  But  enough  has  been  said  to  give  a  general  idea  of  what  is 
meant  in  the  New  Testament  by  that  "J-Sia,"  which  St.  Paul  attempted 
to  enter  (Acts  xvi.  G),  after  passing  through  Phrygia  and  Galatia;  which 
St.  Peter  addressed  in  his  First  Epistle  (1  Pet.  i.  1),  along  with  Pontus, 
Cappadocia,  Galatia,  and  Bithynia ;  and  which  embraced  the  "  seven 
churches  "  (Rev.  i.  11)  whose  angels  are  mentioned  in  the  Revelation  of 
St.  John. 

II.  Bithynia.  —  Next  to  Asia,  both  in  proximity  of  situation  and  in  the 
order  of  its  establishment,  was  the  province  of  Bithynia.  Nor  were  the 
circumstances  very  different  under  which  these  two  provinces  passed 
under  the  Roman  sceptre.  As  a  new  dynasty  established  itself  after  the 
death  of  Alexander  on  the  north-eastern  shores  of  the  ^gean,  so  an  older 
dynasty  secured  its  independence  at  the  western  edge  of  the  Black  Sea. 
Nicomedes  I.  was  the  king  who  invited  the  Gauls  with  whom  Attalus  I. 
had  to  contend  :  and  as  Attalus  III.,  the  last  of  the  House  of  Pergamus, 
paid  his  debt  to  the  Romans  by  making  them  his  heirs,  so  the  last  of  the 
Bithynian  House,  Nicomedes  III.,  left  his  kingdom  as  a  legacy  to  the 
same  power  in  the  year  75.  It  received  some  accessions  on  the  east 
after  the  defeat  of  Mithridates  ;  and  in  this  condition  we  find  it  in  the  list 
given  by  Dio  of  the  provinces  of  Augustus ;  the  debatable  land  between  it 
and  Asia  being  the  district  of  Mysia,  through  which  it  is  neither  easy  nor 
necessary  to  draw  the  exact  frontier-line.'     Stretching  inland  from  the 

1  "We  learn  from  Acts  xix.  38  —  "  there  are  ^  Hence  we  find  both  the  sacred  and  heathen 

proconsuls  (deputies)" — that  it  was  a  pro-  writers  of   the    period    sometimes    including 

consular  or  senatorial  province.     The  impor-  Phrygia  in  Asia  and  sometimes  excluding  it. 

tant  distinction  between  the  emperor's  and  the  In  1  Pet.  i.  1  it  seems  to  be  included ;  in  Acta 

senate's  provinces  has  been  carefully  stated  in  ii.  9,  10,  xvi.  6,  it  is  expressly  excluded. 

Ch.  V.  pp.  129-31.     The  incidental  proof  in  '  See  below,  on  Acts  xvi.  7,  8. 
the  Acts  is  confirmed  by  Strabo  and  Dio,  who 
tell  us  that  Augustus  made  Asia  a  proconsular 
province. 


208  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  vm. 

shores  of  the  Propontis  and  Bosphorus,  bejoud  the  lakes  near  the  cities  of 
Nicaea  and  Nicomedia,  to  the  upper  ravines  of  the  Sangarius,  and  the 
snowy  range  of  Mount  Olympus,  it  was  a  province  rich  in  all  the  changes 
of  beauty  and  grandeur.  Its  history  is  as  varied  as  its  scenery,  if  we  trace 
it  from  the  time  when  Hannibal  was  an  exile  at  the  court  of  Prusias,^  to 
the  establishment  of  Othman's  Mohammedan  capital  in  the  city  which 
still  bears  that  monarch's  name.  It  was  Hadrian's  favorite  province,  and 
many  monuments  remain  of  that  emperor's  partiality.'^  But  we  cannot 
say  more  of  it  without  leaving  our  proper  subject.  We  have  no  reason  to 
believe  that  St.  Paul  ever  entered  it,  though  once  he  made  the  attempt.' 
Except  the  passing  mention  of  Bithynia  in  this  and  one  other  place,^  it 
has  no  connection  with  the  apostolic  writings.  The  first  great  passage  of 
its  ecclesiastical  history  is  found  in  the  correspondence  of  Trajan  with  its 
governor  Pliny,  concerning  the  persecution  of  the  Christians.  The  second 
is  the  meeting  of  the  first  general  council,  when  the  Nicene  Creed  was 
drawn  up  on  the  banks  of  the  Lake  Ascanius. 

III.  Pamphylia.  —  This  province  has  been  already  mentioned  (Chap. 
VI.)  as  one  of  the  regions  traversed  by  St.  Paul  in  his  first  missionary 
journey.  But  though  its  physical  features  have  been  described,  its 
political  limits  have  not  been  determined.  The  true  Pamphylia  of  the 
earliest  writers  is  simply  the  plain  which  borders  the  Bay  of  Attaleia,  and 
which,  as  we  have  said  (p.  142-),  retreats  itself  like  a  bay  into  the  moun- 
tains. How  small  and  insignificant  this  territory  was,  may  be  seen  from 
the  records  of  the  Persian  war,  to  which  Herodotus  says  that  it  sent  only 
thirty  ships ;  while  Lycia,  on  one  side,  contributed  fifty,  and  Cilicia,  on 
the  other,  a  hundred.  Nor  do  we  find  the  name  invested  with  any  wider 
significance,  till  we  approach  the  frontier  of  the  Roman  period.  A 
singular  dispute  between  Antiochus  and  the  king  of  Pergamus,  as  to 
whether  Pamphylia  was  really  within  or  beyond  Mount  Taurus,  was  de- 
cided by  the  Romans  in  favor  of  their  ally.^  This  could  only  be  effected 
by  a  generous  inclusion  of  a  good  portion  of  the  mountainous  country 
within  the  range  of  this  geographical  term.  Henceforward,  if  not  before, 
Pamphylia  comprehended  some  considerable  part  of  what  was  anciently 
called  Pisidia.     We  have  seen  that  the  Romans  united  it  to  the  kingdom 


1  The  town  of   Broussa    reminds    us    of  this  feelint;.     Hadrian  took  it  from  the  senate, 

another  illustrious  African  exile,  Abd-el-Kader,  and  placed  it  under  his  own  jurisdiction.     But 

who  since  the  earthquake  (after  visiting  Paris)  when  St.  Paul  passed  this  way,  it  was  under 

has  been  permitted  to  withdraw  to  Damascus  the  senate,  as  may  be  proved  by  coins  both  of 

(1855).  the  rcij^n  of  Claudius  and  subsequent  dates. 

^  It  was  the  birthplace  of  his  favorite  An-  "  Acts  xvi.  7. 

tinous;  and  coins  are  extant  which  illustrate  *  1  Pet.  i.  1.  ^  See  p.  206. 


CHAP,  vm,  PAMPHYLIA.  —  GA1.ATIA.  209 

of  Asia.  It  was,  therefore,  part  of  the  province  of  Asia  at  the  death  of 
Attalus.  It  is  diflScult  to  trace  the  steps  by  which  it  was  detached  from 
that  province.  We  find  it  (along  with  certain  districts  of  Asia)  included 
in  the  military  jurisdiction  of  Cicero,  when  he  was  governor  of  Cilicia.^ 
It  is  spoken  of  as  a  separate  province  in  the  reign  of  Augustus.^  Its 
boundary  on  the  Pisidian  side,  or  in  the  direction  of  Phrygia,^  must  be 
left  indeterminate.  Pisidia  was  included  in  this  province :  but,  again, 
Pisidia  is  itself  indeterminate  :  and  we  have  good  reasons  for  believing 
that  Antioch  in  Pisidia  was  really  under  the  governor  of  Galatia.  Cilicia 
was  contiguous  to  Pamphylia  on  the  east.  Lycia  was  a  separate  region 
on  the  west,  first  as  an  appendage  to  Rhodes  *  in  the  time  of  the  republic, 
and  then  as  a  free  state  under  the  earliest  emperors  ;  but  about  the  very 
time  when  Paul  was  travelling  in  these  countries,  Claudius  brought  it 
within  the  provincial  system,  and  united  it  to  Pamphylia : '  and  inscrip- 
tions make  us  acquainted  with  a  public  officer  who  bore  the  title  of 
"  Proconsul  of  Lycia  and  Pamphylia." 

IV.  Galatia.  —  We  now  come  to  a  political  division  of  Asia  Minor, 
which  demands  a  more  careful  attention.  Its  sacred  interest  is  greater 
than  that  of  all  the  others,  and  its  history  is  more  peculiar.  The  Chris- 
tians of  Galatia  were  they  who  received  the  Apostle  "  as  if  he  had  been 
an  angel,"  —  who,  "  if  it  had  been  possible,  would  have  plucked  out  their 
eyes  and  given  them  to  him,"  —  and  then  were  "  so  soon  removed  "  by 
new  teachers  "  from  him  that  called  them,  to  another  Gospel,"  —  who 
began  to  "  run  well,"  and  then  were  hindered,  —  who  were  "  bewitched  " 
by  that  zeal  which  compassed  sea  and  land  to  make  one  proselyte,  —  and 
who  were  as  ready,  in  the  fervor  of  their  party  spirit,  to  "  bite  and  de- 
vour one  another,"  as  they  were  willing  to  change  their  teachers  and 
their  gospels.'^  It  is  no  mere  fancy  which  discovers,  in  these  expressions 
of  St.  Paul's  Epistle,  indications  of  the  character  of  that  remarkable 
race  of  mankind,  which  all  writers,  from  Caesar  to  Thierry,  have  de- 
scribed as  susceptible  of  quick  impressions  and  sudden  changes,  with  a 
fickleness  equal  to  their  courage  and  enthusiasm,  and  a  constant  liability 

1  Ep.  adAtt.  V.  21.  *  This  we  have  on   the  authority  of  Dio 

'  Dio  Cassius  tells  us  that  the  Pamphylian  Cassias  and  Suetonius.     The  latter  writer  says, 

districts  bestowed  on  Amyntas  were  restored  that  about  the  same  time  Claudius  made  over 

by  Augustus  to    their  own    province.      The  to  the  senate  the  provinces  of  Macedonia  and 

same  author  is  referred  to  below  (n.  5)  for  a  Achaia.     Hence  we  fine  &  proconsul  at  Corinth, 

change  in  the  reign  of  Claudius.  Acts  xviii.  12. 

^  Pisidia  was  often  reckoned  as  a  part  of  ^  At  a  later  period  Lycia  was  a  distinct 

Phrygia,  under  the  name  of  "  Pisidian  Phry-  province,  with  Myra  as   its  capital.     See   Ch. 

eia."  XXIII. 

*  See  above,  p.  206.  ^  Gal.  iv.  15, 1.  6,  t.  7,  iii.  1,  i.  7,  t  15. 

14 


210  THE  LIFE   AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  vra. 

to  that  disunion  which  is  the  fruit  of  excessive  vanity,  —  that  race,  which 
has  not  only  produced  one  of  the  greatest  nations  of  modern  times/  but 
which,  long  before  the  Christian  era,  wandering  forth  from  their  early 
European  seats,  burnt  Rome  and  pillaged  Delphi,  founded  an  empire  in 
Northern  Italy  more  than  co-extensive  with  Austrian  Lombardy,'-*  and 
another  in  Asia  Minor,  equal  in  importance  to  one  of  the  largest 
pachalics. 

For  the  "  G-alatia^^  of  the  New  Testament  was  really  the  "  GauV^  of 
the  East.  The  "  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  "  would  more  literally  and  more 
correctly  be  called  the  "  Epistle  to  the  Gauls."  When  Livy,  in  his 
account  of  the  Roman  campaigns  in  Galatia,  speaks  of  its  inhabitants,  he 
always  calls  them  "  Gauls." '  When  the  Greek  historians  speak  of  the 
inhabitants  of  ancient  France,  the  word  they  use  is  "  Galatians."  *  The 
two  terms  are  merely  the  Greek  and  Latin  forms  of  the  same  "  bar- 
barian "  appellation.* 

That  emigration  of  the  Gauls,  which  ended  in  the  settlement  in  Asia 
Minor,  is  less  famous  than  those  which  led  to  the  disasters  in  Italy  and 
Greece :  but  it  is,  in  fact,  identical  with  the  latter  of  these  two  emigra 
tions,  and  its  results  were  more  permanent.  The  warriors  who  roamed 
over  the  Cevennes,  or  by  the  banks  of  the  Garonne,  re-appear  on  the 
Halys  and  at  the  base  of  Mount  Dindymus.  They  exchange  the  super- 
stitions of  Druidism  for  the  ceremonies  of  the  worship  of  Cybele.  The 
very  name  of  the  chief  Galatian  tribe  is  one  with  which  we  are  familiar  in 
the  earliest  history  of  France ;  and  Jerome  says  that,  in  his  own  day,  the 
language  spoken  at  Ancyra  was  almost  identical  with  that  of  Treves.' 
The  Galatians  were  a  stream  from  that  torrent  of  barbarians  which  poured 
into  Greece  in  the  third  century  before  our  era,  and  which  recoiled  in 
confusion  from  the  cliffs  of  Delphi.  Some  tribes  had  previously  separated 
from  the  main  army,  and  penetrated  into  Thrace.  There  they  were 
joined  by  certain  of  the  fugitives,  and  together  they  appeared  on  the 
coasts,  which  are  separated  by  a  narrow  arm  of  the  sea  from  the  rich 
plains  and  valleys  of  Bithynia.     The  wars  with  which  that  kingdom  was 

1  The  French  travellers  (as  Toamefort  and  "  Kcltae  "  are  the  same  word.  See  AmoldV 
Texier)  seem  to  write  with  patriotic  enthusi-      Rome,  i.  .522. 

asm  when  they  touch  Galatia  ;  and  we  have  ^  It  is  very  likely  that  there  was  some  Teu- 

found  our  best  materials  in  Thierry's  history.         tonic  element  in  these  emigrating  tribes,  but  it 

2  This  was  written  before  1859.  is  hardly  possible  now  to  distinguish  it  from 

*  The  country  of  the  Galatians  was  some-  the  Keltic.  The  converging  lines  of  distinct 
times  called  Gallograecia.  nationalities  become  more  faint  as  we  ascend 

*  Some  have  even  thought  that  the  word  towards  the  point  where  they  meet.  Thierry 
translated  "  Galatia  "  in  2  Tim.  iv.  10,  means  considers  the  Tolistoboii,  whoso  leadcx  waa 
the  country  commonly  called  Gaul  Lutarius  (Luther  or  Clothair?),  to  have  been 

^  And   wc  may   add   that  "  Galatae  "  and      a  Teutonic  tribe. 


CHAP.  vui.  GALATIA.  211 

harassed,  made  their  presence  acceptable.  Nicomedes  was  the  Vortigern 
of  Asia  Minor :  and  the  two  Gaulish  chieftains,  Leonor  and  Lutar,  may 
be  fitly  compared  to  the  two  legendary  heroes  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  in- 
vasion. Some  difficulties  occurred  in  the  passage  of  the  Bosphorus, 
which  curiously  contrast  with  the  easy  voyages  of  our  piratic  ancestors. 
But  once  established  in  Asia  Minor,  the  Gauls  lost  no  time  in  spreading 
over  the  whole  peninsula  with  their  arms  and  devastation.  In  their  first 
crossing  over  we  have  compared  them  to  the  Saxons.  In  their  first  occu- 
pation they  may  be  more  fitly  compared  to  the  Danes.  For  they  were  a 
movable  army  rather  than  a  nation,  —  encamping,  marching,  and  plun- 
dering at  will.  They  stationed  themselves  on  the  site  of  ancient  Troy, 
and  drove  their  chariots  in  the  plain  of  the  Cayster.  They  divided  nearly 
the  whole  peninsula  among  their  three  tribes.  They  levied  tribute  on 
cities,  and  even  on  kings.  The  wars  of  the  East  found  them  various 
occupation.  They  hired  themselves  out  as  mercenary  soldiers.  They 
were  the  royal  guards  of  the  kings  of  Syria,  and  the  mamelukes  of  the 
Ptolemies  in  Egypt.^ 

The  surrounding  monarchs  gradually  curtailed  their  power,  and  re- 
pressed them  within  narrower  limits.  First  Antiochus  Soter  drove  the 
Tectosages,^  and  then  Eumenes  drove  the  Trocmi  and  Tolistobii,  into  the 
central  district  which  afterwards  became  Galatia.  Their  territory  was 
definitely  marked  out  and  surrounded  by  the  other  states  of  Asia  Minor, 
and  they  retained  a  geographical  position  similar  to  that  of  Hungary  in 
the  midst  of  its  German  and  Sclavonic  neighbors.  By  degrees  they 
coalesced  into  a  number  of  small  confederate  states,  and  ultimately  into 
one  united  kingdom.'  Successive  circumstances  brought  them  into  con- 
tact with  the  Romans  in  various  ways  :  first,  by  a  religious  embassy  sent 
from  Rome  to  obtain  peaceful  possession  of  the  sacred  image  of  Cybele ; 
secondly,  by  the  campaign  of  Manlius,  who  reduced  their  power  and  left 
them  a  nominal  independence  ;  and  then  through  the  period  of  hazardous 
alliance  with  the  rival  combatants  in  the  Civil  Wars.  The  first  Deiotarus 
was  made  king  by  Pompey,  fled  before  Caesar  at  the  battle  of  Pharsalia, 
and  was  defended  before  the  conqueror  by  Cicero,  in  a  speech  which  still 
remains  to  us.  The  second  Deiotarus,  like  his  father,  was  Cicero's  friend, 
and  took  charge  of  his  son  and  nephew  during  the  Cilician  campaign. 


1  Even  in  the  time  of  Julius  Csesar,  we  ^  This  does  not  seem  to  have  been  effectu- 
find  four  hundred  Gauls  (Galatians),  who  had  ally  the  case  till  after  the  campaign  of  Manilas, 
previously  been  part  of  Cleopatra's  body-  The  nation  was  for  some  time  divided  into 
guard,  given  for  the  same  purpose  to  Herod.  four  tetrarchies.  Deiotarus  was  the  first  sola 
Joseph.  War,  xx.  3.  ruler ;  first  as  tetrarch,  then  as  king. 

2  His  appellation   of    Soter  or    "  the   Sa- 
viour "  was  derived  from  this  victory.  , 


212  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  vra. 

Amjntas,  who  succeeded  him,  owed  his  power  to  Antony,^  but  prudently 
went  over  to  Augustus  in  the  battle  of  Actium.  At  the  death  of 
Amyntas,  Augustus  made  some  modifications  in  the  extent  of  Galatia, 
and  placed  it  under  a  governor.  It  was  now  a  province,  reaching  from 
the  iDorders  of  Asia  and  Bithynia  to  the  neighborhood  of  Iconium, 
Lystra,  and  Derbe,  "  cities  of  Lycaonia."  ^ 

Henceforward,  like  the  Western  Gaul,  this  territory  was  a  part  of  the 
Roman  empire,  though  retaining  the  traces  of  its  history  in  the  character 
and  language  of  its  principal  inhabitants.  There  was  this  difference, 
however,  between  the  Eastern  and  the  Western  Gaul,  that  the  latter  was 
more  rapidly  and  more  completely  assimilated  to  Italy.  It  passed  from 
its  barbarian  to  its  Roman  state,  without  being  subjected  to  any  interme- 
diate civilization.^  The  Gauls  of  the  East,  on  the  other  hand,  had  long 
been  familiar  with  the  Greek  language  and  the  Greek  culture.  St. 
Paul's  Epistle  was  written  in  Greek.  The  contemporary  inscriptions  of 
the  province  are  usually  in  the  same  language.  The  Galatians  them- 
selves are  frequently  called  Gallo-Graecians ;  *  and  many  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  province  must  have  been  of  pure  Grecian  origin.  Another 
section  of  the  population,  the  early  Phrygians,  were  probably  numerous, 
but  in  a  lower  and  more  degraded  position.  The  presence  of  great  num- 
bers of  Jews*  in  the  province,  implies  that  it  was,  in  some  respects,  fa- 
vorable for  traffic ;  and  it  is  evident  that  the  district  must  have  been 
constantly  intersected  by  the  course  of  caravans  from  Armenia,  the  Hel- 
lespont, and  the  South.*  The  Roman  itineraries  inform  us  of  the  lines 
of  communication  between  the  great  towns  near  the  Halys  and  the  other 
parts  of  Asia  Minor.     These  circumstances  are  closely  connected  with  the 


1  He  received  some  parts  of  Lycaonia  and  knowledge  of  Greek,  must  of  course  be 
Pamphylia  in  addition  to  Galatia  Proper.     See  excepted. 

above,  Ch.  I.  p.  22.  *  See  above,  p.  210,  u.  3. 

2  The  Pamphylian  portion  was  removed  ^  ggg  in  Josephus  (Arit.  xvi.  6)  the  letter 
(see  above),  but  the  Lycaonian  remained.  Thus  which  Augustus  wrote  in  favor  of  the  Jews  of 
we  find  Pliny  reckoning  the  Lystreni  in  Gala-  Ancyra,  and  which  was  inscribed  on  a  pillar 
tia,  though  he  seems  to  imply  elsewhere  that  in  the  temple  of  Caesar.  We  shall  have  occa- 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Iconium  was  sion  hereafter  to  mention  the  "  Monumentum 
in  Asia.     It  is  therefore  quite  possible,  so  far  Ancyranum." 

as  geographical  difiBculties  are  concerned,  that  **  Gordium,  one  of  the  minor  towns  near 

the   Christian  communities  in  the  neighbor-  the  western  frontier,  was  b  considerable  empo- 

hood  of  Lystra  might  be  called  "  Churches  of  rium.      So  was  Tavium,   the  capital  of  tbe 

Galatia."      "We  think,   however,   as  will    be  Eastern   Galatians,   the   Trocmi,   who    dwelt 

shown  in  the  Appendix,  that  other  difficul-  beyond  the  Halys.     The  Tolistoboii  were  ihe 

ties   are  decisive  against  the  view  there  men-  western  tribe,  near  the  Sangarius,  with  Pessi- 

tioned.  nu8  as  their  ca])ital.     The  chief  town  of  the 

8  Tbe  immediate    neighborhood    of  Mar-  Tectosages  in  the  centre,  and  the  metropolis 

seilles,  which  was  thoroughly  imbued  with  a  of  the  nation,  was  Ancyra. 


CHAP.  vm.  PONTUS.  213 

spread  of  the  Gospel,  and  we  shall  return  to  them  again  when  we  describe 
St,  Paul's  first  reception  in  Galatia. 

V.  PoNTUS. — The  last  independent  dynasties  in  the  north  of  the  Pen- 
insula have  hitherto  appeared  as  friendly  or  subservient  to  the  Roman 
power.  Asia  and  Bithynia  were  voluntarily  ceded  by  Attains  and  Nico- 
mcdes  ;  and  Galatia,  on  the  death  of  Amyntas,  quietly  fell  into  the  station 
of  a  province.  But  when  we  advance  still  farther  to  the  East,  we  are 
reminded  of  a  monarch  who  presented  a  formidable  and  protracted 
opposition  to  Rome.  The  war  with  Mithridates  was  one  of  the  most 
serious  wars  in  which  the  Republic  was  ever  engaged ;  and  it  was  not  till 
after  a  long  struggle  that  Pompey  brought  the  kingdom  of  Pontus  under 
the  Roman  yoke.  In  placing  Pontus  among  the  provinces  of  Asia  Minor 
at  this  exact  point  of  St.  Paul's  life,  we  are  (strictly  speaking)  guilty  of 
an  anachronism.  For  long  after  the  western  portion  of  the  empire  of 
Mithridates  was  united  partly  with  Bithynia  and  partly  with  Galatia,^  the 
region  properly  called  Pontus^  remained  under  the  government  of  inde- 
pendent chieftains.  Before  the  Apostle's  death,  however,  it  was  really 
made  a  province  by  Nero.^  Its  last  king  was  that  Polemo  II.  who  was 
alluded  to  at  the  beginning  of  this  work,  as  the  contemptible  husband  of 
one  of  Herod's  grand-daughters.'*  In  himself  he  is  quite  unworthy  of 
such  particular  notice,  but  he  demands  our  attention,  not  only  because, 
as  the  last  independent  king  in  Asia  Minor,  he  stands  at  one  of  the  turn- 
ing-points of  history,  but  also  because,  through  his  marriage  with  Bere- 
nice, he  must  have  had  some  connection  with  the  Jewish  population  of 
Pontus,  and  therefore  probably  with  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  on  the 
shores  of  the  Euxine.  We  cannot  forget  that  Jews  of  Pontus  were  at 
Jerusalem  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,^  that  the  Jewish  Christians  of  Pontus 
were  addressed  by  St.  Peter  in  his  first  epistle,®  and  that  "  a  Jew  born  in 

1  See    above,    under    Pamphylia,   for    the  independent  monarchs  had  ceased  to  reign.     In 

addition  to  that  province.     A  tract  of  country,  the   division   of   Constantine,  Pontus   formed 

near  the   Halys,  henceforward  called  Pontus  two  provinces,   one    called   Helenopontus    in 

Galaticus,   was    added    to    the    kingdom    of  honor  of  his  mother,  the  other  still  retaining 

Deiotarus.  the  name  of  Pontus  Polemoniacus. 

-  Originally,  this  district  near  the  Euxine  *  P.  22,  and  p.  23,  n.  3.     In  or  about  the 

was  considered  a  part  of  Cappadocia,  and  called  year  60   a.  d.   we  find   Berenice  again   with 

"Cappadocia  on   the   sea   (Pontus)."      The  Agrippa  in  Judaea,   on   the  occasion  of  St. 

name  Pontus  gradually  came  into  use,  with  Paul's  defence  at  Csesarea.     Acts  xxv.,  xxvi. 

therisingpowerof  the  ancestors  of  Mithridates  It  is  probable  that  she  was  with  Polemo  in 

the  Great.  Pontus  about  the  year  52,  when  St.  Paul  waa 

^  It  is   probably   impossible  to  determine  travelling  in  the  neighborhood, 
the  boundary  which  was  ultimately  arranged  ^  Acts  ii.  9. 

between  the  two  contiguous  provinces  of  Pon-  *  1  Pet.  i.  1. 

tns  and    Cappadocia,   when   the  last  of   the 


'■214:  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  Tin. 

Pontus  "^  became  one  of  the  best  and  most  useful  associates  of  the  Apos- 
tle of  the  Gentiles. 

VI.  Cappadocia.  —  Crossing  the  country  southwards  from  the  birth- 
place of  Aquila  towards  that  of  St.  Paul,  we  traverse  the  wide  and  varied 
region  which  formed  the  province  of  Cappadocia,  intermediate  between 
Pontus  and  Cilioia.  The  period  of  its  provincial  existence  began  in  the 
reign  of  Tiberius.  Its  last  king  was  Archelaus,'^  the  contemporary  of  the 
Jewish  tetrarch  of  the  same  name.'  Extending  from  the  frontier  of 
Galatia  to  the  river  Euphrates,  and  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  chain 
of  Taurus,  it  was  the  largest  province  of  Asia  Minor.  Some  of  its  cities 
are  celebrated  in  ecclesiastical  history.^  But  in  the  New  Testament  it  is 
only  twice  alluded  to,  once  in  the  Acts,*  and  once  in  the  Epistles.® 

VII.  CiLiciA.  — A  single  province  yet  remains,  in  one  respect  the  most 
interesting  of  all,  for  its  chief  city  was  the  Apostle's  native  town.  For 
this  reason  the  reader's  attention  was  invited  long  ago  to  its  geography 
and  history.''  It  is  therefore  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  them  further. 
We  need  not  go  back  to  the  time  when  Servilius  destroyed  the  robbers  in 
the  mountains,  and  Pompey  the  pirates  on  the  coast.^  And  enough  has 
been  said  of  the  conspicuous  period  of  its  provincial  condition,  when  Cicero 
came  down  from  Cappadocia  through  the  great  pass  of  Mount  Taurus,' 
and  the  letters  of  his  correspondents  in  Rome  were  forwarded  from  Tarsus 
to  his  camp  on  the  Pyramus.  Nearly  all  the  light  we  possess  concerning 
the  fortunes  of  Roman  Cilicia  is  concentrated  on  that  particular  time.  We 
know  the  names  of  hardly  any  of  its  later  governors.  One  of  the  few  al- 
lusions to  its  provincial  condition  about  the  time  of  Claudius  and  Nero, 
which  we  can  adduce  from  any  ancient  writer,  is  that  passage  in  the  Acts, 
where  Felix  is  described  as  inquiring  "  of  what  province  "  St.  Paul  was. 
The  use  of  the  strict  political  term  ^*  informs  us  that  it  was  a  separate 
province ;  but  the  term  itself  is  not  so  explicit  as  to  enable  us  to  state 
whether  the  province  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Senate  or  the  Em- 
peror." 

1  Acts  xviii.  2.  '  Acts  ii.  9. 

2  He  was  made  king  by  Antony,  and  fifty  «  1  Pet.  i.  1. 

years  afterwards  was  summoned  to  Rome  by  '  Pp.  19-23.     See  also  45,  46. 

Tiberius,   who  had   been    offended    by  some  *  Pp.  19,  20. 

disrespect  shown  to  himself  in  the  island  of  »  See  below,  pp.  222,  223. 

Rhodes.  ^"  'Enapxia.    Acts  xxiii.  34,  the  only  pas- 

8  Matt.  ii.  22.  sage  where  the  word  occurs  in  the  New  Tcsta- 

*  Especially  Nyssa,  Nazianzus,  and  Neocses-  ment.     For  tlie  technical  meaning  of  the  term, 

area,  the  cities   of  the   three   Gregories,  and  see  above,  p.  130,  n.  4. 

CsBsarea,  the  city  of  Basil,  —  to  say  nothing  "  We  should  be  disposed  to  infer  from  a 

of  Tyana  and  Samosata.  passage  in  Agrippa's  speech  to  the  Jews  'Jo- 


CHAP.  VIII.  VISITATION  OF  THE   CHURCHES  PROPOSER.  215 

With  this  last  division  of  the  Heptarchy  of  Asia  Minor  we  are  brought 
to  the  starting-point  of  St.  Paul's  second  missionary  journey.  Cilicia  is 
contiguous  to  Syria,  and  indeed  is  more  naturally  connected  with  it  than 
with  the  rest  of  Asia  Minor.^  "We  might  illustrate  this  connection  from 
the  letters  of  Cicero ;  but  it  is  more  to  our  purpose  to  remark  that  the 
Apostolic  Decree,  recently  enacted  at  Jerusalem,  was  addressed  to  the 
Gentile  Christians  "  in  Antioch,  and  Syria,  and  Cilicia,"^  and  that  Paul 
and  Silas  travelled  "  through  Syria  and  Cilicia  "  ^  in  the  early  part  of  their 
progress. 

This  second  missionary  journey  originated  in  a  desire  expressed  by 
Paul  to  Barnabas,  that  they  should  revisit  all  the  cities  where  they  had 
preached  the  Gospel  and  founded  churches.*  He  felt  that  he  was  not 
called  to  spend  a  peaceful,  though  laborious,  life  at  Antioch,  but  that  his 
true  work  was  "  far  off  among  the  Gentiles." '  He  knew  that  his  cam- 
paigns were  not  ended,  —  that,  as  the  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  must 
not  rest  from  his  warfare,  but  must  "  endure  hardness,"  that  he  might 
please  Him  who  had  called  him.*  As  a  careful  physician,  he  remembered 
that  they,  whose  recovery  from  sin  had  been  begun,  might  be  in  danger 
of  relapse ;  or,  to  use  another  metaphor,  and  to  adopt  the  poetical  lan- 
guage of  the  Old  Testament,  he  said, —  "  Come,  let  us  get  up  early  to 
the  vineyards :  let  us  see  if  the  vine  flourish." ''  The  words  actually  re- 
corded as  used  by  St.  Paul  on  this  occasion  are  these  :  — "  Come,  let  us 
turn  back  and  visit  our  brethren  in  every  city,  where  we  have  announced 
the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  let  us  see  how  they  fare."'  We  notice  here, 
for  the  first  time,  a  trace  of  that  tender  solicitude  concerning  his  con- 
verts, that  earnest  longing  to  behold  their  faces,  which  appears  in  the 
letters  which  he  wrote  afterwards,  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable,  and 
one  of  the  most  attractive,  features  of  his  character.  Paul  was  the 
speaker,  and  not  Barnabas.  The  feelings  of  Barnabas  might  not  be  so 
deep,    nor   his    anxiety   so   urgent.^      Paul   thought   doubtless   of    the 

seph.    War,   ii.   16,   4),   where  he  says   that  See    his    excellent    remarks    on     the    whole 

Cilicia,  as  well  as  Bithynia,  Pamphylia,  &c.,  passage. 

was  "  kept  tributary  to  the  Romans  without  *  "  Let  us  go  now  at  last "  would  be  a 
an  army,"  that  it  was  one  of  the  Senate's  correct  translation.  The  words  seem  to  ex 
provinces.  Other  evidence,  however,  tends  press  something  like  impatience,  especially 
the  other  way,  especially  an  inscription  found  when  we  compare  it  with  the  words  "  after 
at  Caerleon  in  Monmouthshire.  For  fuller  some  days  "  which  precede.  The  tender  feel- 
details  we  must  refer  to  the  larger  editions.  ing  implied  in  the  phrase  rendered  "  how  they 

1  See  p.  98,  comparing  Acts  ix.  30  with  do "  fully  justifies  what  we  have  said  in  the 
Gal.  1.  21.  text. 

2  Acts  XV.  23.  8  A.ct3  XV.  41.  •  We  might  almost  be  inclined  to  suspect 
*  Acts  XV.  36.  6  Acts  xxii.  21 .  that  Paul  had  previously  urged  the  same  pro- 
®  2  Tim  ii.  3,  4.  posal  on  Barnabas,  and  that  he  had  hesitated 
''  Cant.  vii.  12,  quoted  by  Matthew  Henry.  to  comply. 


216  THE  LIFE  AJSTD  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  vm. 

Pisidians  and  Lycaonians,  as  he  thought  afterwards  at  Athens  and 
Corinth  of  the  Thessalonians,  from  whom  he  had  been  lately  "  taken,  — 
in  presence  not  in  heart,  —  endeavoring  to  see  their  face  with  great 
desire, —  night  and  day  praying  exceedingly  that  he  might  see  their  face, 
and  might  perfect  that  which  was  lacking  in  their  faith."  ^  He  was  "  not 
ignorant  of  Satan's  devices."^  He  feared  lest  by  any  means  the  Tempt- 
er had  tempted  them,  and  his  labor  had  been  in  vain.^  He  "  stood  in 
doubt  of  them,"  and  desired  to  be  "  present  with  them  "  once  more.* 
His  w^sh  was  to  revisit  every  city  where  converts  had  been  made.  We 
are  reminded  here  of  the  importance  of  continuing  a  religious  work  when 
once  begun.  We  have  had  the  institution  of  presbyters,^  and  of  coun- 
cils,^ brought  before  us  in  the  sacred  narrative  ;  and  now  we  have  an 
example  of  that  system  of  church  visitation,  of  the  happy  effects  of  which 
we  have  still  some  experience,  when  we  see  weak  resolutions  strength- 
ened, and  expiring  faith  rekindled,  in  confirmations  at  home,  or  in  mis- 
sionary settlements  abroad. 

This  plan,  however,  of  a  combined  visitation  of  the  churches  was 
marred  by  an  outbreak  of  human  infirmity.  The  two  apostolic  friends 
were  separated  from  each  other  by  a  quarrel,  which  proved  that  they 
were  indeed,  as  they  had  lately  told  the  Lystrians,  "  men  of  like  passions  " 
with  others.'  Barnabas  was  unwilling  to  undertake  the  journey  unless 
he  were  accompanied  by  his  relation  Mark.  Paul  could  not  consent  to 
the  companionship  of  one  who  "  departed  from  them  from  Pamphylia, 
and  went  not  with  them  to  the  work :  "  ^  and  neither  of  them  could 
yield  his  opinion  to  the  other.  This  quarrel  was  much  more  closely 
connected  with  personal  feelings  than  that  which  had  recently  occurred 
between  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,^  and  it  was  proportionally  more  violent. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  severe  words  were  spoken  on  the  occasion.  It 
is  unwise  to  be  over-anxious  to  dilute  the  words  of  Scripture,  and  to 
exempt  even  Apostles  from  blame.  By  such  criticism  we  lose  much  of 
the  instruction  which  the  honest  record  of  their  lives  was  intended  to 
convey.  We  are  taught  by  this  scene  at  Antioch,  that  a  good  work  may 
be  blessed  by  God,  though  its  agents  are  encompassed  with  infirmity,  and 
that  changes,  which  are  violent  in  their  beginnings,  may  be  overruled  for 
the  best  results.  Without  attempting  to  balance  too  nicely  the  faults  on 
either  side,  our  simplest  course  is  to  believe  that,  as  in  most  quarrels, 
there  was  blame  with  both.     Paul's  natural  disposition  was  impetuous 

»  I  Thess.  ii.  17,  iii.  10.  '  Acts  xv.     See  Chap.  VII. 

»  2  Cor.  ii.  11.  '  Acts  xir.  15. 

•  1  Thess.  iii.  5.  *  Acts   xv.   38  with    xiii.    13,      See    pi>. 

♦  Gal.  iv.  20.  144,  145. 

»  Acts  xiv.  23.  Se«  p.  176,  and  Chap.  Xm.  •  Pp.  198-200. 


CHAP.  vm.  SEPARATION  OF  PAUL  AND  BARNABAS.  217 

and  impatient,  easily  kindled  to  indignation,  and  (possibly)  overbearing. 
Barnabas  had  shown  his  weakness  when  he  yielded  to  the  influence  of 
Peter  and  the  Judaizers.^  The  remembrance  of  the  indirect  censure  he 
then  received  may  have  been  perpetually  irritated  by  the  consciousness 
that  his  position  was  becoming  daily  more  and  more  subordinate  to  that 
of  the  friend  who  rebuked  him.  Once  he  was  spoken  of  as  chief  of  those 
"  prophets  at  Antioch,"  ^  among  whom  Saul  was  the  last :  now  his  name 
was  scarcely  heard,  except  when  he  was  mentioned  as  the  companion  of 
Paul.'  In  short,  this  is  one  of  those  quarrels  in  which,  by  placing  our- 
selves in  imagination  on  the  one  side  and  the  other,  we  can  alternately 
justify  both,  and  easily  see  that  the  purest  Christian  zeal,  when  combined 
with  human  weakness  and  partiality,  may  have  led  to  the  misunder- 
standing. How  could  Paul  consent  to  take  with  him  a  companion  who 
would  really  prove  an  embarrassment  and  a  hinderance  ?  Such  a  task  as 
that  of  spreading  the  Gospel  of  God  in  a  hostile  world  needs  a  resolute 
will  and  an  undaunted  courage.  And  the  work  is  too  sacred  to  be  put  in 
jeopardy  by  any  experiments.*  Mark  had  been  tried  once  and  found 
wanting.  "  No  man,  having  put  his  hand  to  the  plough,  and  looking 
back,  is  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God."  *  And  Barnabas  would  not  be 
without  strong  arguments  to  defend  the  justice  of  his  claims.  It  was 
hard  to  expect  him  to  resign  his  interest  in  one  who  had  cost  him  mucli 
anxiety  and  many  prayers.  His  dearest  wish  was  to  see  his  young  kins- 
man approving  himself  as  a  missionary  of  Christ.  Now,  too,  he  had  been 
won  back  to  a  willing  obedience,  —  he  had  come  from  his  home  at  Jeru- 
salem,—  he  was  ready  now  to  face  all  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the 
enterprise.  To  repel  him  in  the  moment  of  his  repentance  was  surely 
"  to  break  a  bruised  reed  "  and  to  "  quench  the  smoking  flax."  ^ 

It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  the  obstinacy  with  which  each  of  the 
disputants,  when  his  feelings  were  once  excited,  clung  to  his  opinion  as 
to  a  sacred  truth.  The  only  course  which  now  remained  was  to  choose 
two  different  paths  and  to  labor  independently ;  and  the  Church  saw 
the  humiliating  spectacle  of  the  separation  of  its  two  great  missionaries 
to  the  Heathen.  We  cannot,  however,  suppose  that  Paul  and  Barnabas 
parted,  like  enemies,  in  anger  and  hatred,  it  is  very  likely  that  they 
made  a  deliberate  and  amicable  arrangement  to  divide  the  region  of  their 


1  Gal.  ii.  13.    P.  199.  ^  gge  p.  135. 

2  Acts  xiii.  Pp.  121,  122.  Moreover,  as  *  A  timid  companion  in  the  hour  of  danger 
a  fricna  suggests,  St.  Paul  was  under  personal  is  one  of  the  greatest  evils.  Matthew  Henrj 
obligations  to  Barnabas  for  introducing  him  quotes  Prov.  xxv.  19:  "Confidence  in  an 
to  the  Apostles  (Acts  ix.  27),  and  the  feelings  unfaithful  man,  in  time  of  trouble,  is  lik»  n 
of  Barnabas  would  be  deeply  hurt  if  he  thought  broken  tooth  and  like  a  foot  out  of  joint." 

his  friendship  slighted.  ^  Luke  ix.  62.  ®  Matt.  xii.  20. 


218  THE   LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  viu. 

first  mission  l^etween  them,  Paul  taking  the  continental,  and  Barnabas 
the  insular,  part  of  the  proposed  visitation.'  Of  this  at  least  we  are 
certain,  that  the  quarrel  was  overruled  by  Divine  Providence  to  a  good 
result.  One  stream  of  missionary  labor  had  been  divided,  and  the 
regions  blessed  by  the  waters  of  life  were  proportionally  multiplied.  St. 
Paul  speaks  of  Barnabas  afterwards  ^  as  of  an  Apostle  actively  engaged 
in  his  Master's  service.  We  know  nothing  of  the  details  of  his  life 
beyond  the  moment  of  his  sailing  for  Cyprus ;  but  we  may  reasonably 
attribute  to  him  not  only  the  confirming  of  the  first  converts,^  but  the 
full  establishment  of  the  Church  in  his  native  island.  At  Paphos  the 
impure  idolatry  gradually  retreated  before  the  presence  of  Christianity  ; 
and  Salamis,  where  the  tomb  of  the  Christian  Levite  *  is  shown,*  has 
earned  an  eminent  place  in  Christian  history,  through  the  writings  of  its 
bishop,  Epiphanius.^  Mark,  too,  who  began  his  career  as  a  "  minister  " 
of  the  Gospel  in  this  island,^  justified  the  good  opinion  of  his  kinsman. 
Yet  the  severity  of  Paul  may  have  been  of  eventual  service  to  his 
character,  in  leading  him  to  feel  more  deeply  the  serious  importance  of 
the  work  he  had  undertaken.  And  the  time  came  when  Paul  himself 
acknowledged,  with  affectionate  tenderness,  not  only  that  he  had  again 
become  his  "  fellow-laborer,"  ^  but  that  he  was  "  profitable  to  the  minis- 
try," ^  and  one  of  the  causes  of  his  own  "  comfort."  '" 

It  seems  that  Barnabas  was  the  first  to  take  his  departure.  The 
feeling  of  the  majority  of  the  Church  was  evidently  with  St.  Paul,  for 
when  he  had  chosen  Silas  for  his  companion,  and  was  ready  to  begin  his 
journey,  he  was  specially  "  commended  by  the  brethren  to  the  grace  of 
God." "  The  visitation  of  Cyprus  having  now  been  undertaken  by 
others,  his  obvious  course  was  not  to  go  by  sea  in  the  direction  of  Perga 
or  Attaleia,^'  but  to  travel  by  the  Eastern  passes  directly  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Iconium.     It  appears,  moreover,  that  he  had  an  important  work 

1  If  Barnabas  visited  Salamis  and  Paphos,  relation  to  him  as  a  witness  in  which  Silas  did 

and  if  Paul,  after  passing  through  Derbe,  Lys-  to  Paul, 

tra,  and  Iconium,  went  as  far  as  Antioch  in  *  Acts  iv.  36. 

Pisidia  (see  below),  the  whole  circuit  of  the  ^  MS.  note  from  Capt.  Graves,  R.N. 

proposed  visitation  was  actually  accomplished,  ^  The  name  of  this  celebrated  father  has 

for  it  does  not  appear  that  any  converts  had  been  given  to  one  of  the  promontories  of  the 

been  made  at  Perga  and  Attaleia.  island,  the  ancient  Acamas. 

^  1  Cor.  ix.  6  :  whence  also  it  appears  that  ''  Acts  xiii.  5. 

Barnabas,  like  St  Paul,  supported  himself  by  *  Philemon  24. 

the  labor  of  his  hands.  9  2  Tim.  iv.  11.     See  p.  144,  n.  H. 

8  Paul    took    the  copy  of   the  Apostolic  ^^  Col.  iv   10,  11. 

Decree  into  Cilicia.     If  the  Judaizing  tendency  "  Acts  xv,  40. 

had  shown  itself  in  Cyprus,  Barnabas  would  ^^  jf  no  other  causes  had  occurred  to  deter- 
still  be  able  to  refer  to  the  decision  of  the  mine  the  direction  of  his  journey,  there  might 
'.ODUcil.  and  Mark  would  stand  in  the  same  be  no  vessel  at  Antioch  or  Seleucia  bound  for 


CHAP.  vm.  SYRIA  AND   CILICIA.  219 

to  accomplish  in  Cilicia.  The  early  fortunes  of  Christianity  in  that 
province  were  closely  bound  up  with  the  city  of  Antioch  and  the  per- 
sonal labors  of  St.  Paul.  When  he  withdrew  from  Jerusalem,  "  three 
years  "  after  his  conversion,  his  residence  for  some  time  was  in  "  the 
regions  of  Syria  and  Cilicia."  ^  He  was  at  Tarsus  in  the  course  of  that 
residence,  when  Barnabas  first  brought  him  to  Antioch.^  The  churches 
founded  by  the  Apostle  in  his  native  province  must  often  have  been 
visited  by  him  ;  for  it  is  far  easier  to  travel  from  Antioch  to  Tarsus,  than 
from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem,  or  even  from  Tarsus  to  Iconium.  Thus  the 
religious  movements  in  the  Syrian  metropolis  penetrated  into  Cilicia. 
The  same  great  "  prophet "  had  been  given  to  both,  and  the  Christians 
in  both  were  bound  together  by  the  same  feelings  and  the  same  doc- 
trines. When  the  Judaizing  agitators  came  to  Antioch,  the  result  was 
anxiety  and  perplexity,  not  only  in  Syria,  but  also  in  Cilicia.  This  is 
nowhere  literally  stated ;  but  it  can  be  legitimately  inferred.  We  are, 
indeed,  only  told  that  certain  men  came  down  with  false  teaching  from 
Judaea  to  Antioch.^  But  the  Apostolic  Decree  is  addressed  to  "  the 
Gentiles  of  Cilicia  "  ^  as  well  as  those  of  Antioch,  thus  implying  that  the 
Judaizing  spirit,  with  its  mischievous  consequences,  had  been  at  work 
beyond  the  frontier  of  Syria.  And,  doubtless,  the  attacks  on  St.  Paul's 
apostolic  character  had  accompanied  the  attack  on  apostolic  truth ,^  and  a 
new  fulfilment  of  the  proverb  was  nearly  realized,  that  a  prophet  in  his 
own  country  is  without  honor.  He  had,  therefore,  no  ordinary  work 
to  accomplish  as  he  went  "  through  Syria  and  Cilicia  confirming  the 
churches  ;  "  ^  and  it  must  have  been  with  much  comfort  and  joy  that  he 
was  able  to  carry  with  him  a  document,  emanating  from  the  Apostles  at 
Jerusalem,  which  justified  the  doctrine  he  had  taught,  and  accredited 
his  personal  character.  Nor  was  he  alone  as  the  bearer  of  this  letter, 
but  Silas  was  with  him  also,  ready  "  to  tell  the  same  things  by  mouth."  ' 
It  is  a  cause  for  thankfulness  that  God  put  it  into  the  heart  of  Silas  to 
"  abide  still  at  Antioch  "  ^  when  Judas  returned  to  Jerusalem,  and  to 
accompany  St.  Paul  ^  on  his  northward  journey.  For  when  the  Ciliciau 
Christians  saw  their  countryman  arrive  without  his  companion  Barnabas, 
whose  name  was  coupled  with  his  own  in  the  apostolic  letter,^**  their  confi- 

Pamphylia ;  a  circumstance  not  always  suffi-  time.     Much   might  be  accomplished  during 

ciently  taken  into  account  by  those  who  hare  the  residence  at  Antioch  (xv.  36),  which  might 

written  on  St.  Paul's  voyages.  very  well  include  journeys  to  Tarsus.     But  we 

1  Gal.  i.  21 ;  Acts  ix.  30.     See  pp.  97-99.  are  distinctly  told  that  the  churches  of  Cilicia 

2  Acts  xi.  25.     See  p.  110.  were  "confirmed"  by  St.  Paul,  when  he  was 
8  Acts  XV.  1.  on  his  way  to  those  of  Lycaonia. 

*  Acts  XV  93,  5  Pp.  135^  194,  7  Acts  xv.  27. 

»  Acts  XV.  41.     The  work  of  allaying  the  *  Or  to  return  thither.     See  p.  138,  n.  2. 

Judaizing  spirit  in  Cilicia  would  require  some  ^  Acts  xv.  40.  i°  Acts  xv.  25. 


220  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  vni, 

dence  might  have  been  shaken,  occasion  might  have  been  given  to  the 
enemies  of  the  truth  to  slander  St.  Paul,  had  not  Silas  been  present,  as 
one  of  those  who  were  authorized  to  testify  that  both  Paul  and  Barnabas 
were  "  men  who  had  hazarded  their  lives  for  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."! 

Where  "  the  churches  "  were,  which  he  "  confirmed  "  on  his  journey, 
—  in  what  particular  cities  of  "  Syria  and  Cilicia,"  —  we  are  not  in- 
formed. After  leaving  Antioch  by  the  bridge  over  the  Orontes,^  he 
would  cross  Mount  Amanus  by  the  gorge  which  was  anciently  called  the 
"  Syrian  Gates,"  and  is  now  known  as  the  Beilan  Pass.'  Then  he  would 
come  to  Alexandria  and  Issus,  two  cities  that  were  monuments  of  the 
Macedonian  conqueror ;  one  as  retaining  his  name,  the  other  as  the 
scene  of  his  victory.  After  entering  the  Cilician  plain,  he  may  have 
visited  Adana,  -^gae,  or  Mopsuetia,  three  of  the  conspicuous  cities  on  the 
old  Roman  roads.*  With  all  these  places  St.  Paul  must  have  been  more 
or  less  familiar :  probably  there  were  Christians  in  all  of  them,  anxiously 
waiting  for  the  decree,  and  ready  to  receive  the  consolation  it  was 
intended  to  bring.  And  one  other  city  must  certainly  have  been  visited. 
If  there  were  churches  anywhere  in  Cilicia,  there  must  have  been  one  at 
Tarsus.  It  was  the  metropolis  of  the  province ;  Paul  had  resided  there,, 
perhaps  for  some  years,  since  the  time  of  his  conversion  ;  and  if  he 
loved  his  native  place  well  enough  to  speak  of  it  witli  something  like 
pride  to  the  Roman  officer  at  Jerusalem,*  he  could  not  be  indifferent  to 
its  religious  welfare.  Among  the  "  Gentiles  of  Cilicia,"  to  whom  the 
letter  which  he  carried  was  addressed,  the  Gentiles  of  Tarsus  had  no 
mean  place  in  his  affections.  And  his  heart  must  have  overflowed  vv^ith 
thankfulness,  if,  as  he  passed  through  the  streets  which  had  been  familiar 
to  him  since  his  childhood,  he  knew  that  many  households  were  around 
him  where  the  Gospel  had  come  "  not  in  word  only  but  in  power,"  and 
the  relations  between  husband  and  wife,  parent  and  child,  master  and 
slave,  had  been  purified  and  sanctified  by  Christian  love.     No  doubt  the 

1  Acts  XV.  26.  *  If  the  itineraries  are  examined  and  com- 

2  See  the  description  of  ancient  Antioch  pared  together,  the  Roman  roads  will  be 
above,  Chap.  IV.  p.  113;  also  p.  124.  observed   to   diifuse  themselves  among   thest 

3  The  "  Sijrian  Gates  "  are  the  entrance  in-  different  towns  in  the  Cilician  plain,  and  then 
to  Cilicia  from  Syria,  as  the  "  Cilician  Gates"  to  come  together  again  at  the  bend  of  the  bay, 
are  from  Cap))adocia.  The  latter  pass,  how-  before  they  enter  the  Syrian  Gates.  Mopsue- 
ever,  is  by  far  the  grander  and  more  important  tia  and  Adana  were  in  the  direct  road  from 
of  the  two.  Intermediate  between  these  two,  Issus  to  Tarsus ;  ^.gae  was  on  the  coast-roarf 
in  the  angle  where  Taui-us  and  Amanus  meet,  to  Soli.  Baiae  also  was  an  important  town 
is  the  pass  into  Syria  by  which  Darius  fled  situated  to  the  S.  of  Issus. 

alter  the  battle  of  Issus.     Both  entrances  from  *  Acts  xxi.  39. 

►Syria  into  Cilicia  are  alluded  to  by  Cicero,  as 
well  as  the  great  entrance  from  Cappadocia. 


PAUL  AND   SILAS  LIST   CLLICIA. 


•221 


city  still  retained  all  the  aspect  of  the  cities  of  that  day,  where  art  and 
amusement  were  consecrated  to  a  false  religion.  The  symbols  of  idolatry 
remained  in  the  public  places,  —  statues,  temples,  and  altars,  —  and 
the  various  "  objects  of  devotion,"  which  in  all  Greek  towns,  as  well  as 
in  Athens  (Acts  xvii.  23),  were  conspicuous  on  every  side.  But  the 
silent  revolution  was  begun.  Some  families  had  already  turned  "  from 
idols  to  serve  the  living  and  true  God."  ^  The  "  dumb  idols  "  to  which, 
as  Gentiles,  they  had  been  "  carried  away  even  as  they  were  led,"  '^  had 
been  recognized  as  "  nothing  in  the  world," '  and  been  "  cast  to  the  moles 
and  to  the  bats."  *  The  homes  which  had  once  been  decorated  with  the 
emblems'  of  a  vain  mythology,  were  now  bright  with  the  better  ornaments 
of  faith,  hope,  and  love.  And  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  rejoiced  in 
looking  forward  to  the  time  when  the  grace  which  had  been  triumphant 
in  the  household  should  prevail  against  principalities  and  powers, — 
when  "  every  knee  should  bow  at  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  every  tongue 
confess  that  He  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father." ' 

But  it  has  pleased  God  that  we  should  know  more  of  the  details  of 
early  Christianity  in  the  wilder  and  remoter  regions  of  Asia  Minor.  To 
these  regions  the  footsteps  of  St.  Paul  were  turned  after  he  had  accom- 
plished the  work  of  confirming  the  churches  in  Syria  and  Cilicia.  The 
task  now  before  him  was  the  visitation  of  the  churches  he  had  formed  in 


1  1  Thess.  i.  9. 

2  1  Cor.  xii.  2. 
'  1  Cor.  viii.  4. 

*  Isai.  ii.  20.  These  remarks  have  been 
suggested  by  a  recent  discovery  of  much  inter- 
est at  Tarsus.  In  a  mound  which  had  formerly 
rested  against  a  portion  of  the  city  wall,  since 
removed,  was  discovered  a  large  collection  of 
terra-cotta  figures  and  lamps.  At  first  these  were 
thought  to  be  a  sherd-wreck,  or  the  refuse  of 
some  Ceramicus  or  pottery-work.  But,  on  ob- 
sen'ing  that  the  lamps  had  been  used,  and  that 
the  earthenware  gods  (Dijictiles)  bore  no  trace 
ot  having  been  rejected  because  of  defective 
workmanship,  but,  on  the  contrary,  had  evi- 
dently been  used,  it  has  been  imagined  that 
these  terra-cottas  must  have  been  thrown  away, 
as  connected  with  idolatry,  on  the  occasion  of 
some  conversion  to  Christianity.  The  figures 
are  such  as  these,  —  a  head  of  Pan,  still  show- 
ing the  mortar  by  which  it  was  set  up  in  some 
garden  or  vineyard ;  the  boy  Mercury ;  Cybe- 
le,  Jupiter,  Ceres  crowned  with  com,  Apollo 
with  rays,  a  lion  devouring  a  bull  (precisely 
similar  to  that  engraved,  p.  28),  with  other 


symbols  of  general  or  local  mythology.  There 
are,  moreover,  some  ears,  legs,  &c.,  which 
seem  to  have  been  votive  offerings,  and  which, 
therefore,  it  would  have  been  sacrilege  to 
remove ;  and  a  great  number  of  lamps  or 
incense-burners,  with  a  carbonaceous  stain  on 
them. 

The  date  when  these  things  were  thrown 
"  to  the  moles  and  bats "  seems  to  be  ascer- 
tained by  the  dressing  of  the  hair  in  one  of 
the  female  figures,  which  is  that  of  the  period 
of  the  early  emperors,  as  shown  in  busts  of 
Domitia,  or  Julia,  the  wife  of  Titus,  the  same 
that  is  censured  by  the  Koman  satirist  and  by 
the  Christian  Apostle.  Some  of  them  are 
undoubtedly  of  an  earlier  period. 

We  owe  the  opportunity  of  seeing  these 
remains,  and  the  foregoing  criticisms  on  them 
(by  Mr.  Abington,  of  Hanley,  in  Stafford- 
shire), to  the  kindness  of  W.  B.  Barker,  Esq., 
who  was  for  many  years  a  resident  at  Tarsus, 
and  who  has  recently  given  much  information 
on  the  history  of  Cilicia  in  his  work  entitled 
Lares  and  Penates. 

6  Phil.  ii.  10,  11. 


222  THE  LIFE  AKD  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chaf.  rai. 

conjunction  with  Barnabas.     We  proceed  to  follow  him  in  his  second 
journey  across  Mount  Taurus. 

The  vast  mountain-barrier  which  separates  the  sunny  plains  of  Cilicia 
and  Pamp]iylia  from  the  central  table-land  has  frequently  been  men- 
tioned.' On  the  former  journey^  St.  Paul  travelled  from  the  Pamphylia 
plain  to  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  and  thence  by  Iconium  to  Lystra  and  Derbe 
His  present  course  across  the  mountains  was  more  to  the  eastward  ;  and 
the  last-mentioned  cities  were  visited  first.  More  passes  than  one  lead  up 
into  Lycaonia  and  Cappadocia  through  the  chain  of  Taurus  from  Cilicia.' 
And  it  has  been  supposed  *  that  the  Apostle  travelled  through  one  of  the 
minor  passes,  which  quits  the  lower  plain  at  Pompeiopolis,'  and  enters  the 
upland  plain  of  Iconium,  not  far  from  the  conjectural  site  of  Derbe.  But 
there  is  no  sufficient  reason  to  suppose  that  he  went  by  any  other  than 
the  ordinary  road.  A  traveller  wishing  to  reach  the  Valais  conveniently 
from  the  banks  of  the  Lago  Maggiore  would  rather  go  by  the  Simplon, 
than  by  the  difficult  path  across  the  Monte  Moro  ;  and  there  is  one  great 
pass  in  Asia  Minor  which  may  be  called  the  Simplon  ®  of  Mount  Taiirus, 
described  as  a  rent  or  fissure  in  the  mountain-chain,  extending  from 
north  to  south  through  a  distance  of  eighty  miles,^  and  known  in  ancient 
days  by  the  name  of  the  "  Cilician  Gates,"  —  which  has  been,  in  all  ages, 
the  easiest  and  most  convenient  entrance  from  the  northern  and  central 
parts  of  the  peninsula  to  the  level  by  the  seashore,  where  the  traveller 
pauses  before  he  enters  Syria.  The  securing  of  this  pass  was  the  great- 
est cause  of  anxiety  to  Cyrus,  when  he  marched  into  Babylonia  to  de- 
throne his  brother.^  Through  this  gorge  Alexander  descended  to  that 
Cilician  plain,  which  has  been  finally  described  by  a  ^reek  historian  as  a 
theatre  made  by  Nature's  hand  for  the  drama  of  great  battles.  Cicero 
followed  in  the  steps  of  Alexander,  as  he  tells  his  friend  Atticus  in  a 


1  Especially  pp.   19,  45,  98,  145-151,  165,  «  Mr.  Ainsworth  points  out  some  interest 
175-177.  ing  particulars  of  resemblance  and   contrast 

2  Acts  xiii.  14.  between  the  Alps  and  this  part  of  the  Taurus 

*  The  principal  passes  are  enumerated  in  Trar^els  and  Researches    in  Asia    Minor,  ^c. 
the  Modem  Traveller.  (1842),  ii.  80. 

*  Wieseler  thinks  that   this  would  be  the  '  Gen.  Chesnej  in  the  Euphrates  Expedition, 
route  adopted,  because  it  leads  most  directly  to  i.  353. 

Derbe  (Divle).     But,  in   the  first  place,  the  *  Mannert  and  Forbiger  both  think  that  he 

site  of  this  town  is  very  doubtful ;  and,  sec-  went  by  a  pass  more  to  the  east ;  but  the   ar- 

ondly,  the  shortest  road   across  a  mountain-  guments  of  Mr.  Ainsworth  for  the  identity  of 

chain  is  not  necessarily  the  best.     The  road  Dana  with  Tyana,  and  the  coincidence  of  the 

bv  the  Cilician  Gates  was  carefully  made  and  route  of  Cyrus  with   the   "  Cilician   Gates," 

kept  up,  and  enters  the  Lycaonian  plain  near  appear  to  be  conclusire.     Travels  in  the  Track 

where  Derbe  must  have  been  situated.  ire,  p.  40. 

^  For  Pompeiopolis  or  Soli,  see  p.  20,  and 
the  note. 


CHAP.  vm.  THEY    CROSS  THE  TAURUS.  223 

letter  written  with  characteristic  vanity.  And  to  turn  to  the  centuries 
which  have  elapsed  since  the  time  of  the  Apostles  and  the  first  Roman 
emperors  :  twice,  at  least,  this  pass  has  been  the  pivot  on  which  the 
struggle  for  the  throne  of  the  East  seemed  to  turn,  —  once,  in  the  war 
described  by  obscure  historians,*  when  a  pretender  at  Antioch  made  the 
Taurus  his  defence  against  the  Emperor  of  Rome  ;  and  once  in  a  war 
which  we  remember,  when  a  pretender  at  Alexandria  fortified  it  and 
advanced  beyond  it  in  his  attempt  to  dethrone  the  Sultan.^  In  the  wars 
between  the  Crescent  and  the  Cross,  which  have  filled  up  much  of  the 
intervening  period,  this  defile  has  decided  the  fate  of  many  an  army. 
The  Greek  historians  of  the  first  Saracen  invasions  describe  it  by  a  word, 
unknown  to  classical  Greek,  which  denotes  that  when  this  passage 
(between  Cappadocia  and  Cilicia)  was  secure,  the  frontier  was  closed. 
The  Crusaders,  shrinking  from  the  remembrance  of  its  precipices  and 
dangers,  called  it  by  the  more  awful  name  of  the  "  Gates  of  Judas." 

Through  this  pass  we  conceive  St.  Paul  to  have  travelled  on  his  way 
from  Cilicia  to  Lycaonia.  And  if  we  say  that  the  journey  was  made  in 
the  spring  of  the  year  51,  we  shall  not  deviate  very  far  from  the  actual 
date.'  By  those  who  have  never  followed  the  Apostle's  footsteps,  the  suc- 
cessive features  of  the  scenery  through  which  he  passed  may  be  compiled 
from  the  accounts  of  recent  travellers,  and  arranged  in  the  following 
order.*  —  After  leaving  Tarsus,  the  way  ascends  the  valley  of  the  Cydnus, 
which,  for  some  distance,  is  nothing  more  than  an  ordinary  mountain 
valley,  with  wooded  eminences  and  tributary  streams.  Beyond  the  point 
where  the  road  from  Adana  comes  in  from  the  right,  the  hills  suddenly 
draw  together  and  form  a  narrow  pass,  which  lias  always  been  guarded 
by  precipitous  cliffs,  and  is  now  crowned  by  the  ruins  of  a  mediaeval  castle. 

^  The  war  between  Severns  and  Pescennins  Tarsus,  in  1 833,  with  notices  of  the  surround 

Niger.  ing  country. 

2  This  was  emphatically  the  case  in  the  ^  We  have  no  means  of  exactly  determin- 
first  war  between  Mahomet  Ali  and  the  Sul-  ing  either  the  year  or  the  season.  He  left 
tan,  when  Ibrahim  Pasha  crossed  the  Taurus  Corinth  in  the  spring  (Acts  xviii.  21)  after 
and  fought  the  battle  of  Konieh,  in  December,  staying  there  a  year  and  a  half  (Acts  xviii. 
1832.  In  the  second  war,  the  decisive  battle  11).  He  arrived,  therefore,  at  Corinth  in  the 
was  fought  at  Nizib,  in  June,  1839,  further  to  autumn;  and  probably,  as  we  shall  see,  in  the 
the  East :  but  even  then,  while  the  negotia-  autumn  of  the  year  52.  Wieseler  calculates  that 
tions  were  pending,  this  pass  was  the  military  a  year  might  he  occupied  in  the  whole  journey 
boundary  between  the  opposing  powers.  See  from  Antioch  through  Asia  Minor  and  Macedo- 
liTr.  Ainsworth's  Travels  and  Researches,  quoted  nia  to  Corinth.  Perhaps  it  is  better  to  allow 
below.  He  was  arrested  in  his  journey  by  a  year  and  a  half ;  and  the  spring  is  the  more 
the  battle  of  Nizib.  For  a  slight  notice  of  the  likely  season  to  have  been  chosen  for  the  corn- 
two  campaigns,  see  Yates's  Egypt,  i.  xv.  In  mencement  of  the  journey.  See  p.  146. 
the  second  volume  (ch.  v.)  is  a  curious  ac-  *  Very  full  descriptions  may  be  seen  ia 
count  of  an  interview  wi*;h  Ibrahim  Pasha  at  Ainsworth  and  Kinneir. 


224  THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  vm. 

In  some  places  the  ravine  contracts  to  a  width  of  ten  or  twelve  paces, 
leaving  room  for  only  one  chariot  to  pass.  It  is  an  anxious  place  to  any 
one  in  command  of  a  military  expedition.  To  one  who  is  unburdened  by 
such  responsibility,  the  scene  around  is  striking  and  impressive.  A 
canopy  of  fir-trees  is  high  overhead.  Bare  limestone  cliffs  rise  above  on. 
either  hand  to  an  elevation  of  many  hundred  feet.  The  streams  which 
descend  towards  the  Cydnus  are  close  by  the  wayside,  and  here  and  there 
andermine  it  or  wash  over  it.  When  the  higher  and  more  distant  of 
these  streams  are  left  behind,  the  road  emerges  upon  an  open  and 
elevated  region,  4,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  This  space  of  high 
land  may  be  considered  as  dividing  the  whole  mountain  journey  into  two 
parts.  For  when  it  is  passed,  the  streams  are  seen  to  flow  in  a  new  direc- 
tion. Not  that  we  have  attained  the  point  where  the  highest  land  of  Asia 
Minor  ^  turns  the  waters  north  and  south.  The  torrents  which  are  seen 
descending  to  the  right  are  merely  the  tributaries  of  the  Sarus,  another 
river  of  Cilicia.  The  road  is  conducted  northwards  througli  this  new 
ravine  ;  and  again  the  rocks  close  in  upon  it,  with  steep  naked  cliffs, 
among  cedars  and  pines,  forming  "  an  intricate  defile,  which  a  handful  of 
men  might  convert  into  another  Thermopylae."  When  the  highest  peaks 
of  Taurus  are  left  behind,  the  road  to  Tyana  is  continued  in  the  same 
northerly  direction  ;  "^  while  that  to  Iconium  takes  a  turn  to  the  left,  and 
passes  among  wooded  slopes  with  rocky  projections,  and  over  ground  com- 
paratively level,  to  the  great  Lycaonian  plain. 

The  whole  journey  from  Tarsus  to  Konieh  is  enough,  in  modern  times, 
to  occupy  four  laborious  days ; '  and,  from  the  nature  of  the  ground,  the 
time  required  can  never  have  been  much  less.  The  road,  however,  was 
doubtless  more  carefully  maintained  in  the  time  of  St.  Paul  than  at  the 
present  day,  when  it  is  only  needed  for  Tatar  couriers  and  occasional 
traders.  Antioch  and  Ephesus  had  a  more  systematic  civilization  then 
than  Aleppo  or  Smyrna  has  now  ;  and  the  governors  of  Cilicia,  Cap- 
padocia,  and  Galatia,  were  more  concerned  than  a  modern  Pacha  in  keep- 
ing up  the  lines  of  internal  communication.*     At  various  parts  of  the 

1  This  is  the  Anti-Taurus,  which,  though  to  Adana.     Major  Kennell,  who  enters  rery 

far  less  striking  in  appearance  than  the  Tau-  fully  into  all  questions  relating   to   distances 

rus,  is  really  higher,  as  is  proved  by  the  course  and  rates  of  travelling,  says  that  more  than 

of  the  Sarus  and  other  streams.  forty  hours  are  occupied  in  crossing  the  Tau- 

^  The  roads  towards  Syria  from  Cffisarea  rus  from  Ercgli  to  Adana,  though  the  distance 

in  Cappadocia,  and  Angora  in  Galatia,  both  is  only  78  miles ;  and  he  adds,   that  fourteen 

meet  at  Tyana.     The  place  is  worthy  of  notice  more  would  be  done  on  common  ground  in 

as  the  native  city  of  ApoUonius,  the  notorious  the  same  time.     Geog.  of  Western  Asia. 
philosopher  and  traveller.     See  the  beginning  *  Inscriptions  in  Asia  Elinor,  relating  to 

of  Chap.  X.  the  repairing  of  roads   by  the  governors  of 

'  Mr.  Ainsworth,  in  the  month  of  Novem-  provinces   and  other  officials,  are  not  infre- 

ber,  was  six  days  in  travelling  from  Iconiam  quent 


CHAP.  vm.  APPKOACH  TO   LYSTEA.  225 

journey  from  Tarsus  tolcoiiium  traces  of  the  old  military  way  are  visible, 
marks  of  ancient  chiselling,  substructions,  and  pavement ;  stones  that 
have  fallen  over  into  the  rugged  river-bed,  and  sepulchres  hewn  out  in 
the  cliffs,  or  erected  on  the  level  ground.^  Some  such  traces  still  follow 
the  ancient  line  of  road  where  it  enters  the  plain  of  Lycaonia,  beyond 
Cybistra,'-  near  the  spot  where  we  conceive  the  town  of  Derbe  to  have 
been  formerly  situated.^ 

As  St.  Paul  emerged  from  the  mountain-pa>!ses,  and  came  among  the 
lower  heights  throngli  Tvhich  the  Taurus  recedes  to  the  Lycaonian  levels, 
the  heart  which  had  been  full  of  affection  and  anxiety  all  through  the 
journey  would  beat  more  quickly  at  the  sight  of  the  well-known  objects 
before  liim.  Tlie  thought  of  his  disciples  would  come  with  new  force 
upon  his  mind,  with  a  warm  tlianksgiving  that  he  was  at  length  allowed 
to  revisit  them,  and  to  "see  how  they  fared."*  The  recollection  of 
friends,  from  whom  we  have  parted  with  emotion,  is  often  strongly  asso- 
ciated with  natural  scenery,  especially  when  the  scenery  is  remarkable. 
And  here  the  tender-hearted  Apostle  was  approaching  the  home  of  his 
Lycaonian  converts.  On  his  first  visit,  when  he  came  as  a  stranger,  he 
had  travelled  in  the  opposite  direction  :  ^  but  the  same  objects  were  again 
before  his  eyes,  the  same  wide-spreading  plain,  the  same  black  summit  of 
the  Kara-Dagh.  In  the  farther  reach  of  the  plain,  beyond  the  "  Black 
Mount,"  was  the  city  of  Icouium ;  nearer  to  its  base  was  Lystra ;  and 
nearer  still  to  the  traveller  himself  was  Derbe,^  the  last  point  of  his  pre- 
vious journey.  Here  was  his  first  meeting  now  with  the  disciples  he 
had  then  been  enabled  to  gather.  The  incidents  of  such  a  meeting,  —  the 
inquiries  after  Barnabas,  —  the  welcome  given  to  Silas,  —  the  exhorta- 
tions, instructions,  encouragements,  warnings,  of  St.  Paul,  —  may  be  left 
to  the  imagination  of  those  who  have  pleasure  in  picturing  to  themselves 
the  features  of  the  Apostolic  age,  when  Christianity  was  new. 

i  See  Ainsworth  aud  Kinneir.  where  he   saw   ruins,  inscriptions,  or  tombs. 

'^  See   the   map  with  the  line   of  Roman  He  heard  of  Divle  when  he  was  in  a  yailah  on 

road,  p.  166.     Cybistra   (Eregli)  was  one  of  the  mountains,  but  did  not  visit  it  in  conse- 

Cicero's  military  stations.     Its  relation  to  the  quence   of    the   want   of    water.     There   was 

Taurus  is  very  clearly  pointed  out  in  his  let-  none  within  eight  hours.     Compare  what  is 

ters.      Writing  from  this  place,  ho  was  very  said  of  the  drought  of  Lycaonia  by  Strabo,  as 

near   Derbe.      He   had  come  from  Iconium,  referred  to  above,  p.  165. 

and  afterwards  went  through  the  pass  to  Tar-  Texier  is  of  opinion  that  the  true  site  of 

sus  ;  w  that  his  route  must  have  nearly  coin-  Derbe  is  Divle,  which  he  describes   as  a  vil- 

cid;ed  with    that   of    St.    Paul.     The   bandit-  lage  in  a  wild  valley  among  the  mountains, 

chic'.f  Antipater  of  Derbe,  is  one  of  the  per-  with   Byzantine   remains.      Asie   Mineure,   iL 

sonages  who  play  a  considerable  part  in  this  129,  130. 

passage  of  Cicero's  life.  *  See  above,  p.  216. 

3  See  above,  p.  167,  n.  1,  and  p.  175.     Mr.  ^  Compare  Acts  xiv.  with  2  Tim.  iii.  10,  11. 

Hamiion   gives    a    detailed    account    of   his  "  See  the  account  of  the   topography  of 

jiBUniey   in  this  direction,  and  of  the  spots  this  district,  Ch.  VI.  pp.  163,  &c. 
16 


226  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  viii 

This  is  all  we  can  say  of  Derbe,  for  we  know  no  details  either  of  the 
former  or  present  visit  to  the  place.  But  when  we  come  to  Lystra,  we 
are  at  once  in  the  midst  of  all  the  interest  of  St.  Paul's  public  ministry 
and  private  relations.  Here  it  was  that  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  regarded 
as  Heathen  divinities  ;  ^  that  the  Jews,  who  had  first  cried  "  Hosanna  " 
and  then  crucified  the  Saviour,  turned  the  barbarians  from  homage  to 
insult ;  ^  and  that  the  little  Church  of  Christ  had  been  fortified  by  the 
assurance  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  can  only  be  entered  through  "  much 
tribulation." '  Here  too  it  was  that  the  child  of  Lois  and  Eunice,  taught 
the  Holy  Scriptures  from  his  earliest  years,  had  been  trained  to  a  religious 
life,  and  prepared,  through  the  Providence  of  God,  by  the  sight  of  the 
Apostle's  sufferings,  to  be  his  comfort,  support,  and  companion.* 

Spring  and  summer  had  passed  over  Lystra  since  the  Apostles  had 
preached  there.  God  had  continued  to  "bless"  them,  and  given  them 
"  rain  from  heaven  and  fruitful  seasons,  filling  their  hearts  with  food  and 
gladness."  ®  But  still  "  the  living  God,  who  made  the  heavens,  and  the 
earth,  and  the  sea,  and  all  things  that  are  therein,"  was  recognized  only 
by  a  few.  The  temple  of  the  Lystrian  Jupiter  still  stood  before  the 
gate,  and  the  priest  still  offered  the  people  sacrifices  to  the  imaginary 
protector  of  the  city.®  Heathenism  was  invaded,  but  not  yet  destroyed. 
Some  votaries  had  been  withdrawn  from  that  polytheistic  religion,  which 
wrote  and  sculptured  in  stone  its  dim  ideas  of  "  present  deities  ;  "  ^  crowd- 
ing its  thoroughfares  with  statues  and  altars,^  ascribing  to  the  King  of  the. 
gods  the  attributes  of  beneficent  protection  and  the  government  of  atmos- 
pheric changes,^  and  vaguely  recognizing  Mercury  as  the  dispenser  of 
fruitful  seasons  and  the  patron  of  public  liappiness.^"  But  many  years  of 
difficulty  and  persecution  were  yet  to  elapse  before  Greeks  and  Barbarians 
fully  learnt,  that  the  God  whom  St.  Paul  preached  was  a  Father  every- 
where present  to  His  children,  and  the  One  Author  of  every  "  good  and 
perfect  gift." 

Lystra,  however,  contributed  one  of  the  principal  agents  in  the  accjom- 

1  Acts  xiv.  12-18,  pp.  170,  &c.  '  Some  think  that  a  statue,  not  a  temple,  of 

2  Acts  xiv.  19,  pp.  172,  173.  Jupiter  is  meant. 

*  Acts  xiv.  22,  p.  176.  ''  See  note  in  the  larger  editions. 

♦  See  pp.  174,  175.  »  See  the  remarks  on  Tarsus  above,  %  221, 
^  See  the  words  used  in  St.  Paul's  address      and  the  note.  ] 

to  the  Lystrians,  Acts  xiv.,  and  the  remarks  '  Jupiter  was  often  spoken  of  to  this  eff<sct 

made,  pp.  171,  172.     New  emphasis  is  given      in    poetry  and    inscriptions.      Compara    ^'Sfc 

to  the  Apostle's  words,  if  we  remember  what      Paul's  words,  Acts  xiv.  17. 

Strabo  says  of  the   absence  of  water  in  the  i°  Such  were  the  attributes  of  Mercirt_,   ai 

pastures  of  Lycaonia.     Mr.  Weston  found  that      represented  in  works  of  art. 

water  was  dearer  than  milk  at  Bin-bir-Kilisseh, 

and  that  there  was  only  one  spring,  high  up 

the  Kara-Dagh. 


cuAP.  \m. 


TIMOTHY.  227 


plishment  of  this  result.  We  have  seen  how  the  seeds  of  Gospel  truth 
were  sown  in  the  heart  of  Timotheus.*  The  instruction  received  in 
childhood,  —  tlie  sight  of  St.  Paul's  sufiferings,  —  the  hearing  of  his 
words,  —  the  example  of  the  "unfeigned  faith,  which  first  dwelt  in  his 
grandmother  Lois  and  his  mother  Eunice,"^  —  and  whatever  other  influ- 
ences the  Holy  Spirit  had  used  for  his  soul's  good,  —  had  resulted  in  the 
full  conviction  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah.  And  if  we  may  draw  an 
obvious  inference  from  the  various  passages  of  Scripture,  which  describe 
the  subsequent  relation  of  Paul  and  Timothy,  we  may  assert  that  natural 
qualities  of  an  engaging  character  were  combined  with  the  Christian  faith 
of  this  young  disciple.  The  Apostle's  heart  seems  to  have  been  drawn 
towards  him  with  peculiar  tenderness.  He  singled  him  out  from  the 
other  disciples.  "  Him  would  Paul  have  to  go  forth  with  him."  *  This 
feeling  is  in  harmony  with  all  that  we  read,  in  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles, 
of  St.  Paul's  affectionate  and  confiding  disposition.  He  had  no  relative 
ties  which  were  of  service  in  his  apostolic  work  ;  his  companions  were  few 
and  changing  ;  and  though  Silas  may  well  be  supposed  to  have  supplied 
the  place  of  Barnabas,  it  was  no  weakness  to  yearn  for  the  society  of  one 
who  might  become,  what  Mark  had  once  appeared  to  be,  a  son  in  the  Gos- 
pel.'* Yet  how  could  he  consistently  take  an  untried  youth  on  so  difficult 
an  enterprise  ?  How  could  he  receive  Timothy  into  "  the  glorious  com- 
pany of  Apostles,"  when  he  had  rejected  Mark  ?  Such  questions  might 
be  raised,  if  we  were  not  distinctly  told  that  the  highest  testimony  was 
given  to  Timothy's  Christian  character,  not  only  at  Lystra,  but  at  Iconium 
also.*  We  infer  from  this,  that  diligent  inquiry  was  made  concerning  his 
fitness  for  the  work  to  which  he  was  willing  to  devote  himself.  To  omit, 
at  present,  all  notice  of  the  prophetic  intimations  which  sanctioned  the  ap- 
pointment of  Timothy,^  we  have  the  best  proof  that  he  united  in  himself 
those  outward  and  inward  qualifications  which  a  careful  prudence  would 
require.  One  other  point  must  be  alluded  to,  which  was  of  the  utmost 
moment  at  that  particular  crisis  of  the  Church.  The  meeting  of  the 
Council  at  Jerusalem  had  lately  taken  place.     And,  though  it  had  been 

1  Pp.  174, 175.  It  is  well  known  that  com-  father,  he  has  served  with  me  in  the  Gospel." 
mentators  are  not  agreed  whether  Lystra  or  Philip,  ii.  22.  Compare  also  the  phrases  "my 
Derbe  was  the  birthplace  of  Timothy.  But  son,"  "  my  own  son  in  the  faith."  1  Tim. 
the  former  opinion  is  by  far  the  more  probable.  i.  2,  18,  and  2  Tim.  ii.  1. 

The  latter  rests  on  the  view  which  some  critics  ^  Acts  xvi.  2. 

take  of  Acts  xx.  4.     The  whole  aspect  of  ^  i  Tim.  i.  18.     See  iv.  14      We  ought  to 

Acts  xvi.  1,  2,  is  in  favor  of  Lystra.  add,  that  "  the  brethren  "  who  gave  testimony 

2  2  Tim.  i.  5.  in  praise  of  Timothy  were  the  very  converts 
8  Acts  xvi.  3.     The  wish  was  spontaneous,  of  St.  Paul  himself,  and,  therefore,  witnesses 

not  suggested  by  others.  in  whom  he  had  good  reason  to  place   the  ut- 

*  This  is  literally  what  he  afterwards  said      most  confidence, 
of  Timothy  :  "  Ye  know  that,  as  a  son  tuith  the 


228  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  vm. 

decided  tliat  the  Gentiles  were  not  to  be  forced  into  Judaism  on  embra- 
cing Christianity,  and  thougli  St.  Paul  carried  with  him^  the  decree,  to  be 
delivered  "  to  all  the  churches,"  —  yet  still  he  was  in  a  delicate  and  diffi- 
cult position.  The  Jewish  Christians  had  naturally  a  great  jealousy  ou 
the  subject  of  their  ancient  divine  Law ;  and  in  dealing  with  the  two 
parties  the  Apostle  had  need  of  the  utmost  caution  and  discretion.  We 
see,  then,  that  in  choosing  a  fellow-worker  for  his  future  labors,  there  was 
a  peculiar  fitness  in  selecting  one  "  whose  mother  was  a  Jewess,  while 
his  father  was  a  Greek."  ^ 

We  may  be  permitted  here  to  take  a  short  retrospect  of  the  childhood 
and  education  of  St.  Paul's  new  associate.  The  hand  of  the  Apostle  him- 
self has  drawn  for  us  the  picture  of  his  early  years.'  That  picture  rep- 
resents to  us  a  mother  and  a  grandmother,  full  of  tenderness  and  faith, 
piously  instructing  the  young  Timotheus  in  the  ancient  Scriptures,  making 
his  memory  familiar  with  that  "  cloud  of  witnesses"  which  encompassed 
all  the  history  of  the  chosen  people,  and  training  his  hopes  to  expect  the 
Messiah  of  Israel.*  It  is  not  allowed  to  us  to  trace  the  previous  his- 
tory of  these  godly  women  of  the  dispersion.  It  is  highly  probable  that 
they  may  have  been  connected  with  those  Babylonian  Jews  whom  Anti- 
ochus  settled  in  Phrygia  three  centuries  before  :  *  or  they  may  have  been 
conducted  into  Lycaonia  by  some  of  those  mercantile  and  other  changes 
which  affected  the  movements  of  so  many  families  at  the  epoch  we  are 
writing  of;  such,  for  instance,  as  those  which  brought  the  household  of 
the  Corinthian  Chloe  into  relations  with  Ephesus,®  and  caused  the  prose- 
lyte Lydia  to  remove  from  Thyatira  to  Philippi.'  There  is  one  difficulty 
which,  at  first  sight,  seems  considerable  ;  viz.  the  fact  that  a  religious 
Jewess,  like  Eunice,  should  have  been  married  to  a  Greek.  Such  a  mar- 
riage was  scarcely  in  harmony  with  the  stricter  spirit  of  early  Judaism, 
and  in  Palestine  itself  it  could  hardly  have  taken  place.'  But  among  the 
Jews  of  the  dispersion,  and  especially  in  remote  districts,  where  but  few 
of  the  scattered  people  were  established,  the  case  was  rather  different. 
Mixed  marriages,  under  such  circumstances,  were  doubtless  very  frequent. 
We  are  at  liberty  to  suppose  that  in  this  case  the  husband  was  a  prose- 
lyte. We  hear  of  no  objections  raised  to  the  circumcision  of  Timothy, 
and  we  may  reasonably  conclude  that  the  father  was  himself  inclined  to 

1  Acts  xvi.  4.  The  authority  for  the  statement  made  there  ia 

2  Acts  xvi.  1.  Joseph.  Ant.  xii.  3,  4. 

8  2  Tim.  i.  5.  iii.  15,  &c.  ^  1  Cor.  i.  11.  ''   Acts  xvi.  14. 

*  If  it  is  allowable  to  allude  to  an  actual  *  Learned  men  (Selden  and  Michaclis  for 
picture  of  a  scene  of  this  kind,  we  may  mention  instance)  take  different  views  of  the  lawfulness 
tlie  drawing  of  "Jewish  women  reading  the  of  such  marriages.  The  cases  of  Esther  and  of 
Scriptures,"  in  Wilkie's  Oriental  Sketches.  various  members  of  the  Herodian  family  obvi- 

*  See  Ch.  II.  p.  36,  also  Ch.  I.  pp.  15,  16.  ously  occur  to  us. 


cjiAP.  Tui.  CIRCUMCISION   OF  TIMOTHY.  229 

Judaism :  ^  if,  indeed,  lie  were  not  already  deceased,  and  Eunice  a  widow. 
This  very  circumstance,  however,  of  his  mixed  origin  gave  to  Timothy  an 
intimate  cotmection  with  both  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  worlds.  Though 
fijr  removed  from  the  larger  colonies  of  Israeli tish  families,  he  was 
brought  up  in  a  thoroughly  Jewish  atmosphere ;  his  heart  was  at  Jeru- 
salem while  hit  footsteps  were  in  the  level  fields  near  Lystra,  or  on  the 
volcanic  crags  of  the  Black  Mount ;  and  his  mind  was  stored  with  the 
Hebrew  or  Greek  ^  words  of  inspired  men  of  old  in  the  midst  of  the  rude 
idolaters,  whose  language  was  "  the  speech  of  Lycaonia."  And  yet  he 
could  hardly  be  called  a  Jewish  boy,  for  he  had  not  been  admitted  within 
the  pale  of  God's  ancient  covenant  by  the  rite  of  circumcision.  He  was 
in  the  same  position,  with  respect  to  the  Jewish  Church,  as  those,  with 
respect  to  the  Christian  Church,  who,  in  various  ages,  and  for  various 
reasons,  have  deferred  their  baptism  to  the  period  of  mature  life.  And 
"  the  Jews  which  were  in  those  quarters," '  however  much  they  may  have 
respected  him,  yet,  knowing  "  that  his  father  was  a  Greek,"  and  that  he 
himself  was  uncircumcised,  must  have  considered  him  all  but  an  "  alien 
from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel." 

Now,  for  St.  Paul  to  travel  among  the  Synagogues  with  a  companion 
in  this  condition,  —  and  to  attempt  to  convince  the  Jews  that  Jesus  was 
the  Messiah,  when  his  associate  and  assistant  in  the  work  was  an  uncir- 
cumcised Heathen, —  would  evidently  have  been  to  encumber  his  prog- 
ress and  embarrass  his  work.  We  see  in  the  first  aspect  of  the  case  a 
complete  explanation  of  what  to  many  has  seemed  inconsistent,  and  what 
some  have  ventured  to  pronounce  as  culpable,  in  the  conduct  of  St.  Paul. 
"  He  took  and  circumcised  Timotheus."  How  could  he  do  otherwise,  if 
he  acted  with  his  usual  far-sighted  caution  and  deliberation  ?  Had 
Timothy  not  been  circumcised,  a  storm  would  have  gathered  round  the 
Apostle  in  his  further  progress.  The  Jews,  who  were  ever  ready  to  per- 
secute him  from  city  to  city,  would  have  denounced  him  still  more 
violently  in  every  Synagogue,  when  they  saw  in  his  personal  preferences, 
and  in  the  co-operation  he  most  valued,  a  visible  revolt  against  the  law 
of  his  forefathers.  To  imagine  that  they  could  have  overlooked  the 
absence  of  circumcision  in  Timothy's  case,  as  a  matter  of  no  essential 
importance,  is  to  suppose  they  had   already  become   enlightened  Chris- 


'  The  expression  in  the  original   (xvi.  3)  But  the  Hellenistic  element  would  be  likely  to 

means,  "  he  was  a  bom  Greek."     The   most  predominate.     In  reference  to  this  subject,  Mr. 

natural  inference  is,  that  his  fathei  was  living,  Grinfield,  in  his  recent  work  on  the  Septuagint, 

and  most  probably  not  a  proselyte  of  righteous-  p.  53,  notices  the   two  quotations   from   that 

ness,  if  a  proselyte  at  all.  version  in  St.  Paul's  letters  to  Timothy.     1 

2  We  cannot  tell  how  far  this  family  is  to  be  Tim.  v.  18 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  19. 
reckoned  Hellenistic  or  Aramaic  (  see  Ch.  U.).  ^  Acts  xvi.  3. 


230  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  cuaj>.  vui. 

tians.  Even  in  the  bosom  of  the  Church  we  have  seen  ^  the  diflBculties 
which  had  recently  been  raised  by  scrupulousness  and  bigotry  on  tliis 
very  subject.  And  the  difficulties  would  have  been  increased  tenfold  in 
the  untrodden  field  before  St.  Paul  by  proclaiming  everywhere  on  his 
very  arrival  that  circumcision  was  abolished.  His  fixed  line  of  procedure 
was  to  act  on  the  cities  through  the  synagogues,  and  to  preach  the  Gospel 
first  to  the  Jew,  and  then  to  the  Gentile.^  He  had  no  intention  of 
abandoning  this  method,  and  we  know  that  he  continued  it  for  many 
years.^  But  such  a  course  would  have  been  impossible  had  not  Timothy 
been  circumcised.  He  must  necessarily  have  been  repelled  by  that  people 
who  endeavored  once  (as  we  shall  see  hereafter)  to  murder  St.  Paul, 
because  they  imagined  he  had  taken  a  Greek  into  the  Temple.*  The  very 
intercourse  of  social  life  would  have  been  hindered,  and  made  almost  im- 
possible, by  the  presence  of  a  half-heathen  companion :  for,  however  far 
the  stricter  practice  may  have  been  relaxed  among  the  Hellenizing  Jews 
of  the  dispersion,  the  general  principle  of  exclusiveness  everywhere 
remained,  and  it  was  still  "  an  abomination  "  for  the  circumcised  to  eat 
with  the  uncircumcised.** 

It  may  be  thought,  however,  that  St.  Paul's  conduct  in  circumcising 
Timothy  was  inconsistent  with  the  principle  and  practice  he  maintained 
at  Jerusalem  when  he  refused  to  circumcise  Titus.®  But  the  two  cases 
were  entirely  difierent.  Then  there  was  an  attempt  to  enforce  circum- 
cision as  necessary  to  salvation  :  now  it  was  performed  as  a  voluntary  act, 
and  simply  on  prudential  grounds.  Those  who  insisted  on  the  ceremony 
in  the  case  of  Titus  were  Christians,  who  were  endeavoring  to  burden  the 
Gospel  with  the  yoke  of  the  Law  :  those  for  whose  sakes  Timothy  became 
obedient  to  one  provision  of  the  Law  were  Jews,  whom  it  was  desirable 
not  to  provoke,  that  they  might  more  easily  be  delivered  from  bondage. 
By  conceding  in  the  present  case,  prejudice  was  conciliated  and  the 
Gospel  furthered :  the  results  of  yielding  in  the  former  case  would  have 
been  disastrous,  and  perhaps  ruinous,  to  the  cause  of  pure  Christianity. 

If  it  be  said  that  even  in  this  case  there  was  danger  lest  serious  results 
should  follow,  —  that  doubt  might  be  thrown  on  the  freedom  of  the 
Gospel,  and  that  color  might  be  given  to  the  Judaizing  propensity ;  — 
it  is  enough  to  answer  that  indifferent  actions  become  right  or  wrong 
according  to  our  knowledge  of  their  probable  consequences,  —  and  that 
St.  Paul  was  a  better  judge  of  the  consequences  likely  to  follow  from 
Timothy's   circumcision   than  we  can  possibly  be.     Are  we  concerned 

1  Ch.  VII.  *  Acts  xxi.  29  with  xxii.  22. 

»  Acts  xiii.  5, 14,  xiv.  1,  xvii.  1,2, 10,  xviii.  ^  gee  pp.  181, 182. 

4, 19,xix.  8, 9;  and  compare  Rom.  i.  16,  ii.  9, 10.  *  Gal.  ii.  3.     See  p.  194. 

•  See  Acts  xxviii. 


CHAP.  vm.  PLACE   OF  TIMOTHY'S   ORDINATION.  231 

about  the  effects  likely  to  have  been  produced  on  the  mind  of  Timotheus 
himself?  There  was  no  risk,  at  least,  lest  he  should  think  that  circum- 
cision was  necessary  to  salvation,  for  he  had  been  publicly  recognized  as 
a  Christian  befoi'e  he  was  circumcised  ;  ^  and  the  companion,  disciple, 
and  minister  of  St.  Paul  was  in  no  danger,  we  should  suppose,  of  becom- 
ing a  Judaizcr.  And  as  for  the  moral  results  which  might  be  expected 
to  follow  in  the  minds  of  the  other  Lycaonian  Christians, —  it  must  be 
remembered  that  at  this  very  moment  St.  Paul  was  carrying  with  him 
and  publishing  the  decree  which  announced  to  all  Gentiles  that  they  were 
not  to  be  burdened  with  a  yoke  which  the  Jews  had  never  been  able  to 
bear.  St.  Luke  notices  this  circumstance  in  the  very  next  verse  after  the 
mention  of  Timothy's  circumcision,  as  if  to  call  our  attention  to  the  con- 
tiguity of  the  two  facts.^  It  would  seem,  indeed,  that  the  very  best 
arrangements  were  adopted  which  a  divinely  enlightened  prudence  could 
suggest.  Paul  carried  with  him  the  letter  of  the  Apostles  and  elders, 
that  no  Gentile  Christian  might  be  enslaved  to  Judaism.  He  circum- 
cised his  minister  and  companion,  that  no  Jewish  Christian  might  have 
his  prejudices  shocked.  His  language  was  that  which  he  always  used, — 
"  Circumcision  is  nothing,  and  uncircumcision  is  nothing.  The  renova- 
tion of  the  heart  in  Christ  is  every  thing.'  Let  every  man  be  persuaded 
in  his  own  mind."^  No  innocent  prejudice  was  ever  treated  roughly  by 
St.  Paul.  To  the  Jew  he  became  a  Jew,  to  the  Gentile  a  Gentile  :  "  he 
was  all  things  to  all  men,  if  by  any  means  he  might  save  some." " 

Iconium  appears  to  have  been  the  place  where  Timothy  was  circumcised. 
The  opinion  of  the  Christians  at  Iconium,  as  well  as  those  at  Lystra,  had 
been  obtained  before  the  Apostle  took  him  as  his  companion.  These 
towns  were  separated  only  by  the  distance  of  a  few  miles ;  ^  and  constant 
communication  must  have  been  going  on  between  the  residents  in  the  two 
places,  whether  Gentile,  Jewish,  or  Christian.  Iconium  was  by  far  the 
more  populous  and  important  city  of  the  two,  —  and  it  was  the  point  of 
intersection  of  all  the  great  roads  in  the  neighborhood.''  For  these 
reasons  we  conceive  that  St.  Paul's  stay  in  Iconium  was  of  greater  mo- 

1  xvi.  1-3.  for  5j  hours,  when  we  reached  a  small  Tarco- 

"  See  w.  3,  4.  man    village.  .  .  .  Oct  7.  —  At   11.30  we  ap- 

'  Gal.  V.  6,  ri.  15.     St.  Paul's  own  conduct  preached  the  Kara-Dagh,  and  in  about  an  hour 

on  the  confines  of  Galatia  is  a  commentary  on  began  to   ascend   its  slopes.     We  were   thus 

the  words  he  uses  to  the  Galatians.  about  11  hours  crossing  the  plain  from  Konieh. 

*  Rom.  xiv.  5.  This,  with  2  on  the  other  side,  made  in  all  13 
^  1  Cor.  ix.  20-22.  hours.     We  were  heartily  tired  of  the  plain." 

*  To  what  has  been  said  before  (pp.  163,  ''  Roads  from  Iconium  to  Tarsus  in  Cilicia, 
165,  &c.),  add  the  following  note  from  a  MS.  Side  in  Pamphylia,  Ephesus  in  Asia,  Angora 
Journal  already  quoted.  "Oct.  6.  —  Left  in  Galatia,  Csesarea  in  Cappadocia,  &c  ,  are  all 
Konieh  at  12.     Traversed  the  enormous  plains  mentioned  in  the  ancient  authorities. 


232  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  vm. 

ment  than  his  visits  to  the  smaller  towns,  such  as  Lystra.  Whether  the 
ordination  of  Timothy,  as  well  as  his  circumcision,  took  place  at  this  par- 
ticular place  and  time,  is  a  point  not  easy  to  determine.  But  this  view 
is  at  least  as  probable  as  any  other  that  can  be  suggested  :  and  it  gives  a 
new  and  solemn  emphasis  to  this  occasion,  if  we  consider  it  as  that  to 
which  reference  is  made  in  the  tender  allusions  of  the  pastoral  letters,  — 
where  St.  Paul  reminds  Timothy  of  his  good  confession  before  "  many 
witnesses,"  ^  of  the  "  prophecies  "  which  sanctioned  his  dedication  to  God's 
service,^  and  of  the  "  gifts"  received  by  the  laying-on  of  "  the  hands  of  the 
presbyters " ^  and  the  Apostle's  "  own  hands."*  Such  references  to  the 
day  of  ordination,  with  all  its  well-remembered  details,  not  only  were  full 
of  serious  admonition  to  Timothy,  but  possess  the  deepest  interest  for  us.' 
And  this  interest  becomes  still  greater  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  the  "  wit- 
nesses "  who  stood  by  were  St.  Paul's  own  converts,  and  the  very  "  brethren  " 
who  gave  testimony  ta  Timothy's  high  character  at  Lystra  and  Iconium  ; " 
—  that  the  "  propliecy  "  which  designated  him  to  his  office  was  the  same 
spiritual  gift  which  had  attested  the  commission  of  Barnabas  and  Saul  at 
Antioch,''  —  and  that  the  College  of  Presbyters,®  who,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Apostle,  ordained  the  new  minister  of  the  Gospel,  consisted  of  those 
who  had  been  "  ordained  in  every  Church  "  '  at  the  close  of  that  first 
journey. 

On  quitting  Iconium  St.  Paul  left  the  route  of  his  previous  expedition  ; 
unless  indeed  he  went  in  the  first  place  to  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  —  a  journey 
to  which  city  was  necessary  in  order  to  complete  a  full  visitation  of  the 
churches  founded  on  the  continent  in  conjunction  with  Barnabas.  It  is 
certainly  most  in  harmony  with  our  first  impressions,  to  believe  that  this 
city  was  not  unvisited.  No  mention,  however,  is  made  of  the  place,  and 
it  is  enough  to  remark  that  a  residence  of  a  few  weeks  at  Iconium  as  his 
headquarters  would  enable  the  Apostle  to  see  more  than  once  all  the 
Christians  at  Antioch,  Lystra,  and  Derbe.^"  It  is  highly  probable  that  he 
did  so  :  for  the  whole  aspect  of  the  departure  from  Iconium,  as  it  is  related 


1  1  Tim.  Ti.  12.  pointed  out  the  offices  to  which  individuals  were 

'  1  Tim.  i.  18.  specially  called.     Compare  together  the  three 

8  1  Tim.  iv.  14.  *  2  Tim.  i.  6.  important  passages  :  Eom.  xii.  6-8;  1  Cor.  xii. 

6  This  is  equally  true,  if  the  ordination  is  to  28-30 ;  Eph.  iv.  1 1, 12  ;  also  1  Pet.  iv.  10,  1 1. 

be  considered  coincident  with  the  "  laying-on  ^  Compare  Acts  xvi.  2  with  Acts  xiii.  51- 

of  hands,"  by  which  the  miraculous  gifts  of  the  xiv.  21. 

Holy  Ghost  wore  first  communicated,  as  in  the  "^  Compare  1  Tim.  i.  18  with  Acts  xiii.  1-3. 

case  of  Cornelius  (Acts  x.  44),  the  Samaritans  *  1  Tim.  iv.  14.     See  2  Tim.  i.  6. 

(viii.  17),  the  disciples  at  Fiphesus  (xix.  6),  and  '  Acts  xiv.  23. 

St.  Paul  himself  (ix.  17).     See  the  Essay  on  ^^  It  would  also  be  very  easy  for  St.  Paul  to 

the  Apostolical  Office  in  Stanley's  Sarmons  and  visit  Antioch  on  his  route  from  Iconium  thiongk 

J?»sa^s,  especially  p.  71.     These  ^j/is  doubtless  Phrygia  and  Galatia.     See  below,  p.  234. 


aaxj?.  vui.  DEPARTURE  FROM  ICOKEtJM.  233 

10  US  in  the  Bible,  is  that  of  a  new  missionary  enterprise,  undertaken  after 
the  work  of  visitation  was  concluded.  St.  Paul  leaves  Iconium,  as  for- 
merly he  left  the  Syrian  Antioch,  to  evangelize  the  Heathen  in  new 
countries.  Silas  is  his  companion  in  place  of  Barnabas,  and  Timothy  is 
with  him  "  for  his  minister,"  as  Mark  was  with  him  then.  Many  roads 
were  before  him.  By  travelling  westwards  he  would  soon  cross  the  fron- 
tier of  the  province  of  Asia,^  and  he  might  descend  by  the  valley  of  the 
Maeander  to  Ephesus,  its  metropolis :  ^  or  the  roads  to  the  south '  might 
have  conducted  him  to  Perga  and  Attaleia,  and  the  other  cities  on  the 
coast  of  Pamphylit^.  But  neither  of  these  routes  was  chosen.  Guided 
by  the  ordinary  indications  of  Providence,  or  consciously  taught  by  the 
Spuit  of  God,  he  advanced  in  a  northerly  direction,  through  what  is  called, 
in  the  general  language  of  Scripture,  "  Phrygia  and  the  region  of  Galatia." 
We  have  seen  *  that  the  term  "Phrygia"  had  no  political  significance 
in  the  time  of  St.  Paul.  It  was  merely  a  geographical  expression,  denot- 
ing a  debatable  country  of  doubtful  extent,  diffused  over  tlie  frontiers  of 
the  provinces  of  Asia  and  Galatia,  but  mainly  belonging  to  the  former. 
We  believe  that  this  part  of  the  Apostle's  journey  might  be  described 
under  various  forms  of  expression,  according  as  the  narrator  might  speak 
pohtically  or  popularly.  A  traveller  proceeding  from  Cologne  to  Hano- 
ver might  be  described  as  going  through  Westphalia  or  through  Prussia. 
The  course  of  the  railroad  would  be  the  best  indication  of  his  real  path. 
So  we  imagine  that  our  best  guide  in  conjecturing  St.  Paul's  path  through 
this  part  of  Asia  Minor  is  obtained  by  examining  the  direction  of  the 
ancient  and  modern  roads.  We  have  marked  his  route  in  our  map  along 
the  general  course  of  the  Roman  military  v/ay,  and  the  track  of  Turkish 
caravans,  which  leads  by  Laodicea,  Philomelium,  and  Synnada,  —  or,  to 
use  the  existing  terms,  by  Ladik,  Ak-Sher,  and  Eski-Karahissar.  This 
road  follows  the  northern  side  of  tliat  ridge  which  Strabo  describes  as  sepa- 
rating Philomelium  and  Antiocli  in  Pisidia,  and  which,  as  we  have  seen,* 
materially  assisted  Mr.  Arundell  in  discovering  the  latter  city.  If  St. 
Paul  revisited  Antioch  on  his  way,*  —  and  we  cannot  be  sure  that  he  did 
not,  —  he  would  follow  the  course  of  his  former  journey,''  and  then  regain 

1  It  is  impossible,  as  we  have  seen  (p.  207),  to  Perga,  and  goes  thence  across  Western 
to  determine  the  exact  frontier.  Pisidia  to  the  valley  of  the  Mseander.     None  of 

2  The  great  road  from  Ephesus  to  the  Eu-  the  Itineraries  mention  any  direct  road  from 
phrates  ascended  the  valley  of  the  Maeander  to  Antioch  in  Pisidia  to  Perga  and  Attaleia, 
the  neighborhood  of  Laodicea,  Hierapolis,  and  corresponding  to  the  journeys  of  Paul  and 
Colossse  (Col.  iv.  13-16),  and  thence  passed  by  Barnabas.  Side  was  a  harbor  of  considerablo 
Aparaea  to  Iconium.     This  was  Cicero's  route,  importance. 

when  he  travelled  from  Ephesus  to  Cilicia.  *  Pp.  204,  206,  207,  209,  &c.,  and  the  notes, 

2  The  Peutinger  Table  has  a  direct  road  ^  See  pp.  150,  151. 

from  Iconium  to  Side,  on  the  coast  of  Pam-  ^  See  above,  p.  2.32,  n.  10. 

phylia.     Thence  another  road  follows  the  coast  ''  Acts  xiv. 


234  THE  LEFB  AND  EPISTLES  OP  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  Tni. 

the  road  to  Sjnnada  by  crossing  the  ridge  to  Philomelium.  We  must 
again  repeat  that  the  path  marked  down  here  is  conjectural.  We  have 
nothing  either  in  St.  Luke's  narrative  or  in  St.  Paul's  own  letters  to  lead 
us  to  any  place  in  Phrygia,  as  certainly  visited  by  him  on  this  occasion, 
and  as  the  home  of  the  converts  he  then  made.  One  city  indeed,  which 
is  commonly  reckoned  among  the  Phrygian  cities,  has  a  great  place  in 
St.  Paul's  biography,  and  it  lay  on  the  line  of  an  important  Roman  road.^ 
But  it  was  situated  far  within  the  province  of  Asia,  and  for  several  reasons 
we  think  it  highly  improbable  that  he  visited  Colossae  on  this  journey,  if 
indeed  he  ever  visited  it  at  all.  The  most  probable  route  is  that  which 
lies  more  to  the  northwards  in  the  direction  of  the  true  Galatia. 

The  remarks  which  have  been  made  on  Phrygia,  must  be  repeated, 
with  some  modification,  concerning  Galatia.  It  is  true  that  Galatia  was 
a  province  ;  but  we  can  plainly  see  that  the  term  is  used  here  in  its 
popular  sense,  —  not  as  denoting  the  whole  territory  which  was  governed 
by  the  Galatian  propraetor,  but  rather  the  primitive  region  of  the  te- 
trarchs  and  kings,  without  including  those  districts  of  Phrygia  or  Lycao- 
nia  which  were  now  politically  united  with  it.^  There  is  absolutely  no 
city  in  true  Galatia  which  is  mentioned  by  the  Sacred  Writers  in  connec- 
tion with  the  first  spread  of  Christianity.  Prom  the  peculiar  form  of 
expression  ^  with  which  the  Christians  of  this  part  of  Asia  Minor  are 
addressed  by  St.  Paul  in  the  Epistle  which  he  wrote  to  them,*  and 
alluded  to  in  another  of  his  Epistles,^ — we  infer  that  "  the  churches  of 
Galatia"  were  not  confined  to  any  one  city,  but  distributed  through 
various  parts  of  the  country.  If  we  were  to  mention  two  cities,  which, 
both  from  their  intrinsic  importance,  and  from  their  connection  with  the 
leading  roads,®  are  likely  to  have  been  visited  and  revisited  by  the 
Apostle,  we  should  be  inclined  to  select  Pessinus  and  Ancyra.  The  first 
of  these  cities  retained  some  importance  as  the  former  capital  of  one  of 
the  Galatian  tribes,'  and  its  trade  was  considerable  under  the  early  Emper- 


1  Xenophon   reckons  Colossas  in  Phrygia.  *  Gal.  i.  2. 

SoStrabo.     It  was  on  the  great  road  mentioned  ^  1  Cor.  xvi.  1. 

above,  from  Iconiura  to  Ephesus.  We  come  ^  The  route  is  conjecturallj  laid  down  in 
here  upon  a  question  which  we  need  not  antici-  the  map  from  Synnada  to  Pessinus  and  Ancyra. 
pate ;  viz.  whether  St.  Paul  was  ever  at  Colossae.  Mr.  Hamilton  travelled  exactly  along  tliis  line, 
-  See  p.  211,  and  the  notes.  and  describes  the  bare  and  dreary  country  at 
3  "  The  churches  of  Galatia,"  in  the  plural.  length.  Near  Pessinus  he  found  an  inscnption 
The  occurrence  of  this  term  in  the  salutation  relating  to  the  repairing  of  the  Roman  road, 
gives  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  the  form  of  a  on  a  column  which  had  probably  been  a  mile- 
circular  letter.  The  same  phrase,  in  the  Sec-  stone.  Both  the  Antonine  and  Jerusalem 
ond  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  conveys  the  Itineraries  give  the  road  between  Pessinus  and 
impression  that  there  was  no  great  central  Ancyra,  with  the  intermediate  stages, 
church  in  Galatia,  like  that  of  Corinth  in  "<  The  Tolistoboii,  or  Western  Galatians. 
Achaia,  or  that  of  Ephesus  in  Asia. 


CHiP.vm.  SICKNESS   OF  ST.   PAUL.  235 

ors.  Moreover,  it  had  an  ancient  and  wide-spread  renown,  as  the  seat 
of  the  primitive  worship  of  Cybele,  the  Great  Mother.^  Though  her 
oldest  and  most  sacred  image  (which,  like  that  of  Diana  at  Ephesus,^ 
had  "  fallen  down  from  heaven")  had  been  removed  to  Rome, —  her 
worship  continued  to  thrive  in  Galatia,  under  the  superintendence  of  her 
effeminate  and  fanatical  priests  or  Galli,'  and  Pessiuus  was  the  object  of 
one  of  Julian's  pilgrimages,  when  Heathenism  was  on  the  decline.* 
Ancyra  was  a  place  of  still  greater  moment :  for  it  was  the  capital  of  the 
province.^  The  time  of  its  highest  eminence  was  not  under  the  Gaulish 
but  the  Roman  government.  Augustus  built  there  a  magnificent  temple 
of  marble,®  and  inscribed  there  a  history  of  his  deeds,  almost  in  the  style 
of  an  Asiatic  sovereign.'^  This  city  was  the  meeting-place  of  all  the 
great  roads  in  the  north  of  the  peninsula.*  And,  when  we  add  that  Jews 
had  been  established  there  from  the  time  of  Augustus,^  and  probably 
earlier,  we  can  hardly  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the  Temple  and  Inscrip- 
tion at  Angora,  which  successive  travellers  have  described  and  copied 
during  the  last  three  hundred  years,  were  once  seen  by  the  Apostle  of 
the  Gentiles. 

However  this  may  have  been,  we  have  some  information  from  his  own 
pen,  concerning  his  first  journey  through  "  the  region  of  Galatia."  We 
know  that  he  was  delayed  there  by  sickness,  and  we  know  in  what  spirit 
the  Galatians  received  him. 

St.  Paul  affectionately  reminds  the  Galatians  ^"  that  it  was  "  bodily  sick- 
ness which  caused  him  to  preach  the  Glad  Tidings  to  them  at  the  first." 
The  allusion  is  to  his  first  visit ;  and  the  obvious  inference  is,  that  he  was 
passing  through  Galatia  to  some  other  district  (possibly  Pontus,"  where 
we  know  that  many  Jews  were  established) ,  when  the  state  of  his  bodily 
health  arrested  his  progress.''^  Thus  he  became,  as  it  were,  the  Evangelist 
of  Galatia  against  his  will.     But  his  zeal  to  discharge  the  duty  that  was 

1  See  above,  p.  210.  the  recently  deciphered  record  of  the  victories 

2  Herodian's  expression  concerning  this  of  Darius  Hystaspes  on  the  rock  at  Behistonn. 
image  is  identical  with  that  in  Acts  xix.  35.  See  Vaux's  Nineveh  and  Persepolis. 

^  Jerome  connects  this  term  with  the  name  *  Colonel  Leake's  map  shows  at  one  glance 

of  the  Galatians.     See,  however,  Smith's  Die-  what  we  learn  from  the  Itineraries.     We  see 

tionaty  of  Antiquities,   under   the  word.     See  there   the  roads  radiating  from  it    in   every 

also  under  "  Megalesia."  direction. 

*  Ammian.  Marc.  xxii.  9.  ^  See  the  reference  to  Josephus,  p.  212,  n.  5. 

^  This  appears  from  its  coins  at  this  period.  ^°  Gal.  iv.  13. 

It  was  also  called  "  Sebaste,"  from  the  favor  "^  See  above,  p.  213. 

of  Augustus.  ^  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  literal 

®  This  temple  has  been  described  by  a  long  translation  is,  "on  account  o/ bodily  weakness." 

series  of  travellers,  from  Lucas  and  Tournefort  And    there  seems  no  good   reason   why  wo 

to  Hamilton  and  Texier.  should   translate   it  differently,  though   most 

■^  Full  comments  on  this  inscription  will  be  of  the  English  commentators  take  a  different 

found  in  Hamilton.     We  may  compare  it  with  view.    Bottger,  in  harmony  with  his  hypothesis 


236  THE  JjIFE  and  epistles   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  tiii, 

laid  on  him  did  not  allow  him  to  be  silent.  He  was  instant  "  in  season 
and  out  of  season."  "  Woe  "  was  on  him  if  he  did  not  preach  the  Gospel. 
The  same  Providence  detained  him  among  the  Gauls,  which  would  not 
allow  Ivim  to  enter  Asia  or  Bithynia :  ^  and  in  the  midst  of  his  weakness 
he  made  the  Glad  Tidings  known  to  all  who  would  listen  to  him.  We 
cannot  say  what  this  sickness  was,  or  with  absolute  certainty  identify  5t 
with  that  "  thorn  in  the  flesh  "  ^  to  which  he  feelingly  alludes  in  his 
Epistles,  as  a  discipline  which  God  had  laid  on  him.  But  the  remembrance 
of  what  he  suffered  in  Galatia  seems  so  much  to  color  all  the  phrases  in 
this  part  of  the  Epistle,  that  a  deep  personal  interest  is  connected  with 
the  circumstance.  Sickness  in  a  foreign  country  has  a  peculiarly  depress- 
ing effect  on  a  sensitive  mind.  And  though  doubtless  Timotheus  watched 
over  the  Apostle's  weakness  with  the  most  affectionate  solicitude,  —  yet 
those  who  have  experienced  what  fever  is  in  a  land  of  strangers  will  know 
how  to  sympathize,  even  with  St.  Paul,  in  this  human  trial.  The  climate 
and  the  prevailing  maladies  of  Asia  Minor  may  have  been  modified  with 
the  lapse  of  centuries :  and  we  are  without  the  guidance  of  St.  Luke's 
medical  language,^  which  sometimes  throws  a  light  on  diseases  alluded  to 
in  Scripture :  but  two  Christian  sufferers,  in  widely  different  ages  of  the 
Church,  occur  to  the  memory  as  we  look  on  the  map  of  Galatia.  We 
could  hardly  mention  any  two  men  more  thoroughly  imljued  with  the 
spirit  of  St.  Paul  than  John  Chrysostom  and  Henry  Marty n.*  And  when 
we  read  how  these  two  saints  suffered  in  their  last  hours  from  fatigue,  pain, 
rudeness,  and  cruelty,  among  the  mountains  of  Asia  Minor  which  sur- 
round the  place  ^  where  they  rest,  —  we  can  well  enter  into  the  meaning 
of  St.  Paul's  expressions  of  gratitude  to  those  who  received  him  kindly 
in  the  hour  of  his  weakness. 

The  Apostle's  reception  among  the  frank  and  warm-hearted  Gauls  was 
peculiarly  kind  and  disinterested.  No  Church  is  reminded  by  the  Apostle 
so  tenderly  of  the  time  of  their  first  meeting.®  The  recollection  is  used 
by  him  to  strengthen  his  reproaches  of  their  mutability,  and  to  enforce 
the  pleading  with  which  he  urges  them  to  return  to   the   true  Gospel. 

that  St.  Luke's  Galatia  means  the  neighbor-  ent  weather,  and  the  same  cruelty  on  the  part 

hood  of  Lystra  and   Derbe,  thinks  that  the  of  those  who  urged  on  the  journey.     In  the 

bodily  weakness  here  alluded  to  was  the  result  larger  editions,  the   details   of  Martyn's   last 

of  the  stoning  at  Lystra.     Acts  xiv.  journal  are  compared  with  similar  passages  in 

1  Acts  xvi.  6,  7.  the  Benedictine  life  of  Chrjsostom. 

2  2  Cor.  xii.  7-10.  Paley  (on  Gal.  iv.  ^  It  is  remarkable  that  Chrysostom  and 
1 1-1 C)  assumes  the  identity,  and  he  is  probably  Martyn  are  buried  in  the  same  place.  They 
right.  both  died  on  a  journey,  at  Tocat  or  Comana 

8  See  the  paper  alluded  to,  p.  88,  n.  5.  in  Pontus. 

*  There  was  a  great  similarity  in  the  last  *^  The  references  have  been  given  above  in 

sufferings  of  these  apostolic  men  ;  —  the  same  the  account  of  Galatia,  p.  209. 
intolerable  pain  in  the  head,  the  same  inclem- 


fcUAP.  Tin.  JOURNEY  TO  THE   iEGEAN.  237 

That  Gospel  had  been  received  in  the  first  place  with  the  same  aflfection 
which  they  extended  to  the  Apostle  himself.  And  the  subject,  the  manner, 
and  the  results  of  his  preaching  are  not  obscurely  indicated  in  the  Epistle 
itself.  The  great  topic  there,  as  at  Corinth  and  everywhere,  was  "  the 
cross  of  Clirist  "  —  "  Christ  crucijied^^  set  forth  among  them.^  The  Divine 
evidence  of  the  Spirit  followed  the  word,  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  the 
Apostle,  and  received  by  "  the  hearing  of  the  ear."  '■^  Many  were  con- 
verted, both  Greeks  and  Jews,  men  and  women,  free  men  and  slaves.' 
The  worship  of  false  divinities,  whether  connected  with  the  old  supersti- 
tion at  Pessinus,  or  the  Roman  idolatry  at  Aucyra,  was  forsaken  for  that 
of  the  true  and  living  God.*  And  before  St.  Paul  left  the  "  region  of 
Galatia  "  on  his  onward  progress,  various  Christian  communities^  were 
added  to  those  of  Cilicia,  Lycaonia,  and  Phrygia. 

In  following  St.  Paul  on  his  departure  from  Galatia,  we  come  to  a  pas- 
sage of  acknowledged  difficulty  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.®  Not  that  the 
words  themselves  are  obscure.  The  difficulty  relates,  not  to  grammatical 
construction,  but  to  geographical  details.  The  statement  contained  in 
St.  Luke's  words  is  as  follows  :  —  After  preaching  the  Gospel  in  Phrygia 
and  Galatia  they  were  hindered  from  preaching  it  in  Asia ;  accordingly, 
when  in  Mysia  or  its  neighborhood,  they  attempted  to  penetrate  into 
Bithynia ;  and  this  also  being  forbidden  by  the  Divine  Spirit,  they  passed 
by  Mysia,  and  came  down  to  Troas.  Now  every  thing  depends  here  on  the 
sense  we  assign  to  the  geographical  terms.  What  is  meant  by  the  words 
'•'  Mysia,"  "  Asia,"  and  "  Bithynia  "  ?  It  will  be  remembered  that  all 
these  words  had  a  wider  and  a  more  restricted  sense.^  They  might  be 
used  popularly  and  vaguely  ;  or  they  might  be  taken  in  their  exacter 
political  meaning.  It  seems  to  us  that  the  whole  difficulty  disappears  by 
understanding  them  in  the  former  sense,  and  by  believing  (what  is  much 
the  more  })robable,  a  priori)  that  St.  Luke  wrote  in  the  usual  popular 
language,  without  any  precise  reference  to  the  provincial  boundaries.  We 
need  hardly  mention  Bithynia  ;  for,  whether  we  speak  of  it  traditionally  or 
politically,  it  was  exclusive  both  of  Asia  and  Mysia.^     In  this  place  it  is 


1  Compare  Gal.  iii.  1  with  1  Cor.  i.  13,  17,  ''  See  above,  p.  204. 

ii,  2,  &c.  *  Mysia  was  at  one  time  an  apple  of  discord 

2  Gal.   iii.    2.       So    at    Thessalonica,       1  between  the  kings  of  Pergamus  and  Bithynia  ; 
Thess.  ii.  13.  and  the  latter  were  for  a  certain  period  masters 

8  Qai  ii;_  27   28.  ot    *  considerable  tract  on   the   shore  of   the 

*  See  the  remarks  above  (p.  221),  in  refer-  Propontis.     But  this  was  at  an  end  when  tlie 

ence  to  Tarsus.  Romans   began  to  interfere  in  tlie  affairs  of 

6  The  plural  (Gal.  i.  2  and  1   Cor.  xvi.  1)  the  East, 

implies  this.     Sec  p.  234.  It  may  be  well  to  add  a  few  words  on  the  his- 

^  Acts  xvi.  6,  7.     For  a  similar  accumula-  tory  of  Mysia,  which  was  purposely  deferred  to 

tion  of  participles,  see  Acts  xxv.  6-8.  this  place.    See  p.  206,  n.  3.    Under  the  Persians 


238  THE  LIFE   AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  vni 

evident  that  Mysia  is  excluded  also  from  Asia,  just  as  Phrygia  is  above ;' 
not  because  these  two  districts  were  not  parts  of  it  in  its  political  character 
of  a  province,  but  because  they  had  a  history  and  a  traditional  character 
of  their  own  sufficiently  independent  to  give  them  a  name  in  popular 
usage.  As  regards  Asia,  it  is  simply  viewed  as  the  western  portion  of  Asia 
Minor.  Its  relation  to  the  peninsula  has  been  very  well  described  by  say- 
ing that  it  occupied  the  same  relative  position  which  Portugal  occupies 
with  regard  to  Spain.^  The  comparison  would  be  peculiarly  just  in  the 
passage  before  us.  For  the  Mysia  of  St.  Luke  is  to  Asia  what  Gallicia  is 
to  Portugal ;  and  the  journey  from  Galatia  and  Phrygia  to  the  city  of 
Troas  has  its  European  parallel  in  a  journey  from  Castile  to  Vigo. 

We  are  evidently  destitute  of  materials  for  laying  down  the  route  of 
St.  Paul  and  his  companions.  All  that  relates  to  Phrygia  and  Galatia 
must  be  left  vague  and  blank,  like  an  unexplored  country  in  a  map  (as 
in  fact  this  region  itself  is  in  the  maps  of  Asia  Minor),*  where  we  are  at 
liberty  to  imagine  mountains  and  plains,  rivers  and  cities,  but  are  unable 
to  furnish  any  proofs.  As  the  path  of  the  Apostle,  however,  approaches 
the  JEgean,  it  comes  out  into  comparative  light :  the  names  of  places  are 
again  mentioned,  and  the  country  and  the  coast  have  been  explored  and 
described.  The  early  part  of  the  route  then  must  be  left  indistinct. 
Thus  much,  however,  we  may  venture  to  say,  —  that  since  the  Apostle 
usually  turned  his  steps  towards  the  large  towns,  where  many  Jews  were 
established,  it  is  most  likely  that  Ephesus,  Smyrna,  or  Pergamus  was  the 
point  at  which  he  aimed,  when  he  sought  "■  to  preach  the  Word  in  Asia." 
There  is  nothing  else  to  guide  our  conjectures,  except  the  boundaries  of 
the  provinces  and  the  lines  of  the  principal  roads.  If  he  moved  from 
Angora  *  in  the  general  direction  above  pointed  out,  he  would  cross  the 
river  Sangarius  near  Kiutaya,*  which  is  a  great  modern  thoroughfare,  and 
has  been  mentioned  before  (Ch.  VI.  p.  150)  in  connection  with  the 
route  from  Adalia  to  Constantinople  ;  and  a  little  farther  to  the  west, 
near  Aizani,  he  would  be  about  the  place  where  the  boundaries  of  Asia, 

this  comer  of  Asia  Minor  formed  the  satrapy  *  Paley's  Hora  Paulinee.     (1  Cor.  No.  2.) 

of  Little  Phrygia:  under  the  Christian  Emper-  »  Kiepert's  map,  which  is  the  best,  shows 

ors  it  was  the  province  of  77/e  Utlleapont.     In  this.     Hardly  any  region  in  tlie  peninsula  has 

the  intermediate  period  we  find  it  called  "Mys-  been  less  explored  than  Galatia  and  Northern 

ia,"  and  often  divided  into   two   parts:    viz.  Phrygia. 

Little  Mysia  on  the  north,  called  also  Mysia  on  *  Mr.   Ainsworth    mentions    a    hill    near 

the  Hellespont,  or  Mysia  Olympene,  because  it  Angora  in   this    direction,  the  Baulos-Dagh, 

lay  to  the  north   of  Mount   Olympus  ;    and  which  is  named  after  the  Apostle. 
Great    Mysia,   or  Mysia    Pergamene,    to    the  ^  Kiutaya   (the  ancient  Cotyaeum)   is  now 

south  and  east,  containing  the  three  districts  one  of  the  most  important  towns  in  the  penin- 

of  Troiis,  iEolis,  and  Teuthrania.  aula.     It  lies  too  on  the  ordinary  road  between 

I  ^cts  xvi.  6.  Broussa  and  Konieh. 


CHAP.  vra.  JOURNEY  TO  THE  ^GEAN.  239 

Bitliyiiia,  and  Mysia  meet  together,  and  on  the  water-shed  which  separates 
the  waters  flowing  northwards  to  the  Propontis,  and  those  wliich  feed  the 
rivors  of  the  ^gean. 

Here  then  we  may  imagine  tlie  Apostle  and  his  three  companions  to 
pause,  —  uncertain  of  their  future  progress,  —  on  the  chalk  downs  which 
lie  between  the  fountains  of  the  Rhyndacus  and  those  of  the  Hermus,  — 
in  the  midst  of  scenery  not  very  unlike  what  is  familiar  to  us  in  Eng- 
land.^ The  long  range  of  the  Mysian  Olympus  to  the  north  is  the 
boundary  of  Bithynia.  Tlie  summits  of  the  Phrygian  Dindymus  on  the 
soutli  arc  on  the  frontier  of  Galatia  and  Asia.  The  Hermus  flows 
through  the  province  of  Asia  to  the  islands  of  the  iEgean.  The  Rhyn- 
dacus flows  to  the  Propontis,  and  separates  Mysia  from  Bithynia.  By 
following  the  road  near  the  former  river  they  would  easily  arrive  at 
Smyrna  or  Pergamus.  By  descending  the  valley  of  the  latter  and  then 
crossing  Olympus,^  they  would  be  in  the  richest  and  most  prosperous 
part  of  Bithynia.  In  which  direction  shall  their  footsteps  be  turned  ? 
Some  Divine  intimation,  into  the  nature  of  which  we  do  not  presume  to 
inquire,  told  the  Apostle  that  the  Gospel  was  not  yet  to  be  preached  in 
the  populous  cities  of  Asia.^  The  time  was  not  yet  come  for  Christ  to  be 
made  known  to  the  Greeks  and  Jews  of  Ephesus,  —  and  for  the  churclies 
of  Sardis,  Pergamus,  Philadelphia,  Smyrna,  Thyatira,  and  Laodicea,  to 
1)0  admitted  to  their  period  of  privilege  and  trial,  for  the  warning  of 
future  generations.  Shall  they  turn,  then,  in  the  direction  of  Bithynia  ?  * 
This  also  is  forbidden.     St.  Paul  (so  far  as  we  know)  never  crossed  the 

1  See  Mr.  Hamilton's  account  of  the  course  Galatia  till  their  arrival  at  Troas.  On  the 
of  the  Rhyndacus,  his  comparison  of  the  dis-  other  hand,  they  were  not  allowed  to  enter 
li-ict  of  Azanitis  to  the  chalk  scenery  of  Eng-  Bithynia  at  all.  Meyer's  view  of  the  word 
iand,  and  his  notice  of  Dindymus,  which  seems  "  Asia  "  in  this  passage  is  surprising.  He 
to  be  part  of  the  water-shed  that  crosses  the  holds  it  to  mean  the  eastern  continent  as 
country  from  the  Taurus  towards  Ida,  and  opposed  to  "  Europe."  (See  p.  205,  &c.)  He 
si^parates  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean  and  says  that  the  travellers,  being  uncertaiii 
^Egean  from  those  of  the  Euxine  and  Propon-  whether  Asia  in  the  more  limited  sense  were 
tis.  In  the  course  of  his  progress  up  the  not  intended,  made  a  vain  attempt  to  enter 
Rh}Tidacus  he  frequently  mentions  the  aspect  Bithynia,  and  finally  learned  at  Troas  that 
of  Oljonpus,  the  summit  of  which  could  not  Europe  was  their  destination. 

be  reached  at  the  end  of  March  in  consequence  *  The  route  is  drawn    in  the  map  past 

of  the  snow.  Aizani  into  the  valley  of  the  Hermus,  and 

2  The  ordinary  road  from  Broussa  to  then  northwards  towards  Hadriani  on  the 
Kiutayah  crosses  a  part  of  the  range  of  Rhyndacus.  This  is  merely  an  imaginary 
Olympus.  The  Pent.  Table  has  a  road  join-  line,  to  express  to  the  eye  the  changes  of 
ing  Broussa  with  Pergamus.  plan  which  occurred  successively  to  St.  Paul. 

^  It  will  be  observed  that  they  were  merely  The    scenery  of    the  Rhyndacus,   which    is 

forbidden  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  Asia.     We  interesting  as  the  frontier  river,  has  been  fully 

are   not  told   that   they  did   not  enter  Asia.  explored  and  described  by  Mr.  Hamilton,  who 

Their  road  lay  entirely  through  Asia  (politi-  ascended   the  river   to  its   source,   and   then 

cally  speaking)  from  the  moment  of  leaving  crossed  over  to  the  fountains  of  the  Hermus 


2-iO  THE   L,]FE  AJnD   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL,.  chap.  viii. 

Mysiau  Olymjjus,  or  entered  the  cities  of  Nicaea  and  Clialcedon,  illas- 
trioiis  places  in  the  Christian  history  of  a  later  age.  By  revelations, 
which  were  anticipative  of  the  fuller  and  clearer  communication  at 
Troas,  the  destined  path  of  the  Apostolic  Company  was  pointed  out, 
through  the  intermediate  country,  directly  to  the  West.  Leaving  the 
greater  part  of  what  was  popularly  called  Mysia  to  the  right,^  they  came 
to  tlie  shores  of  the  ^gean,  about  the  place  where  the  deep  gulf  of 
Adramyttium,  over  against  the  island  of  Lesbos,  washes  the  very  base  of 
Mount  Ida.2 

At  Adramyttium,  if  not  before,  St.  Paul  is  on  the  line  of  a  great 
Roman  road.'  We  recognize  the  place  as  one  which  is  mentioned  again 
in  the  description  of  the  voyage  to  Rome.  (Acts  xxvii.  2.)  It  was  a 
mercantile  town,  with  important  relations  both  with  foreign  harbors,  and 
the  cities  of  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor.'*  From  this  point  the  road 
follows  the  northern  shore  of  the  gulf,  —  crossing  a  succession  of  the 
streams  which  flow  from  Ida,*  —  and  alternately  descending  to  the  pebbly 
beach  and  rising  among  the  rocks  and  evergreen  brushwood, —  while 
Lesbos  appears  and  re-appears  through  the  branches  of  the  rich  forest- 
trees,^ —  till  the  sea  is  left  behind  at  the  city  of  Assos.  This  also  is  a 
city  of  St.  Paul.  The  nineteen  miles  of  road '  which  lie  between  it  and 
Troas  is  the  distance  which  he  travelled  by  land  before  h«  rejoined  the 
ship  which  had  brought  him  from  Pliilippi  (Acts  xx.  13)  :  and  the  town 
across  the  strait,  on  the  shore  of  Lesbos,  is  Mytilene,^  whither  the  vessel 
proceeded  when  the  Apostle  and  his  companions  met  on  board. 

and  Maeander,  near  which  he  saw  an  ancient  ceeds  by  Assos  to  Alexandria  Troas,  and  so 

road,  probably  connecting  Smyrna  and  Phila-  to  the  Hellespont. 

delphia  with  Angora.  *  Fellows  says  that  there  are  no  traces  of 

^  The  phrase  in  Acts  xvi.  8  need  not  be  antiquities  to  be  found  there  now,  except  a  few 
pressed  too  closely.  They  passed  along  the  coins.  He  travelled  in  the  direction  just  men- 
frontier  of  Mysia,  as  it  was  popularly  under-  tioned,  from  Pergamus  by  Adramyttium  and 
stood,  and  they  passed  bi/  the  whole  district,  Assos  to  Alexandria  Troas. 
without  staying  to  evangelize  it.  Or,  as  a  ^  Poets  of  all  ages  —  Homer,  Ovid,  Ten- 
German  writer  puts  it,  they  hurried  through  nyson  —  have  celebrated  the  streams  which 
Mysia,  because  they  knew  that  they  were  not  flow  from  the  "  many-fountained  "  cliffs  of 
to  preach  the  Gospel  in  Asia.  Ida. 

■''  Hence  it  was  sometimes  called  the  Gulf  "  See  the  description  in  i  ellows.     He  was 

of  Ida.  two  days  in  travelling  from  Adramit  to  Assos. 

3  The  characteristics  of  this  bay,  as  seen  He  says  that  the  hills  are  clothed  with  ever- 

from  the  water,  will  be  mentioned   hereafter  greens  to  the  top,  and  therefore  vary  little  with 

when  we  come  to  the  voyage  from  Assos  to  the  season ;  and  he  particularly  mentions  the 

Mytilene  (Acts  XX.  14).     At  present  we  allude  flat  stones  of  the  shingle,  and  the  woods  of 

only  to  the  roadx  along  the  coast.     Two  roads  lai'ge  trees,  especially  planes, 
converge  at  Adramyttium  :  one  which  follows  '^  This  is  the  distance  given  in  the  Antonine 

the  shore  from  the  south,  mentioned  in  the  Itinerary. 

Peutingerian  Table;  the  other  from  Pergamus  ^  The  strait  between  Assos  and  Methymna 

and  tlie  interior,  mentioned  also  in  the  Anto-  is  nan'ow.     Strabo  calls  it  60  stadia ;  Pliny  7 

nine  Ithu  rary.     The  united   route  then  pro-  miles.     Mytilene  is  farther  to  the  south 


cHAP.vm.  ALEXANDRIA  TBOAS.  241 

But  to  return  to  the  present  journey.  Troas  is  the  name  either  of  a 
district  or  a  town.  As  a  district  it  had  a  history  of  its  own.  Though 
geographically  a  part  of  Mysia,  and  poUtically  a  part  of  the  province  of 
Asia,  it  was  yet  usually  spoken  of  as  distinguished  from  both.  This 
small  region,^  extending  from  Mount  Ida  to  the  plain  watered  by  the 
Simois  and  Scamander,  was  the  scene  of  the  Trojan  war  ;  and  it  was  due 
to  the  poetry  of  Homer  that  the  ancient  name  of  Priam's  kingdom 
should  be  retained.  This  shore  has  been  visited  on  many  memorable  oc- 
casions by  the  great  men  of  this  world.  Xerxes  passed  this  way  when 
he  undertook  to  conquer  Greece.  Julius  Caesar  was  here  after  the  battle 
of  Pharsalia.  But,  above  all,  we  associate  the  spot  with  a  European  con- 
queror of  Asia,  and  an  Asiatic  conqueror  of  Europe  ;  with  Alexander  of 
Macedon  and  Paul  of  Tarsus.  For  here  it  was  that  the  enthusiasm  of 
Alexander  was  kindled  at  the  tomb  of  Achilles,  by  the  memory  of  his 
heroic  ancestors ;  here  he  girded  on  their  armor ;  and  from  this  goal  he 
started  to  overthrow  the  august  dynasties  of  the  East.  And  now  the 
great  Apostle  rests  in  his  triumphal  progress  upon  the  same  poetic  shore : 
here  he  is  armed  by  heavenly  visitants  with  the  weapons  of  a  warfare 
that  is  not  carnal ;  and  hence  he  is  sent  forth  to  subdue  all  the  powers  of 
the  West,  and  bring  the  civilization  of  the  world  into  captivity  to  the 
obedience  of  Christ. 

Turning  now  from  the  district  to  the  city  of  Troas,  we  must  remember 
that  its  full  and  correct  name  was  Alexandria  Troas.  Sometimes,  as  in 
the  New  Testament,  it  is  simply  called  Troas ;  "^  sometimes,  as  by  Plmy 
and  Strabo,  simply  Alexandria.  It  was  not,  however,  one  of  those  cities 
(amounting  in  number  to  nearly  twenty)  which  were  built  and  named  by 
the  conqueror  of  Darius.  This  Alexandria  received  its  population  and 
its  name  under  the  successors  of  Alexander.  It  was  an  instance  of  that 
centralization  of  small  scattered  towns  into  one  great  mercantile  city, 
which  was  characteristic  of  the  period.  Its  history  was  as  follows :  — 
Antigonus,  who  wished  to  leave  a  monument  of  his  name  on  this  classical 
ground,  brought  together  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  towns  to  one 
point  on  the  coast,  where  he  erected  a  city,  and  called  it  Antigonia  Troas. 
Lysimachus,  who  succeeded  to  his  power  on  the  Dardanelles,  increased 
and  adorned  the  city,  but  altered  its  name,  calling  it,  in  honor  of  "  the 
man  of  Macedonia  " '  (if  we  may  make  this  application  of  a  phrase  which 

1  If   we    are    not    needlessly    multiplying  ing,  a  district  which  has  retained  a  distinctive 

topographical  illustrations,  we  may  compare  name,  and  has  found  its  own  historian, 
the  three  principal  districts  of  the  province  of  "^  Acts  xvi.  8,   11,  xx.  6;  2  Cor.  ii.  12; 

Asia,  viz.  Phrygia,  Lydia,  and  Mysia,  to  the  2  Tim.  iv.  13. 

three  Ridings  of  Yorkshire.     Troas  will  then  »  Not  the  Fir  Mactdo  of  Horace  (Oi  ui. 

be  in  Mysia  what  Craven  is  in  the  West  Bid- 
16 


242 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OE  ST.   PAUL. 


CBAP.  TTn. 


Holy  Writ'  lias  associated  with  the  place),  Alexandria  Troas.  This 
name  was  retained  ever  afterwards.  When  the  Romans  began  their 
eastern  wars,  the  Greeks  of  Troas  espoused  their  cause,  and  were  thence- 
forward regarded  with  favor  at  Rome.  But  this  willingness  to  recom- 
pense useful  service  was  combined  with  other  feelings,  half  poetical, 
half  political,  which  about  this  time  took  possession  of  the  mind  of  the 
Romans.  They  fancied  they  saw  a  primeval  Rome  on  the  Asiatic  shore. 
The  story  of  ^neas  in  Virgil,  who  relates  in  twelve  books  how  the  glory 
of  Troy  was  transferred  to  Italy ,^  —  the  warning  of  Horace,  who  ad- 
monishes his  fellow-citizens  that  their  greatness  was  gone  if  they  rebuilt 
the  ancient  walls,'  —  reveal  to  us  the  fancies  of  the  past  and  the  future, 
which  were  popular  at  Rome.  Alexandria  Troas  was  a  recollection  of 
the  city  of  Priam,  and  a  prophecy  of  the  city  of  Constantine.  The  Ro- 
mans regarded  it  in  its  best  days  as  a  "New  Troy:  "  *  and  the  Turks  even 
now  call  its  ruins  "  Old  Constantinople."  *  It  is  said  that  Julius  Caesar, 
in  his  dreams  of  a  monarchy  which  should  embrace  the  East  and  the 
West,  turned  his  eyes  to  this  city  as  his  intended  capital :  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  Constantine,  "  before  he  gave  a  just  preference  to  the  situation 
of  Byzantium,  had  conceived  the  design  of  erecting  the  seat  of  empire 
on  this  celebrated  spot,  from  whence  the  Romans  derived  their  fabulous 
origin."  ^  Augustus  brought  the  town  into  close  and  honorable  connec- 
tion with  Rome  by  making  it  a  colonial  and  assimilated  its  land  to  that 
of  Italy  by  giving  it  the  jus  Italicum?     When  St.  Paul  was  there,  it  had 


xvi.  14),  the  Macedonian  Man  of  Demosthenes 
[Phil.  I.),  but  his  more  eminent  eon. 
^  See  Acts  xvi.  9. 
^  See  especially  Book  vi. 
'  "  Ne  nimium  pii 

Tecta  velint  reparare  Troj»." 

Od.  III.  iii. 
*  This  name  applies  more  strictly  to  New 
Ilium,  which,  after  many  vicissitudes,  was 
made  a  place  of  some  importance  by  the  Ro- 
mans, and  exempted  from  all  imposts.  The 
strong  feeling  of  Julius  Cajsar  for  the  people 
of  Ilium,  his  sympathy  with  Alexander,  and 
the  influence  of  the  tradition  which  traced  the 
origin  of  his  nation,  and  especially  his  own 
family,  to  Troy,  are  described  by  Strabo. 
New  Ilium,  however,  gradually  sank  into  in- 
significance, and  Alexandria  Troas  remained 
as  the  representative  of  the  Koman  partiality 
for  the  Troad. 

^  Eski-Stamboul. 

®  Gibbon,  ch.  XVII.  He  adds  that, "  though 
the  undertaking  was  soon  relinquished,  the 
stately  remains  of  unfinished  walls  and  towers 


attracted  the  notice  of  all  who  sailed  through 
the  Hellespont." 

^  Its  full  name  on  coins  of  the  Antonines 
is,  "  Col.  Alexandria  Augusta  Troas." 

8  Deferring  the  consideration  of  colonial 
privileges  to  its  proper  place,  in  connection 
with  Philippi  (Acts  xvi.  12),  we  may  state 
here  the  general  notion  of  the  Jus  Italicum. 
It  was  a  privilege  entirely  relating  to  the  land. 
The  maxim  of  the  Roman  law  was :  "  Ager 
Italicus  immunis  est  :  af;er  provincial  is  vccti- 
galis  est."  "  Italian  land  is  free :  provincial 
land  is  taxed."  The  Jus  Italicum  raised  pro- 
vincial land  to  the  same  state  of  immunity  from 
taxation  which  belonged  to  land  in  Italy.  But 
this  privilege  could  only  be  enjoyed  by  those 
who  were  citizens.  Therefore  it  would  have 
been  an  idle  gift  to  any  community  not  pos- 
sessing the  civilas ;  and  we  never  find  it  given 
except  to  a  colonia.  Conversely,  however,  all 
colonies  did  not  possess  the  Jus  Italicum. 
Carthage  was  a  colony  for  two  centuries  before 
it  received  it. 


CH-^.vm.  ST,  PAUL'S  VISION.  243 

not  attained  iis  utmost  growth  as  a  city  of  the  Romans.  The  great 
aqueduct  was  not  yet  built,  by  which  Herodes  Atticus  brought  water  from 
the  fountains  of  Ida,  and  the  piers  of  which  are  still  standing.*  The 
enclosure  of  the  walls,  extending  above  a  mile  from  east  to  west,  and 
near  a  mile  from  north  to  south,  may  represent  the  limits  of  the  city  in 
the  age  of  Claudius.  Tiie  ancient  harbor,  even  yet  distinctl}'  traceable, 
and  not  witliout  a  certain  desolate  beauty,  when  it  is  the  foreground  of  a 
picture  witli  the  hills  of  Imbros  and  the  higher  peak  of  Samothrace  in 
the  distance,'  is  an  object  of  greater  interest  than  the  aqueduct  and  the 
walls.  All  further  allusions  to  the  topography  of  the  place  may  be  de- 
ferred till  we  describe  the  Apostle's  subsequent  and  repeated  visits.*  At 
present  he  is  hastening  towards  Europe.  Every  thing  in  this  part  of  our 
narrative  turns  our  eyes  to  the  West. 

When  St.  Paul's  eyes  were  turned  towards  the  West,  he  saw  that 
remarkable  view  of  Samothrace  over  Imbros,  which  has  just  been 
mentioned.  And  what  were  the  thoughts  in  his  mind  when  he  looked 
towards  Europe  across  the  JEgean?  Though  ignorant  of  the  precise 
nature  of  the  supernatural  intimations  which  had  guided  his  recent 
journey,  we  are  led  irresistibly  to  think  that  he  associated  his  future 
work  with  the  distant  prospect  of  the  Macedonian  hills.  We  are  re- 
minded of  another  journey,  when  the  Prophetic  Spirit  gave  him  partial 
revelations  on  his  departure  from  Corinth,  and  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem. 
"  After  I  have  been  there  I  must  also  see  Rome  ^  —  I  have  no  more  place 
in  these  parts  ^  —  I  know  not  what  shall  befall  me,  save  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  witnesseth  that  bonds  and  afflictions  abide  me." ' 

Such  thoughts,  it  may  be,  had  been  in  the  Apostle's  mind  at  Troas, 
when  the  sun  set  beyond  Athos  and  Samothrace,^  and  the  shadows  fell 

1  See  Clarke's  Travels.  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  was  written  just 

2  See  Pococke's  Travels.  before  this  departure  from  Corinth. 

3  The  author  of  Eothen  was  much  struck  '  Acts  xx.  22,  23. 

by  the  appearance  of   Samothrace  seen   aloft  *  Athos  and  Samothrace  are   the  highest 

o\ei  Imbros,  wlien  he  recollected  how  Jupiter  points  in  this  part  of  the  iEgean.     They  are 

is  described  in  the  Iliad  as  watching  from  thence  the  conspicuous  points  from  the  summit  of  Ida, 

the  scene  of   action  before   Troy.     "  Now   I  along  with  Imbros,  which  is  nearer.     (Wal- 

knew,"   he   says,   "that   Homer  had   passed  pole's  JiemoiVs,  p.  122.)     See  the  notes  at  the 

along  here,  — that  this  vision  of  Samothrace  beginning    of   the    next    chapter.      "Mount 

over-towering  the  nearer  island  was  common  Athos  is  plainly  visible  from  the  Asiatic  coast 

to  him  and  to  me."  —  P.  64.     The  same  train  at  sunset,  but  not  at  other  times.     Its  distance 

of   thought  may  be  extended  to  our  present  hence  is  about  80   miles.     Reflecting  the  red 

subject,  and  we  may  find  a  sacred  pleasure  in  rays  of  the  sun,  it  appears  from  that  coast 

looking  at  any  view  which  has  been  common  like  a  huge  mass  of  burnished  gold.  ...  Mr. 

to  St.  Paul  and  to  us.  Turner,  being  off  the  N.  "W.  end  of  Mytilene 

*  Acts  xvi.,  XX ;  2  Cor.  ii.  ;  2  Tim.  iv.  (Lesbos)  22d  June,  1814,  says,  '  The  evening 

6  Acts  xix.  21.  being    clear,   we    plainly   saw   the    immense 

'  Rom.  XV.  23.     It  will  be  remembered  that  Mount  Athos,  which  appeared  in, the  form  of 


244  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  viii. 

on  Ida  and  settled  dark  on  Tenedos  and  the  deep.  With  the  view  of  the 
distant  land  of  Macedonia  imprinted  on  his  memory,  and  the  thought  of 
Europe's  miserable  Heathenism  deep  in  his  heart,  he  was  prepared,  like 
Peter  at  Joppa,^  to  receive  the  full  meaning  of  the  voice  which  spoke  to 
him  in  a  dream.  In  the  visions  of  the  night,  a  form  appeared  to  come 
and  stand  by  him ;  "^  and  he  recognized  in  the  supernatural  visitant  "  a 
man  of  Macedonia,"  ^  who  came  to  plead .  the  spiritual  wants  of  his 
country.  It  was  the  voice  of  the  sick  inquiring  for  a  physician,  —  of  the 
ignorant  seeking  for  wisdom,  —  the  voice  which  ever  since  has  been  call- 
ing on  the  Church  to  extend  the  Gospel  to  Heathendom,  —  "  Come  over 
and  help  us." 

Virgil  has  described  an  evening  *  and  a  sunrise '  on  this  coast,  before 
and  after  an  eventful  night.  That  night  was  indeed  eventful  in  which 
St.  Paul  received  his  commission  to  proceed  to  Macedonia.  The  com- 
mission was  promptly  executed.®  The  morning-star  appeared  over  the 
cliffs  of  Ida.  The  sun  rose  and  spread  the  day  over  the  sea  and  the  islands 
as  far  as  Athos  and  Samothrace.  The  men  of  Troas  awoke  to  their  trade 
and  their  labor.  Among  those  who  were  busy  about  the  shipping  in  the 
harbor  were  the  newly-arrived  Christian  travellers,  seeking  for  a  passage 
to  Europe,  —  Paul,  and  Silas,  and  Timotheus,  —  and  that  new  companion, 
"  Luke  ■'  the  beloved  Physician,"  who,  whether  by  pre-arrangement,  or  by 
a  providential  meeting,  or  (it  may  be)  even  in  consequence  of  the 
Apostle's  delicate  health,*  now  joined  the  mission,  of  which  he  afterwards 
wrote  the  history.  God  provided  a  ship  for  the  messengers  He  had 
chosen :  and  (to  use  the  language  of  a  more  sacred  poetry  than  that 

aa  equilateral  triangle.'"      Sailing  Directory,  on   the  significance    of   this  vision  are  well 

p.  150.     In  the  same  page  a  sketch  is  given  of  worth  considering.     Apostelgesch.,  ii.  p.  199. 

Mount  Athos,  N.  by  W.  ^  W.,  45  miles.     Com-  (Eng.  Trans,  ii.  110.) 

pare  Mr.  Bowen's  recent  work,  p.  26.     "  At  *  yfe'n.  ii.  250. 

sunset  we  were  half  way  between  Tenedos  and  *  jSn.  ii.  801. 

the  rugged  Imbros.     In  the  disk  of  the  setting  ^  ^cts  xvi.  10. 

sun  I  distinguished  the  pyramidal  form  of  ^  We  should  notice    here    not    only  the 

Mount  Athos."  change  of  person  from  the  third  to  the  first, 

1  See  the  remarks  on  St.  Peter's  vision,  p.  but  the  simultaneous  transition  (as  it  has  been 
87.     See  also  p.  97,  n.  2,  and  p.  183.  well  expressed)  from  the  historical  to  the  au- 

2  Acts  xvi.  9.  toptical  style,  as  shown  by  the  fuller  enumera- 
8  St.  Paul  may  have  known,  by  his  dress,  or  tion  of  details.  We  shall  retuni  to  this  sub- 
by  his  words,  or  by  an  immediate  intuition,  ject  again,  when  we  come  to  the  point  where 
that  he  was  "  a  man  of  Macedonia."  Grotius  St.  Luke  parts  from  St.  Paul  at  Philippi : 
suggests  the  notion  of  a  representative  or  meantime  we  may  remark  that  it  is  highly  prob- 
guardian  angel  of  Macedonia,  as  the  "  prince  able  that  they  had  already  met  and  labored 
of  Persia,"  &c.,  in  Dan.  x.     The  words  "  help  together  at  Antioch. 

us,"  imply  that  the  man  who  appeared  to  St.  *  We  must  remember  the  recent  sickness  in 

Paul  was  a  representative  of  many.     This  is       Gralatia,  p.  235.     See  below,  p.  288. 
remarked  by  Banmgarten,  whose  observations 


CHAP.  Tin. 


CEOSSING   OVER  TO   EUEOPB. 


245 


which  has  made  these  coasts  illustrious)  ^  "  He  brought  the  -wind  out  of 
His  treasuries,  and  by  His  power  He  brought  in  the  south  wind,"  *  and 
prospered  the  voyage  of  His  servants. 


Coin  of  Tamu.* 


1  The  classical  reader  will  remember  that 
the  throne  of  Neptune  in  Homer,  whence  he 
looks  over  Ida  and  the  scene  of  the  Trojan 
war,  is  on  the  peak  of  Saraothrace  (//.  xiii. 
10-14),  and  his  cave  deep  under  the  water  be- 
tween Imbros  and  Tenedos  {II.  xiii.  32-35). 

'■  Ps.  cxxxT.  7,  Ixxviii.  26.  For  arguments 
to  prore  that  the  wind  waa  literally  a  soufib 


vnnd  in  this  case,  see  the  beginning  of  tht 
next  chapter. 

8  From  the  British  Museum.  It  may  be 
observed  that  this  coin  illustrates  the  mode  of 
strengthening  sails  by  rope-bands,  mentioned 
in  Mr.  Smith's  important  work  on  the  Voyage 
and  Shipwreck  •/St.  Paul,  1848,  p.  163. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Voyage  by  Samothrace  to  Neapolis.  —  Philippi.  —  Constitution  of  a  Colony.  —  Lydia.  —  The 
Demoniac  Slave. — Paul  and  Silas  arrested.  —  The  Prison  and  the  Jailer.  —  The  Magis- 
trates. —  Departure  from  Philippi.  —  St.  Luke.  — Macedonia  described.  —  Its  Condition  as  a 
Province.  —  The  Via  Egnatia. —  St.  Paul's  Journey  through  Amphipolis  and  Apoilonia. — 
Thessalonica.  —  The  Synagogue.  —  Subjects  of  St.  Paul's  Preaching.  —  Persecution,  Tumult, 
and  Flight.  —  The  Jews  at  Beroea.  —  St.  Paul  again  persecuted.  —  Proceeds  to  Athens.  • 

THE  weather  itself  was  propitious  to  the  voyage  from  Asia  to 
Europe.  It  is  evident  that  Paul  and  his  companions  sailed  from 
Troas  with  a  fair  wind.  On  a  later  occasion  we  are  told  that  five  days 
were  spent  on  the  passage  from  Philippi  to  Troas.^  On  the  present 
occasion  the  same  voyage,  in  the  opposite  direction,  was  made  in  two. 
If  we  attend  to  St.  Luke's  technical  expression ,2  which  literally  means 
that  they  "  sailed  before  the  wind,"  and  take  into  account  that  the  pas- 
sage to  the  west,  between  Tenedos  and  Lemnos,  is  attended  with  some 
risk,^  we  may  infer  that  the  wind  blew  from  the  southward.*  Tlic 
southerly  winds  in  this  part  of  the  Archipelago  do  not  usually  last  long, 
but  they  often  blow  with  considerable  force.  Sometimes  they  are 
sufficiently  strong  to  counteract  the  current  which  sets  to  the  southward 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Dardanelles.*     However  this  might  be  on  the  day 


1  Compare  Acts  xvi.  11,  12,  with  xx.  6. 
For  the  expression,  "  sailed  from  Philippi  " 
(xx.  6),  and  the  relation  of  Philippi  with  its 
harbor,  Neapolis,  see  below,  p.  249,  n.  4. 

2  It  occurs  again  in  Acts  xxi.  1,  evidently 
in  the  same  sense. 

*  "  All  ships  should  pass  to  the  eastward 
of  Tenedos.  .  .  .  Ships  that  go  to  the  west- 
ward in  calms  may  drift  on  the  shoals  of  Lem- 
nos, and  the  S.  E.  end  of  that  island  being 
very  low  is  not  seen  above  nine  miles  off.  .  .  . 
It  is  also  to  be  recollected,  that  very  dangerous 
shoals  extend  from  the  N.  W.  and  W.  ends  of 
Tenedos." — Purdy's  Sailing  Directory,  pp. 
158,  189.  Captain  Stewart  says  (p.  63) :  "  To 
work  up  to  the  Dardanelles,  I  prefer  going  in- 
side of  Tenedos  .  .  .  you  can  go  by  your 
lead,  and,  during  light  winds,  you  may  anchor 
246 


anywhere.  If  you  go  outside  of  Tenedos,  and 
it  falls  calm,  the  current  sets  you  towards  the 
shoal  off  Lemnos."  (The  writer  has  heard 
this  and  what  follows  confirmed  by  those  who 
have  had  practical  experience  in  the  merchant- 
service  in  the  Levant.) 

*  The  same  inference  may  be  drawn  from 
the  fact  of  their  going  to  Samothrace  at  all. 
Had  the  wind  blown  from  the  northward  or 
the  eastward,  they  probably  would  not  have 
done  so.  Hud  it  blown  from  the  westward, 
they  could  not  have  made  the  passage  in  two 
days,  especially  as  the  currents  are  contrary. 
This  consistency  in  minute  details  sli  i  iil  Ik* 
carefully  noticed,  as  tending  to  confinr-  the 
veracity  of  the  narrative. 

^  "  The  current  from  the  Dardanelles  *>  "jns 
to  run  strongly  to  the  southward  at  Tenodos, 


CHAP.  a.  SAMOTHEACE.  247 

when  St.  Paul  passed  over  these  waters,  the  vessel  iu  which  he  sailed 
would  soon  cleave  her  way  through  the  strait  between  Tenedos  and  the 
main,  past  the  Dardanelles,  and  near  the  eastern  shore  of  Imbros.  On 
rounding  the  northern  end  of  this  island,  they  would  open  Samothrace, 
which  had  hitherto  appeared  as  a  higher  and  more  distant  summit  over 
the  lower  mountains  of  Imbros.'  The  distance  between  the  two  islands 
is  about  twelve  miles. '^  Leaving  Imbros,  and  bearing  now  a  little  to  the 
west,  and  having  the  wind  still  (as  our  sailors  say)  two  or  three  points 
abaft  the  beam,  the  helmsman  steered  for  Samothrace  ;  and,  under  the 
slielter  of  its  high  shore,  they  anchored  for  the  night.' 

Samothrace  is  the  highest  land  in  the  north  of  the  Archipelago,  with 
the  exception  of  Mount  Athos.*  These  two  eminences  have  been  in  all 
ages  the  familiar  landmarks  of  the  Greek  mariners  of  the  -^gean. 
Even  from  the  neighborhood  of  Troas,  Mount  Athos  is  seen  towering 
over  Lemnos,  like  Samothrace  over  Imbros.'  And  what  Mount  Athos  is, 
in  another  sense,  to  the  superstitious  Christian  of  the  Levant,^  the  peak 
of  Samothrace  was,  in  the  days  of  Heathenism,  to  his  Greek  ancestors  in 
the  same  seas.  It  was  the  "  Monte  Santo,"  on  which  the  Greek  mariner 
looked  with  awe,  as  he  gazed  on  it  in  the  distant  horizon,  or  came  to 
anchor  under  the  shelter  of  its  coast.  It  was  the  sanctuary  of  an  ancient 
superstition,  which  was  widely  spread  over  the  neighboring  continents, 
and  the  history  of  which  was  vainly  investigated  by  Greek  and  Roman 
writers.  If  St.  Paul  had  staid  here  even  a  few  days,  we  might  be 
justified  in  saying  something  of  the  "  Cabiri ;  "  but  we  have  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  he  even  landed  on  the  island.     At  present  it  possesses 

but  there  is   no  difficulty  in  turning  over  it  (p.  243,  n.  4).      The  following  is  a  morning 

with  a  breeze." — Purdy,  p.  159.     "The  cur-  yiew.      "Nov.   26,   1828,  8,  a.m. — Morning 

rent  in  the  Archipelago  sets   almost  contin-  beautifully    clear.       Lemnos    just     opening, 

ually  to  the  southward,  and  is  increased  or  re-  Mount  Athos  was  at  first  taken  for  an  island 

tarded  according  to  the  winds.     In   lying  at  about  five  leagues  distant,   the  outline   and 

Tenedos,  near  the  north  of  the  Dardanelles,  I  shades  appearing  so  perfectly  distinct,  though 

have  observed   a   strong  south  wind   entirely  nearly  fifty  miles   off.      The   base   of  it  was 

stop  it ;  but  it  came  strong  to  the  southward  covered  with  haze,  as  was  the  summit  soon 

the  moment  the  gale  from  that  point  ceased."  aftenvard  ;  but  toward  sunset  it  became  clear 

—  Captain  Stewart,  ib.  p.  62.  For  the  winds,  again.  It  is  immensely  high  ;  and,  as  there  is 
see  pp.  63  and  163.  no  other  mountain  like  it  to  the  northward  of 

1  "  The   island   Imbro   is  separated    from  Negropont,  it  is  an  excellent  guide   for  this 
Samothraki   by   a  channel    twelve    miles    in  part  of  the  coast."  —  Purdy,  p.  150. 
breadth.     It  is  much  longer  and  larger,  but  not  ^  See  the  account  of  Mount  Athos  (Monte 
so  high,  as  that  island."     Purdy,  p.  152.  Santo)  in  Curzon's  Monasteries  of  the  I^vatit, 

2  See  the  preceding  note.  Pt.  n^,  and  the  view,  p.  327.  In  his  sail  from 
8  Acts  xvi.  11.  the  Dardanelles  to  the  mountain,  —  the  breeze, 
*  "  Samothraki  is  the  highest  land  in  the       the  shelter  and  smooth  water  on  the  shore  of 

Archipelago,  except  Candia  and  Mount  Athos."       Lemnos,   &c.,  — there  are   points    of   resem- 

—  Purdy,  p.  152.  blance  with  St.  Paul's  voyage. 
^  An  evening  view  has  been  quoted  before 


248  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chat.ix 

no  good  harbor,  though  many  places  of  safe  anchorage  :  *  and  if  the  wind 
was  from  the  southward,  there  would  be  smooth  water  anywhere  on  the 
north  shore.  The  island  was,  doubtless,  better  supplied  with  artificial 
advantages  in  an  age  not  removed  by  many  centuries  from  the  flourishing 
period  of  that  mercantile  empire  which  the  Plioenicians  founded,  and  the 
Athenians  inherited,  in  the  -^gean  Sea.  The  relations  of  Samothrace 
with  the  opposite  coast  were  close  and  frequent,  when  the  merchants  of 
Tyre  had  their  miners  at  work  in  Mount  Pangaeus,^  and  when  Athens 
diffused  her  citizens  as  colonists  or  exiles  on  all  the  neighboring  shores.' 
Nor  can  those  relations  have  been  materially  altered  when  both  the 
Plioenician  and  Greek  settlements  on  the  sea  were  absorbed  in  the  wider 
aad  continental  dominion  of  Rome.  Ever  since  the  day  when  Perseus 
fled  to  Samothrace  from  the  Roman  conqueror,*  frequent  vessels  had 
been  passing  and  repassing  between  the  island  and  the  coasts  of  Mace- 
donia and  Thrace. 

The  Macedonian  harbor  at  which  St.  Paul  landed  was  Neapolis.  Its 
direction  from  Samotlirace  is  a  little  to  the  north  of  west.  But  a 
southerly  breeze  would  still  be  a  fair  wind,  though  they  could  not 
literally  "  run  before  it."  A  run  of  seven  or  eight  hours,  notwithstand- 
ing the  easterly  current,^  would  bring  the  vessel  under  the  lea  of  the 
island  of  Thasos,  and  within  a  few  miles  of  the  coast  of  Macedonia. 
The  shore  of  tlie  mainland  in  this  part  is  low,  but  mountains  rise  to  a 
considerable  height  behind.®  To  the  westward  of  the  channel  which 
separates  it  from  Thasos,  the  coast  recedes  and  forms  a  bay,  within 
which,  on  a  promontory  with  a  port  on  each  side,''  the  ancient  Neapolis 
was  situated. 

Some  diSerence  of  opinion  has  existed  concerning  the  true  position  of 
this  harbor  :  *  but  the  traces  of  paved  military  roads  approaching  the 
promontory  we  have  described,  in  two  directions  corresponding  with  those 

1  See  Purdy,  p.  152.  Santo  (Athos),  from  the  S.  W.,  strong  toward 

2  Herod,  vii.  112.     Thasos  was  the  head-  the  eastward,  by  Thasso," — p.  152. 
quarters  of  the  Phoenician  mining  operations  ^  See    Purdy,   p.    152,   and    the    accurate 
in  this  part  of  the  ^gean.     Herodotus  visited  delineation    of   the    coast    in  the  Admiralty 
the  island,  and' was  much  struck  with  the  traces  charts. 

of  their  work  (vi.  47).  ^  Clarke's   Travels,  ch.  xii.  and  xiii.     An 

3  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  refer  to  the  for-  important  paper  on  Neapolis  and  Philippi  has 
matiou  of  the  commercial  empire  of  Athens  been  written  (after  a  recent  visit  to  these 
before  the  Peloponnesian  war,  to  the  mines  of  places)  l)y  Prof.  Hackett,  in  the  Bib.  Sacra  for 
Scapte  Hyle,  and  the  exile  of  Thucydides.  October,  1860. 

See  Grote's  Greece,  ch.  xxvi.,  xlvii.,  &c.  *  Cousin^ry,  in  his  Voyiuje  dans  la  Mac4- 

*  Liv.  xlv.  6.  doine,  identifies  Neapolis  with  Eski-Cavallo,  a 

'  "  Inside  of  Thasso,  and  past  Samothraki,  harbormore  to  the  west;  but  his  arguments 

the  current  sets  to  the  eastward."  —  Purdy,  p.  are  quite  inconclusive.     Colonel  Leake,  whose 

62.     "  The  current   at  times  turns  by  Monte  opinion  is  of  great  weight,  though  he  did  not 


CBJLP.  IX.  NEAPOLlb.  249 

indicated  in  the  ancient  itineraries  ;  the  Latin  inscriptions  which  have 
been  found  on  the  spot ;  the  remains  of  a  great  aqueduct  on  two  tiers  of 
Roman  arches,  and  of  cisterns  Hke  those  at  Baige  near  the  other  Neapolia 
on  the  Campanian  shore,  seem  to  leave  little  doubt  that  the  small  Turkish 
village  of  Cavallo  is  the  Naples  of  Macedonia,  the  "  Neapolis  "  at  which 
St.  Paul  landed,  and  the  seaport  of  Philippi,  —  the  "  first  city"  ^  which 
the  traveller  reached  on  entering  this  "  part  of  Macedonia,"  and  a  city  of 
no  little  importance  as  a  Roman  military  "  colony."  ' 

A  ridge  of  elevated  land,  which  connects  the  range  of  PangsBus  with  the 
higher  mountains  in  the  interior  of  Thrace,  is  crossed  between  Neapolis 
and  Philippi.  The  whole  distance  is  about  ten  miles.^  The  ascent  of  the 
ridge  is  begun  immediately  from  the  town,  through  a  defile  formed  by 
some  precipices  almost  close  upon  the  sea.  When  the  higher  ground  is 
attained,  an  extensive  and  magnificent  sea-view  is  opened  towards  the 
south.  Samothrace  is  seen  to  the  east;  Thasos  to  the  south-east;  and, 
more  distant  and  farther  to  the  right,  the  towering  summit  of  Athos.* 
When  the  descent  on  the  opposite  side  begins  and  the  sea  is  lost  to  view, 
another  prospect  succeeds,  less  extensive,  but  not  less  worthy  of  our  notice. 
We  look  down  on  a  plain,  which  is  level  as  an  inland  sea,  and  which,  if 
the  eye  could  range  over  its  remoter  spaces,  would  be  seen  winding  far 
within  its  mountain-enclosure,  to  the  west  and  the  north.'  Its  appearance 
is  either  exuberantly  green,  —  for  its  fertility  has  been  always  famous, — 
or  cold  and  dreary,  —  for  the  streams  which  water  it  are  often  diffused 
into  marshes,  —  according  to  the  season  when  we  visit  this  corner  of  Mace- 

personally  visit  Philippi  and  Neapolis,  agrees  enough  to  enjoy  the  fine  prospect  of  the  sea 

with  Dr.  Clarke.  and  the  town  of  Carallo  upon  a  promontory. 

1  Acta  xvi.  12.  At  some  distance  lies  the  isle  of  Thasos,  now 

2  For  the  meaning  of  these  terms  see  p.  called  Tasso.  It  was  indistinctly  discerned 
251,  &c.  by  OS ;  but  every  other  object,  excepting  the 

*  Hence  it  was  unnecessary  for  Meyer  to  town,  began  to  disappear  as  we  descended 
deride  Olshausen'a  remark,  that  Philippi  was  toward  Cavallo."  —  Ch.  xii.  "  Upon  quitting 
the  "Jirst  city  "  in  Macedonia  visited  by  the  the  town,  we  ascended  a  part  of  Mount  Pan- 
Apostle,  because  Neapolis  was  its  harbor.  gaeus  by  a  paved  road,  and  had  a  fine  view  of 
Olshausen  was  quite  right.  The  distance  of  the  bay  of  Neapolis.  The  top  of  the  hill, 
Neapolis  from  Philippi  is  only  twice  as  great  towards  the  left,  was  covered  with  ruined 
as  that  from  the  Piraeus  to  Athens,  not  much  walls,  and  with  the  ancient  aqueduct,  which 
greater  than  that  from  Cenchrea  to  Corinth,  here  crosses  the  road.  From  hence  we  de- 
and  less  than  that  from  Seleucia  to  Antioch,  scended  by  a  paved  road  as  before  ...  the 
or  from  Ostia  to  Eome.  isle  of  Thasos  being  in  view  towards  the  S.  E. 

*  We  may  quote  here  two  passages  from  Looking  to  the  E.,  we  saw  the  high  top  of 
Dr.  Clai-ke,  one  describing  this  approach  to  Samothrace,  which  makes  such  a  conspicuous 
Neapolis  from  the  neighborhood,  the  other  figure  from  the  plains  of  Troy.  To  the  S., 
his  departure  in  the  direction  of  Constantino-  towering  above  a  region  of  clouds,  appeared 
pie.  "  Ascending  the  mountainous  boundary  the  loftier  summit  of  Mount  Athos."  — 
of  the   plain   on   its  north-eastern  side  by  a  Ch.  xiii. 

broad  incient  paved  way,  we  had  not  daylight  ^  See  the  very  full  descriptions  of  the  plaik 


250  THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ix. 

doiiia ;  wlietlier  it  be  when  the  snows  are  white  and  chill  on  the  summits 
oi"  the  Thnician  Hasmus/  or  when  the  roses,  of  which  Theophrastus  and 
Pliny  speak,  are  displaying  their  bloom  on  the  warmer  slopes  of  the 
Pangtean  hills.^ 

This  plain,  between  Haemus  and  Pangaeus,  is  the  plain  of  Philippi, 
where  the  last  battle  was  lost  by  the  republicans  of  Rome.  The  whole 
region  around  is  eloquent  of  the  history  of  this  battle.  Among  the  moun- 
tains on  the  right  was  the  difficult  path  by  which  the  republican  army 
penetrated  into  Macedonia ;  on  some  part  of  the  very  ridge  on  which  we 
stand  were  the  camps  of  Brutus  and  Cassius  ; '  the  stream  before  us  is  the 
river  which  passed  in  front  of  them  ;  *  below  us,  "  upon  the  left  hand  of 
the  even  field,"  ^  is  the  marsh  ^  by  which  Antony  crossed  as  he  approached 
his  antagonist ;  directly  opposite  is  the  hill  of  Philippi,  where  Cassius  died  ; 
behind  us  is  the  narrow  strait  of  the  sea,  across  which  Brutus  sent  his 
body  to  the  island  of  Thasos,  lest  the  army  should  be  disheartened  before 
the  final  struggle.^  The  city  of  Philippi  was  itself  a  monument  of  the 
termination  of  that  struggle.  It  had  been  founded  by  the  father  of 
Alexander,  in  a  place  called,  from  its  numerous  streams,  "  The  Place  of 
Fountains,"  to  commemorate  the  addition  of  a  new  province  to  his  king- 
dom, and  to  protect  the  frontier  against  the  Thracian  mountaineers.  For 
similar  reasons  the  city  of  Philip  was  gifted  by  Augustus  with  the  privi- 
leges of  a  eolonia.  It  thus  became  at  once  a  border-garrison  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Macedonia,  and  a  perpetual  memorial  of  his  victory  over  Brutus.' 
And  now  a  Jewish  Apostle  came  to  the  same  place,  to  win  a  greater  vic- 
tory than  that  of  Philippi,  and  to  found  a  more  durable  empire  than  that 
of  Augustus.  It  is  a  fact  of  deep  significance,  that  the  "  first  city  "  at 
which  St.  Paul  arrived,^  on  his  entrance  into  Europe,  should  be   that 


of  Serr^s,  in  the  various  parts  of  its  extension,  ''  Plutarch's  Life  of  Brutus. 

given  by  Leake  and  Cousine'ry.  *  The   full   and  proper  Roman  name  was 

1  Lucan's  view  is  very  winterly.  Phars.  Colonia  Atigusta  Julia  Pkilippensis.  See  the 
i.  680.  coin    engraved    at    the  end   of   Ch.   XXVI. 

2  The"Pi0sa  ccntifolia,"  which  the  latter  Cousine'ry  (ch.  x.)  enters  fully  into  the  pres- 
mentions  as  cultivated  in  Campania  and  in  ent  condition  of  Philippi,  and  gives  coins  and 
Greece,  near  Philippi.  inscriptions. 

3  The  republicans  were  so  placed  as  to  be  ®  We  regard  the  phrase  in  Acts  xvi.  12  as 
in  communiciUion  with  the  sea.  The  triremes  meaning  the  first  city  in  its  geographical  rela- 
were  at  Neapolis.  tion  to  St.  Paul's  journey  ;  not  the  first  politi- 

*  The  Gangas  or  Gangites.     Leake,  p.  217.  cally  ("chief  city,"  Auth.  Vers.),  cither  of 

5  Julius   Cesar,  act  v.  sc.  i.     The  topogra-  Macedonia  or  a  part  of  it.     The  chief  city  of 

phy  of  Shakspeare  is  perfectly  accurate.     In  the  province  was  Thessalonica ;  and,  even  if 

this  passage  Octavius  and  Antony  are  looking  we   suppose    the    subdivisions   of   Afaccdonia 

at  the  field  from  the  opposite  side.  Prima,  Sccunda,  &c.,  to  have  subsisted  at  this 

8  The  battle  took  place  in  autumn,  when  time,  the  chief  city  of  Macedonia  Prima  t-m 

*b<i  T)lain  would  probably  be  inundated.  not  Philippi,  but  Amphipolis. 


CHAP.  II.  PHILIPPI.  251 

"  colony,"  wli'ch  was  more  fit  thau  any  other  iu  the  empire  to  be  con' 
sidered  the  representative  of  Imperial  Rome. 

The  characteristic  of  a  eolonia  was,  that  it  was  a  miniature  resemblance 
of  Rome.  Philippi  is  not  the  first  city  of  this  kind  to  which  we  have 
traced  tlie  foosteps  of  St.  Paul ;  Antioch  in  Pisidia  (p.  152),  and  Alex- 
andria Troas  (p.  2-12),  both  possessed  the  same  cliaracter :  but  this  is  the 
first  place  where  Scripture  calls  our  attention  to  the  distinction ;  and  the 
events  which  befell  the  Apostle  at  Philippi  were  directly  connected  with 
the  privileges  of  the  place  as  a  Roman  colony,  and  with  his  own  privileges 
as  a  Roman  citizen.  It  will  be  convenient  to  consider  these  two  subjects 
together.  A  glance  at  some  of  the  differences  which  subsisted  among 
individuals  and  communities  in  the  provincial  system  will  enable  us  to  see 
very  clearly  the  position  of  the  citizen  and  of  the  colony. 

We  have  had  occasion  (Ch.  I.  p.  21)  to  speak  of  the  combination  of 
actual  provinces  and  nominally  independent  states  through  which  the 
power  of  the  Roman  emperor  was  variously  difiused  ;  and  again  (Ch.  V. 
p.  129),  we  have  described  the  division  of  the  provinces  by  Augustus  into 
those  of  the  Senate,  and  those  of  the  Emperor.  Descending  now  to  ex- 
amine the  component  population  of  any  one  prov'nce,  and  to  inquire  into 
the  political  condition  of  individuals  and  communities,  we  find  here  again 
a  complicated  system  of  rules  and  exceptions.  As  regards  individuals, 
the  broad  distinction  we  must  notice  is  that  between  those  who  were 
citizens  and  those  who  were  not  citizens.  When  the  Greeks  spoke  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  world,  they  divided  them  into  "  Greeks  "  and  "  Bar- 
barians,"^ according  as  the  language  in  which  poets  and  philosophers  had 
written  was  native  to  them  or  foreign.  Among  the  Romans  the  phrase 
was  different.  The  classes  into  which  they  divided  mankind  consisted  of 
those  who  were  politically  "  Romans,"  '^  and  those  who  had  no  link  (except 
that  of  subjection)  with  the  City  of  Rome.  The  technical  words  were  Cives 
and  Peregrlni, --'■'■  citizens"  and  "  strangers."  The  inhabitants  of  Italy 
were  "  citizens  ;  "  the  inhabitants  of  all  other  parts  of  the  Empire  (until 
Caracalla  extended  to  the  provinces  *  the  same  privileges  wliich  Julius 
Caesar  had  granted  to  the  peninsula)  *  were  naturally  and  essentially 
"  strangers."  Italy  was  the  Holy  Land  of  the  kingdom  of  this  world. 
We  may  carry  the  parallel  further,  in  order  to  illustrate  the  difference 
which  existed  among  the  citizens  themselves.  Those  true-born  Italians, 
who  were  diffused  in  vast  numbers  through  the  provinces,  might  be  called 

1  Thus  St.  Paul,  in  writing  his  Greek  epis-  politically  in  the  New  Testament.  John  xi. 
ties,  uses  this  distinction.     Rom.  i.  14 ;  Col.       48  ;  Acts  xvi.,  xxli.,  xxiii.,  xxviii. 

lii.  11.     Hence,  also,  Acts  xxviii.  2,  t ;  1  Cor.  ^  See  Milman's  Gibbon,  i.  p.  281  and  note. 

Kiv.  11.  *  By  the  Julia  Lex  de  Civitate  (b c  90), 

2  The    word    "Roman"    is    always   used       supplemented  by  other  laws . 


352  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL,  chap,  ix. 

Citizens  of  the  Dispersion  ;  while  those  strangers  who,  at  various  times, 
and  for  various  reasons,  had  received  the  gift  of  citizenship,  were  in  the 
condition  of  political  Proselytes.  Such  were  Paul  and  Silas,^  in  their  re- 
lation to  the  empire,  among  their  fellow-Romans  in  the  colony  of  Philippi. 
Both  these  classes  of  citizens,  however,  were  in  full  possession  of  the  same 
privileges ;  the  most  important  of  which  were  exemption  from  scourging, 
and  freedom  from  arrest,  except  in  extreme  cases ;  and  in  all  cases  the 
right  of  appeal  from  the  magistrate  to  the  Emperor.''* 

The  remarks  which  have  been  made  concerning  individuals  may  be 
extended,  in  some  degree,  to  communities  in  the  provinces.  The  City  of 
Rome  might  be  transplanted,  as  it  were,  into  various  parts  of  the  empire, 
and  reproduced  as  a  colonia  ;  or  an  alien  city  might  be  adopted,  under  the 
title  of  a  municipium^  into  a  close  political  communion  with  Rome.  Leav- 
ing out  of  view  all  cities  of  the  latter  kind  (and  indeed  they  were  limited 
entirely  to  the  western  provinces) ,  we  will  confine  ourselves  to  what  was 
called  a  colonia.  A  Roman  colony  was  very  different  from  any  thing  which 
we  usually  intend  by  the  term.  It  was  no  mere  mercantile  factory,  such 
as  those  which  the  Plioenicians  established  in  Spain,*  or  on  those  very 
shores  of  Macedonia  with  which  we  are  now  engaged  ; '  or  such  as  modern 
nations  have  founded  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  territory  or  on  the  coast  of 
India.  Still  less  was  it  like  those  incoherent  aggregates  of  human  beings 
which  we  have  thrown,  without  care  or  system,  on  distant  islands  and 
continents.  It  did  not  even  go  forth,  as  a  young  Greek  republic  left  its 
parent  state,  carrying  with  it,  indeed,  the  respect  of  a  daughter  for  a 
mother,  but  entering  upon  a  new  and  independent  existence.  The 
Roman  colonies  were  primarily  intended  as  military  safeguards  of  the  fron- 
tiers, and  as  checks  upon  insurgent  provincials.  Like  the  military  roads, 
they  were  part  of  the  great  system  of  fortification  by  which  the  Empire 


'  We   can  hardly  help    inferring,    from   the  accused    citizen    could     only    be    imprisoned 

narrative  of  what  happened   at  Philippi,  that  before  trial  for  a  very  heinous  offence,  or  when 

Silas  was  a  Roman  citizen  as  well  as  St.  Paul,  evidently  guilty.     Bail  was  generally  allowed, 

As  to  the  mode  in  which  he  obtained  the  citi-  or  retention  in  a  magistrate's  house  was  held 

zenship,    we   are   more    ignorant   than  in   the  sufficient. 

case  of  St.  Paul  himself,   whose  father  was  a  *  The  privilege  of  a  colonia  was  transplanted 

citizen  (Acts  xxii.  28).     All  that  we  are  able  citizenship,  that" of  a  TOMwicjjjiMm  was  ingrafted 

to  say  on  this  subject  has  been  given  before,  citizenship.     We  have  nothing  to  do,  however, 

pp.  42-44.  with  muniapia  in  the  history  of  St.  Paul.     We 

'  Two  of  these  privileges  will   come   more  are  more  concerned  with  liberce  civitates,  and 

particularly  before  us,  when  we  roach  the  nar-  we  s'lr.U  presently  come  to  one  of  them  in  the 

rative  of  St.   Paul's  arrest  at  Jerusalem.      It  case  of  Thessalonica. 

:ippears  that  Paul  and  Silas  were  treated  with  *  Especially  in  the  mountains  on  the  coast 

a  cruelty  which  was  only  justifiable  in  the  case  between  Cartagena  and  Almeria. 

of  a  slave,  and  was  not  usually  allowed  in  the  ^  See  above  p.  248,  n.  2. 
case  of  any  freeman.     It  would  seem,  that  an 


CHAP.  IX.  CONSTITUTION   OF  A   COLONY.  253 

was  made  safe.  They  served  also  as  convenient  possessions  for  rewarding 
veterans  who  had  served  in  the  wars,  and  for  establishing  freedmen  and 
other  Italians  whom  it  was  desirable  to  remove  to  a  distance.  The  colo- 
nists went  out  with  all  the  pride  of  Roman  citizens,  to  represent  and  re 
produce  the  City  in  the  midst  of  an  alien  population.  They  proceeded  to 
their  destination  like  an  army  with  its  standards  ;  ^  and  the  limits  of  the 
new  city  were  marked  out  by  the  plough.  Their  names  were  still  enrolled 
in  one  of  the  Roman  tribes.  Every  traveller  who  passed  through  a  colonia 
saw  there  the  insignia  of  Rome.  He  heard  the  Latin  language,  and  was 
amenable,  in  the  strictest  sense,  to  the  Roman  law.  The  coinage  of  the 
city,  even  if  it  were  in  a  Greek  province,  had  Latin  inscriptions.'^  Cyprian 
tells  us  that  in  his  own  episcopal  city,  which  once  had  been  Rome's 
greatest  enemy,  the  Laws  of  the  XII  Tables  were  inscribed  on  brazen 
tablets  in  the  market-place.'  Though  the  colonists,  in  addition  to  the 
poll-tax,  which  they  paid  as  citizens,  were  compelled  to  pay  a  ground-tax 
(for  the  land  on  which  their  city  stood  was  provincial  land,  and  therefore 
tributary,  unless  it  were  assimilated  to  Italy  by  a  special  exemption)  ;  * 
yet  they  were  entirely  free  from  any  intrusion  by  the  governor  of  the  prov- 
ince. Their  affairs  were  regulated  by  their  own  magistrates.  These 
officers  were  named  Duumviri ;  and  they  took  a  pride  in  calling  them- 
selves by  the  Roman  title  of  Praetors  (axQaxriyoL) }  The  primary  settlers 
in  the  colony  were,  as  we  have  seen,  real  Italians ;  but  a;  state  of  things 
seems  to  have  taken  place,  in  many  instances,  very  similar  to  what  hap- 
pened in  the  early  history  of  Rome  itself.  A  number  of  the  native  pro- 
vincials grew  up  in  the  same  city  with  the  governing  body  ;  and  thus  two 
(or  sometimes  three)  co-ordinate  communities  were  formed,  which  ulti- 
mately coalesced  into  one,  like  the  Patricians  and  Plebeians.  Instances 
of  this  state  of  things  might  be  given  from  Corintl'  and  Carthage,  and  from 
the  colonies  of  Spain  and  Gaul ;  and  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
Philippi  was  different  from  the  rest. 

Whatever  the  relative  proportion  of  Greeks  and  Romans  at  Philippi 
may  have  been,  the  number  of  Jews  was  small.  This  is  sufficiently 
a3counted  for,  when  we  remember  that  it  was  a  military,  and  not  a 
mercantile,  city.  There  was  no  synagogue  in  Philippi,  but  only  one  of 
those  buildings   called  Proseuchm^  which  were  distinguished  from  the 

1  See  the  standards  on  one  of  the  coins  of  a  contrast  with  the  coins  of  Philippi  we  may 

Antioch  in  Pisidia,  p.   178.     The  wolf,  with  mention  those  of  Thessalonica. 
Itomulus  and  Remus,  which  will  be  observed  *  De  Grat.  Dei,  10. 

on  the  other  coin,  was  common  on  colonial  *  Philippi  had  the  Jus  Italicvm,  like  Alex- 
moneys.  Philippi  was  in  the  strictest  sense  a  andria  Troas.  This  is  explained  above,  p.  242. 
military  colony,  formed  by  the  establishment  ^  An  instance  of  this  is  mentioned  by  Cice- 
of  a  cohors  prcetoria  emerita.  ro  in  the  case  of  Capua.     See  Hor.  Sat.  i 

^  This  has  been  noticed  before,  p.  152.    As  tI. 


254 


THE   LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL. 


regular  places  of  Jewish  worship  by  being  of  a  more  slight  and  tem- 
porary structure,  and  frequently  open  to  the  sky.^  For  the  sake  of 
greater  quietness,  and  freedom  from  interruption,  this  place  of  prayer 
was  "  outside  the  gate  ;  "  and,  in  consequence  of  the  ablutions  ^  which 
were  connected  with  the  worship,  it  was  "  by  the  river-side,"  on  the 
bank  of  the  Gaggitas,^  the  fountains  of  which  gave  the  name  to  the  city 
before  the  time  of  Philip  of  Macedon,^  and  which,  in  the  great  battle  of 
the  Romans,  had  been  polluted  by  the  footsteps  and  blood  of  the  contend- 
ing armies. 

The  congregation,  which  met  here  for  worship  on  the  Sabbath,  con- 
sisted chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  of  a  few  women ;  *  and  these  were  not  all 
of  Jewish  birth,  and  not  all  residents  at  Philippi.  Lydia,  who  is  men- 
tioned by  name,  was  a  proselyte ;  ®  and  Thyatira,  her  native  place,  was  a 


1  Extracts*  to  this  effect  might  be  quoted 
from  Epiphanius.  A  Proseucha  may  be  con- 
sidered as  a  place  of  prayer,  as  opposed  to  a 
Synagogue,  or  a  house  of  prayer.  It  appears, 
however,  that  the  words  were  more  or  less 
convertible,  and  some  consider  them  nearly 
equivalent.  Josephus  (Life,  §  54)  describes  a 
Proseucha  as  "  a  large  building,  capable  of 
holding  a  considerable  crowd  : "  and  Philo 
mentions,  under  the  same  denomination,  build- 
ings at  Alexandria,  which  were  so  strong  that 
it  was  difficult  to  destroy  them.  Probably,  it 
was  the  usual  name  of  the  meeting-place  of 
Jewish  congregations  fn  Greek  cities. 

Other  passages  in  ancient  writers,  which 
bear  upon  the  subject,  are  alluded  to  in  the 
following  extract  from  Biscoe :  "  The  seashore 
was  esteemed  by  the  Jews  a  place  most  pure, 
and  therefore  proper  to  offer  up  their  prayers 
and  thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God.  Philo 
tells  us  that  the  Jews  of  Alexandria,  when 
Flaccus  the  governor  of  Egypt,  who  had  been 
their  great  encmj',  was  arrested  by  order  of 
the  Emperor  Caius,  not  being  able  to  assemble 
at  their  synagogues,  which  had  been  taken 
from  them,  crowded  out  at  the  gates  of  the 
city  early  in  the  morning,  went  to  the  neigh- 
boring shores,  and  standing  in  a  most  pure 
place,  with  one  accord  lifted  up  their  voices  in 
praising  God.  Tertullian  says,  that  the  Jews 
in  his  time,  when  they  kept  their  great  fast, 
left  their  synagogues,  and  on  every  shore  sent 
forth  their  prayers  to  heaven  :  and  in  another 
place,  among  the  ceremonies  used  by  the  Jews, 
mentions  orationes  littorales,  the  prayers  they 
made  upon  the  shores.     And  long  before  Ter- 


tullian's  time  there  was  a  decree  made  at  Hali- 
camassus  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  which,  among 
other  privileges,  allows  them  to  say  their 
prayers  near  the  shore,  according  to  the  custom 
of  their  country.  (Joseph.  .4n<.  xiv.  10,  23.) 
It  is  hence  abundantly  evident,  that  it  was 
common  with  the  Jews  to  choose  the  shore  as 
a  place  highly  fitting  to  offer  up  their  prayers." 
P.  251.  He  adds  that  the  words  in  Acts  xvi. 
13  "  may  signify  nothing  more  than  that  the 
Jews  of  Philippi  were  wont  to  go  and  offer  up 
their  prayers  at  a  certain  place  by  the  river- 
side, as  other  Jews  who  lived  near  the  sea 
were  accustomed  to  do  upon  the  seashore." 
See  Acts  xxi.  5. 

2  See  the  passage  adduced  by  Biscoe  from 
Josephus. 

3  Many  eminent  German  commentators 
make  a  mistake  here  in  saying  that  the  river 
was  the  Strymon.  The  nearest  point  on  the 
Strymon  was  many  miles  distant.  This  mis- 
take is  the  more  marked  when  we  find  that 
"  out  of  the  gate  "  and  not  "  out  of  the  city  "  is 
probably  the  right  reading.  No  one  would 
describe  the  Strymon  as  a  stream  outside  the 
gate  of  Philippi.  We  may  add  that  the  men- 
tion of  the  gate  is  an  instance  of  St.  Luke's 
autoptical  style  in  this  part  of  the  narrative. 
It  is  possible  that  the  Jews  worshipped  outside 
the  gate  at  Philippi,  because  the  jjeople  would 
not  allow  them  to  worship  within.  Compare 
what  Juvenal  says  of  the  Jews  by  the  fountain 
outside  the  Porta  Capena  at  Rome  (iii.  11). 

*  Crenides  was  the  ancient  name. 
6  Acts  xvi.  13. 
®  Acts  xvi.  14 


CHAP.   LK. 


LTDIA.  255 


city  of  the  province  of  Asia.^  The  business  which  brought  her  to 
Philipp'  was  connected  with  the  dyeing  trade,  which  had  flourished  from 
a  very  early  period,  as  we  learn  from  Horner,^  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Thyatira,  and  is  permanently  commemorated  in  inscriptions  which  relate 
to  the  "  guild  of  dyers  "  in  that  city,  and  incidentally  give  a  singular 
confirmation  of  the  veracity  of  St.  Luke  in  his  casual  allusions.' 

In  this  unpretending  place,  and  to  this  congregation  of  pious  women, 
the  Gospel  was  first  preached  by  an  Apostle  within  the  limits  of  Europe.* 
St.  Paul  and  his  companions  seem  to  have  arrived  in  the  early  part  of 
the  week  ;  for  "  some  days  "  elapsed  before  "  the  sabbath."  On  that  day 
the  strangers  went  and  joined  the  little  company  of  worshippers  at  their 
prayer  by  the  river-side.  Assuming  at  once  the  attitude  of  teachers, 
they  "  sat  down,"  *  and  spoke  to  the  women  who  were  assembled  together. 
The  Lord,  who  had  summoned  His  servants  from  Troas  to  preach  the 
Gospel  in  Macedonia,^  now  vouchsafed  to  them  the  signs  of  His  presence, 
by  giving  Divine  energy  to  the  words  which  they  spoke  in  His  name. 
Ij/dia  "  was  one  of  the  listeners," '  and  the  Lord  "  opened  her  heart,  that 
Bhe  took  heed  to  the  things  that  were  spoken  of  Paul."  ^ 

Lydia,  being  convinced  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  and  having  made  a 
profession  of  her  faith,  was  forthwith  baptized.  The  place  of  her 
baptism  was  doubtless  the  stream  which  flowed  by  the  proseucha.  The 
waters  of  Europe  were  "  sanctified  to  the  mystical  washing-away  of  sin." 
With  the  baptism  of  Lydia  that  of  her  "  household  "  was  associated. 
Whether  we  are  to  understand  by  this  term  her  children,  her  slaves,  or 
the  work-people  engaged  in  the  manual  employment  connected  with  her 
trade,  or  all  these  collectively,  cannot  easily  be  decided.*'     But  we  may 

1  See  Rev.  i.  11.  *  Acts  xvi.  10. 

2  //.  iv.  141.  "^  The  verb  is  in  the  imperfect.   Acts.  xvi.  14. 
'^  We  may  observe  that  the  communication       From  the  words  used  here  we  infer  that  Lydia 

at  this  period  between  Thyatira  and  Philippi  was  listening  to  conversation  i-athcr  than  preach- 

was  very  i^r^v.  eitheT-  directly  from  the  harbor  ing.     The  whole  narrative  gives  us  the  impres- 

of  Perj^amus,  or  by  the  road  mentioned  in  the  sion  of  the  utmost  modesty  and  simplicity  in 

last  chapter,  which  led  through  Adramyttium  Lydia's  character, 

to  Troas.  Another   point   should   be   noticed,    which 

*  At  least  this  is  the  first  historical  account  exemplifies  St.  Luke's  abnegation  of  self,  and 

of  the  preaching  of  an  apostle  in   Europe.  harmonizes  with   the  rest  of  the  Acts;    viz. 

The  traditions  concerning  St.  Peter  rest  on  no  that,  after  saying  "  we  spake"  (v.  13),'he  sinks 

real  proof.     We  do  not  here  inquire  into  the  his  own  person,  and  says  that  Lydia  took  heed 

knowledge  of  Christianity  which   may  have  "to  what  was  spoken  by  Pa;*/"  (v.  14).    Paul 

spread,   even   to   Rome,   through    those   who  was  the  chief  speaker.     The  phrase  and  the 

returned  from  Pentecost  (Acts  ii.),  or  those  inference  are  the  same  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia 
who  were  dispersed  in  Stephen's  persecution  .     (Acts  xiii.  45),  when  Barnabas  was  with  St. 

(Acts  viii.),  or  other  travellers  from  Syria  to  Paul.     See  p.  160,  n.  2. 

the  West.  *  v.  14. 

^  Acts    xvi.  13.      Compare  Acts  xiii.   14,  ^  Meyer  thinks  they  were  female  assistants 

and  Luke  It.  20.  in   the  business  connected  with  her  trade.     D 


256  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  n. 

observe  that  it  is  the  first  passage  in  the  life  of  St.  Paul  where  we 
have  an  example  of  that  family  religion  to  which  he  often  alludes  in  his 
Epistles.  The  "  connections  of  Chloe,"  ^  the  "  household  of  Stephanas," ' 
the  "  Church  in  the  house  "  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla,^  are  parallel  cases, 
to  which  we  shall  come  in  the  course  of  the  narrative.  It  may  also  be 
rightly  added,  that  we  have  here  the  first  example  of  that  Christian 
hospitality  which  was  so  emphatically  enjoined,*  and  so  lovingly  prac- 
tised, in  the  Apostolic  Church.  The  frequent  mention  of  the  "  hosts  " 
who  gave  shelter  to  the  Apostles,'  reminds  us  that  they  led  a  life  of  hard- 
ship and  poverty,  and  were  the  followers  of  Him  "  for  whom  there  was 
no  room  in  the  inny  The  Lord  had  said  to  His  Apostles,  that,  when 
they  entered  into  a  city,  they  were  to  seek  out  "  those  who  were  worthy," 
and  with  them  to  abide.  The  search  at  Philippi  was  not  difficult. 
Lydia  voluntarily  presented  herself  to  her  spiritual  benefactors,  and 
said  to  them,  earnestly  and  humbly,*  that,  "  since  they  had  regarded  her 
as  a  believer  on  the  Lord,"  her  house  should  be  their  home.  She 
admitted  of  no  refusal  to  her  request,  and  "  their  peace  was  on  that 
house."'' 

Thus  the  Gospel  had  obtained  a  home  in  Europe.  It  is  true  that  the 
family  with  whom  the  Apostles  lodged  was  Asiatic  rather  than  European  ; 
and  the  direct  influence  of  Lydia  may  be  supposed  to  have  contributed 
more  to  the  establishment  of  the  church  of  Thyatira,  addressed  by  St. 
John,^  than  to  that  of  Philippi,  which  received  the  letter  of  St.  Paul. 
But  still  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  Christianity  were  established  in 
Europe  ;  and  nothing  could  be  more  calm  and  tranquil  than  its  first 
beginnings  on  the  shore  of  that  continent,  which  it  has  long  overspread. 
The  scenes  by  the  river-side,  and  in  the  house  of  Lydia,  are  beautiful 
prophecies  of  the  holy  influence  which  women ,^  elevated  by  Christianity 
to  their  true  position,  and  enabled  by  Divine  grace  to  wear  "  the  orna- 
ment of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,"  have  now  for  centuries  exerted  over 
domestic  happiness  and  the  growth  of  piety  and  peace.  If  we  wish  to 
see  this  in  a  forcible  light,  we  may  contrast  the  picture  which  is  drawn 

is  well  known  that  this  is  one  of  the  passages  '  Rev.  ii. 

often  adduced  in  the  controversy  concerning  '  Observe  the  frequent  mention  of  women 

infant  baptism.     We  need  not  urge  this  view  in  the  salutations  in  St.  Paul's  epistles,  and 

of  it :  for  the  belief  that  infant  baptism  is  more  particularly  in  that  to  the  Philippians. 

"  most  agreeable  with  the  institution  of  Christ "  Rilliet,   in    his   Commentary,   makes   a   just 

(Art.  xxvii.)  does  not  rest  on  this  text  remark  on  the  peculiar  importance  of  female 

1  1  Cor.  i.  11.  agency  in  th<  ihen  state  of  society  :  —  "  L'or- 

2  1  Cor.  i.  16,  xvi.  15.  ganisation     ie    la    socie't^    civile   faisait    des 
«  Rom.  xvi.  5.     Compare  Philem.  2.  femmes  un  Intermddiaire  n^cessaire  pour  que, 
*  Heb.  yiii.  2.     1  Tim.  v.  10,  &c.  la  predication  de  I'iJvangile  parvint  jusqu'aui 
»  Rom.  xvi.  23,  &c.  personnes  de  leur  sexe."     See    Quarterly  R&- 
«  See  above,  p.  255,  n.  7.      ^  Matt  x.  18.  view,  for  Oct.  1860 


ciiAP.    X.  BELIEF  IN  EVIL   SPIRITS.  257 

for  US  by  St.  Luke — with  another  representation  of  women  in  the  same 
neighborhood  given  by  the  Heathen  poets,  who  tell  us  of  the  frantic 
excitement  of  the  Edonian  matrons,  wandering,  under  the  name  of 
religion,  with  dishevelled  hair  and  violent  cries,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Strymon.^ 

Thus  far  all  was  peaceful  and  hopeful  in  the  work  of  preaching  the 
Gospel  to  Macedonia :  the  congregation  met  in  the  house  or  by  the  river- 
side ;  souls  were  converted  and  instructed ;  and  a  Church,  consisting 
both  of  men  and  women,'^  was  gradually  built  up.  This  continued  for 
"  many  days."  It  was  difficult  to  foresee  the  storm  which  was  to  over- 
cast so  fair  a  prospect.  A  bitter  persecution,  however,  was  unexpectedly 
provoked :  and  tlie  Apostles  were  brought  into  collision  with  heathen 
superstition  in  one  of  its  worst  forms,  and  with  the  rough  violence 
of  the  colonial  authorities.  As  if  to  show  that  the  work  of  Divine 
grace  is  advanced  by  difficulties  and  discouragements,  rather  than 
by  ease  and  prosperity,  the  Apostles,  who  had  been  supernaturally 
summoned  to  a  new  field  of  labor,  and  who  were  patiently  cultivating 
it  with  good  success,  were  suddenly  called  away  from  it,  silenced,  and 
imprisoned. 

In  tracing  the  life  of  St.  Paul  we  have  not  as  yet  seen  Christianity 
directly  brought  into  conflict  with  Heathenism.  The  sorcerer  who  had 
obtained  influence  over  Sergius  Paulus  in  Cyprus  was  a  Jew,  like  the 
Apostle  himself.^  The  first  impulse  of  the  idolaters  of  Lystra  was  to 
worship  Paul  and  Barnabas  ;  and  it  was  only  after  the  Jews  had  per- 
verted their  minds,  that  they  began  to  persecute  them.*  But  as  we 
travel  farther  from  the  East,  and  especially  through  countries  where  the 
Israelites  were  thinly  scattered,  we  must  expect  to  find  Pagan  creeds  in 
immediate  antagonism  with  the  Gospel ;  and  not  merely  Pagan  creeds, 
but  the  evil  powers  themselves  which  give  Paganism  its  supremacy  over 
the  minds  of  men.  The  questions  which  relate  to  evil  spirits,  false 
divinities,  and  demoniacal  possession,  are  far  too  difficult  and  extensive 
to  be  entered  on  here.*     We  are  content  to  express  our  belief,  that  in 

1  Hor.  Od.  II.  vii.  27,  &c.  modation   to  popular  belief;    the  other  that 

2  This  is  almost  necessarily  implied  in  "  the  these  unhappy  sufferers  were  really  possessed 
brethren  "  (v.  40)  whom  Paul  and  Silas  vis-  by  evil  spirits  —  may  be  seen  in  a  series  of 
ited  and  exhorted  in  the  house  of  Lydia,  after  pamphlets  (partly  anonymous)  published  in 
their  release  from  prison.  London  in  1737  and  1738.     For  a  candid  state- 

2  Ch.  V.  p.  133.  ment  of  both  views,  see  the  article  on  "Demo- 

*  Ch.  VI.  pp.  170,  &c.  niacs"  in  Dr.  Kitto's   Cychposdia  of  Biblical 

6  The  arguments  on  the  two  sides  of  this  Literature.     Compare  that  on  the  word  "  Bes- 

question  —  one    party    contending    that    the  essene,"  in   Winer's  Bml -Worterbuch ;    and, 

demoniacs  of  Scripture  were  men  afflicted  with  above  all,  Dean  Trench's  profound  remarks  ia 

insanity,  melancholy,  and  epilepsy,  and   that  his  work  on  the  Miracles,  pp.  150,  &c. 
the  language  used  of  them  is  merely  an  accom- 
17 


258  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  nr, 

the  demoniacs  of  the  New  Testament  allusion  is  really  made  to  personal 
spirits  who  exercised  power  for  evil  purposes  on  the  human  will.  The 
unregenerate  world  is  represented  to  us  in  Scripture  as  a  realm  of  darkness, 
in  which  the  invisible  agents  of  wickedness  are  permitted  to  hold  sway 
under  conditions  and  limitations  which  we  are  not  able  to  define.  The 
degrees  and  modes  in  which  their  presence  is  made  visibly  apparent  may 
vary  widely  in  different  countries  and  in  different  ages.^  In  the  time  of 
Jesus  Christ  and  His  Apostles,  we  are  justified  in  saying  that  their 
workings  in  one  particular  mode  were  made  peculiarly  manifest.^  As  ii 
was  in  the  life  of  our  Great  Master,  so  it  was  in  that  of  His  imme- 
diate followers.  The  demons  recognized  Jesus  as  "  the  Holy  One  of 
God  ;  "  and  they  recognized  His  Apostles  as  the  "  bondsmen  of  the  Most 
High  God,  who  preach  the  way  of  salvation."  Jesus  "  cast  out  de- 
mons ; "  and,  by  virtue  of  the  power  which  He  gave,  the  Apostles  were 
able  to  do  in  His  name  what  He  did  in  His  own. 

If  in  any  region  of  Heathendom  the  evil  spirits  had  pre-eminent  sway, 
it  was  in  the  mythological  system  of  Greece,  which,  with  all  its  beautiful 
imagery  and  all  its  ministrations  to  poetry  and  art,  left  man  powerless 
against  his  passions,  and  only  amused  him  while  it  helped  him  to  be 
unholy.  In  the  lively  imagination  of  the  Greeks,  the  whole  visible  and 
invisible  world  was  peopled  with  spiritual  powers  or  demons.  The  same 
terms  were  often  used  on  this  subject  by  Pagans  and  by  Christians.  But 
in  the  language  of  the  Pagan  the  demon  might  be  either  a  beneficent  or 
a  malignant  power ;  in  the  language  of  the  Christian  it  always  denoted 
what  was  evil. ^  When  the  Athenians  said*  that  St.  Paul  was  introdu- 
cing "  new  demons  "  among  them,  they  did  not  necessarily  mean  that  he 
was  in  league  with  evil  spirits ;  but  when  St.  Paul  told  the  Corinthians ' 
that  though  "  idols "  in  themselves  were  nothing,  yet  the  sacrifices 
offered  to  them  were,  in  reality,  offered  to  "  demons,"  he  spoke  of  those 
false  divinities  which  were  the  enemies  of  the  True.® 

^  For  some  suggestions  as  to  the  probable  interlinked ;  and  it  is  nothing  wonderful  that 

reasons  why  demoniacal  possession  is  seldom  they  should  have  abounded  at  that  time."  — 

witnessed  now,  see  Trench,  p.  162.  P.  162.     Neander  and  Trench,  however,  both 

'■^  Trench  says,  that  "  if  there  was  any  thing  refer  to  modern  missionary  accounts  of  some- 

that  marked  the  period  of  the  Lord's  coming  thing  like  the  same  possession  among  heathen 

in  the  flesh,  and  that  immediately  succeeding,  nations,  and  of  their  cessation  on  conversion 

it  was  the  wreck  and  confusion  of  men's  spir-  to  Christianity. 

itual  life  .  .  .  the  sense  of  utter  disharmony.  ^  This  is  expressly  stated  by  Origen  and 

.  .  .  The  whole   period   was    the    hour  and  Augustine ;    and  we   find   the   same  view  in 

power  of  darkness  ;  of  a  darkness  which  then,  Josephus. 

immediately  before  the  dawn  of  a  new  day,  *  Acts  xvii.  18. 

was   the   thickest.     It  was  exactly  the  crisis  ^  1  Cor.  x.  20. 

for  such  soul-maladies  as  these,  in  which  the  *  It  is  very  important  to   distinguish  the 

spiritual  and  bodily  should  be  thus  strangely  word  Aia(io?u>c  ("  Devil"),  which  is  only  used 


OHAP.  IX.  PRETERNATURAL  AGENCY  259 

Again,  tlu^  language  concerning  physical  changes,  especially  in  the 
human  fraifae,  is  very  similar  in  the  sacred  and  profane  writers.  Some- 
times it  contc.its  itGclf  with  stating  merely  the  facts  and  symptoms  of 
disease  ;  sometimes  it  refers  the  facts  and  symptoms  to  invisible  personal 
agency.'  One  class  of  phenomena,  affecting  the  mind  as  well  as  the 
body,  was  mor'»,  partJcularly  referred  to  preternatural  agency.  These 
were  the  prophetic  conditions  of  mind,  showing  themselves  in  stated 
oracles  or  in  more  irregular  manifestations,  and  accompanied  with  con- 
vulsions and  violent  excitement,  which  are  described  or  alluded  to  by 
almost  all  Heathen  authors.  Here  again  we  are  brought  to  a  subject  which 
is  surrounded  with  difficiUties.  How  far,  in  such  cases,  imposture  was 
combined  with  real  posse*  sion;  how  we  may  disentangle  the  one  from 
the  other ;  how  far  the  sup/eme  will  of  God  made  use  of  these  prophetic 
powers  and  overruled  them  to  good  ends;  such  questions  inevitably 
suggest  themselves,  but  we  are  not  concerned  to  answer  them  here.  It 
is  enough  to  say  that  we  soe  no  reason  to  blame  the  opinion  of  those 
writers,  who  believe  that  a  wicked  spiritual  agency  was  really  exerted 
in  the  prophetic  sanctuaries  and  prophetic  personages  of  the  Heathen 
world.  The  heathens  themselves  attributed  these  phenomena  to  the 
agency  of  Apollo,^  the  deity  of  Pythonic  spirits ;  and  such  phenomena 
were  of  very  frequent  occurrence,  and  displayed  themselves  under  many 
varieties  of  place  and  circumstance.  Sometimes  those  who  were  pos- 
sessed were  of  the  highest  condition  ;  sometimes  they  went  about  the 
streets  like  insane  impostors  of  the  lowest  rank.  It  was  usual  for  the 
prophetic  spirit  to  make  itself  known  by  an  internal  muttering  or  ven- 
triloquism.^ We  read  of  persons  in  this  miserable  condition  used  by 
others  for  the  purpose  of  gain.  Frequently  they  were  slaves ;  and  there 
were  cases  of  joint  proprietorship  in  these  unhappy  ministers  of  public 
superstition. 

In  the  case  before  us  it  was  a  "  female  slave  "  *  who  was  possessed  with 
"  a  spirit  of  divination  :  "  **  and  she  was  the  property  of  more  than  one 

in    the    singular,   from    iaifiuv    or    daifioviov  lepsy  as  the  result  of  supernatural  possession. 

("  demon  "),  which  may  be  singular  or  plural.  Some  symptoms,  he  says,  were  popularly  attrib- 

The  former  word  is  used,  for  instance,  in  Matt.  uted  to  Apollo,  some  to   the  Mother  of   the 

XXV.  41 ;  John  viii.  44  ;  Acts  xiii.  10  ;  1  Pet.  Gods,  some  to  Neptune,  &c. 

V.  8,  &c. ;  the  latter  in  John  vii.  20 ;  Luke  x.  ^  Python  is   the  name  of  Apollo   in   his 

17;  1   Tim.  iv.  1  ;  Rev.  ix.  20;    also  James  oracular  character. 

iii.  15.     For  further  remarks  on  this  sujjject,  ^  Such    persons    spoke    with    the    mouth 

see  below  on  Acts  xvii.  18.  closed,   and   were  called   Pythons   (the   very 

1  This  will  he  observed  in  the  Gospels,  if  word  used  here  by  St.  Luke,  Acts  xvi.  16). 
we  carefully  compare  the  different  accounts  of  *  Acts  xvi.  16.     The  word  is  the  same  m 

our  Lord's  miracles.     Among  heathen  writers  xii.  13. 

we    may  allude  particularly  to   Hippocrates,  ^  Literally  "a  spirit   of  Python"  or  "» 

aince  he  wrote  against  those  who  treated  epi-  Pythonic  spirit." 


260  THE  LLFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.ix, 

master,  who  kept  her  for  the  purpose  of  practising  on  the  credulity  of 
the  Philippians,  and  realized  "  much  profit  "  in  this  way.  We  all  know 
the  kind  of  sacredness  with  which  the  ravings  of  common  insanity  are 
apt  to  be  invested  by  the  ignorant ;  and  we  can  easily  understand  the 
notoriety  which  the  gestures  and  words  of  this  demoniac  would  obtain  in 
Philippi.  It  was  far  from  a  matter  of  indifference,  when  she  met  the 
members  of  the  Christian  congregation  on  the  road  to  the  proseucha,  and 
began  to  follow  St.  Paul,  and  to  exclaim  (either  because  the  words  she 
had  overheard  mingled  with  her  diseased  imaginations,  or  because  the 
evil  spirit  in  her  was  compelled  *  to  speak  the  truth)  :  "  These  men  are 
the  bondsmen  of  the  Most  High  God,  who  are  come  to  announce  unto 
you  the  way  of  salvation."  This  was  continued  for  "  several  days,"  and 
the  whole  city  must  soon  have  been  familiar  with  her  words.  Paul  was 
well  aware  of  this ;  and  he  could  not  bear  the  thought  that  the  credit 
even  of  the  Gospel  should  be  enhanced  by  such  miholy  means.  Possibly 
one  reason  why  our  Blessed  Lord  Himself  forbade  the  demoniacs  to  make 
Him  known  was,  that  His  holy  cause  would  be  polluted  by  resting  on 
such  evidence.  And  another  of  our  Saviour's  feelings  must  have  found 
an  imitation  in  St.  Paul's  breast,  —  that  of  deep  compassion  for  the  poor 
victim  of  demoniac  power.  At  length  he  could  bear  this  Satanic  inter- 
ruption no  longer,  and,  "  being  grieved,  he  commanded  the  evil  spirit  to 
come  out  of  her."  It  would  be  profaneness  to  suppose  that  the  Apostle 
spoke  in  mere  irritation,  as  it  would  be  ridiculous  to  imagine  that  Divine 
help  would  have  been  vouchsafed  to  gratify  such  a  feeling.  No  doubt 
there  was  grief  and  indignation,  but  the  grief  and  indignation  of  an 
Apostle  may  be  the  impulses  of  Divine  inspiration.  He  spoke,  not  in  his 
own  name,  but  in  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  power  from  above  attended 
his  words.  The  prophecy  and  command  of  Jesus  concerning  His 
Apostles  were  fulfilled  :  that  "  in  His  name  they  should  cast  out  demons." 
It  was  as  it  had  been  at  Jericho  and  by  the  Lake  of  Genesareth.  The 
demoniac  at  Philippi  was  restored  "  to  her  right  mind."  Her  natural 
powers  resumed  their  course ;  and  the  gains  of  her  masters  were  gone. 

Violent  rage  on  the  part  of  these  men  was  the  immediate  result.    They 
saw  that  their  influence  with  the  people,  and  with  it  "  all  hope  "  of  any 

1  See  what  Trench  says  on  the  demoniacs  His  state  is,  in  the  truest  sense,  '  a  possession ; ' 
in  the  country  of  the  Gadarenes.  "  We  find  another  is  ruling  in  the  high  places  of  his  soul, 
in  the  demoniac  the  sense  of  a  misery  in  which  and  has  cast  down  the  rightful  lord  from  his 
he  does  not  acquiesce,  the  deep  feeling  of  inward  seat ;  and  he  knows  this  :  and  out  of  his  con- 
discord,  of  the  true  life  utterly  shattered,  of  sciousness  of  it  there  goes  forth  from  him  • 
an  alien  power  which  has  mastered  him  wholly,  cry  for  redemption,  so  soon  as  ever  a  glimpse 
and  now  is  cruelly  lording  over  him,  and  ever  of  hope  is  afforded,  an  unlooked-for  Bedeemer 
drawing  farther  away  from  him  in  whom  only  draws  near."  —  p.  159. 
any  created  intelligence  can  find  rest  and  peace. 


cwAp.ix.  PAUL  AND  SILAS   ARRESTED.  261 

future  profit,  was  at  end.  They  proceeded  therefore  to  take  a  summary 
revenge.  Laying  violent  hold  of  Paul  and  Silas  (for  Timotheus  and 
Luke  were  not  so  evidently  concerned  in  what  had  happened),  they 
dragged  them  into  the  forum '  before  the  city  authorities.  The  case  was 
brought  before  the  Praetors  (so  we  may  venture  to  call  them,  since  this 
was  the  title  which  colonial  Duumviri  were  fond  of  assuming ;)  ^  but  the 
complainants  must  have  felt  some  difficulty  in  stating  their  grievance. 
The  slave  that  had  lately  been  a  lucrative  possession  had  suddenly  be- 
come valueless  ;  but  the  law  had  no  remedy  for  property  de])reciated  by 
exorcism.  The  true  state  of  the  case  was  therefore  concealed,  and  an  ac- 
cusation was  laid  before  the  Praetors  in  the  following  form.  "  These  men 
are  throwing  the  whole  city  into  confusion  ;  moreover  they  are  Jews ; ' 
and  they  are  attempting  to  introduce  new  religious  observances,*  which 
we,  being  Roman  citizens,  cannot  legally  receive  and  adopt."  The  accu- 
sation was  partly  true  and  partly  false.  It  was  quite  false  that  Paul  and 
Silas  were  disturbing  tlie  colony ;  for  nothing  could  have  been  more  calm 
and  orderly  than  their  worship  and  teaching  at  the  house  of  Lydia,  or  in 
the  proseucha  by  the  water-side.  In  the  other  part  of  the  indictment 
there  was  a  certain  amount  of  truth.  The  letter  of  the  Roman  law,  even 
under  the  Republic,  was  opposed  to  the  introduction  of  foreign  religions  ; 
and  though  exceptions  were  allowed,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Jews  them- 
selves, yet  the  spirit  of  the  law  entirely  condemned  such  changes  in 
worship  as  were  likely  to  unsettle  the  minds  of  the  citizens,  or  to  produce 
any  tumultuous  uproar ;  and  the  advice  given  to  Augustus,  which  both 
he  and  his  successors  had  studiously  followed,  was,  to  check  religious  in- 
novations as  promptly  as  possible,  lest  in  the  end  they  should  undermine 
the  Monarchy.  Thus  Paul  and  Silas  had  undoubtedly  been  doing  what 
in  some  degree  exposed  them  to  legal  penalties ;  and  were  beginning  a 
change  which  tended  to  bring  down,  and  which  ultimately  did  bring 
down,  the  whole  weight  of  the  Roman  law  on  the  martyrs  of  Chris- 
tianity .**  The  force  of  another  part  of  the  accusation,  which  was  adroitly 
introduced,  namely,  that  the  men  were  "  Jews  to  begin  with,"  will  be 
fully  apprehended,  if  we  remember,  not  only  that  the  Jews  were  general- 

1  Acts  xvi.  19.  *  The  word  is  similarly  used  Acts  vi.  14, 

2  See    above,  p.    253,  n.   5.       The  word       xxvi.  3,  xxviii.  17. 

arpaTTiydg  is  the  usual  Greek   translation  of  *  See  the  account  of  the  martyrs  of  Gaul 

prretor.      It  is,  however,  often  used  generally  in   Eusebius,  v.  1.      The  governor,  learning 

for  the  supreme  magistrates  of  Greek  towns.  that  Attalus  was  a  Roman  citizen,  ordered  him 

Wetstein  tells  us  that  the  mayor  in  Messina  to  be  remanded  to  prison  till  he  should  leara 

was  in  his  time  still  called  stradigo.  the  emperor's  commands.     Those  who  had  the 

^  "  Being  Jews  to  begin  with,"  is  the  most  citizenship  were  beheaded.     The  mstwere  sent 

exact  translation.     The  verb  is  the  same  as  in  to  the  wild  beasts. 
Gal.  ii.  14,  "being  bom  a  Jew,  '  p.  201. 


262  THE  LIFE  A2>rD   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  li, 

ly  hated,  suspected,  and  despised,^  but  that  they  had  lately  been  driven 
out  of  Rome  in  consequence  of  an  uproar,^  and  that  it  was  incumbent 
on  Pliilippi,  as  a  colony,  to  copy  the  indignation  of  the  mother  city. 

Thus  we  can  enter  into  the  feelings  which  caused  the  mob  to  rise 
against  Paul  alid  Silas,'  and  tempted  the  Praetors  to  dispense  with  legal 
formalities  and  consign  the  offenders  to  immediate  punishment.  The 
mere  loss  of  the  slave's  prophetic  powers,  so  far  as  it  was  generally 
known,  was  enough  to  cause  a  violent  agitation :  for  mobs  are  always 
more  fond  of  excitement  and  wonder  than  of  truth  and  holiness.  The 
Philippians  had  been  willing  to  pay  money  for  the  demoniac's  revelations, 
and  now  strangers  had  come  and  deprived  them  of  that  which  gratified 
their  superstitious  curiosity.  And  when  they  learned,  moreover,  that 
these  strangers  were  Jews,  and  were  breaking  the  laws  of  Rome,  their 
discontent  became  fanatical.  It  seems  that  the  praetors  had  no  time  to 
hesitate,  if  they  would  retain  their  popularity.  The  rough  words  were 
spoken  :  *  Go,  lictors  :  strip  off  their  garments  :  let  them  be  scourged.''  ^ 
The  order  was  promptly  obeyed,  and  the  heavy  blows  descended.  It  is 
happy  for  us  that  few  modern  countries  know,  by  the  example  of  a  simi- 
lar punishment,  what  the  severity  of  a  Roman  scourging  was.  The  Apos- 
tles received  "  many  stripes  ;  "  and  when  they  were  consigned  to  prison, 
bleeding  and  faint  from  the  rod,  the  jailer  received  a  strict  injunction  "  to 
keep  them  safe."  Well  might  St.  Paul,  when  at  Corinth,  look  back  to 
this  day  of  cruelty,  and  remind  the  Thessalonians  how  he  and  Silas  had 
"  suffered  before,  and  were  shamefully  treated  at  Philippi."  ® 

The  jailer  fulfilled  the  directions  of  the  magistrates  with  rigorous  and 
conscientious  cruelty.  Not  content  with  placing  the  Apostles  among 
such  other  offenders  against  the  law  as  were  in  custody  at  Philippi, 
he  "thrust  them  into  the  inner  prison,"'' and  then  forced  their  limbs, 
lacerated  as  they  were,  and  bleeding  from  the  rod,  into  a  painful  and 
constrained  posture,  by  means  of  an  instrument  employed  to  confine  and 
torture  the  bodies  of  the  worst  malefactors.^     Though  we  are  ignorant  of 

1  Cicero  calls  them  "  snspiciosa  ac  maledica  cessary.  It  is  quite  a  mistake  to  imagine  that 
civitas."  —  Flac.  28.  Other  authors  could  bo  they  rent  their  own  garments,  like  the  high- 
quoted  to  the  same  effect.  priest  at  Jerusalem. 

-  Acts  xviii.  2  ;  which  is  probably  the  same  *  The   original  word  strictly  denotes   "  to 

occurrence  as   that  which  is  alluded   to    by  beat  with  rods,"  as  it  ia  translated  in  2  Cor. 

Suetonius,   Claud.  25  :  —  "  Judaeos  impulsore  xi.  25. 
Christo   assidue  tumultnantcs  Roma  expulit.  ^  1  Thess.  ii.  2. 

See  pp.  287,  335.  ''  Acts  xvi.  24. 

3  Acts  xvi.  22.  *  The  ^i'lov  was  what  the  Romans  called 

♦  The  official  order  is  given  by   Seneca.  nervus.     See   the  note  in  the  Pictorial  Bible 

Some  commentators  suppose  that  the  duumviri  on  Job  xiii.  27.  and  the  woodcut   of  stocks 

lore  off  the  garments  of  Paul  and  Silas  with  used  in  India  from  Roberts's  Oriental  Ulustra 

their  own  hands  ;  but  this  supposition  is  unn&-  tixms. 


ohap.es.  PAUL  AND   SILAS  IN  PRISON.  263 

the  exact  rektion  of  the  outer  and  inner  prisons,^  and  of  the  connection 
of  the  jailor's  "  house"  witli  both,  we  are  not  without  very  good  notions 
of  the  misf  ry  endured  in  the  Roman  places  of  captivity.  We  must 
picture  to  o^irselves  something  very  different  from  the  austere  comfort  of 
an  English  jail.  It  is  only  since  that  Christianity  for  which  the  Apostles 
bled  has  bi.d  influence  on  the  hearts  of  men,  that  the  treatment  of  felons 
has  been  a  distinct  subject  of  philanthropic  inquiry,  and  that  we  have 
learnt  to  pray  "  for  all  prisoners  and  captives."  The  inner  prisons  of 
jvhich  we  read  in  the  ancient  world  were  like  that  "  dungeon  in  the 
:;ourt  of  the  prison,"  into  which  Jeremiah  was  let  down  with  cords,  and 
svhere  "  he  sank  in  the  mire."  "^  They  were  pestilential  cells,  damp  and 
cold,  from  which  the  light  was  excluded,  and  where  the  chains  rusted 
on  the  limbs  of  the  prisoners.  One  such  place  may  be  seen  to  this 
day  on  the  slope  of  the  Capitol  at  Rome.'  It  is  known  to  the  readers 
of  Cicero  and  Sallust  as  the  place  where  certain  notorious  conspirators 
were  executed.  The  Tullianum  (for  so  it  was  called)  is  a  type  of  the 
dungeons  in  the  provinces;  and  we  find  the  very  name  applied,  in  one 
instance,  to  a  dungeon  in  the  province  of  Macedonia.*  What  kind  of 
torture  was  inflicted  by  the  "  stocks,"  in  which  the  arms  and  legs,  and 
even  the  necks,  of  offenders  were  confined  and  stretched,  we  are  suffi- 
ciently informed  by  the  allusions  to  the  punishment  of  slaves  in  the 
Greek  and  Roman  writers ;  *  and  to  show  how  far  the  cruelty  of 
Heathen  persecution,  which  may  be  said  to  have  begun  at  Philippi,  was 
afterwards  carried  in  this  peculiar  kind  of  torture,  we  may  refer  to  the 
sufferings  "  which  Origen  endured  under  an  iron  collar,  and  in  the 
deepest  recesses  of  the  prison,  when,  for  many  days,  he  was  extended 
and  stretched  to  the  distance  of  four  holes  on  the  rack.''''  ^ 

A  few  hours  had  made  a  serious  change  from  the  quiet  scene  by  the 
water-side  to  the  interior  of  a  stifling  dungeon.     But  Paul  and  Silas  had 

1  A  writer  on  tlie  subject  (Walch)  says  that  ^  "  Then  took  they  Jeremiah  and  cast  him 
in  a  Roman  prison  there  were  usually  three  into  the  dungeon  of  Malchiah,  the  son  of  Ham- 
distinct  parts  :  (1)   the  com??it<w('ora,  where  the  raelech,  which  was  in  the  court  of  the  prison ;  and 
prisoners  had  light  and  fresh  air;  (2)  the  inte-  they  let  down  Jeremiah  with  cords.     And  in 
riora,  shut  oflF  by  iron  gates  with  strong  bars  the  dungeon  there  was  no  water,  but  mire  ;  so 
and    locks;    (3)   the  Tulliannni,  or  dungeon.  Jeremiah  sunk  in  the  mire." — ./en  xxxviii.  6. 
If  this  was  the  case  at  Philippi,  Paul  and  Silas  See  the  note  in  the  Pictorial  Bible. 
were  perhaps  in  the  second,  and  the  other  pris-  *  For  an  account  of  it  see  Sir  W.  Gell's 
oners  in  the  first  part.     The  third  was  rather  work  on  Rome,  also  Rich's  Did.  of  Greek  and 
a  place  of  execution  than  imprisonment.  Walch  Roman  Antiquities,  fiom  which  the  woodrnt  at 
8.ays  that  in  the  provinces  the  prisons  were  not  the  end  of  this  chapter  is  taken, 
so  systematically  divided  into  three  parts.     He  *  In  Apuleius,   where  the    allusion   is   to 
adds    that   the   jailer  or  commentariensis   had  Thessaly. 
usually  optiones  to  assist  him     In  Acts  xvi.  ^  Especially  in  Plantus. 
only  one  jailer  is  mentioned.  ®  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl.  ri  89. 


264  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.ix. 

learnt,  "  in  whatever  state  they  were,  therewith  to  be  content."  ^  They 
were  even  able  to  "  rejoice  "  that  they  were  "  counted  worthy  to  suffer  " 
for  the  name  of  Christ.'^  And  if  some  thoughts  of  discouragement  came 
over  their  minds,  not  for  their  own  sufferings,  but  for  the  cause  of  their 
Master ;  and  if  it  seemed  "  a  strange  thing  "  that  a  work  to  which  they  had 
been  beckoned  by  God  should  be  arrested  in  its  very  beginning ;  yet  they 
had  faith  to  believe  that  His  arm  would  be  revealed  at  the  appointed  time. 
Joseph's  feet,  too,  had  been  "  hurt  in  the  stocks,"  '  and  he  became  a 
prince  in  Egypt.  Daniel  had  been  cast  into  the  lions'  den,  and  he  was 
made  ruler  of  Babylon.  Thus  Paul  and  Silas  remembered  with  joy  the 
"  Lord  our  Maker,  who  giveth  songs  in  the  night  J''  *  Racked  as  they  were 
with  pain,  sleepless  and  weary,  they  were  heard,  "  about  midnight,"  from 
the  depth  of  their  prison-house,  "  praying  and  singing  hymns  to  God."  ' 
What  it  was  that  they  sang,  we  know  not ;  but  the  Psalms  of  David  have 
ever  been  dear  to  those  who  suffer ;  they  have  instructed  both  Jew  and 
Christian  in  the  language  of  prayer  and  praise.  And  the  Psalms  abound 
in  such  sentences  as  these :  —  "  The  Lord  looketh  down  from  His  sanc- 
tuary :  out  of  heaven  the  Lord  beholdeth  the  earth  :  that  He  might  hear 
the  mournings  of  such  as  are  in  captivity,  and  deliver  the  children 
appointed  unto  death."  —  "  Oh  !  let  the  sorrowful  sighing  of  the  prisoners 
come  before  thee:  according  to  the  greatness  of  thy  power,  preserve  thou 
those  that  are  appointed  to  die."  —  "  The  Lord  helpeth  them  to  right  that 
suffer  wrong :  the  Lord  looseth  men  out  of  prison :  the  Lord  helpeth 
them  that  are  fallen  :  the  Lord  careth  for  the  righteous."®  Such  sounds 
as  these  were  new  in  a  Roman  dungeon.  Whoever  the  other  prisoners 
might  be,  whether  they  were  the  victims  of  oppression,  or  were  suffering 
the  punishment  of  guilt,  —  debtors,  slaves,  robbers,  or  murderers,  —  they 
listened  with  surprise  to  the  voices  of  those  who  filled  the  midnight  of 
the  prison  with  sounds  of  cheerfulness  and  joy.  Still  the  Apostles  con- 
tinued their  praises,  and  the  prisoners  listened.'^  "  Tliey  that  sit  in  dark- 
ness, and  in  the  shadow  of  death ;  being  fast  bound  in  misery  and  iron  ; 
when  they  cried  unto  the  Lord  in  their  trouble,  He  delivered  them  out 
of  their  distress.     For  He  brought  them  out  of  darkness,  and  out  of  the 

1  Phil.  iv.  11.  for  the  word,  see  Matt.  xxvi.  30,  Mark  xiv.  26. 

2  Acts  V.  41.  The  psalms  sung  on  that  occasion  are  believed 
8  Ps.  cv.  18,  Prayer-Book  Version.     Philo,       to  be  Ps.  cxiii.-cxviii.     Compare  Eph.  v.  19  ; 

writing  on  the  history  of  Joseph  (Gen.  xxxix.  Col.  iii.  16.     Al.so  Ileb.  ii.  12. 

21),  has  some  striking  remarks  on  the  cruel  ^  Ps.  cii.  19,  20,  Ixxix.  12,  cxlvi.  6-8.     See 

chnracter  of  jailers,  who  live  among  thieves,  also  Ps.  cxlii.  8,  9,  Ixix.  34,  cxvi.  14,  Ixviii.  6. 

robbers,   and   murderers,  and  never  see  any  ''  The  imperfects  u,scd  in  this  passage  imply 

ihmg  that  is  good.  continuance.     The  Apostles  were  singing,  au4 

*  Job  XXXV.  10.  the  prisoners  were  listening,  when  the  eartb 

*  Acts  xvi.   25.     The  tense  is  imperfect :  quake  came. 


CHAP.  EX.  THE  JAILER.  265 

shadow  of  death,  and  brake  their  bonds  in  sunder.  Oh  that  men  would 
therefore  praise  the  Lord  for  His  goodness,  and  declare  the  wonders  that 
He  doeth  for  the  children  of  men :  for  He  hath  broken  the  gates  of  brass, 
and  smitten  the  bars  of  iron  in  sunder."  ^  When  suddenly,  as  if  in  direct 
answer  to  the  prayer  of  His  servants,  an  earthquake  shook  the  very  foun- 
dations of  the  prison,^  the  gates  were  broken,  the  bars  smitten  asunder, 
and  the  bands  of  the  prisoners  loosed.  Without  strivmg  to  draw  a  line 
between  the  natural  and  supernatural  in  this  occurrence,  and  still  less 
endeavoring  to  resolve  what  was  evidently  miraculous  into  the  results 
of  ordinary  causes,  we  turn  again  to  the  thought  suggested  by  that 
single  but  expressive  phrase  of  Scripture,  "  the  prisoners  ivere  listening.''^ ' 
When  we  reflect  on  their  knowledge  of  the  Apostles'  sufferings  (for 
they  were  doubtless  aware  of  the  manner  in  which  they  had  been 
brought  in  and  thrust  into  the  dungeon),*  and  on  the  wonder  they  must 
have  experienced  on  hearing  sounds  of  joy  from  those  who  were  in  pain, 
and  on  the  awe  which  must  have  overpowered  them  wlien  they  felt  the 
prison  shaken  and  the  chains  fall  from  their  limbs  ;  and  when  to  all  this 
we  add  the  effect  produced  on  their  minds  by  all  that  happened  on  the 
following  day,  and  especially  the  fact  that  the  jailer  himself  became  a 
Christian ;  we  can  hardly  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the  hearts  of  many 
of  those  unhappy  bondsmen  were  prepared  that  night  to  receive  the 
Gospel,  that  the  tidings  of  spiritual  liberty  came  to  those  whom,  but  for 
the  captivity  of  the  Apostles,  it  would  never  have  reached,  and  that  the 
jailer  himself  was  their  evangelist  and  teacher. 

The  effect  produced  by  that  night  on  the  jailer's  own  mind  has  been 
fully  related  to  us.  Awakened  in  a  moment  by  the  earthquake,  his  first 
thought  was  of  his  prisoners  :  *  and  in  the  shock  of  surprise  and  alarm, 
—  "  seeing  the  doors  of  the  prison  open,  and  supposing  that  the  prisoners 
were  fled,"  —  aware  that  inevitable  death  awaited  him,^  with  the  stern 
and  desperate  resignation  of  a  Roman  official,  he  resolved  that  suicide 
was  better  than  disgrace,  and  "  drew  his  sword," 

Philippi  is  famous  in  the  annals  of  suicide.  Here  Cassius,  unable  to 
survive  defeat,  covered  his  face  in  the  empty  tent,  and  ordered  his  freed- 
men  to  strike  the  blow.''  His  messenger  Titinius  held  it  to  be  "  a  Ro- 
man's part  "  ^  to  follow  the  stern  example.  Here  Brutus  bade  adieu  to 
his  friends,  exclaiming, "  Certainly  we  must  fly,  yet  not  with  the'  feet,  but 

1  Ps.  cvii.  10-16.  '^  Acts  xvi.  26.  undergo  the  same  punishment  which  the  male- 

8  See  above.  factors  who  escaped  by  his  negligence  were  to 

*  See  above,  on  the  form  of  ancient  prisons.  have  suffered.     Biscoe,  p.  330. 

*  Acts  xvi.  27.  "^  Plut.  Brutus,  43. 

•^  By  the    Roman    law,  the  jailer  was  to  *  Julius  Coesar,  act  v.  so.  iii. 


266  THE   IjIFE   and   epistles  OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap.  ja. 

I 

witli  tho  hands  ;"  '  and  many,  whose  names  have  never  reached  us,  ended 
their  last  struggle  for  the  republic  by  self-inflicted  death .^  Here,  too, 
another  despairing  man  would  have  committed  the  same  crime,  had  not 
his  hand  been  arrested  by  an  Apostle's  voice.  Instead  of  a  sudden  and 
hopeless  death,  the  jailer  received  at  the  hands  of  his  prisoner  the  gift 
both  of  temporal  and  spiritual  life. 

The  loud  exclamation  ^  of  St.  Paul,  "  Do  thyself  no  harm  ;  for  we  are 
all  here,"  gave  immediate  re-assurance  to  the  terrified  jailer.     He  laid 
aside  his  sword,  and  called  for  lights,  and  rushed  *  to  the  "  inner  prison," 
where  Paul  and  Silas  were  confined.     But  now  a  new  fear  of  a  higher 
kind  took  possession  of  his  soul.     The  recollection  of  all  he  had  heard 
before  concerning  these  prisoners  and  all  that  he  had  observed  of  their 
demeanor   when   he  brought   them  into  the  dungeon,  the  shuddering 
thought  of  the  earthquake,  the  burst  of  his  gratitude  towards  them  as  the 
preservers  of  his  life,  and  the  consciousness  that  even  in  the  darkness 
of  midnight  they  had  seen  his  intention  of  suicide,  —  all  these  mingling 
and  conflicting  emotions  made  him  feel  that  he  was  in  the  presence  of  a 
higher  power.     He  fell  down  before  them,  and  brought  them  out,  as 
men  whom  he  had  deeply  injured  and  insulted,  to  a  place  of  greater 
freedom  and  comfort ;  ^  and  then  he  asked  them,  with  earnest  anxiety, 
what  he  must  do  to  be  saved.     We  see  the  Apostle  here  self-possessed  in 
the  earthquake,  as  afterwards  in  the  storm  at  sea,*  able  to  overawe  and 
control  those  who  were  placed  over  him,  and  calmly  turning  the  occa- 
sion to  a  spiritual  end.     It  is  surely,  however,  a  mistake  to  imagine  that 
the   jailer's  inquiry  had   reference  merely  to  temporal  and  immediate 
danger.     The  awakening  of  his  conscience,  the  presence  of  the  unseen 
world,  the  miraculous  visitation,  the  nearness  of  death, —  coupled  per- 
haps with  some  confused  recollection  of  the  ^'- way  of  salvation^''  which 
these  strangers  were  said  to  have  been  proclaiming,  —  were  enough  to 
suggest  that  inquiry  which  is  the  most  momentous  that  any  human  soul 
can  make  :    "  Wliat  must  I  do  to  be  saved?  "  '     Their  answer  was  that  of 
faithful  Apostles.     They  preached  "  not  themselves,  but  Christ  Jesus  the 
Lord."^     "  Believe,  not  in  us,  but  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  thou  shalt  be 

1  Pint.  Brutus,  52.  the  entrance  to  the  jailer's  dwelling,  if  indeed 

2  "  The  majority  of  the  proscribed  who  sur-      they  were  not  identical, 
vived  the  battles  of  Philippi  put  an  end  to  their  ^  Acts  xxvii.  20-25. 

own   lives,  as   they  despaired    of   being  par-  "^  We  should   compare   v.  30  with  t.  17. 

doned." — Niebuhr's  Z^<«res,  ii.  118.  The   words   "save"   and    "salvation"   mast 

8  Acts  xvi.  28.  have  been  frequently  in  the  mouth  of  St.  Paul. 

*  The  whole   phraseology  seems   to  imply  It  is  probable  that  the  demoniac,  and  possible 

that  the  dungeon  was  subterraneous.      Prof  that  the  jailer,  might  have  heard  them.     Se« 

Hackett,  however,  takes  a  different  view.  p.  260. 

^  Either  the  outer  prison  or  the  space  about  *  2  Cor.  iv.  5 


CHAP.  IX.  THE   MAGISTRATES.  267 

saved ;  and  uot  only  thou,  but  the  like  faitli  shall  bring  salvation  to  all 
thy  Iiouse.^^  From  this  last  expression,  and  from  the  words  which  follow, 
we  infer  that  the  members  of  the  jailer's  family  had  crowded  round  him 
and  the  Apostles.'  No  time  was  lost  in  making  known  to  them  "  the 
word  of  the  Lord."  All  thought  of  bodily  comfort  and  repose  was 
postponed  to  the  work  of  saving  the  soul.  The  meaning  of  "  faith  in 
Jesus "  was  explained,  and  the  Gospel  was  preached  to  the  jailer's 
family  at  midnight,  while  the  prisoners  were  silent  around,  and  the  light 
was  thrown  on  anxious  faces  and  the  dungeon-wall. 

And  now  we  have  an  instance  of  that  sympathetic  care,  that  inter- 
change of  temporal  and  spiritual  service,  which  has  ever  attended  the 
steps  of  true  Christianity.  As  it  was  in  the  miracles  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour,  where  the  soul  and  the  body  were  regarded  together,  so  has  it 
always  been  in  His  Church.  "  Li  the  same  hour  of  the  night  "^  the 
jailer  took  the  Apostles  to  the  well  or  fountain  of  water  which  was 
within  or  near  the  precincts  of  the  prison,  and  there  he  washed  their 
wounds,  and  there  also  he  and  his  household  were  baptized.  He  did 
what  he  could  to  assuage  the  bodily  pain  of  Paul  and  Silas,  and  they 
admitted  him  and  his,  by  the  "  laver  of  regeneration," '  to  the  spiritual 
citizenship  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  prisoners  of  the  jailer  were 
now  become  his  guests.  His  cruelty  was  changed  into  hospitality 
and  love.  "He  took  them  up*  into  his  house,"  and,  placing  them  in  a 
posture  of  repose,  set  food  before  them,^  and  refreshed  their  exhausted 
strength.  It  was  a  night  of  happiness  for  all.  They  praised  God  that 
His  power  had  been  made  effectual  in  their  weakness  ;  and  the  jailer's 
family  had  their  first  experience  of  that  joy  which  is  the  fruit  of  believ- 
ing in  God. 

At  lengtli  morning  broke  on  the  eventful  night.  In  the  course  of  that 
night  the  greatest  of  all  changes  had  been  wrought  in  the  jailer's  rela- 
tions to  this  world  and  the  next.  From  being  the  ignorant  slave  of  a 
Heathen  magistracy  he  had  become  the  religious  head  of  a  Christian 
family.  A  change,  also,  in  the  same  interval  of  time,  had  come  over  the 
minds  of  the  magistrates  themselves.     Either  from  reflecting  that  they 

'  The  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  the  jailer  ^  ^.cts  xvi.  33.     Here  and  in  v.  34,  a  change 

and  his  family  seems  to  have.taken  place  imme-  of  place  is  implied.  ^  Tit.  iii.  5. 

diately  on  coming  out  of  the  prison   (vv.  30-  *  Acts  xvi.  34.     The  word  implies  at  least 

32);  then  the  baptism  of  the  converts,  and  the  that   the   house  was  higher  than  the  prison. 

wasliing  of  tlie  Apostles'  stripes   (v.  33) ;  and  See  p.  266,  n.  4. 

finally  the  going-up   into  the  house,  and   the  ^  The  custom  of  Greek  and  Roman  meals 

hospital )]e  refreshment  there  afforded.     It  does  must  be  borne  in  mind.     Guests  were  placed 

not  appear  certain  that  they  returned  from  the  on    couches,  and    tables,   with    the    different 

jailer's  house  into  the  dungeon  before  they  courses  of  food,  were  bronght  and  removed  ia 

were  taken  out  of  ciistodi/  (v.  40).  succession. 


268  THE  LIFE  AJS-D  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ix. 

had  acted  more  harshly  than  the  case  had  warranted,  or  from  hearing  a 
more  accurate  statement  of  facts,  or  through  alarm  caused  by  the  earth- 
quake, or  through  that  vague  misgiving  which  sometimes,  as  in  the  case 
of  Pilate  and  his  wife,^  haunts  the  minds  of  those  who  have  no  distinct 
religious  convictions,  they  sent  new  orders  in  the  morning  to  the  jailer. 
The  message  conveyed  by  the  lictors  was  expressed  in  a  somewhat  con- 
temptuous form,  "ie^  those  men  go^"^  But  the  jailer  received  it  with 
the  utmost  joy.  He  felt  his  infinite  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  Apostles,  not 
only  for  his  preservation  from  a  violent  death,  but  for  the  tidings  they 
had  given  him  of  eternal  life.  He  would  willingly  have  seen  them  freed 
from  their  bondage  ;  but  he  was  dependent  on  the  will  of  the  magistrates, 
and  could  do  nothing  without  their  sanction.  When,  therefore,  the 
lictors  brought  the  order,  he  went  with  them'  to  announce  the  intelli- 
gence to  the  prisoners,  and  joyfully  told  them  to  leave  their  dungeon  and 
"  go  in  peace." 

But  Paul,  not  from  any  fanatical  love  of  braving  the  authorities,  but 
caknly  looking  to  the  ends  of  justice  and  the  establishment  of  Chris 
tiauity,  refused  to  accept  his  liberty  without  some  public  acknowledgment 
of  the  wrong  he  had  suffered.  He  now  proclaimed  a  fact  which  had 
hitherto  been  unknown,  —  that  he  and  Silas  were  Roman  citizens.  Two 
Roman  laws  had  been  violated  by  tlie  magistrates  of  the  colony  in  the 
scourging  inflicted  the  day  before.*  And  this,  too,  with  signal  aggrava- 
tions. They  were  "  uncondemned."  There  had  been  no  form  of  trial, 
witliout  which,  in  the  case  of  a  citizen,  even  a  slighter  punishment  would 
have  been  illegal.  And  it  had  been  done  "  publicly."  In  the  face  of  the 
colonial  population,  an  outrage  had  been  committed  on  the  majesty  of  the 
name  in  which  they  boasted,  and  Rome  had  been  insulted  in  her  citizens. 
"•  No,"  said  St.  Paul ;  "  they  have  oppressed  the  innocent  and  violated 
the  law.  Do  they  seek  to  satisfy  justice  by  conniving  at  a  secret  escape  ? 
Let  them  come  themselves  and  take  us  out  of  prison.  They  have  pub- 
licly treated  us  as  guilty  ;  let  them  publicly  declare  that  we  are  in- 
nocent." ^ 

"  How  often,"  says  Cicero,  "  has  this  exclamation,  I  am  a  Roman  citi- 
zen, brought  aid  and  safety  even  among  barbarians  in  the  remotest  parts 
of  the  earth  !  "  —  The  lictors  returned  to  the  praetors,  and  the  praetors 
were  alarmed.     They  felt  that  they  had  committed  an  act  which,  if  di- 

1  Matt,  xxvii.  19.  for  St.  Paul  spoke  "  to  them  ;  "  on  which  they 

■■2  Or,  as  it  might  be  translated,  "  Let  those  went  and  told  the  magistrates  (v.  38). 

follows  go."  *  The  Lex  Valeria  (b.  o.  508)  and  the  Lej 

»  It  is  evident  from  v.  37  that  they  came  Porcia  (b.  c.  300). 

into  the  prison  with  the  jailer,  or  found  the  *  v.  37. 

prisoners  in  the  jailer's  house  (p.  267,  n.  1^ 


CH.A.P.IX.  ST.   LUKE.  269 

vulged  at  Rome,  would  place  them  in  the  utmost  jeopardy.  They  had 
good  reason  to  fear  even  for  their  authority  in  the  colony  ;  for  the  people 
of  Philippi,  "  being  Romans,"  might  be  expected  to  resent  such  a  viola- 
tion of  the  law.  They  hastened,  therefore,  immediately  to  the  prisoners, 
and  became  the  suppliants  of  those  whom  they  had  persecuted.  They 
brought  them  at  once  out  of  the  dungeon,  and  earnestly  "  besought  them 
to  depart  from  the  city."  ^ 

The  whole  narrative  of  St.  Paul's  imprisonment  at  Philippi  sets  before 
us  in  striking  colors  his  clear  judgment  and  presence  of  mind.  He  might 
have  escaped  by  help  of  the  earthquake  and  under  the  shelter  of  the  dark- 
ness ;  but  this  would  have  been  to  depart  as  a  runaway  slave.  He  would 
not  do  secretly  what  he  knew  he  ought  to  be  allowed  to  do  openly.  By 
such  a  course  his  own  character  and  that  of  the  Gospel  would  have  been 
disgraced,  the  jailer  would  have  been  cruelly  left  to  destruction,  and  all 
religious  influence  over  the  other  prisoners  would  have  been  gone.  As 
regards  these  prisoners,  his  influence  over  them  was  like  the  sway  he  ob- 
tained over  the  crew  in  the  sinking  vessel.^  It  was  so  great,  that  not  one 
of  them  attempted  to  escape.  And  not  only  in  the  prison,  but  in  the 
whole  town  of  Philippi,  Christianity  was  placed  on  a  high  vantage-ground 
by  the  Apostle's  conduct  that  night.  It  now  appeared  that  these  per- 
secuted Jews  were  themselves  sharers  in  the  vaunted  Roman  privilege. 
Those  very  laws  had  been  violated  in  their  treatment  which  they  them- 
selves had  been  accused  of  violating.  That  no  appeal  was  made  against 
this  treatment,  might  be  set  down  to  the  generous  forbearance  of  the 
Apostles.  Their  cause  was  now,  for  a  time  at  least,  under  the  protection 
of  the  law,  and  they  themselves  were  felt  to  have  a  claim  on  general 
sympathy  and  respect. 

They  complied  with  the  request  of  the  magistrates.  Yet,  even  in  their 
departure,  they  were  not  unmindful  of  the  dignity  and  self-possession 
which  ought  always  to  be  maintained  by  innocent  men  in  a  righteous 
cause.  They  did  not  retire '  in  any  hasty  or  precipitate  flight,  but  pro- 
ceeded "  from  the  prison  to  the  house  of  Lydia  ;  "  ^  and  there  they  met 
the  Christian  brethren,  who  were  assembled  to  hear  their  farewell  words 
of  exhortation ;  and  so  they  departed  from  the  city.  It  was  not,  how- 
ever, deemed  sufficient  that  this  infant  church  at  Philippi  should  be  left 
alone  with  the  mere  remembrance  of  words  of  exhortation.  Two  of  the 
Apostolic  company  remained  behind:  Timotheus,  of  whom  the  Philip- 
pians  "  learned  the  proof"  that  he  honestly  cared  for  their  state,  that  ho 
was  truly  like-minded  with  St.  Paul,  "  serving  him  in  the  Gospel  as  a  son 
serves  his  father ;  "  *  and  "  Luke  the  Evangelist,  whose  praise  is  in  the 

1  w.  38.  39.  2  Acts  xxvii.  '  Acts  xri.  40.  *  Phil.  ii.  19-25. 


270  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chat.iz 

Gospel,"  though  he  never  praises  himself,  or  relates  his  own  labors,  and 
though  we  only  trace  his  movements  in  connection  with  St.  Paul  by  the 
change  of  a  pronoun,^  or  the  unconscious  variation  of  his  style. 

Timotheus  seems  to  have  rejoined  Paul  and  Silas,  if  not  at  Thessa 
lonica,  at  least  at  Bercea.^  But  we  do  not  see  St.  Luke  again  in  the  Apos- 
tle's company  till  the  third  missionary  journey  and  the  second  visit  to 
Macedonia.^  At  this  exact  point  of  separation,  we  observe  that  he  drops 
the  style  of  an  eye-witness  and  resumes  that  of  an  historian,  until  the 
second  time  of  meeting,  after  which  he  writes  as  an  eye-witness  till  the 
arrival  at  Rome,  and  the  very  close  of  the  Acts.  To  explain  and  justify 
the  remark  here  made,  we  need  only  ask  the  reader  to  contrast  the  de- 
tailed narrative  of  events  at  Philippi  with  the  more  general  account  of 
what  happened  at  Thessalonica.*  It  might  be  inferred  that  the  writer 
of  the  Acts  was  an  eye-witness  in  the  former  city  and  not  in  the  latter, 
even  if  the  pronoun  did  not  show  us  when  he  was  present  and  when  he 
was  absent.  We  shall  trace  him  a  second  time,  in  the  same  manner,  when 
he  rejoins  St.  Paul  in  the  same  neighborhood.  He  appears  again  on  a 
voyage  from  Philippi  to  Troas  (Acts  xx.  56),  as  now  he  has  appeared  on 
a  voyage  from  Troas  to  Philippi.  It  is  not  an  improbable  conjecture  that 
his  vocation  as  a  physician  *  may  have  brought  him  into  connection  with 
these  contiguous  coasts  of  Asia  and  Europe.  It  has  even  been  imagined, 
on  reasonable  grounds,*  that  he  may  have  been  in  the  habit  of  exercising 
liis  professional  skill  as  a  surgeon  at  sea.  However  this  may  have  been, 
we  see  no  reason  to  question  the  ancient  opinion,  stated  by  Eusebius  and 
Jerome,  that  St.  Luke  was  a  native  of  Antioch.  Such  a  city  was  a  likelj 
place  for  the  education  of  a  physician.'    It  is  also  natural  to  suppose 

1  In  ch.  xvii.  the  narrative  is  again  in  the  Acts,  and  we  shall  return  to  the  subject  again, 

third  person ;  and  the  pronoun  is  not  changed  A  careful  attention  to  this  difference  of  style  is 

again  till  we  come  to  xx.  5.     The  modesty  enough  to  refute  a  theory  lately  advanced  ( Dr. 

with  which  St.  Luke  leaves  out  all  mention  of  Kitto's  Journal    of   Sacred    Literature,    Sept. 

his  own  labors  need  hardly  be  pointed  out.  1850),  that  Silas  was  the  author  of  the  Acts. 

'^  Acts  xvii.  14.     He  is  not  mentioned  in  Silas  was  at  Thessalonica  as  well  as  Philippi. 

the  journey  to  Thessalonica,  nor  in  the  ac-  "Why  did  he  write  so  differently  concerning 

count  of  what  happened  there.  the  two  places  ? 

3  Acts  XX.  4-6.  ^  See    Tate's    Continuous    History,   p.   41 

•*  Observe,  for  instance,  his  mention  of  run-  Compare  the  end  of  the  preceding  chapter, 
ning  before  the  wind,  and  staying  for  the  night  **  This  suggestion   is   made   by  Mr.  Smith 

at   Samothrace.     Again,  he  says  that  Philippi  in  his  work  on  the   Shipwreck,  Src,  p.  8.     It  is 

was  the  first  city  they  came  to,  and  that  it  was  justly  remarked,  tliat  the  ancient  sliips  were 

a  colony.     He  tells  us  that  the  place  of  prayer  often  so   large  that   they  may  reasonably  be 

was  outside   the  gate  and   near  a  river-side.  supposed  to  have  sometimes  had  surgeons  on 

There  is  no  such  particularity  in  the  account  board.     See  p.  244. 

of  what  took  place    at  Thessalonica.      See  '  Alexandria  was  famous  for  the  education 

■ibove,  p.  134,  n.  2.     Similar  remarks  might  of  physicians,  and  Antioch  was  in  manv  re 

lie  made  on  the  other  autoptic  passages  of  the  spects  a  second  Alexandria 


CH.Kp.ix.  MACEDOlSnA  DESCRIBED.  271 

that  he  may  have  met  with  St.  Paul  there,  and  been  converted  at  an 
earlier  period  of  the  history  of  the  Church.  His  medical  calling,  or  his 
zeal  for  Christianity,  or  both  combined  (and  the  combination  has  ever 
been  beneficial  to  the  cause  of  the  Gospel),  may  account  for  his  visits  to 
the  North  of  the  Archipelago :  ^  or  St.  Paul  may  himself  have  directed 
his  movements,  as  he  afterwards  directed  those  of  Timothy  and  Titus. ^ 
All  these  suggestions,  though  more  or  less  conjectural,  are  worthy  of  our 
thoughts,  when  we  remember  the  debt  of  gratitude  which  the  Church 
owes  to  this  Evangelist,  not  only  as  the  historian  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  but  as  an  example  of  long-continued  devotion  to  the  truth,  and 
of  unshaken  constancy  to  that  one  Apostle,  who  said  with  sorrow,  in  his 
latest  trial,  that  others  had  forsaken  him,  and  that  "  only  Luke "  was 
with  him.^ 

Leaving  their  first  Macedonian  converts  to  the  care  of  Timotheus  and 
Luke,  aided  by  the  co-operation  of  godly  men  and  women  raised  up 
among  the  Philippians  themselves,*  Paul  and  Silas  set  forth  on  their 
journey.  Before  we  follow  them  to  Thessalonica,  we  may  pause  to  take 
a  general  survey  of  the  condition  and  extent  of  Macedonia,  in  the  sense 
in  which  the  term  was  understood  in  the  language  of  the  day.  It  has 
been  well  said  that  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  have  made  Macedonia  a  kind 
of  Holy  Land ;  ^  and  it  is  satisfactory  that  the  places  there  visited  and 
revisited  by  St.  Paul  and  his  companions  are  so  well  known,  that  we 
have  no  difficulty  in  representing  to  the  mind  their  position  and  their 
relation  to  the  surrounding  country. 

Macedonia,  in  its  popular  sense,  may  be  described  as  a  region  bounded 
by  a  great  semicircle  of  mountains,  beyond  which  the  streams  flow 
westward  to  the  Adriatic,  or  northward  and  eastward  to  the  Danube  and 
the  Euxine.®  This  mountain  barrier  sends  down  branches  to  the  sea  on 
the  eastern  or  Thracian  frontier,  over  against  Thasos  and  Samothrace ; '' 

1  Compare  the  case  of  Democedes  in  He-  *  "  The  whole  of  Macedonia,  and  in  par- 
rt.dotus,  who  was  established  first  in  ^gina,  ticrilar  the  route  from  Berasa  to  T7iessalonica 
then  in  Athens,  and  finally  in  Samos.  At  a  and  Philippi,  being  so  remarkably  distin- 
period  even  later  than  St.  Luke,  Galen  speaks  guished  by  St.  Paul's  suflfcrings  and  adven- 
of  the  medical  schools  of  Cos  and  Cnidus,  of  tares,  becomes  as  a  portion  of  Holy  Land." 
Rhodes  and  of  Asia.  —  Clarke's  Travels,  eh.  xi. 

2  1  Tim.  i.  3 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  9,  21  ;  Tit.  i.  5,  ®  The  mountains  on  the  north,  under  the 
iii.  12.  names  of  Scomius,  Scordus,  &c.,are  connected 

**  2  Tim.  iv.  11.     See  the   Christian  Year:  with  the  Haemus  or  Balkan.     Those  on  the 

St.  Luke's  Day.  west  nm  in  a  southerly  direction,  and  are  con- 

*  The    Christian   women   at   Philippi   have  tinuous  with  the  chain  of  Pindus. 
been  alluded  to  before,  p.  256.     See  especially  "^  These  are  the  mountains  near  the  river 

Phil.  iv.  2,  3.     We  cannot  well   doubt  that  Nestus,  which,  after  the  time  of  Philip,  was 

nresbyters  also  were  appointed,  as  at  Thessa-  considered   the   boundary  of   Macedonia  and 

lonica.     See  below.     Compare  Phil.  i.  1 .  Thrace. 


272  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ix. 

and  on  the  south  shuts  out  the  plain  of  Thessalj,  and  rises  near  the  shore 
to  the  high  summits  of  Pelion,  Ossa,  and  the  snowy  Olympus.^  The 
space  thus  enclosed  is  intersected  by  two  great  rivers.  One  of  these  is 
Homer's  "  wide-flowing  Axius,"  which  directs  its  course  past  Pella,  the 
ancient  metroplis  of  the  Macedonian  kings,  and  the  birthplace  of  Alexan- 
der, to  the  low  levels  in  the  neighborhood  of  Thessalonica,  where  other 
rivers  ^  flow  near  it  into  the  Thermaic  gulf.  The  other  is  the  Strymon, 
which  brings  the  produce  of  the  great  inland  level  of  Serres  ^  by  Lake 
Cercinus  to  the  sea  at  Amphipolis,  and  beyond  which  was  Philippi,  the 
military  outpost  that  commemorated  the. successful  conquests  of  Alexan- 
der's father.  Between  the  mouths  of  these  two  rivers  a  remarkable 
tract  of  country,  which  is  insular  rather  than  continental,*  projects  into 
the  Archipelago,  and  divides  itself  into  three  points,  on  the  farthest  of 
which  Mount  Athos  rises  nearly  into  the  region  of  perpetual  snow.' 
Part  of  St.  Paul's  path  between  Philippi  and  Beroea  lay  across  the  neck 
of  this  peninsula.  The  whole  of  his  route  was  over  historical  ground. 
At  Philippi  he  was  close  to  the  confines  of  Thracian  barbarism,  and  on 
the  spot  where  the  last  battle  was  fought  in  defence  of  the  Republic.  At 
Boroea  he  came  near  the  mountains,  beyond  which  is  the  region  of  Clas- 
sical Greece,  and  close  to  the  spot  where  the  battle  was  fought  which 
reduced  Macedonia  to  a  province.® 

If  we  wish  to  view  Macedonia  as  a  province,  some  modifications  must 
be  introduced  into  the  preceding  description.  It  applies,  indeed,  with 
sufficient  exactness  to  the  country  on  its  first  conquest  by  the  Romans.'^ 
The  rivers  already  alluded  to  define  the  four  districts  into  which  it  was 
divided.     Macedonia  Prima  was  the  region  east  of  the  Strymon,  of  which 

1  The  natural  boundarj  between  Macedonia  ^  This  is  the  great  inland  plain  at  one  ex- 
and  Thessaly  is  formed  by  the  Cambunian  tremity  of  which  Philippi  was  situated,  and 
hills,  running  in  an  easterly  direction  from  the  which  has  been  mentioned  above  (p.  250).  Its 
central  chain  Df  Pindus.  The  Cambunian  principal  town  at  present  is  Serres,  the  resi- 
range  is  vividly  described  in  the  following  dence  of  the  governor  of  the  whole  district, 
view  from  the  "  giddy  height "  of  Olympus,  and  a  placr  of  considerable  importance,  often 
which  rises  near  the  coast.  "  I  seemed  to  mentioned  by  Cousindry,  Leake,  and  other 
stand  perpendicularly  over  the    sea,   at    the  travellers. 

height  of  10,000  feet.     Salonica  was  quite  dis-  *  The  peninsula  anciently  called  Chalcidice 

tinguishable,   lying   North-East.     Larissa    [in  *  The  elevation  of  Mount  Athos  is  between 

Thessaly]  appeared  under  my  very  feet.     The  4,000  and  5,000  feet.     The  writer  has  heard 

whole  horizon  from  North  to  South  -West  was  English  sailors  say  that  there  is  almost  always 

occupied  by  mountains,  hanging  on,  as  it  were,  snow    on     Athos    and    Olympus,   and    that, 

to  Olympus.     This  is  the  range  that  runs  West  though  the  land  generally  is  higher  in   this 

ward  along  the  North  of  Thessaly,  ending  iu  part  of  the  iEgean,  these  mountains  are  by 

Pindus."  —  Urquhart's  Spirit  of  (he  East,  vol.  far  the  most  conspicuous. 
L  p.  429.  ®  Pydna  is  within  a  few  miles  of  BercM, 

2  The  Haliacmon,  which  flows  near  Beroea,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Haliacmon. 
U  the  most  important  of  them  '  See  Liv.  xlv.  29. 


CHAP.  rx.  KOMA^Sr  MACEDONIA.  273 

Amphipolis  was  the  capital ;  ^  Macedonia  Secunda  lay  between  the  Strymon 
and  the  Axius,  and  Thessalonica  was  its  metropolis  ;  and  the  other  two  re- 
gions were  situated  to  tlie  south  towards  Thessaly,  and  on  the  mountains  to 
the  west.2  This  was  the  division  adopted  by  Paulus  ^milius  after  the 
battle  of  Pydna.  But  the  arrangement  was  only  temporary.  The  whole  of 
Macedonia,  along  with  some  adjacent  territories,  was  made  one  province,* 
and  centralized  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  proconsul,*  who  resided  at 
Thessalonica.  This  province  included  Thessaly,*  and  extended  over  the 
mountain-chain  which  had  been  the  western  boundary  of  ancient  Mace- 
donia, so  as  to  embrace  a  seaboard  of  considerable  length  on  the  shore 
of  the  Adriatic.  The  political  limits,  in  this  part  of  the  Empire,  are  far 
more  easily  discriminated  than  those  with  which  we  have  been  lately 
occupied  (Chap.  VIIL).  Three  provinces  divided  the  whole  surface 
which  extends  from  the  basin  of  the  Danube  to  Cape  Matapan.  All  of 
them  are  familiar  to  us  in  the  writings  of  St.  Paul.  The  extent  of 
Maeedonia  has  just  been  defined.  Its  relations  with  the  other  provinces 
were  as  follows.  On  the  north-west  it  was  contiguous  to  lUyricum^ 
which  was  spread  down  the  shore  of  the  Adriatic  nearly  to  the  same 
point  to  which  the  Austrian  territory  now  extends,  fringing  the  Moham- 
medan empire  with  a  Christian  border.''  A  hundred  miles  to  the  south- 
ward, at  the  Acroceraunian  promontory,  it  touched  Achaia,  the  boundary 
of  which  province  ran  thence  in  an  irregular  line  to  the  bay  of  Ther- 
mopylae and  the  north  of  Euboea,  including  Epirus,  and  excluding 
Thessaly.^  Achaia  and  Macedonia  were  traversed  many  times  by  the 
Apostle  ;  ^  and  he  could  say,  when  he  was  hoping  to  travel  to  Rome,  that 
he  had  preached  the  Gospel  "round  about  unto  Illyricum."*" 

1  See  aboYe.  ^  series  of  wars  which  gradually  reduced  it  to  « 

^  Macedonia  Teriia  was  between  the  Axius  province, 
and  Peneus,  with  Pella  for  its  capital.    Pela-  ''  The  border  town  was  Lissus,  the  modem 
gonia  was  the  capital  of  Macedonia  Quarta.    It  Alessio,  not  far  from  Scutari, 
is  remarkable  that  no  coins  of  the  third  division  *  Except  in  the  western  portion,  the  bound- 
have  been  found,  but  only  of  the  first,  second,  ary  nearly  coincided  with  that  of  the  modern 
and  fourth.  kingdom  of  Greece.     The  provincial  arrange- 

^  By  Metellus.  ments  of  Achaia  will  be  alluded  to  more  par- 

*  At  first  it  was  one  of  the  Emperor's  prov-  ticularly  hereafter, 
inces,  but  afterwards  it  was  placed  under  the  *  Observe  how  these  provinces   are   men 

Senate.  tioned  together,  Rom.  xv.  26 ;  2  Cor.  ix.  2.  xi 

5  Thessaly  was  subject  to  Macedonia  when  9,  10 ;  also  1  Thess.  i.  7,  8. 
the  Roman  wars  began.     At  the  close  of  the  i"  Rom.  xv.  19.    Dalmatia  (2  Tim.  iv.  loy 

first  war,   under  Flaminius,  it  was   declared  was  a  district  in  this  province.     See  ch.  XVII. 

free;  but  ultimately  it  was  incorporated  with  Nicopolis  (Tit.  iii.  12)  was  in  Epirus,  which, 

the  province.  as  we  have  seen,  was  a  district  in  the  provinco 

•^  At  first  the  wars  of  Rome  with  the  peo-  of  Achaia,  but  it  was  connected  by  a  branch 

pie  of   this   coast   merely   led   to   mercantile  road  with  the  Via  Egnatia  from  Dyrrhachinm, 

treaties  for  the  free  navigation  of  the  Adriatic.  which  is  mentioned  below. 
Julius   Caesar   and   Augustus   concluded    the 
18 


274  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ix. 

When  we  allude  to  Rome,  and  think  of  the  relation  of  the  City  to  the 
provinces,  we  are  inevitably  reminded  of  the  military  roads ;  and  here, 
across  the  breadth  of  Macedonia,  was  one  of  the  greatest  roads  of  the 
Empire.     It  is  evident  that,  after  Constantinople  was  founded,  a  line  of 
comumnication  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  capitals  was  of  the 
utmost  moment ;  but  the  Via  Egnatia  was  constructed  long  before  that 
period.     Strabo,  in  the  reign  of  Augustus,  informs  us  that  it  was  regu- 
larly made  and  marked  out  by  milestones,  from  Dyrrhachium  on  the 
Adriatic,  to  Cypselus  on  the  Hebrus  in  Thrace  ;  and,  even  before  the 
close  of  the  republic,  we  find  Cicero  speaking,  in  one  of  his  orations,  of 
'•  that  military  way  of  ours,  which  connects  us  with  the  Hellespont." 
Certain  districts  on  the  European  side  of  the  Hellespont  had  been  part 
of  the   legacy   of  King  Attains,^  and  the   simultaneous   possession   of 
Macedonia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia,  with  the  prospect  of  further  conquests  in 
the  East,  made  this  line  of  communication  absolutely  necessary.     When 
St.  Paul  was  on  the  Roman  road  at  Troas^  or  Philippi,  he  was  on  a  road 
which  led  to  the  gates  of  Rome.     It  was  the  same  pavement  which  he 
afterwards  trod  at  Appii  Forum  and  the  Three  Taverns.'     The  nearest 
parallel  which  the  world  has  seen  of  the  imperial  roads  is  the  present 
European  railway  system.     The  Hellespont  and  the  Bosphorus,  in  the 
reign  of  Claudius,  were  what  the  Straits  of  Dover  and  Holyhead  are 
now ;  and  even  the  passage  from  Brundusium  in  Italy,  to  Dyrrhachium 
and  ApoUonia  *  in  Macedonia,  was  only  a  tempestuous  ferry,  —  only  one 
of  those  difficulties  of  nature  which  the  Romans  would  have  overcome  if 
they  could,  and  which  the  boldest  of  the  Romans  dared  to  defy.^     From 
Dyrrhachium  and  ApoUonia,  the  Via  Egnatia,  strictly  so  called,  extended 
a  distance  of  five  hundred  miles,  to  the  Hebrus,  in  Thrace.*      Thes- 

1  See  the  preceding  chapter,  ander  "Asia."       ceedings  between  Brundusium  and  the  oppo- 

2  See  wliat  is  said  of  the  road   between       site  side  of   the  sea  in  Plutarch.     The  same 
Troas  and  Pergaraus,  &c.,  p.  240.  writer  tells  us  that  Cicero,  when  departing  on 

8  Acts    xxviii.   15.      For    notices    of   the  his  exile,  was  driven  back  by  a  storm   into 

Via  Appia,  where  it  approaches  the  Adriatic,  Brundusium.      See  below,  p.  278,  n.  3.     The 

in  the  neighborhood  of  ^f/nana  ("Gnatialym-  great  landing-place  on  the   Macedonian   side 

phis  iratis  extructa"),  whence,  according  to  was  Dyrrhachium,   the  ancient    Epidamnus, 

some   writers,   the  Macedonian    continuation  called  by  Catullus  "  Adriae  Tabernae." 

received  its  name,  see  Horace's  journey.  Sat.  ^  The  roads  from  Dyrrhachium  and  Apollo- 

i.  V.     Dean  Milman's  Horace  contains  an  ex-  nia  met  together  at  a  place  called   Clodiana, 

pressive  representation   of   Brundusium,   the  and    thence    the   Via    Egnatia    passed    over 

harbor  on  the  Italian  side  of  the  water.  the  mountains  to  Heraclca  in  Macedonia.     It 

*  i.  e.  ApoUonia  on   the  Adriatic,   which  entered  the  plain  at  Edessa  (see  below),  and 

must  be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  other  thence  passed  by  Pella  to  Thessalonica.     The 

town  of  the  same  name,  and  on  the  same  road,  stations,  as  given  by  the  Antoiiine  and  Jera- 

tH'twcen  Thessalonica  and  Amphipolis  (Acts  salem  Itineraries  and   the   Peutinger  Table, 

xrii.  I).  will  be  found  in  Cramer's  Ancient  Greece,  T.  i. 

*>  See  the  anecdotes  of  Caesar's  bold   pro-  pp.  81-84. 


*,HAP.iz.  THE  VIA  EGNATIA.  275 

salonica  was  about  half  way  between  these  remote  points,  and  Philippi 
was  the  last  ^  important  town  in  tlie  province  of  Macedonia.  Our  con- 
cern is  only  with  that  part  of  the  Via  Egnatia  which  lay  between  the  two 
last-mentioned  cities. 

The  intermediate  stages  mentioned  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  are 
Amphipolis  and  Apollonia.  The  distances  laid  down  in  the  Itineraries 
are  as  follows  :  —  Philippi  to  Amphipolis,  thirty-three  miles  ;  Amphipolis 
to  Apollonia,  thirty  miles ;  Apollonia  to  TJiessalonica,  thirty-seven  miles. 
These  distances  are  evidently  such  as  might  have  been  traversed  each  in 
one  day  ;  and  since  nothing  is  said  of  any  delay  on  the  road,  but  every 
thing  to  imply  that  the  journey  was  rapid,  we  conclude  (unless,  indeed, 
their  recent  sufferings  made  rapid  travelling  impossible)  that  Paul  and 
Silas  rested  one  night  at  each  of  the  intermediate  places,  and  thus  our 
notice  of  their  journey  is  divided  into  three  parts. 

From  Philippi  to  Amphipolis,  the  Roman  way  passed  across  the  plain 
to  the  north  of  Mount  Pangaeus.  A  traveller,  going  direct  from  Neapolis 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Strymon,  might  make  his  way  through  an  opening  in 
the  mountains  ^  nearer  the  coast.  This  is  the  route  by  which  Xerxes 
brought  his  army,'  and  by  which  modern  journeys  are  usually  made.* 
But  Philippi  was  not  built  in  the  time  of  the  Persian  war,  and  now, 
under  the  Turks,  it  is  a  ruined  village.  Under  the  Roman  emperors,  the 
position  of  this  colony  determined  the  direction  of  the  road.  The  very 
productiveness  of  the  soil,*  and  its  liability  to  inundations,*  must  have 
caused  this  road  to  be  carefully  constructed.  The  surface  of  the  plain, 
which  is  intersected  by  multitudes  of  streams,  is  covered  now  with 
plantations  of  cotton  and  fields  of  Indian  corn,'  and  the  villages  are  so 
numerous,  that,  when  seen  from  the  summits  of  the  neighboring  moun- 
tains, they  appear  to  form  one  continued  town.*     Not  far  from  the  coast, 

1  See  above,  p.  249,  n.  3,  and  p.  250,  n.  9.  yielding  abundant  harvests  of  cotton,  wheat, 

2  This  opening  is  the  Pieric  valley.  See  barley,  and  maize,  contains  extensive  pastures 
Leake,  p.  180.  "  Though  the  modem  route  peopled  with  oxen,  horses,  and  sheep.  No 
from  Cavalla  to  Orphano  and  Saloniki,  leading  part  of  the  land  is  neglected  ;  and  the  district, 
by  Pravista  through  the  Pieric  valley  along  in  its  general  appearance,  is  not  inferior  to 
the  southern  side  of  Mount  Pangaeum,  exactly  any  part  of  Europe."  —  Leake,  p.  201. 

in  the  line   of  that  of  Xerxes,  is   the  most  ^  See  Leake. 

direct,  it  does  not  coincide  with   the  Roman  ''  "  Des  plantes  de  coton,  des  rizi^res  im- 

road  or  the  Via  Egnatia,  which  passed  along  menses,  de  grandes  plantations  de  tabac,  des 

the  northern  base  of  that  mountain,  probably  vignes  entrecoupeea  de  terres  k  ble,  formaient 

for  the  sake  of  connecting  both  these  impor-  sous  nos  yeux  le  plus  agre'able  spectacle.  .  .  . 

tant  cities,  the  former  of  which  was  a  Roman  Les  produits  de  cette  plaine  seraient  immensea, 

colony."  si   I'activite   et  I'industrie   des    habitans    re- 

2  Herod,  vii.  112.  pondaient  a  la  liberality  de  la  nature."  —  Con- 

*  Dr.  Clarke  and  Cousinery  both  took  this  sin^ry,  ii.  4,  5. 

route.  ^  Clarke,  ch.  xii.    At  the  head  of  the  ehap- 

^  "  The  plain   is  very  fertile,  and  besides 


276  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  i\ 

the  Strymou  spreads  out  into  a  lake  as  large  as  Windermere ;  ^  and  be- 
tween the  lower  end  of  tliis  lake  and  the  inner  reach  of  the  Strymonic 
gulf,  where  the  mountains  leave  a  narrow  opening,  Amphipolis  was 
situated  on  a  bend  of  the  river. 

"  The  position  of  Amphipolis  is  one  of  the  most  important  in  Greece. 
It  stands  in  a  pass  wliich  traverses  the  mountains  bordering  the  Strymonic 
gulf,  and  it  commands  the  only  easy  communication  from  the  coast  of 
that  gulf  into  the  great  Macedonian  plains,  which  extend,  for  sixty  miles, 
from  beyond  Meleniko  to  Philippi."'^  The  ancient  name  of  the  place  was 
"  Nine  Ways,"  from  the  great  number  of  Thracian  and  Macedonian 
roads  which  met  at  this  point.^  The  Athenians  saw  the  importance  of 
the  position,  and  established  a  colony  there,  which  they  called  Amphipo- 
lis, because  the  river  surrounded  it.  Some  of  the  deepest  interest  in 
the  history  of  Thucydides,  not  only  as  regards  military  and  political 
movements,*  but  in  reference  to  the  personal  experience  of  the  historian 
himself,^  is  concentrated  on  this  spot.  And  again,  Amphipolis  appears  in 
the  speeches  of  Demosthenes  as  a  great  stake  in  the  later  struggle  be- 
tween Philip  of  Macedon  and  the  citizens  of  Athens.®  It  was  also  the 
scene  of  one  striking  passage  in  the  history  of  Roman  conquest :  here 
Paulus  ^milius,  after  the  battle  of  Pydna,  publicly  proclaimed  that  the 
Macedonians  should  be  free  ;  ^  and  now  another  Paulus  was  here,  whose 
message  to  the  Macedonians  was  an  honest  proclamation  of  a  better 
liberty,  without  conditions  and  without  reserve. 

St.  Paul's  next  stage  was  to  the  city  of  ApoUonia,  After  leaving 
Amphipolis,  the  road  passes  along  the  edge  of  the  Strymonic  gulf,  first 
between  cliffs  and  the  sea,  and  then  across  a  well-wooded  maritime  plain^ 
whence  the  peak  of  Athos  is  seen  far  across  the  bay  to  the  left.^  We 
quit  the  seashore  at  the  narrow  gorge  of  Aulon,  or  Arethusa,^  and  there 
enter  the  valley  which  crosses  the  neck  of  the  Chalcidic  peninsula.  Up 
to  this  point  we  have  frequent  historical   landmarks  reminding  us   of 

ter  he  gives  a  view  of  the  plain  as  seen  from  *  It  was  his  failure  in  an  expedition  against 

the  hills  on  the  south.  Amphipolis  that  caused  the  exile  of  Thucyd- 

1  Anciently  the  lake  Cercinitis.  ides. 

2  Leake,  for  other  notices  of  the  impor-  ''  See  the  passages  in  the  speeches  which  re- 
tance  of  this  position,  see  Bp.  Thirlwall's  late  to  Philip's  encroachment  on  the  Athenian 
Greece,   iii.   284,   and  especially   Mr.    Giote's  power  in  the  North  of  the  TEjrean. 

Greece,  vi.  554-562,  and  625-647.     A  view  of  ^  Livy's   words   (xlv.   80)   show   that   the 

Amphipolis  is  given  in  our  larger  editions.  Romans  fully  appreciated  the  importance  of 

3  See    Ilerod.    vii.    114.        Here     Xerxes  the  position. 
OTOssed  the  Strymon,  and  offered  a  sacrifice  *  Dr.  Clarke. 

of  white  horses  to  the  river,  and  buried  alive  •  Dr.    Clarke,    ch.    xii.,    devotes    several 

nine  youths  and  maidens.  pages  to  this  tomb.     The  Jerusalem  Itinerary, 

*  See  especially  all  that  relates  to   Cleon  besides  another  intermediate  station   at  Pen- 

and  Brasidas  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  books.  nana,  mentions  that  at  the  tomb  of  Euripides. 


CHAP.  II.  AMPHIPOLIS   AND  APOLLONIA.  277 

Athens.  Thucydides  has  just  been  mentioned  in  connection  with  Am 
phipolis  and  thS  Strymon.  As  we  leave  the  sea,  we  have  before  us, 
or.  the  opposite  coast,  Stagirus,^  the  birthplace  of  Aristotle  ;  and  in  the 
pass,  where  the  mountains  close  on  the  road,  is  the  tomb  of  Euripides. 
Thus  the  steps  of  our  progress,  as  we  leave  the  East  and  begin  to  draw 
near  to  Athens,  are  already  among  her  historians,  philosophers,  and 
poets. 

ApoUonia  is  somewhere  in  the  inland  part  of  the  journey,  where  the 
Via  Egnatia  crosses  from  the  gulf  of  the  Strymon  to  that  of  Thessaloni- 
ca  ;  but  its  exact  position  has  not  been  ascertained.  We  will,  therefore, 
merely  allude  to  the  scenery  through  which  the  traveller  moves,  in  going 
from  sea  to  sea.  The  pass  of  Ai'ethusa  is  beautiful  and  picturesque.  A 
river  flows  through  it  in  a  sinuous  course,  and  abundant  oaks  and  plane- 
trees  are  on  the  rocks  around.'  Presently  this  stream  is  seen  to  emerge 
from  an  inland  lake,  whose  promontories  and  villages,  with  the  high 
mountains  rising  to  the  south-west,  have  reminded  travellers  of  Switzer- 
land.* As  we  journey  towards  the  west,  we  come  to  a  second  lake. 
Between  the  two  is  the  modern  post-station  of  Klisali,  which  may 
possibly  be  ApoUonia,"  though  it  is  generally  believed  to  be  on  the  moun- 
tain slope  to  the  south  of  the  easternmost  lake.  The  whole  region  of 
these  two  lakes  is  a  long  valley,  or  rather  a  succession  of  plains,  where 
the  level  spaces  are  richly  wooded  with  forest-trees,  and  the  nearer  hills 
are  covered  to  their  summits  with  olives.®  Beyond  the  second  lake,  the 
road  passes  over  some  rising  ground,  and  presently,  after  emerging  from 
a  narrow  glen,  we  obtain  a  sight  of  the  sea  once  more,  the  eye  ranges 
freely  over  the  plain  of  the  Axius,  and  the  city  of  Thessalonica  is  imme- 
diately before  us. 

Once  arrived  in  this  city,  St.  Paul  no  longer  follows  the  course  of  the 
Via  Egnatia.  He  may  have  done  so  at  a  later  period,  when  he  says 
that  he  had  preached  the  Gospel  "  round  about  unto  Illyricum."  ^  But 
at  present  he  had  reached  the  point  most  favorable  for  the  glad  procla- 
mation. The  direction  of  the  Roman  road  was  of  course  determined 
by  important  geographical  positions  ;    and   along   the  whole  line   from 

1  Leake  identifies  Stagirus  with  Starros,  Consinery  both  agree  in  placing  it  to  the 
a  little  to  the  south  of  Aulon,  p.  167.  south  of  Lake  Bolbe.     We  ought  to  add,  that 

2  See  the  last  note  but  one.  the  Antonine  and  Jerusalem  Itineraries  appear 
'  See  Dr.  Clarke.     Cousinery  writes  with       to  give  two  distinct  roads  between  Apollonia 

great  enthusiasm  concerning  this  glen.  and  Thessalonica.     See  Leake,  p.  46. 

*  See  Dr.  Clarke.     Both  he  and  Cousinery  ^  See  Clarke's  Travels. 

make   mention  of  the  two  villages,  the  Little  "^  See  above,  pp.  274,   275.     This  expresr 

Bechik  and  Great  Bechik,  on  its  north  bank,  sion,  however,  might  be  used  if  nothing  more 

along  which  the  modern  road  passes.  were   meant   than    a    progress    to    the    very 

^  This  is  Tafel's  opinion ;  but  Leake  and  frontier  of  Illyricum. 


278  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.ix 

Dyrrhaclii  am    to   the   Hebrus,  no  city  was  so  large  and  influential  as 
Thessalonica. 

The  Apostolic  city  at  which  we  are  now  arrived  was  known  in  the 
earliest  periods  of  its  history  under  various  names.  Under  that  of 
Therma  it  is  associated  with  some  interesting  recollections.  It  was  the 
resting-place  of  Xerxes  on  his  march ;  it  is  not  unmentioned  in  the 
Peloponnesian  war ;  and  it  was  a  frequent  subject  of  debate  in  the  last 
independent  assemblies  of  Athens.  When  the  Macedonian  power  began 
to  overshadow  all  the  countries  where  Greek  was  spoken,  this  city  re- 
ceived its  new  name,  and  began  a  new  and  more  distinguished  period  of 
its  history.  A  sister  of  Alexander  the  Great  was  called  Thessalonica, 
and  her  name  was  given  to  the  city  of  Therma,  when  rebuilt  and  em- 
bellished by  her  husband,  Cassander  the  son  of  Antipater.^  This  name, 
under  a  form  slightly  modified,  has  continued  to  the  present  day.  The 
Salneck  of  the  early  German  poets  has  become  the  Saloniki  of  the  mod- 
ern Levant.  Its  history  can  be  followed  as  continuously  as  its  name. 
When  Macedonia  was  partitioned  into  four  provincial  divisions  by  Paulus 
iEmilius,  Thessalonica  was  the  capital  of  that  which  lay  between  the 
Axius  and  the  Strymon.^  When  the  four  regions  were  united  into  one 
Roman  province,  this  city  was  chosen  as  the  metropolis  of  the  whole. 
Its  name  appears  more  than  once  in  the  annals  of  the  Civil  Wars.  It 
was  the  scene  of  the  exile  of  Cicero,'  and  one  of  the  stages  of  his 
journey  between  Rome  and  his  province  in  the  East.*  Antony  and 
Octavius  were  here  after  the  battle  of  Philippi ;  and  coins  are  still  extant 
which  allude  to  the  "  freedom"  granted  by  the  victorious  leaders  to  the 
city  of  the  Thermaic  gulf.  Strabo,  in  the  first  century,  speaks  of 
Thessalonica  as  the  most  populous  town  in  Macedonia.  Lucian,  in  the 
second  century,  uses  similar  language.  Before  the  founding  of  Constan- 
tinople, it  was  virtually  the  capital  of  Greece  and  Illyricum,  as  well  as 
of  Macedonia,  and  shared  the  trade  of  the  ^gean  with  Ephesus  and 
Corinth.  Even  after  the  Eastern  Rome  was  built  and  reigned  over  the 
Levant,  we  find  both  Pagan  and  Christian  writers  speaking  of  Thessalo- 
nica  as  the  metropolis  of  Macedonia  and   a  place  of  great  magnitude. 

1  The  first  author  in  which  the  new  name  the  Victory  on  the  coins  of  the  city.    See 

occurs  is  Polybius.     Some  say  that  the  name  below. 

was  given  by  Philip  in  honor  of  his  daughter,  "  See  above,  pp.  272,  273. 

and  others  that  it  directly  commemorated  a  ^  Both  in    going   out    and    returning    he 

victory  over  the  Thessalians.     But  the  opinion  crossed   the    Adriatic,   between    Brundusinm 

stated    above    appears    the    most    probable.  and   Dyrrhachium.     See   p.   274,   n.    5.     In 

Philip's  daughter  was  called  Thessalonica,  in  travelling  through  Macedonia,  he  would  follow 

commemoration  of  a  victory  obtained  by  her  the  Via  Egnatia. 

father  on    the   day  when    he   heard    of  her  *  Several  of  his  letters  were  written  from 

birth      Cousinery  sees  an  allusion  to  this  in  Thessalonica  on  this  journey. 


«;hap.  IX.  *  THESSALONICA.  279 

Through  the  Middle  Ages  it  never  ceased  to  be  important :  and  it  is,  at 
the  present  day,  the  second  city  in  European  Turkey.^  The  reason  of 
this  continued  pre-eminence  is  to  be  found  in^its  geographical  position. 
Situated  on  the  inner  bend  of  the  Thermaic  Gulf,  —  half  way  between 
the  Adriatic  and  the  Hellespont,^  —  on  the  sea-margin  of  a  vast  plain 
watered  by  several  rivers,  —  and  at  the  entrance  of  the  pass*  which 
commands  the  approach  to  the  other  great  Macedonian  level,  —  it  was 
evidently  destined  for  a  mercantile  emporium.  Its  relation  with  the 
inland  trade  of  Macedonia  was  as  close  as  that  of  Amphipolis  ;  and  its 
maritime  advantages  were  perhaps  even  greater.  Thus,  while  Amphipo- 
lis decayed  under  the  Byzantine  emperors,  Thessalonica  continued  to 
prosper.*  There  probably  never  was  a  time,  from  the  day  when  it  first 
received  its  name,  that  this  city  has  not  had  the  aspect  of  a  busy  com- 
mercial town.®  We  see  at  once  how  appropriate  a  place  it  was  for  one  of 
the  starting-points  of  the  Gospel  in  Europe  ;  and  we  can  appreciate  the 
force  of  the  expression  used  by  St.  Paul  within  a  few  months  of  his 
departure  from  the  Thessalonians,''  when  he  says,  that  "  from  them  the 
Word  of  the  Lord  had  sounded  forth  like  a  trumpet,*  not  only  in  Mace- 
donia and  Achaia,  but  in  every  place." 

No  city,  which  we  have  yet  had  occasion  to  describe,  has  had  so  dis- 
tinguished a  Christian  history,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Syrian 
Antioch ;  and  the  Christian  glory  of  the  Patriarchal  city  gradually  faded 
before  that  of  the  Macedonian  metropolis.  The  heroic  age  of  Thessalonica 
was  the  third  century.^  It  was  the  bulwark  of  Constantinople  in  the 
shock  of  the  barbarians ;  and  it  held  up  the  torch  of  the  truth  to  the  suc- 
cessive tribes  who  overspread  the  country  between  the  Danube  and  the 
^gean,  —  the  Goths  and  the  Sclaves,  the  Bulgarians  of  the  Greek 
Church,  and  the  Wallachians,^"  whose  language  stiU  seems  to  connect  them 

1  For  a  very  full  account  of  its  modern  con-  ''  1  Thess.  i.  8.  The  Epistle  was  written 
dition  see  Dr.  [Sir  Henry]  Holland's  Travels.        from  Corinth  very  soon  after  the  departure 

2  See  above,  p.  273.  from  Thessalonica.     See  Ch.  XI. 

^  The  chief  of  these  are  the  Axias  and  *  Chrysostom  employs  this  image  in  com- 

Haliacmon.     The  whole  region  near  the  sea  menting  on  1  Cor.  i. 

consists  of  low  alluvial  soil.     See  below,  on  the  ^  Tafel   traces  the  history  of  Thessalonica, 

journey  from  Thessalonica  to  Beroea.  in  great  detail,   through   the  Middle  Ages ; 

*  This  is  the  pass  mentioned  above,  through  and   shows   how,   after  the   invasion   of   the 

which  the  road  to  Amphipolis  passed,  and  in  Goths,  it  was  the  means   of  converting  the 

which  Apollonia  was  situated.  Sclaves,  and  through  them  the  Bulgarians,  to 

^  Notices  of  its  mercantile  relations  in  the  the  Christian  faith.    The  peasant  population  to 

Middle  Ages  are  given  by  Tafel.     For  an  ac-  the  east  of  Thessalonica  is  Bulgarian,  to  the 

count  of  its   modern  trade,  and  the  way  in  west  it  is  Greek   (Cousin^ry,  p.   52).    Both 

which  it  was  affected  by  the  last  war,  see  Hoi-  belong  to  the  Greek  Church, 

land's  Travels.  ^°  See  what  Cousinery  says  (ch.  i.)  of  the 

^  A  view  of  the  place,  as  seen  from  the  sea,  Wallachians,  who  are  intermixed  among  the 

is  given  in  the  larger  editions.  other  tribes  of   Modem  Macedonia.      They 


280 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


with  Philippi  and  the  Roman  colonies.  Thus,  in  the  mediaeval  chroni 
clers,  it  has  deserved  the  name  of  "  the  Orthodox  City."  ^  The  remains 
of  its  Hippodrome,  which  is  forever  associated  with  the  history  of  Theo- 
dosius  and  Ambrose,^  can  yet  be  traced  among  the  Turkish  houses.  Its 
bishops  have  sat  in  great  councils.'  The  writings  of  its  great  preacher 
and  scholar  Eustathius  *  are  still  preserved  to  us.  It  is  true  that  the 
Christianity  of  Thessalonica,  both  mediaeval  and  modern,  has  been  de- 
based by  humiliating  superstition.  The  glory  of  its  patron  saint,  Deme- 
trius, has  eclipsed  that  of  St.  Paul,  the  founder  of  its  Church.  But  the 
same  Divine  Providence,  which  causes  us  to  be  thankful  for  the  past, 
commands  us  to  be  hopeful  for  the  future  ;  and  we  may  look  forward  to 
the  time  when  a  new  harvest  of  the  "  work  of  faith,  and  labor  of  love, 
and  patience  of  hope,"  "  shall  spring  up  from  the  seeds  of  Divine  Truth, 
which  were  first  sown  on  the  shore  of  the  Thermaic  Gulf  by  the  Apostle 
of  the  Gentiles. 

If  Thessalonica  can  boast  of  a  series  of  Christian  annals,  unbroken 
since  the  day  of  St.  Paul's  arrival,  its  relations  with  the  Jewish  people 
have  continued  for  a  still  longer  period.  In  our  own  day  it  contains  a 
multitude  of  Jews®  commanding  an  influential  position,  many  of  whom 
are  occupied  (not  very  differently  from  St.  Paul  himself)  in  the  manu- 


speak  a  corrupt  Latin,  and  he  thinks  they  are 
descended  from  the  ancient  colonies.  They 
are  a  fierce  and  bold  race,  living  chiefly  in  the 
mountains ;  and  when  trading  caravans  have 
to  go  through  dangerous  places  they  are 
posted  in  the  front. 

1  One  Byzantine  writer  who  uses  this 
phrase  is  Cameniata.  His  history  is  curious. 
He  was  crozicr-bearer  to  the  archbishop,  and 
was  carried  off  by  the  Arabs,  and  landed  at 
Tarsus,  where  he  wrote  his  book. 

■^  Some  accounts  say  that  15,000  persons 
were  involved  iu  the  massacre,  for  which  the 
archbishop  of  Milan  exacted  penance  from  the 
Emperor.  See  Gibbon,  ch.  xxvii.  For  some 
notice  of  the  remains  of  the  Hippodrome,  which 
still  retains  its  name,  see  Cousincry,  ch.  ii. 

^  We  find  the  bishop  of  Thessalonica  in  the 
Council  of  Sardis,  A.  D.  347  ;  and  a  decree  of 
the  council  relates  to  the  place. 

*  Eustathius  preached  and  wrote  there  in 
the  twelfth  century.  He  was  highly  esteemed 
by  the  Comneni,  and  is  held  to  have  been 
"  beyond  all  dispute  the  most  learned  man  of 
his  age." 

6  1  Thcss.  i.  3. 

*  Paul  Lucas,  in  his  later  journey,  says  :  — 


"  Les  Chretiens  y  sont  environ  an  nombre  de 
10,000.  On  y  compte  30,000  Juifs,  qui  y  ont 
22  synagogues,  et  ce  sont  eux  qui  y  font  tout 
le  commerce.  Comme  lis  sont  fort  indus- 
trieux,  deux  grand-vizirs  se  sont  mis  succes- 
sivement  en  tete  de  les  faire  travailler  aux 
manufactures  du  draps  de  France,  pour  mettre 
la  Turquie  en  etat  de  se  passer  des  etrangere  j 
mais  ils  n'ont  jamais  pd  reussir :  ccpendant 
ils  vendent  assez  bien  leurs  gros  draps  au 
grand  seigneur,  qui  en  fait  habiller  ses  troupes." 
—  p.  37.  In  the  17th  century  a  Turkish  au- 
thority speaks  of  them  as  carpet  and  cloth 
makers,  of  their  liberality  to  the  poor,  and  of 
their  schools,  with  more  than  1,000  children. 
Cousinery  reckons  them  at  20,000,  many  of 
them  from  S])ain.  He  adds  :  "  Chaque  syna- 
gogue k  Salonique  porte  le  nom  de  la  province 
d'ou  sont  originaires  les  families  qui  la  compo- 
sent."  —  p.  19.  In  iha  "  Jewish  Intelligence" 
for  1849,  the  Jews  at  Salonica  are  reckoned  at 
35,000,  being  half  the  whole  population,  and 
having  the  chief  trade  in  their  hands.  They 
are  said  to  have  thirty-six  synagogues,  "  none 
of  them  remarkable  for  their  neatness  or  ele- 
gance of  style." 


CHAP.  nt.  THE   SYNAG0GT7B.  281 

facture  of  cloth.  A  considerable  number  of  them  are  refugees  from 
Spain,  and  speak  the  Spanish  language.  There  are  materials  for  tracing 
similar  settlements  of  the  same  scattered  and  persecuted  people  in  this 
city,  at  intervals,  during  the  Middle  Ages  ;  ^  and  even  before  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  we  find  them  here,  numerous  and  influential,  as  at 
Antioch  and  Iconium.  Here,  doubtless,  was  the  chief  colony  of  those 
Jews  of  Macedonia  of  whom  Philo  speaks  ;  ^  for  while  there  was  only  a 
proseucha  at  Philippi,  and  while  Amphipolis  and  Apollonia  had  no 
Israelite  communities  to  detain  the  Apostles,  "  the  synagogue  "  ^  of  the 
neighborhood  was  at  Thessalonica. 

The  first  scene  to  which  we  are  introduced  in  this  city  is  entirely 
Jewish.  It  is  not  a  small  meeting  of  proselyte  women  by  the  river-side, 
but  a  crowded  assembly  of  true-born  Jews,  intent  on  their  religious 
worship,  among  whom  Paul  and  Silas  now  make  their  appearance.  If 
the  traces  of  their  recent  hardships  were  manifest  in  their  very  aspect, 
and  if  they  related  to  their  Israelitish  brethren  how  they  had  "  suffered 
before  and  been  cruelly  treated  at  Philippi"  (1  Thess.  ii.  2),  their  en- 
trance in  among  them  must  have  created  a  strong  impression  of  indigna- 
tion and  sympathy,  which  explains  the  allusion  in  St.  Paul's  Epistle.  He 
spoke,  however,  to  the  Thessalonian  Jews  with  the  earnestness  of  a  man 
who  has  no  time  to  lose  and  no  thought  to  waste  on  his  own  sufferings. 
He  preached,  not  himself,  but  Christ  crucified.  The  Jewish  Scriptures 
were  the  ground  of  his  argument.  He  recurred  to  the  same  subject  again 
and  again.  On  three  successive  Sabbaths*  he  argued  with  them;  and 
the  whole  body  of  Jews  resident  in  Tliessalonica  were  interested  and  ex- 
cited with  the  new  doctrine,  and  were  preparing  eitlier  to  adopt  or 
opix)se  it. 

The  three  points  on  which  he  insisted  were  these  :  —  that  He  who  was 
foretold  in  prophecy  was  to  be  a  suffering  Messiah,  —  that  after  death  He 
was  to  rise  again,  —  and  that  the  crucified  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  indeed 
the  Messiah  who  was  to  come.  Such  is  the  distinct  and  concise  state- 
ment in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  (xvii.  3)  :  and  the  same  topics  of  teach- 
ing are  implied  in  the  first  Epistle,  where  the  Thessalonians  are  appealed 
to  as  men  who  had  been  taught  to  "  believe  that  Jesus  had  really  died 
and  risen  again"  (iv.  14),  and  who  had  "  turned  to  serve  the  true  God, 
and  to  wait  for  His  Son  from  heaven,  whom  He  raised  from  the  dead, 

1  They  are  alluded  to  in  the  7th  century,  it,  still  the  phrase  would  imply  that  there  was 
and  agiiin  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  12th.  no  synagogue  in  the  towns  recently  passed 
See  Tafcl.  through.     There  was   another  synagogue  at 

2  See  Ch.  I.  p.  17.  Bercea.     Acts  xvii.  10. 

3  The  best  MSS.  here  have   the  definite  *  Acts  trii.  2. 
article.      If  authority   preponderated   against 


282  THE  LITE  AiO)  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.h 

even  Jesus  "  (i.  10).  Of  the  mode  in  which  these  subjects  would  be  pre- 
sented to  his  hearers  we  can  form  some  idea  from  what  was  said  at 
Antioch  in  Pisidia.  The  very  aspect  of  the  worshippers  was  the  same  ;  ^ 
proselytes  were  equally  attached  to  the  congregations  in  Pisidia  and 
Macedonia,^  and  the  "  devout  and  honorable  women  "  in  one  city  found 
their  parallel  in  the  "  chief  women  "  in  the  other.'*  The  impression,  too, 
produced  by  the  address,  was  not  very  different  here  from  what  it  had 
been  there.  At  first  it  was  favorably  received,*  the  interest  of  novelty 
having  more  influence  than  the  seriousness  of  conviction.  Even  from 
the  first  some  of  the  topics  must  have  contained  matter  for  perplexity  or 
cavilling.  Many  would  be  indisposed  to  believe  the  fact  of  Christ's 
resurrection :  and  many  more  who,  in  their  exile  from  Jerusalem,  were 
looking  intently  for  the  restoration  of  an  earthly  kingdom,^  must  have 
heard  incredulously  and  unwillingly  of  the  humiliation  of  Messiah. 

That  St.  Paul  did  speak  of  Messiah's  glorious  kmgdom,  the  kingdom 
foretold  in  the  Prophetic  Scriptures  themselves,  may  be  gathered  by  com- 
paring together  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians.  The  ac- 
cusation brought  against  him  (Acts  xvii.  7)  was,  that  he  was  proclaiming 
another  king,  and  virtually  rebelling  against  the  emperor.  And  in  strict 
conformity  to  this  the  Thessalonians  are  reminded  of  the  exhortations 
and  entreaties  he  gave  them,  when  among  them,  that  they  would  "  walk 
worthily  of  the  God  who  had  called  them  to  His  kingdom  and  glory  " 
(1  Thess.  ii.  12),  and  they  are  addressed  as  those  who  had  "suffered 
affliction  for  the  sake  of  that  kingdom''  (2  Thess.  i.  5).  Indeed,  the 
royal  state  of  Christ's  second  advent  was  one  chief  topic  which  was 
urgently  enforced,  and  deeply  impressed,  on  the  minds  of  the  Thes- 
salonian  converts.  This  subject  tinges  the  whole  atmosphere  through 
which  the  aspect  of  this  church  is  presented  to  us.  It  may  be  said  that 
in  each  of  the  primitive  churches,  which  are  depicted  in  the  apostolic 
epistles,  there  is  some  peculiar  feature  which  gives  it  an  individual  char- 
acter. In  Corinth  it  is  the  spirit  of  party  ,^  in  Galatia  the  rapid  declension 
into  Judaism,''  in  Philippi  it  is  a  steady  and  self-denying  generosity.^  And 
if  we  were  asked  for  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  first  Chris- 
tians of  Thessalonica,  we  should  point  to  their  overwhelming  sense  of  the 
nearness  of  the  second  advent,  accompanied  with  melancholy  thoughts 

1  See  the   account  of  the  synagogue-wor-  the  synagogues  was  in  a  separate  gallery  or 

ship, —  the  desk,   the  ark,   the  manuscripts,  behind  a  lattice,  p.  153. 
the  prayers,  the  Scripture-reading,  the  Tallith,  *  Acts  xvii.  4  compared  with  xiii.  42-M. 

&c.,  —given  in  pp.  152-155.  ®  Acts  i.  6. 

-  Compare  Acts   xiii.  16,  26,  with  xvii.  4.  *  1  Cor.  i.  10,  &c. 

See  Paley  on  1  Thess.  ^  Gal.  i.  6,  &c. 

8  Compare  Acts  xiii.  50  with  xvii.  4.     It  *  Phil.  iv.  10-16. 

will  be  remembered  that  the  women's  place  in 


OHAP.n.  ST.   PAUL  AMONG  THE  THESSALONIANS.  283 

concerning  those  who  might  die  before  it,  and  with  gloomy  and  unprac- 
tical views  of  the  shortness  of  life  and  the  vanity  of  the  world.  Each 
chapter  in  the  first  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  ends  with  an  allusion  to 
this  subject ;  and  it  was  evidently  the  topic  of  frequent  conversations, 
when  the  Apostle  was  in  Macedonia.  But  St.  Paul  never  spoke  or  wrote 
of  the  future  as  though  the  present  was  to  be  forgotten.  When  the 
Thessalonians  were  admonished  of  Christ's  advent,  he  told  them  also  of 
other  coming  events,  full  of  practical  warning  to  all  ages,  though  to  our 
eyes  still  they  are  shrouded  in  mystery,  —  of  "  the  falling-away,"  and  of 
"  the  man  of  sin."  ^  "  These  awful  revelations,"  he  said,  "  must  precede 
the  revelation  of  the  Son  of  God.  Do  you  not  remember"  he  adds  with 
emphasis  in  his  letter,  "  that  when  I  was  still  with  you  I  often  ^  told  you 
this  ^  You  know,  therefore,  the  hinderance  why  he  is  not  revealed,  as  he 
will  be  in  his  own  season."  He  told  them,  in  the  words  of  Christ  himself, 
that  •"  the  times  and  the  seasons"  of  the  coming  revelations  were  known 
only  to  God  ; '  and  he  warned  them,  as  the  first  disciples  had  been  warned 
in  Judaea,  that  the  great  day  would  come  suddenly  on  men  unprepared, 
"  as  the  pangs  of  travail  on  her  whose  time  is  full,"  and  "  as  a  thief  in 
the  night;"  and  he  showed  them,  both  by  precept  and  example,  that 
though  it  be  true  that  life  is  short  and  the  world  is  vanity,  yet  God's  work 
must  be  done  diligently  and  to  the  last. 

The  Avhole  demeanor  of  St.  Paul  among  the  Thessalonians  may  be 
traced,  by  means  of  these  Epistles,  with  singular  minuteness.  "We  see 
there,  not  only  what  success  he  had  on  his  first  entrance  among  them,^ 
not  only  how  the  Gospel  came  "  with  power  and  with  full  conviction  of 
its  truth,"  *  but  also  "  tvhat  manner  of  man  he  was  among  them  for  their 
sakes."  ^  We  see  him  proclaiming  the  truth  with  unflinching  courage,'' 
endeavoring  to  win  no  converts  by  flattering  words, ^  but  warning  his 
hearers  of  all  the  danger  of  the  sins  and  pollution  to  which  they  were 
tempted  ;  ^  manifestly  showing  that  his  work  was  not  intended  to  gratify 

1  2  Thess.  ii.  "  "  You  know  the  manner  in  which  I  behaved 

2  The  verb  is  in  the  imperfect.  myself   among    you,"    &c.      1    Thess.    i.   5. 
•'  "  But  of  the  times  and  seasons,  brethren,       ("What  manner  of  men  we  were."  —  Auth 

when  these  things  shall  be  you  need  no  warn-  Vers. )     Though  the  words  are  in  the  plural, 

ing.     For  yourselves  know  perfectly  that   the  the  allusion  is  to  himself  only.     See  the  notes 

day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief  in  the  on  the  Epistle  itself. 

night ;  and  while  men  say,  Peace  and  safety,  ''  "  After  I  had  borne  suffering  and  outrage, 

destruction  shall  come  upon  them  in  a  moment,  as  you  know,  at  Philippi,  I  boldly  declared  to 

as  the  pangs  of  travail  on  her  whose  time  is  you  God's  Glad  Tidings,  though  its  adversa- 

fdll."  —  1  Thess.  v.  1-3.     See  Acts  i.  7  ;  Matt.  ries  contended  mightily  against  me."  —  1  Thest. 

xxir.  43  ;  Luke  xii.  39  ;  2  Pet.  iii.  10.  ii.  2. 

*  "  Ym  know  yourselves,  brethren,  that  my  *  "  Neither  did  I  use  flattering  words,  aa 

coming  amongst  you  was  not  fruitless."  —  1  you  know."  —  1  Thess.  i.  5. 

Thess.  ii.  1.                       ^  \  Thess.  i.  5.  '  "  This  is   the   will  of  God,   even  your 


284  THE   LIFE  AJSTD  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAtJL.  chap.ix. 

any  de^sire  of  self-advancement,^  but  scrupulously  maintaining  an  honor 
able  and  unblamable  character.''  We  see  him  rebuking  and  admonishing 
his  converts  with  all  the  faithfulness  of  a  father  to  his  children,"  and 
cherishing  them  with  all  the  affection  of  a  mother  for  the  infant  of  her 
bosom.*  We  see  in  this  Apostle  at  Thessalonica  all  the  devotion  of  a 
friend  who  is  ready  to  devote  his  life  for  those  whom  he  loves,'  all  the 
watchfulness  of  the  faithful  pastor,  to  whom  "  each  one"  of  his  flock  is 
tlie  separate  object  of  individual  care.® 

And  from  these  Epistles  we  obtain  further  some  information  concern- 
ing what  may  be  called  the  outward  incidents  of  St.  Paul's  residence  in 
this  city.  He  might  when  there.  Consistently,  with  the  Lord's  institution' 
and  with  the  practice  of  the  other  Apostles,^  have  been  "  burdensome  "  to 
those  whom  he  taught,  so  as  to  receive  from  them  the  means  of  his  tem- 
poral support.  But  that  he  might  place  his  disinterestedness  above  all 
suspicion,  and  that  he  might  set  an  example  to  those  who  were  too  much 
inclined  to  live  by  the  labor  of  others,  he  declined  to  avail  himself  of  that 
which  was  an  undoubted  right.  He  was  enabled  to  maintain  this  indepen- 
dent position  partly  by  the  liberality  of  his  friends  at  Philippi,  who  once 
and  again,  on  this  first  visit  to  Macedonia,  sent  relief  to  his  necessities 
(Phil.  iv.  15,  16).  And  the  journeys  of  those  pious  men  who  followed 
the  footsteps  of  the  persecuted  Apostles  along  the  Via  Egnatia  by  Amphip- 
olis  and  Apollonia,  bringing  the  alms  which  had  been  collected. at  Phil- 
ippi, are  among  the  most  touching  incidents  of  the  Apostolic  history. 
Aiid  not  less  touching  is  that  description  which  St.  Paul  himself  gives  us 
of  that  other  means  of  support  —  "  his  own  labor  night  and  day,  that  he 
might  not  be  burdensome  to  any  of  them"  (1  Thess.  ii.  9).  He  did  not 
merely  "rob  other  churches,"^  that  he  might  do  the  Thessalonians  ser- 
vice, but  the  trade  he  had  learnt  when  a  boy  in  Cilicia'*' justified  the  old 

sanctification  ;  that  you  should  keep  yourselves  ness  and  forbearance ;  and  as  a  nurse  cherishes 

from  fornication  .  .  .  not  in  lustful  passions,  her  oum  children,   so,"   &c.  —  1    Thess.   ii.    7. 

like  the  heathen,  who  know  not  God.  ...  All  The  Authorized   Version    is    defective.      St. 

such  the  Lord  will  punish,  as  I  have  forewarned  Paul  compares  himself   to   a  mother  who   is 

you  by  my  testimony."  —  1  Thess.  iv.  4-6.     It  nursing  her  own  child. 

is  needless  to  add  that  such  temptations  must  *  "  It  was  my  joy  to  give  you,  not  oalj 

have  abounded  in   a  city  like   Thessalonica.  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  but  my  own  life  also. 

We  know  from  Lucian  that  the  place  had  a  bad  because  ye  were  dear  unto  me." —  1  Thess.  ii. 

character.  8. 

1  1  Thess.  ii.  5.  "  "  You  know  how  I  exhorted   each   one 

2  "  You  are  yourselves  witnesses  how  holy,  among  you  to  walk  worthy  of  Grod." —  1 
and  just,  and  unblamable,  were  my  dealings  Tliess.  ii.  11. 

towards  you."  —  !  Thess.  ii.  10.  ^  Matt.  x.  10;  Luke  x.  7 ;  See  1  Tim  v 

'•^  "  You  know  how  earnestly,  as  a  father  his  1 8. 
»wn  children,  I  exhorted,  and  entreated,  and  ad-  *  1  Cor.  ix.  4,  &C. 

jured,"  &c.  —  1  Thess.  ii.  11.  "2  Cor.  xi.  8. 

*  "  I  behaved  myself  among  you  with  mild-  ^°  Ch.  II.  p.  44. 


CHAP.  IX.  THE  THESSALONIAN   LETTERS.  285 

Jewish  maxim;'  "he  was  like  a  vineyard  that  is  fenced;"  and  he  was 
able  to  show  an  example,  not  only  to  the  "  disorderly  busy-bodies  "  of 
Thessalonica  (1  Thess.  iv.  11),  but  to  all,  in  every  age  of  the  Church, 
who  are  apt  to  neglect  their  proper  business  (2  Thess.  iii.  11),  and 
ready  to  eat  other  men's  bread  for  nought  (2  Thess.  iii.  8).  Late  at 
night,  when  the  sun  had  long  set  on  the  incessant  spiritual  labors  of  the 
day,  the  Apostle  might  be  seen  by  lamplight  laboring  at  the  rough  hair- 
cloth,^ "that  he  might  be  chargeable  to  none."  It  was  an  emphatic 
enforcement  of  the  "commands'"  which  be  found  it  necessary  to  give 
wlien  he  was  among  them,  that  they  should  "  study  to  be  quiet  and  to 
work  with  their  own  hands"  (1  Thess.  iv.  11),  and  the  stern  principle 
he  laid  down,  that  "  if  a  man  will  not  work,  neither  should  he  eat." 
(2  Thess.  iii.  10.) 

In  these  same  Epistles,  St.  Paul  speaks  of  his  work  at  Thessalonica  as 
havijig  been  encompassed  with  afflictions,*  and  of  the  Gospel  as  having 
advanced  by  a  painful  struggle."  What  these  afflictions  and  struggles 
were,  we  can  gather  from  the  slight  notices  of  events  which  are  contained 
in  the  Acts.  The  Apostle's  success  among  the  Gentiles  roused  the 
enmity  of  his  own  countrymen.  Even  in  the  Synagogue  the  Proselytes 
attached  themselves  to  him  more  readily  than  the  Jews.®  But  he  did  not 
merely  obtain  an  influence  over  the  Gentile  mind  by  the  indirect  means 
of  his  disputations  on  the  Sabbath  in  the  Synagogue,  and  through  the 
medium  of  the  Proselytes  ;  but  on  the  intermediate  days''  he  was  doubt- 
less in  frequent  and  direct  communication  with  the  Heathen.  We  need 
not  be  surprised  at  the  results,  even  if  his  stay  was  limited  to  the  period 
corresponding  to  three  Sabbaths.  No  one  can  say  what  effects  might  fol- 
low from  three  weeks  of  an  Apostle's  teaching.  But  we  are  by  no  means 
forced  to  adopt  the  supposition  that  the  time  was  limited  to  three  weeks. 
It  is  highly  probable  that  St.  Paul  remained  at  Thessalonica  for  a  longer 
period.®  At  other  cities,^  when  he  was  repelled  by  the  Jews,  he  became 
the  evangelist  of  the  Gentiles,  and  remained  till  he  was  compelled  to 
depart.    The  Thessalonian  Letters  throw  great  light  on  the  rupture  which 

1  "  He  that  hath  a  trade  in  his  hand,  to  ''  As  at  Athens.     Acts  xvii.  17. 

what  is  he  like  ?     He  is  like  a  vineyard  that  is  *  Paley,  among  others,  argues  for  a  longer 

fenced."     Ibid.  residence  than   three  weeks.    Hora  Paulina:, 

2  See  note,  p.  45.  on  1   Thess.  No.  vi.     Benson   lays  tstress   on 
^  Note   the    phrases,  —  "as    I   commanded  the   coming  of   repeated  contributions    from 

you,"  and  "  even  when  I  was  with  you  I  gave  you  Philippi:  to  which  it  maybe  replied,  on  the 

this  precept."  Other  hand,  that  they  might  have  come  within 

*  1  Thess.  i.  6.  ^1  Thess.  ii.  2.  three  weeks,  if  they   were  sent   by  different 

"  "  Some  of  them  [the  Jews]  believed  and  contributors, 
consorted  with   Paul   and   Silas ;  and  of  the  *  Acts  xiii.,  xviii.,  xix.,  &c. 

devout  Greeks  a  great  multitude,  and  of  the 
chief  women  not  a.  few."  —  Acts  xvii.  4. 


•286  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ix. 

certainly  took  place  with  the  Jews  on  this  occasion,  and  which  is  implied 
in  that  one  word  in  the  Acts  which  speaks  of  their  jealousy  ^  against  the 
Gentiles.  The  whole  aspect  of  the  Letters  shows  that  the  main  body  of 
the  Thessalonian  Church  was  not  Jewish,  but  Gentile.  The  Jews  are 
spoken  of  as  an  extraneous  body,  as  the  enemies  of  Christianity  and  of 
all  men,  not  as  the  elements  out  of  which  the  Church  was  composed.'^ 
The  ancient  Jewish  Scriptures  are  not  once  quoted  in  either  of  these 
Epistles.'  The  converts  are  addressed  as  those  who  had  turned,  not  from 
Hebrew  fables  and  traditions,  but  from  the  practices  of  Heathen  idolatry.* 
How  new  and  how  comforting  to  them  must  have  been  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  from  the  dead !  What  a  contrast  must  this  revelation  of  "  life 
and  immortality  "  have  been  to  the  hopeless  lamentations  of  their  own 
pagan  funerals,  and  to  the  dismal  teaching  which  we  can  still  read  in  the 
sepulchral  inscriptions  ^  of  Heathen  Thessalonica,  —  such  as  told  the  by- 
stander that  after  death  there  is  no  revival,  after  the  grave  no  meeting  of 
those  who  have  loved  each  other  on  earth !  How  ought  the  truth  taught 
by  the  Apostle  to  have  comforted  the  new  disciples  at  the  thought  of  inev- 
itable, though  only  temporary,  separation  from  their  Christian  brethren ! 
And  yet  how  difiScult  was  the  truth  to  realize,  when  they  saw  those 
brethren  sink  into  lifeless  forms,  and  after  they  had  committed  them  to 
the  earth  which  had  received  all  their  heathen  ancestors !  How  eagerly 
can  we  imagine  them  to  have  read  the  new  assurances  of  comfort  which 
came  in  the  letter  from  Corinth,  and  which  told  them  "  not  to  sorrow 
like  other  men  who  have  no  hope  " !  ^ 

But  we  are  anticipating  the  events  which  occurred  between  the  Apos- 
tle's departure  from  Thessalonica  and  the  time  when  he  wrote  the  letter 
from  Corinth.  We  must  return  to  the  persecution  that  led  him  to  un- 
dertake that  journey,  which  brought  him  from  the  capitol  of  Macedonia 
to  that  of  Achaia. 

When  the  Jews  saw  Proselytes  and  Gentiles,  and  many  of  the  leading 
women '  of  the  city,  convinced  by  St.  Paul's  teaching,  they  must  have 
felt  that  his  influence  was  silently  undermining  theirsy  In  proportion  to 
his  success  in  spreading  Christianity,  their  power  of  spreading  Judaism 
declined.     Their  sensitiveness  would  be  increased  in  consequence  of  the 

1  Acts  xvii.  5.  *  The  Epistles  to  Titus  and  Philemon,  if 

■^  "  You  have  suffered  the  like  persecution  we  mistake  not,  are  the  only  other  instances. 

from  your  own  countrymen  which  they  [the  *  1  Thess.  i.  9. 

churches  in  Judaa]  endured  from   the  Jews,  ^  Ilere  and  there  in  such  inscriptixjns  is  a 

who   killed   both    the    Lord    Jesus    and    the  hint  of  immortality ;  but  the  general  feeling 

proi)hets  ...  a  people    displeasing    to   God,  of  the  Greek  world  concerning  the  dead  is  that 

iitiJ  enemies  to  all  mankind  ;  who  would  hin-  of  utter  hopelessness. 

i'T  me  from  s])eaking  to  the  Gentiles,"  &c.  —  ®  1  Thess.  iv.  13. 

!   Thess.  ii.     Contrast  Rom.  ix.  "^  Acts  xvii.  4.     See  above. 


CHAP.  II.  PEESECUTION.  287 

peculiar  dislike  with  which  they  were  viewed  at  this  time  hy  the  Roman 
power. ^  Thus  they  adopted  the  tactics  which  had  been  used  with  some 
success  before  at  Iconium  and  Lystra,^  and  turned  against  St.  Paul  and 
his  companions  those  weapons  which  are  the  readiest  instruments  of  vul- 
gar bigotry.  They  excited  the  mob  of  Thessalonica,  gathering  together 
a  multitude  of  those  worthless  idlers  about  the  markets  and  landing- 
places  '  which  abound  in  every  such  city,  and  are  always  ready  for  any 
evil  work.  With  this  multitude  they  assaulted  the  house  of  Jason  (per- 
haps some  Hellenistic  Jew,*  whose  name  had  been  moulded  into  Gentile 
form,  and  possibly  one  of  St.  Paul's  relations,  who  is  mentioned  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans),^  with  whom  Paul  and  Silas  seem  to  have  been 
lodging.  Their  wish  was  to  bring  Paul  and  Silas  out  to  the  demus,  or 
assembly  of  the  people.  But  they  were  absent  from  the  house  ;  and 
Jason  and  some  other  Christians  were  dragged  before  the  city  magis- 
trates. The  accusation  vociferously  brought  against  them  was  to  the  fol- 
lowing effect :  "  These  Christians,  who  are  setting  the  whole  world  in 
confusion,  are  come  hither  at  last ;  and  Jason  has  received  them  into  his 
house  ;  and  they  are  all  acting  in  the  face  of  the  Emperor's  decrees,  for 
they  assert  that  there  is  another  king,  whom  they  call  Jesus."  We  have 
seen*  how  some  of  the  parts  of  St.  Paul's  teaching  at  Thessalonica  may 
liave  given  occasion  to  the  latter  phrase  in  this  indictment ;  and  we  ob- 
tain a  deeper  insight  into  the  cause  why  the  whole  indictment  was 
brought  forward  with  so  much  vehemence,  and  why  it  was  so  likely  to 
produce  an  effect  on  the  magistrates,  if  we  bear  in  mind  the  circumstance 
alluded  to  in  reference  to  Philippi,^  that  the  Jews  were  under  the  ban  of 
the  Roman  authorities  about  this  time,  for  having  raised  a  tumult  in  the 
metropolis,  at  the  instigation  (as  was  alleged)  of  one  Chrestus,  or  Chris- 
tus  ;  ^  and  that  they  must  have  been  glad,  in  the  provincial  cities,  to  be 
able  to  show  their  loyalty  and  gratify  their  malice,  by  throwing  the  odium 
off  themselves  upon  a  sect  whose  very  name  might  be  interpreted  to  im- 
ply a  rebellion  against  the  Emperor. 

Such  were  the  circumstances  under  which  Jason  and  his  companions 
were  brought  before  the  poUtarchs.     We  use  the  Greek  term  advisedly  ; 

^  See  next  page.  «  Above,  p.  283. 

'  Acts  xiv.     See  pp.  164,  172,  &c. ;  also  ^  P.  335. 

pp.  161,  1G2.  8  The  words  of   Suetonius  are  quoted  p. 

'  Like  the  Lazzaroni  at  Naples.  262,  n.  2.      We  shall  return  to   them  again 

*  Jason  is  the  form  which  the  name  Joshua  when  we  come  to  Acts  xviii.  2.  At  present 
seems  sometimes  to  have  taken.  See  p.  137.  we  need  only  point  out  their  probable  connec- 
It  occurs  1  Mace.  viii.  17,  2  Mace.  ii.  23;  also  tion  with  the  word  "  Christian."  See  pp.  Ill, 
in  Josephus,  referred  to  p.  136,  n.  6.  112,  and  the  notes.     We  should  observe  that 

*  Rom.  xvi.  21.  Tradition  says  that  he  St.  Paul  had  proclaimed  at  Thessalonica  that 
became  Bishop  of  Tarsus.     For  some  remarks  Jesus  was  the  Christ.    Acts  xvii.  3. 

on  St.  Paul's  kinsmen,  see  p.  44. 


Ii88  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  ix. 

for  it  illustiatos  the  political  constitution  of  Thessalonica,  and  its  contrast 
with  that  of  Philippi,  which  has  lately  been  noticed.  Thessalonica  was 
not  a  colony,  like  Philippi,  Troas,  or  the  Pisidian  Antioch,  but  a  free  city 
(  Urhs  libera),  like  the  Syrian  Antioch,  or  like  Tarsus  ^  and  Athens.  The 
privilege  of  what  was  technically  called  "  freedom  '**  was  given  to  certain 
cities  of  the  Empire  for  good  service  in  the  Civil  Wars,  or  as  a  tribute  of 
respect  to  the  old  celebrity  of  the  place,  or  for  other  reasons  of  conve- 
nient policy.  There  were  few  such  cities  in  the  western  provinces,^  as 
there  were  no  mmiicipia  in  the  eastern.  The  free  towns  were  most  nu- 
merous in  those  parts  of  the  Empire  where  the  Greek  language  had  long 
prevailed ;  and  we  are  generally  able  to  trace  the  reasons  why  this  privi- 
lege was  bestowed  upon  them.  At  Athens,  it  was  the  fame  of  its  ancient 
eminence,  and  the  evident  policy  of  paying  a  compliment  to  the  Greeks. 
At  Thessalonica  it  was  the  part  which  its  inhabitants  had  prudently  taken 
in  the  great  struggle  of  Augustus  and  Antony  against  Brutus  and  Cas- 
sius.^  When  the  decisive  battle  had  been  fought,  Philippi  was  made  a 
military  colony,  and  Thessalonica  became  free. 

The  privilege  of  such  a  city  consisted  in  this,  —  that  it  was  entirely 
self-governed  in  all  its  internal  affairs,  within  the  territory  that  might  be 
assigned  to  it.  The  governor  of  the  province  had  no  right,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  to  interfere  withythese  affairs.*  The  local  magistrates  had 
the  power  of  life  and  death  over  the  citizens  of  the  place.  No  stationary 
garrison  of  Roman  soldiers  was  quartered  within  its  territory .'^  No 
insignia  of  Roman  office  were  displayed  in  its  streets.  An  instance  of 
the  care  with  which  this  rule  was  observed  is  recorded  by  Tacitus,  who  tells 
us,  that  Germanicus,  whose  progress  was  usually  distinguished  by  the 
presence  of  twelve  lictors,  declined  to  enter  Athens  attended  with  more 
than  one.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  magistracies  of  such  cities  would 
be  very  careful  to  show  their  loyalty  to  the  Emperor  on  all  suitable  occa- 
sions, and  to  avoid  every  disorder  which  might  compromise  their  valued 
dignity,  and  cause  it  to  be  withdrawn.    And  on  the  other  hand,  the  Roman 

1  See  p.  42.  under  the  Republic,   the    governor   of   Asia 

2  There  were  a  few  in  Gaul  and  Spain,  directed  to  administer  justice  to  free  commu- 
none  in  Sardinia.  On  the  other  hand,  they  nities ;  but  usually  he  did  not  interfere  with 
were  very  numerous  in  Greece,  the  Greek  the  local  magistrates.  Even  his  financial  of- 
islands,  and  Asia  Minor.  Such  compliment-  ficers  did  not  enter  the  territory  to  collect  the 
ary  privik'<^es  would  have  had  little  meaning  taxes,  but  the  imposts  were  sent  to  Rome  in 
if  bestowed  on  a  rude  people,  which  had  no  some  other  way.  We  may  add  that  a  free 
ancient  traditions.  city  might   have  libe.rtas  cum   iinmutntate,  i.  e. 

^  See  the  coins  alluded  to  above,  p.  278.  freedom   from   taxation,   as   a   Colonia  might 

Some  have  the  word  EAETGEP1A2  with  the  have  the  Jus  Italicum. 
head  of  Octavia.  ^  Ilence  such  cities  were  scMoetimes  called 

*  He  might,  however,  have   his   residence  "  ungarrisoned." 
there,  as  at  Antioch  and  Tarsus.      We  find, 


aiAJ.  IX.  THE  MAGISTRA.CY  OF  THESSALONICA.  289 

State  did  wisely  to  rely  on  the  Greek  love  of  empty  distinction ;  and  it 
secured  its  dominion  as  effectually  in  the  East  by  means  of  these  privileged 
towns,  as  by  the  stricter  political  annexation  of  the  municipia  in  the  West. 
The  form  of  government  in  the  free  cities  was  very  various.*  In  some 
cases  the  old  magistracies  and  customs  were  continued  without  any 
material  modification.  In  others,  a  senate^  or  an  assemhly,  was  allowed  to 
exist  where  none  had  existed  before.  Here,  at  Thessalonica,  we  find  an 
assembly  of  the  people  (^Demus^  Acts  xvii.  5)  and  supreme  magistrates, 
who  are  cdW^di  politarchs  (Acts  xvii.  8).  It  becomes  an  interesting  inquiry, 
whether  the  existence  of  this  title  of  the  Thessalonian  magistracy  can  be 
traced  in  any  other  source  of  information.  This  question  is  immediately 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  by  one  of  those  passages  of  monumental 
history  which  we  have  made  it  our  business  to  cite  as  often  as  possible 
in  the  course  of  this  biography.  An  inscription  which  is  still  legible 
on  an  archway  in  Thessalonica  gives  this  title  to  the  magistrates  of  the 
place,  informs  us  of  their  number,  and  mentions  the  very  names  of  some 
who  bore  the  office  not  long  before  the  day  of  St.  Paul. 

A  long  street  intersects  the  city  from  east  to  west.'  This  is  doubtless 
the  very  direction  which  the  ancient  road  took  in  its  course  from  the 
Adriatic  to  the  Hellespont ;  for  though  the  houses  of  ancient  cities  are 
destroyed  and  renewed,  the  lines  of  the  great  thoroughfares  are  usually 
unchanged.*  If  there  were  any  doubt  of  the  fact  at  Thessalonica,  the 
question  is  set  at  rest  by  two  triumphal  arches  which  still,  though  disfig- 
ured by  time  and  injury,  and  partly  concealed  by  Turkish  houses,  span 
the  breadth  of  this  street,  and  define  a  space  which  must  have  been  one 
of  the  public  parts  of  the  city  in  the  apostolic  age.  One  of  these  arches 
is  at  the  western  extremity,  near  the  entrance  from  Rome,  and  is  thought 
to  have  been  built  by  the  grateful  Thessalonians  to  commemorate  the 
victory  of  Augustus  and  Antony.*  The  other  is  farther  to  the  east,  and 
records  the  triumph  of  some  later  emperor  (most  probably  Constantine) 
over  enemies  subdued  near  the  Danube  or  beyond.     The  second  of  these 

1  The  degree  of  libertas  was  various  also.  ^  ^  view  of  the  arch  is  given  in  Consin«^ry, 
It  was  settled  by  a  distinct  concordat  {foedus).  p.  26.  See  his  description.  He  believes  Oc- 
The  granting  and  withdrawing  of  this  privi-  tavius  and  Antony  to  have  staid  here  some 
lege,  as  well  as  its  amount,  was  capricious  and  time  after  the  victory.  The  arch  is  also  de- 
irregular  under  the  Republic,  and  especially  scribed  by  Sir  H.  Holland  and  Dr.  Clarke, 
during  the  Civil  Wars.  Under  the  Emperors  who  take  the  same  view  of  its  origin.  The 
it  became  more  regulated,  like  all  the  other  latter  traveller  says  that  its  span  is  12  feet, 
details  of  provincial  administration.  and  its  present  height  18  feet,  the  lower  part 

2  Tafel  seems  to  think  it  had  also  a  senate.  being  buried  to  the  depth  of  27  feet  more.     It 

*  See  Cousinery,  ch.  ii.,  and  Leake,  ch.  is  now  part  of  the  modem  walls,  and  is  called 
xxvi.  the  Vardar  Gate,  because  it  leads  towards  that 

*  See  a  traveller's  just  remark,  quoted  in  river  (the  Axius). 
reference  to  Damascus,  p.  87,  n.  4. 

19 


290  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  «. 

arches,  with  its  sculptured  camels,^  has  altogether  an  Asiatic  aspect,  and 
belongs  to  a  period  of  the  Empire  much  later  than  that  of  St.  Paul.  The 
first  has  the  representation  of  consuls  with  the  toga,  and  corresponds  in 
appearance  with  that  condition  of  the  arts  which  marks  the  passing  of  the 
Republic  into  the  Empire.  If  erected  at  that  epoch,  it  was  undoubtedly 
existing  when  the  Apostle  was  in  Macedonia.  The  inscription  in  Greek 
letters,^  which  is  given  on  the  opposite  page,  is  engraved  on  this  arch  of 
marble,^  and  informs  us  still  of  the  magistracy  which  the  Romans  recog- 
nized and  allowed  to  subsist  in  the  "  free  city  "  of  Thessalonica.  We  learn 
from  this  source  that  the  magistrates  of  the  city  were  called  poUtarchs* 
and  that  they  were  seven  in  number ;  and  it  is  perhaps  worth  observing 
(though  it  is  only  a  curious  coincidence)  that  three  of  the  names  are 
identical  with  three  of  St.  Paul's  friends  in  this  region,  —  Sopater  of 
Bero^a^  Gains  the  Macedonian^  and  Secundus  of  Thessalonica.'^ 

It  is  at  least  well  worth  our  while  to  notice,  as  a  mere  matter  of 
Christian  evidence,  how  accurately  St.  Luke  writes  concerning  the 
political  characteristics  of  the  cities  and  provinces  which  he  mentions. 
He  takes  notice,  in  the  most  artless  and  incidental  manner,  of  minute 
details  which  a  fraudulent  composer  would  judiciously  avoid,  and  which 
in  the  mythical  result  of  mere  oral  tradition  would  surely  be  loose  and 
inexact.  Cyprus  is  a  "  proconsular"  province.^  Philippi  is  a  "  colony." ' 
The  magistrates  of  Thessalonica  have  an  unusual  title,  unmentioned  in 
ancient  literature  ;  but  it  appears,  from  a  monument  of  a  different  kind, 
that  the  title  is  perfectly  correct.'  And  the  whole  aspect  of  what  hap- 
pened at  Thessalonica,  as  compared  with  the  events  at  Philippi,  is  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  ascertained  difference  in  the  political  condition 
of  the  two  places.  There  is  no  mention  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
Roman  citizenship  ;  ^^  but  we  are  presented  with  the  spectacle  of  a  mixed 
mob  of  Greeks  and  Jews,  who  are  anxious  to  show  themselves  to  be 
"  CcRsar's  friends.'"  ^^     No  lictors,^^  with  rods  and  fasces,  appear  upon  the 

1  There  is  also  a  view  of  this  arch  in  Cou-  ^  The  m&sonry  consists  of  square  blocks 
Binary,  p.  29.     He  refers  its  origin  to  one  of       of  marble,  six  feet  thick. 

Constantine's  expeditions,  mentioned  by  Zosi-  *  Nor  is  this  the  only  ancient  inscription  in 

mus.     The  whole  structure  formerly  consisted  Thessalonica,  on  which   the  same   techinical 

of  three  arches ;  it  is  built  of  brick,  and  seema  term  occurs.  »  Acts  xx.  4.  ^  Acts  xix.  29. 
to  have  been  faced  with  marble.  '  Acts  xx.  4.  "  See  Ch.  V.  p.  131. 

2  From  Boeckh,  No.  1,9G7.     The  inscrip-  '  See  above,  p.  2.51,  &c. 
tion  is  given  by  Leake  (p.  23G),  with  a  slight           ^^  Compare  Acts  xvi,  21. 

diSbrcnce  in  one  of  the  names.    It  goes  on  to  "  The  conduct  and  language  of  the  Jews  ~ 

mention    the    ra/^a/f    tw    nOXeuc    and    the  in  Acts  xvii.  7,  should,  by  all  means,  be  com- 

yv/ivaciupxuv.    The  names  being  chiefly  Ro-  pared  with  what  was  said  to  Pilate  at  Jerusa- 

man,  Leake  argues  for  a  later  date  than  that  lem  :  "  If  thou  let  this  man  go,  tliou  art  not 

which  is  suggested  by  Cousine'ry.     In  either  Ccesar's  friend:  whosoever  makcth  himself  a 

case  the  confinnation  of  St.  Luke's  accuracy  kingspeaketh  against  Caesar."  —  John  xix.  12. 

remains  the  same.  ^^  'Pa/3(Vv\;oi.    Acts  xvi.  35,  38. 


CHAT.  IX.  DEPARTURE  FROM  THESSALOMICA.  291 

scene  ,  but  we  hear  something  distinctly  of  a  demus^  or  free  assembly  of 
the  people.  Nothing  it  said  of  religious  ceremmiieB  ^  which  the  citizens, 
"being  Romans,"  may  not  lawfully  adopt;  all  the  anxiety,  both  of 
people  and  magistrates,  is  turned  to  the  one  point  of  showing  their  loy- 
alty to  the  Emperor.^  And  those  magistrates  by  whom  tlie  question  at 
issue  is  ultimately  decided  are  not  Roman  prcetors^^  but  Greek  poli- 
tarchs.^ 

It  is  evident  that  the  magistrates  were  excited  and  unsettled  ®  as  well 
as  the  multitude.  No  doubt  they  were  anxious  to  stand  well  with  the 
Roman  government,  and  not  to  compromise  themselves  or  the  privileges 
of  their  city  by  a  wrong  decision  in  this  dispute  between  the  Christians 
and  the  Jews.'  The  course  they  adopted  was  to  "  take  security  "  from 
Jason  and  his  companions.  By  this  expression^  it  is  most  probably 
meant  that  a  sum  of  money  was  deposited  with  the  magistrates,  and  that 
the  Christian  community  of  the  place  made  themselves  responsible 
that  no  attempt  should  be  made  against  the  supremacy  of  Rome,  and 
that  peace  should  be  maintained  in  Thessalonica  itself.  By  these  means 
the  disturbance  was  allayed. 

But  though  the  magistrates  had  secured  quiet  in  the  city  for  the 
present,  the  position  of  Paul  and  Silas  was  very  precarious.  The  lower 
classes  were  still  excited.  The  Jews  were  in  a  state  of  fanatical  dis- 
pleasure. It  is  evident  that  the  Apostles  could  not  appear  in  public  as 
before,  without  endangering  their  own  safety,  and  compromising  their 
fellow-Christians  who  were  security  for  their  good  behavior.  The  alter- 
natives before  them  were,  either  silence  in  Thessalonica,  or  departure  to 
some  other  place.  The  first  was  impossible  to  those  who  bore  the  divine 
commission  to  preach  the  Gospel  everywhere.  They  could  not  hesitate 
to  adopt  the  second  course  ;  and,  under  the  watchful  care  of  "  the 
brethren,"  they  departed  the  same  evening  from  Thessalonica,  their  steps 
being  turned  in  the  direction  of  those  mountains  which  are  the  western 
boundary  of  Macedonia.®     We  observe  that  nothing  is   said  of  the  de- 


^  Acts  xvii.  5.  this  means,  as   has   been   imagined,  that  Ja- 

2  Acts  xvi.  21.                 '  Acts  xvii.  7.  son  and  his  friends  gave  bail  for  the  ap},<ear- 

♦  IrpaTTiyoL      Acts   xvi.    20,   22,   35,   &c.  ance  of  Paul  and  Silas  before  the  magistrates, 
Seep.  253  and  p.  261.  for  they  sent  them   away  the    same    night. 

s  For  a  general  account  of   Thessalonica,  Some  think  that  Jason  pledged  himself  not  to 

see  the  article  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Greek  receive  them  again  into  his  house,  or  that  he 

and  Roman  Geography.    A  coin  of  the  city  is  gave  a  promise  of  their  immediate  departure, 

given  at  the  end  of  Chap.  XI.  Neither  of  these  suppositions  is  improbable ; 

«  The  words  imply  some  disturbance  of  but  it  is  clear  that  it  was  impossible  for  Paul 

mind  on  the  part  of  the  magistrates.  and  Silas  to  stay,  if  the  other  Christians  were 

7  See  above.  security  for  the  maintenance  of  the  peace. 

•  Acts   xvii.  9.      It  is  very  unlikely  that  ^  Pp.  271,  272,  and  the  notes. 


292  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  ix 

parture  of  Timotheus.  If  he  was  at  Thessaloiiica  at  all,  he  stays  there 
now,  as  Luke  had  staid  at  Philippi.^  We  can  trace  in  all  these 
arrangements  a  deliberate  care  and  policy  for  the  well-being  of  the  new 
Churches,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  sudden  movements  caused  by  the 
outbreak  of  persecution.  It  is  the  same  prudent  and  varied  forethought 
which  appears  afterwards  in  the  pastoral  Epistles,  where  injunctions  are 
given,  according  to  circumstances,  —  to  "  abide  "  while  the  Apostle  goes 
to  some  other  region,^  "  hoping  that  he  may  come  shortly  "  again,* —  to 
"  set  in  order  the  things  that  are  wanting,  and  ordain  elders,"  *  —  or  "to 
use  all  diligence  "  to  follow'  and  co-operate  again  in  the  same  work  at 
some  new  place. 

Passing  under  the  Arch  of  Augustus  and  out  of  the  Western  Gate,  the 
Via  Egnatia  crosses  the  plain  and  ascends  the  mountains  which  have  just 
been  mentioned,  —  forming  a  communication  over  a  very  rugged  country 
between  the  Hellespont  and  the  Adriatic.  Just  where  the  road  strikes 
the  mountains,  at  the  head  of  a  bay  of  level  ground,  the  city  of  Edessa 
is  situated,  described  as  commanding  a  glorious  view  of  all  the  country, 
that  stretches  in  an  almost  unbroken  surface  to  Thessalonica  and  the 
sea.^  This,  however,  was  not  the  point  to  which  St.  Paul  turned  his 
steps.  He  travelled,  by  a  less  important  road,*^  to  the  town  of  Beroea, 
which  was  farther  to  the  south.  The  first  part  of  the  journey  was 
undertaken  at  night,  but  day  must  have  dawned  on  the  travellers  long 
before  they  reached  their  place  of  destination.  If  the  journey  was  at  all 
like  what  it  is  now,^  it  may  be  simply  described  as  follows.  After  leaving 
the  gardens  which  are  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Thessalonica, 
the  travellers  crossed  a  wide  tract  of  corn-fields,  and  came  to  the  shift- 
ing bed  of  the  "  wide-flowing  Axius."  About  this  part  of  the  journey, 
if  not  before,  the  day  must  have  broken  upon  them.     Between  the  Axius 

1  See  p.  271.  ceivable,  but  not  likely,  that  St.  Paul  went  by 

*  1  Tim.  i.  3.  water  from  Thessalonica  to  the  neighborhood 
'  1  Tim.  iii.  14.  of  Pydna.     Colonel  Leake,  after  visiting  this 

*  Tit.  i.  5.  city,   took  a    boat  from  Elcftherokhori,  and 
6  2  Tim.  iv.  9,  21,  and  especially  Tit.  iii.       sailed  across  the  gulf  to  Salonica.     Vol.  iii. 

12.     The  first  injunction  we  read  of,  after  this  pp.  436-438.     So  Dr.  Clarke, 
point,   to    Timotheus,    in    conjunction    with  *  The  description  of  the  journey  is  liter- 
Silas,  is  when  St.   Paul  leaves   Beroea,   and  ally  taken   from   Cousin^ry,  ch.  iii.     He  was 
they  are  told  "  to  come  to  him  with  all  speed."  travelling  from  Salonica  with  a  caravan  to  a 
Acts  xvii.  15.  place  called  Perlcpe,  on  the  mountains  to  the 

*  See  p.  274,  n.  6.  For  a  description  of  north-west.  The  usual  road  is  up  the  Axius 
Edessa  ( Vodhemi)  see  Cousin^ry.  It  seems  to  Gradisca.  But  one  of  the  rivers  higher  up 
to  be  on  a  plateau  at  the  edge  of  the  moun-  was  said  to  be  flooded  and  impassable ;  hence 
tains,  with  waterfalls,  like  Tivoli.  he  went  by  Caraveria  (Beroea),  which  is  four- 

^  The  Itineraries  give  two  roads  from  teen  leagues  from  Salonica.  Leake  travelled 
Thessalonica  to  Beroea,  one  passing  through  from  Salonica  to  Pella  crossing  the  Axins  on 
VcUa,  the  other  more  to  the  south.     It  is  con-      his  way.     Ch.  xxvii. 


CHAP.  IX.  JEWS  AT  BEECEA.  293 

and  the  Haliacmon  ^  there  intervenes  another  wide  extent  of  the  same 
continuous  plain.  The  banks  of  this  second  river  are  confined  by  artifi- 
cial dikes  to  check  its  destructive  inundations.  All  the  country  round  is 
covered  with  a  vast  forest,  with  intervals  of  cultivated  land,  and  villages 
concealed  among  the  trees.  The  road  extends  for  many  miles  through 
these  woods,  and  at  length  reaches  the  base  of  the  Western  Mountains, 
where  a  short  ascent  leads  up  to  the  gate  of  Beroea. 

Beroea,  like  Edessa,  is  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Olympian  range,  and 
commands  an  extensive  view  of  the  plain  which  is  watered  by  the  Haliac- 
mon and  Axius.  It  has  many  natural  advantages,  and  is  now  considered 
one  of  the  most  agreeable  towns  in  Rumili.^  Plane-trees  spread  a  grate- 
ful shade  over  its  gardens.  Streams  of  water  are  in  every  street.  Iti 
ancient  name  is  said  to  have  been  derived  from  the  abundance  of  ita 
waters;  and  the  name  still  survives  in  the  modern  Verria,  or  Kara- 
Yerria.^  It  is  situated  on  the  left  of  the  Haliacmon,  about  five  miles 
from  the  point  where  that  river  breaks  through  an  immense  rocky  ravine 
from  the  mountains  to  the  plain.  A  few  insignificant  ruins  of  the  Greek 
and  Roman  periods  may  yet  be  noticed.  The  foundations  of  an  ancient 
bridge  are  passed  on  the  ascent  to  the  city-gate  ;  and  parts  of  the  Greek 
fortifications  may  be  seen  above  the  rocky  bed  of  a  mountain  stream. 
The  traces  of  repairs  in  the  walls,  of  Roman  and  Byzantine  date,^  are 
links  between  the  early  fortunes  of  Beroea  and  its  present  condition. 
It  still  boasts  of  eighteen  or  twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  and  is  placed 
in  the  second  rank  of  the  cities  of  European  Turkey.' 

In  the  apostolic  age  Bercea  was  sufficiently  populous  to  contain  a  colo- 
ny of  Jews.®  When  St.  Paul  arrived,  he  went,  according  to  his  custom, 
immediately  to  the  synagogue.  The  Jews  here  were  of  a  "  nobler  "  spirit 
than  those  of  Thessalonica.  Their  minds  were  less  narrowed  by  preju- 
dice, and  they  were  more  willing  to  receive  "  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it." 
There  was  a  contrast  between  two  neighboring  communities  apparently 
open  to  the  same  religious  influences,  like  that  between  the  "  village  of 
the  Samaritans,"  which  refused  to  receive  Jesus  Christ  (Luke  ix.),  and 
that  other  "  city  "  in  the  same  country  where  "  many  believed  "  becaui?e 

^  The    Haliacmon    itself    would     not  be  '  Leake  nses  the  former  term:  Consin^ry 

crossed  before  arriving  at  Bercea  (see  below).  calls  the  town  "  Caraveria,"  or  "  Verria  the 

But  there  are  other  large  rivers  which  flow  Black."    In  the  eleventh  century  we  find  it 

into  it,  and  which  are  often  flooded.     Some  called  "  Verre." 

of  the  "  perils  of  rivers"  (p.   146)  may  very  *  It  was  a  fortified  city  in   the  eleventh 

possibly  have  been  in  this  district.     See  the  century. 

preceding  note.      Compare  Leake's   remarks  *  Cousinery    reckons    the    inhabitants    at 

on  the  changing  channels  of  these  rivers,  p.  15,000  or  20,000. 
437.  ^  Acts  xvii.  10, 

2  See  Leake,  p.  290,  &c. 


294  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  is. 

of  the  word  of  one  who  witnessed  of  Him,  and  "  many  more  because  of 
His  own  word  "  (John  iv.).  In  a  spirit  very  different  from  the  ignoble 
violence  of  the  Thessalonian  Jews,  the  Beroeans  not  only  listened  to  the 
Apostle's  arguments,  but  they  examined  the  Scriptures  themselves,  to  see 
if  those  arguments  were  justified  by  prophecy.  And,  feeling  the  impor- 
tance of  the  subject  presented  to  them,  they  made  this  scrutiny  of  their 
holy  books  their  "  daily  "  occupation.  This  was  the  surest  way  to  come 
to  a  strong  conviction  of  the  Gospel's  divine  origin.  Truth  sought  in 
this  spirit  cannot  long  remain  undiscovered.  The  promise  that  "  they 
who  seek  shall  find "  was  fulfilled  at  Beroea ;  and  the  Apostle's  visit 
resulted  in  the  conversion  of  "  many."  Nor  was  the  blessing  confined  to 
the  Hebrew  community.  The  same  Lord  who  "  is  rich  unto  all  that  call 
upon  Him,"  ^  called  many  "  not  of  the  Jews  only,  but  also  of  the  Gen- 
tiles."'^ Both  men  and  women,'  and  those  of  the  highest  rank,  among 
the  Greeks,*  were  added  to  the  church  founded  by  St.  Paul  in  that  pro- 
vincial city  of  Macedonia,  which  was  his  temporary  shelter  from  the  storm 
of  persecution. 

The  length  of  St.  Paul's  stay  in  the  city  is  quite  uncertain.  From  the 
fact  that  the  Beroeans  were  occupied  "  daily  "  in  searching  the  Scriptures' 
for  arguments  to  establish  or  confute  the  Apostle's  doctrine,  we  conclude 
that  he  remained  there  several  days  at  least.  From  his  own  assertion  in 
his  first  letter  to  the  Thessalonians,®  that,  at  the  time  when  he  had  been 
recently  taken  away  from  them,  he  was  very  anxious,  and  used  every 
effort  to  revisit  them,  we  cannot  doubt  that  he  lingered  as  long  as  possi- 
ble in  the  neighborhood  of  Thessalonica.^  This  desire  would  account  for 
a  residence  of  some  weeks  ;  and  there  are  other  passages^  in  the  same 
Epistle  which  might  induce  us  to  suppose  the  time  extended  even  to 
months.  But  when  we  find,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  cause  which  led 
him  to  leave  Bercea  was  the  hostility  of  the  Jews  of  Thessalonica,  and 
when  we  remember  that  the  two  cities  were  separated  only  by  a  distance 
of  sixty  miles,^  —  that  the  events  which  happened  in  the  Synagogue  of 

1  Eora.  X.  12.  rumor  of   the    introduction    of   Christianity 

■■2  Acts  ix.  24.  into  Thessalonica.     See  below,  on   1    Thess. 

*  Acts  xvii.  12.  The  stay  at  Athens  was  short,  and  the  Epistle 

*  The  word  "  Greek  "  (v.  22)  must  be  con-  was  written  soon  after  St.  Paul's  arrival  at 
sidcred  as  belonging  to  "men"  as  well  as  Corinth;  and,  if  a  sufficient  time  had  elapsed 
"  women."  for  a  general  knowledge  to  be  spread  abroad 

6  Acts  xvii.  11.  of  what   had  ha])pcned   at   Thessalonica,  we 

6  1  Thcss.  ii.  17,  '  should  be  inclined  to  believe  that  the  delay  at 

7  He  says   that  he  made  more  than  one      Beroea  was  considerable. 

attempt  to  return  ;  and  in  this  expression  he  ^  Wieselcr  Rives  a  difTcrcnt  turn  to  this  con- 
may  be  referring  to  what  took  place  at  Beroea,  sidcration,  and  argues  that,  because  the  dis- 
ss probably  as  at  Athens.  tance  between  Beroea  and  Thessalonica  wjus  so 

*  Those  which  relate  to  the  widely-extended  great,  therefore  a  long  time  must  have  elapsed 


CHAP.  n.  DIRECTION  OF  ST.   PAUL'S  FLIGHT.  295 

one  city  would  soon  be  made  known  in  the  Synagogue  of  the  other, — 
and  that  Jewish  bigotry  was  never  long  in  taking  active  measures  to 
crush  its  opponents,  —  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Apostle  was 
forced  to  retreat  from  Beroea  after  no  long  interval  of  time.  The  Jews 
came  like  hunters  upon  their  prey,  as  they  had  done  before  from  Iconium 
to  Lystra.'  They  could  not  arrest  the  progress  of  the  Gospel ;  but  they 
"  stirred  up  the  people  "  there,  as  at  Thessalonica  before.'^  They  made 
his  friends  feel  that  his  continuance  in  the  city  was  no  longer  safe.  He 
was  withdrawn  from  Beroea  and  sent  to  Athens,  as  in  the  beginning  of  his 
ministry  (Acts  ix.  30)  he  had  been  withdrawn  from  Jerusalem  and  sent 
to  Tarsus.  And  on  this  occasion,  as  on  that,^  the  dearest  wishes  of  his 
heai-t  were  thwarted.  The  providence  of  God  permitted  "  Satan "  to 
hinder  him  from  seeing  his  dear  Thessalonian  converts,  whom  "  once  and 
again  "  he  had  desired  to  revisit.'*  The  divine  counsels  were  accomplished 
by  means  of  the  antagonism  of  wicked  men  ;  and  the  path  of  the  Apostle 
was  urged  on,  in  the  midst  of  trial  and  sorrow,  in  the  direction  pointed 
out  in  the  vision  at  Jerusalem,'  "/ar  hence  unto  the  Gentiles.''^ 

An  immediate  departure  was  urged  upon  the  Apostle ;  and  the 
Church  of  Beroea  suddenly  ®  lost  its  teacher.  But  Silas  and  Timotheus 
remained  behind,'^  to  build  it  up  in  its  holy  faith,  to  be  a  comfort  and 
support  in  its  trials  and  persecutions,  and  to  give  it  such  organization 
as  might  be  necessary.  Meanwhile  some  of  the  new  converts  ac- 
companied St.  Paul  on  his  flight ;  *  thus  adding  a  new  instance  lo 
those  we  have  already  seen  of  the  love  which  grows  up  between 
those  who  have  taught  and  those  who  have  learnt  the  way  of  the  soul's 
salvation.^ 

Without  attempting  to  divine  all  the  circumstances  which  may  have 
concurred  in  determining  the  direction  of  this  flight,  we  can  mention 
some  obvious  reasons  why  it  was  the  most  natural  course.  To  have 
returned  in  the  direction  of  Thessalonica  was  manifestly  impossible.     To 

before  the  news  from  the  latter  place  could  "^  Acts  xvli.  14.  The  last  mention  of  Tim- 
have  summoned  the  Jews  from  the  former.  othy  was  at  Philippi,  but  it  is  highly  probable 
But  we  must  take  into  account,  not  merely  the  that  he  joined  St.  Paul  at  Thessalonica.  See 
distance  between  the  two  cities,  but  the  pecu-  above,  p.  292.  Possibly  he  brought  some  of 
liarly  close  communication  which  subsisted  the  contributions  from  Philippi,  p.  284.  We 
among  the  Jewish  synagogues.  See,  for  in-  shall  consider  hereafter  the  movements  of 
stance,  Acts  xxvi.  11.  Silas  and  Timothy  at  this  point  of  St.  Paul's 

1  See  pp.  172,  17.3.                           "  journey.     See   note,  p.  338.      Meantime,  we 

2  "  There  also,"  Acts  xvii.  13.  Compare  may  observe  that  Timotheus  was  very  proba- 
r.  5.  bly  sent  to  Thessalonica  (1  Thess.  iii.)   from 

^  See  the  remarks  on  the  vision  at  Jerusa-  Bercea,  and  not  from  Athens. 
lem,  p.  97.  *  Acts  xvii.  14,  15. 

*  See  the  preceding  page.  '  See  above,  on  the  jailer's  convtsraion,  pp. 

«  Acts  xvii.  17-21.  «  See  v.  14.  266,  267.     Also  p.  117. 


296  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  n. 

have  pushed  over  the  mountains,  by  the  Via  Egnatia,  towards  Illyricum 
and  the  western  parts  of  Macedoma,  would  have  taken  the  Apostle 
from  those  shores  of  the  Archipelago  to  which  his  energies  were  pri- 
marily to  be  devoted.  Mere  concealment  and  inactivity  were  not  to  be 
thought  of.  Thus  the  Christian  fugitives  turned  their  step§  towards  the 
sea,'  and  from  some  point  on  the  coast  where  a  vessel  was  found,  they 
embarked  for  Athens.  In  the  ancient  tables  two  roads  ^  are  marked 
which  cross  the  Haliacmon  and  intersect  the  plain  from  Beroea,  one  pass- 
ing by  Pydna,'  and  the  other  leaving  it  to  the  left,  and  both  coming  to 
the  coast  at  Dium  near  the  base  of  Mount  Olympus.  The  Pierian 
level  (as  this  portion  of  the  plain  was  called)  extends  about  ten  miles  m 
breadth  from  the  woody  falls  of  the  mountain  to  the  seasliore,  forming  a 
narrow  passage  from  Macedonia  into  Greece.*  Thus  Dium  was  "  the 
great  bulwark  of  Macedonia  on  the  south  ;  "  and  it  was  a  Roman  colony, 
like  that  other  city  which  we  have  described  on  the  eastern  frontier.' 
No  city  is  more  likely  than  Dium  to  have  been  the  last,  as  Philippi  was 
"  the  first,"  through  which  St.  Paul  passed  in  his  journey  through  the 
province. 

Here  then, — where  Olympus,  dark  with  woods,  rises  from  the  plain 
by  the  shore,  to  the  broad  summit,  glittering  with  snow,  which  was  the 
throne  of  the  Homeric  gods,^ — at  the  natural  termination  of  Macedo- 
nia, —  and  where  the  first  scene  of  classical  and  poetic  Greece  opens  on 
our  view,  —  we  take  our  leave,  for  the  present,  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Gen- 
tiles. The  shepherds  from  the  heights'  above  the  vale  of  Tempe 
may  have  watched  the  sails  of  his   ship  that  day,  as  it  moved  like   a 

1  The  words  (Acts  xvii.  14)  translated  for  other  reasons,  Dinm  was  more  convenient- 
"  as  it  were   to   the  sea "  in  the  Authorized      ly  situated  for  the  purpose. 

Version  do  not  imply  that  there  was  any  strat-  *   Leake    describes    the    ruins    of    Dinm, 

agem,  but  simply  denote  the  intention  or  the  among:  whieh  are  probably  some  remains  of 

direction.     It  seems  very  likely  that  in  the  first  the  temple  of  Jupiter    Olympius,   who    was 

instabce  they  had  no  fixed  plan  of  going  to  honored   here  in   periodical  games.      Mount 

Athens,  but  merely  to  the  sea.     Their  further  Olympus  he  describes  as  a  conspicuous  object 

course  was  determined  by  providential  circum-  for  all  the  country  round,  as  far  as  Saloniki, 

stances ;  and,  when  St.  Paul  was  once  arrived  and  as  deriving  from  its  steepness  an  increase 

at  Athens,  he  could  send  a  message  to  Tim-  of  grandeur  and  apparent  height, 
othy  and  Silas  to  follow  him  (v.  15).     Those  ^  See  above,  on  Philippi. 

are  surely  mistaken  who  suppose    that    St.  «  The  epithets  given  by   Homer  to    this 

Paul  travelled  from  Macedonia  to  Attica  by  poetic  mountain  are  as  fully  justified  by  the 

Ij^jjJ  accounts  of  modern  travellers,  as  the  descrip- 

2  The  distance  in  the  Antonine  Itinerary  tions  of  the  scenery  alluded  to  at  the  close  of 
is  seventeen  miles.     A  Byzantine  writer  says  the  preceding  chajner,  p.  243,  n.  3. 

that  Beroea  is  160  stadia  from  the  sea.  ^  See  Dr.   Wordsworth's    Greece,  p.   197. 

8  Mr.   Tate  (Cotdmuous  History,  ^c.)   sug-  and  Mr.  Urquhart's  Spirit  of  tJie  East,  vol.  i 

gests   that   St.   Paul  may  have  sailed    from  p.  426 
Pydna.     But  Pydna  was  not  a  seaport,  and, 


VOYAGE  TO  ATHENS. 


297 


white  speck  over  the  outer  waters  of  the  Thermaic  Gulf.  The  sailors, 
lookiug  back  from  the  deck,  saw  the  great  Olympus  rising  close  above 
them  in  snowy  majesty. ^  The  more  distant  mountains  beyond  Thessa- 
lonica  are  already  growing  faint  and  indistinct.  As  the  vessel  approaches 
the  Thessalian  archipelago,^  Mount  Athos  begins  to  detach  itself  from 
the  isthmus  that  binds  it  to  the  main,  and,  with  a  few  other  heights 
of  Northern  Macedonia,  appears  like  an  island  floating  in  the  hori- 
zon.^ 


The  Tullianum  at  Rome. 


^  Compare  p.  272,  n.  I,  and  p.  272,  n.  5. 
See  also  Purdy's  Sailing  Directory,  p.  148  : 
"  To  the  N.  W.  of  the  Thessalian  Isles  the 
extensiTe  Crulf  of  Salonica  extends  thirty 
leagues  to  the  north-westward,  before  it 
changes  its  direction  to  the  north-eastward 
and  forms  the  port.  The  country  on  the  west, 
part  of  the  ancient  Thessaly,  and  now  the 
province  of  Tricala,  exhibits  a  magnificent 
range  of  mountains,  which  include  Pelion, 
now  Patras,  Ossa,  now  Kissova,  and  Olym- 
pus, now  Elymbo.  The  summit  of  the  latter 
is  six  thousand  feet  aboTe  the  level  of  the 


2  The  group  of  islands  off  the  north  end 
of  Euboea,  consisting  of  Sciathos,  Scopelos, 
Peparethos,  &c.  For  an  account  of  them,  see 
Purdy,  pp.  145-148. 

^  Cousine'ry  somewhere  gives  this  descrip- 
tion of  the  appearance  of  heights  near  Sa- 
loniki,  as  seen  from  the  Thessalian  islands. 
For  an  instance  of  a  very  unfavorable  voyage 
in  these  seas,  in  the  month  of  December, 
thirteen  days  being  spent  at  sea  between  Sa- 
lonica and  Zeitun,  the  reader  may  consult 
Holland's  Travels,  oh.  xvi. 

*  From  Rich's  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Ro- 
man AntiquUieM. 


CHAPTER    X. 

Arriyal  on  the  Coast  of  Attica.  —  Scenery  round  Athens.  —  The  Piraeus  and  the  "  Long 
Walls."  —  The  Agora.  —  The  Acropolis.  —  The  "Painted  Porch"  and  the  "Garden."  — 
The  Apostle  alone  in  Athens.  —  Greek  Religion.  —  The  Unknown  God.  —  Greek  Philoso- 
phy. —  The  Stoics  and  Epicureans.  —  Later  Period  of  the  Schools.  —  St.  Paul  in  the  Agora. 
—  The  Areopagus.  —  Speech  of  St.  Paul.  —  Departure  from  Athens. 

IN  the  life  of  Apollonius  of  Tyana,^  there  occurs  a  passage  to  the 
following  effect :  —  "  Having  come  to  anchor  in  the  Piraeus,  he  went 
up  from  the  Harbor  to  the  City.  Advancing  onward,  he  met  several  of 
the  Philosophers.  In  his  first  conversation,  finding  the  Athenians  much 
devoted  to  Religion,  he  discoursed  on  sacred  subjects.  This  was  at 
Athens,  where  also  altars  of  Unknown  Divinities  are  set  up."  To  draw 
a  parallel  between  a  holy  Apostle  and  an  itinerant  Magician  would  be 
unmeaning  and  profane :  but  this  extract  from  the  biography  of  Apollo- 
nius would  be  a  suitable  and  comprehensive  motto  to  that  passage  in  St. 
Paul's  biography  on  which  we  are  now  entering.  The  sailing  into  the 
Pirgeus,  —  the  entrance  into  the  city  of  Athens,  —  the  interviews  with 
philosophers,  —  the  devotion  of  the  Athenians  to  religious  ceremonies 
—  the  discourse  concerning  the  worship  of  the  Deity,  —  the  ignorance 


i  He  has  been  alluded  to  before,  p.  112, 
n.  3.  "  His  life  by  Philostratus  is  a  mass  of 
incongruities  and  fables ;  "  but  it  is  an  impor- 
tant book  as  reflecting  the  opinions  of  the  age 
in  which  it  was  written.  Apollonius  himself 
produced  a  great  excitement  in  the  Apostolic 
"age.  See  Neander's  General  Church  Ilistory 
(Eng.  Trans.),  pp.  40-43,  and  pp.  236-238. 
It  was  the  fashion  among  the  anti-Christian 
writers  of  the  third  century  to  adduce  him  as 
a  rival  of  our  Blessed  Lord ;  and  the  same 
profaue  comparison  has  been  renewed  by 
some  of  our  English  freethinkers.  Without 
alluding  to  this  any  further,  we  may  safely 
find  some  interest  in  putting  his  life  by  the 
side  of  that  of  St.  Paul.  They  lived  at  the 
same  time,  and  travelled  through  the  same 
countries ;  and  the  life  of  the  magician  Ulus- 
208 


trates  that  peculiar  state  of  philosophy  and 
superstition  which  the  Gospel  preached  by 
St.  Paul  had  to  encounter.  Apollonius  was 
partly  educated  at  Tarsus ;  he  travelled  from 
city  to  city  in  Asia  Minor;  from  Greece  he 
went  to  Rome,  in  the  reign  of  Nero,  about  the 
time  when  the  magicians  had  lately  been  ex- 
pelled; he  visited  Athens  and  Alexandria, 
where  he  had  a  singular  meeting  with  Vespa- 
sian :  on  a  second  visit  to  Italy  he  vanished 
miraculously  from  Puteoli :  the  last  scene  of 
his  life  was  Ephesus,  or,  possibly,  Crete  or 
Rhodes.  See  the  Life  in  Smith's  Dictionary 
of  BioL/raphy.  It  is  thought  by  many  that  St. 
Paul  and  Apollonius  actually  met  in  Ephesus 
and  Rome.  Burton's  Lectures  on  Ecclesiastical 
History,  pp.  157,  240. 


CBAP.x.  ARRIVAL  ON  THE   COAST   OF  ATTICA  299 

implied  by  the  altars  to  unknown  G-ods,^  —  these  are  exactly  the  subjects 
which  are  now  before  us.  If  a  summary  of  the  contents  of  the  seven- 
teenth chapter  of  the  Acts  had  been  required,  it  could  not  have  been 
more  conveniently  expressed.  The  city  visited  by  Apollonius  was  the 
Athens  which  was  visited  by  St.  Paul :  the  topics  of  discussion  —  the 
character  of  the  people  addressed  —  the  aspect  of  every  thing  around  — 
were  identically  the  same.  The  difference  was  this,  that  the  Apostle 
could  give  to  his  hearers  what  the  philosopher  could  not  give.  The  God 
whom  Paul  "  declared"  was  worshipped  by  Apollonius  himself  as  "  igno- 
rantly  "  as  by  the  Athenians. 

We  left  St.  Paul  on  that  voyage  which  his  friends  induced  him  to 
undertake  on  the  flight  from  Beroea.  The  vessel  was  last  seen  among 
the  Thessalian  islands.^  About  that  point  the  highest  land  in  Northern 
Macedonia  began  to  be  lost  to  view.  Gradually  the  nearer  heights  of  the 
snowy  Olympus  ^  itself  receded  into  the  distance  as  the  vessel  on  her  prog- 
ress approached  more  and  more  near  to  the  centre  of  all  the  interest  of 
classical  Greece.  All  the  land  and  water  in  sight  becomes  more  eloquent 
as  we  advajice  ;  the  lights  and  shadows,  both  of  poetry  and  history,  are  on 
every  side  ;  every  rock  is  a  monument ;  every  current  is  animated  with 
some  memory  of  the  past.  For  a  distance  of  ninety  miles,  from  the  con- 
fines of  Thessaly  to  the  middle  part  of  the  coast  of  Attica,  the  shore  is 
protected,  as  it  were,  by  the  long  island  of  Eubcea,  Deep  in  the  inner- 
most gulf,  where  the  waters  of  the  ^gean  retreat  far  within  the  land, 
over  against  the  northern  parts  of  this  island,  is  the  pass  of  Thermopylae, 
where  a  handful  of  Greek  warriors  had  defied  all  the  hosts  of  Asia. 
In  the  crescent-like  bay  on  the  shore  of  Attica,  near  the  southern  extremi- 
ty of  the  same  island,  is  the  maritime  sanctuary  of  Marathon,  where 
the  battle  was  fought  which  decided  that  Greece  was  never  to  be  a  Per 
siau  Satrapy.*  When  the  island  of  Eubcea  is  left  behind,  we  soon  reach 
the  southern  extremity  of  Attica,  —  Cape  Colonna,  —  Sunium's  high 
promontory,  still  crowned  with  the  white  columns  of  that  temple  of 
Minerva,  which  was  the  landmark  to  Greek  sailors,  and  which  asserted 
the  presence  of  Athens  at  the  very  vestibule  of  her  country.® 

After  passing  this  headland,  our  course  turns  to  the  westward  across 
the  waters  of  the  Saronic  Gulf,  with  the  mountains  of  the  Morea  on  our 
left,  and  the  islands  of  uEgina  and  Salamis  in  front.     To  one  who  travels 

1  This  subject  is  fiilly  entered  into  below.  ^  See  Wordsworth's  Athens  and  Attica,  ch. 

^  Above,  p.  297.  xxvii.     A  description  of  the  promontory  and 

8  See  the  preceding  chapter,  p.  296,  also  ruins  will  be  found  in  Mure's  Journal  of  a 

272.  Tour  in    Greece.     See  Falconer's   Shipvreck, 

.     *  See  Quarterly  Review  for  September,  1846,  iii.  526. 

and  the  first  number  of  the  Classical  Museum. 


300  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OE  ST.   PAUL,  chap,  x. 

in  classical  lands  no  moment  is  more  full  of  interest  and  excitement  than 
when  he  has  left  the  Cape  of  Sunium  behind,  and  eagerly  looks  for  the 
first  glimpse  of  that  city  "  built  nobly  on  the  jEgean  shore,"  which  was 
"  the  eye  of  Greece,  mother  of  arts  and  eloquence."  *  To  the  traveller 
in  classical  times  its  position  was  often  revealed  by  the  flashing  of  the 
liaht  on  the  armor  of  Minerva's  colossal  statue,  which  stood  with  shield 
and  spear  on  the  summit  of  the  citadel.^  At  the  very  first  sight  of  Athens, 
and  even  from  the  deck  of  the  vessel,  we  obtain  a  vivid  notion  of  the 
characteristics  of  its  position.  And  the  place  where  it  stands  is  so  re- 
markable —  its  ancient  inhabitants  were  so  proud  of  its  climate  and  its 
scenery  —  that  we  may  pause  on  our  approach  to  say  a  few  words  on 
Attica  and  Athens,  and  their  relation  to  the  rest  of  Greece. 

Attica  is  a  triangular  tract  of  country,  the  southern  and  eastern  sides 
of  which  meet  in  the  point  of  Sunium  ;  its  third  side  is  defined  by  the 
high  mountain  ranges  of  Cithaeron  and  Parnes,  which  separate  it  by  a 
strong  barrier  from  Bceotia  and  Northern  Greece.  Hills  of  inferior  ele- 
vation connect  these  ranges  with  the  mountainous  surface  of  the  south- 
east, which  begins  from  Sunium  itself,  and  rises  on  the  south  coast  to  the 
round  summits  of  Hymettus,  and  the  higher  peak  of  Pentelicus  near 
Marathon  on  the  east.  The  rest  of  Attica  is  a  plain,  one  reach  of  which 
comes  down  to  the  sea  on  the  south,  at  the  very  base  of  Hymettus.  Here, 
about  five  miles  from  the  shore,  an  abrupt  rock  rises  from  the  level,  like 
the  rock  of  Stirling  Castle,  bordered  on  the  south  by  some  lower  eminences, 
and  commanded  by  a  high  craggy  peak  on  the  north.  This  rock  is 
the  Acropolis  of  Athens,  These  lower  eminences  are  the  Areopagus,  the 
Pnyx,  and  the  Museum,  which  determined  the  rising  and  falling  of 
the  ground  in  the  ancient  city.  That  craggy  peak  is  the  hill  of  Lycabet- 
tus,^  from  the  summit  of  which  the  spectator  sees  all  Athens  at  his  feet, 
and  looks  freely  over  the  intermediate  plain  to  the  Piraeus  and  the 
sea, 

Athens  and  the  Piraeus  must  never  be  considered  separately.  One 
was  the  city,  the  other  was  its  harbor.  Once  they  were  connected 
together  by  a  continuous  fortification.  Those  who  looked  down  from 
Lycabettus  in  the  time  of  Pericles  could  follow  \yith  the  eye  all  the  long 
line  of  wall  from  the  temples  on  the  Acropolis  to  the  shipping  in  the  port. 
Thus  we  are  brought  back  to  the  point  from  which  we  digressed.  We 
were  approaching  the  Piraeus;    and,  since  we  must  land  in  maritime 

'  Paradise  Regained,  iv.  240.  burgh  and  its  neighborhood,  and  there  is  so 

2  This  is  stated  by  Pausanias.  much  resemblance  between  Edinburgh  Ca.stle 

»  The  relation  of  Lycabettus  to  the  crowded  and  the  Acropolis,  that  a  comparison  between 

buildings  below,  and  to  the  surrounding  land-  the  city  of  the  Saronic  gulf  and  the  city  of  th* 

awipe.  is  80  like  that  of  Arthur's  Seat  to  Edin-  Forth  has  become  justly  proverbial. 


CHAP.  X.  SCENEEY   EOUND  ATHENS.  301 

Athens  before  we  cau  enter  Athens  itself,  let  us  return  once  more  co  the 
vessel's  deck,  and  look  round  on  the  land  and  the  water.  The  island  on  our 
left,  with  steep  cliffs  at  the  water's  edge,  is  iEgina.  The  distant  heights 
beyond  it  are  the  mountains  of  the  Morea.  Before  us  is  another  island, 
the  illustrious  Salamis  ;  though  in  the  view  it  is  hardly  disentangled  from 
the  coast  of  Attica,  for  the  strait  where  the  battle  was  fought  is  narrow 
and  winding.  The  high  ranges  behind  stretch  beyond  Eleusis  and 
Megara,  to  the  left  towards  Corinth,  and  to  the  right  along  the  frontier  of 
Boeotia.  This  last  ridge  is  the  mountain-line  of  Parnes,  of  which  we  have 
spoken  above.  Clouds  *  are  often  seen  to  rest  on  it  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year,  and  in  winter  it  is  usually  white  with  snow.  The  dark  heavy  moun- 
tain rising  close  to  us  on  the  right  immediately  from  the  sea  is  Hymettus. 
Between  Parnes  and  Hymettus  is  the  plain  ;  and  rising  from  the  plain  is 
the  Acropolis,  distinctly  visible,  with  Lycabettus  behind,  and  seeming  in 
the  clear  atmosphere  to  be  nearer  than  it  is. 

The  outward  aspect  of  this  scene  is  now  what  it  ever  was.  The  lights 
and  shadows  on  the  rocks  of  ^gina  and  Salamis,  the  gleams  on  the  dis- 
tant mountains,  the  clouds  or  the  snow  on  Parnes,  the  gloom  in  the  deep 
dells  of  Hymettus,  the  temple-crowned  rock  and  the  plain  beneath  it,  — 
are  natural  features,  which  only  vary  with  the  alternations  of  morning  and 
evening,  and  summer  and  winter.^  Some  changes  indeed  have  taken 
place  :  but  they  are  connected  with  the  history  of  man.  The  vegetation 
is  less  abundant,^  the  population  is  more  scanty.  In  Greek  and  Roman 
times,  bright  villages  enlivened  the  promontories  of  Sunium  and  ^gina, 
and  all  the  inner  reaches  of  the  bay.  Some  readers  will  indeed  remem- 
ber a  dreary  picture  which  Sulpicius  gave  his  friend  Atticus  of  the  deso- 
lation of  these  coasts  when  Greece  had  ceased  to  be  free  ;  *  but  we  must 
make  some  allowances  for  the  exaggerations  of  a  poetical  regret,  and 
must  recollect  that  the  writer  had  been  accustomed  to  the  gay  and  busy 
life  of  the  Campanian  shore.  After  the  renovation  of  Corinth,^  and  in 
the  reign  of  Claudius,  there  is  no  doubt  that  all  the  signs  of  a  far  more 
numerous  population  than  at  present  were  evident  around  the  Saronic 
Gulf,  and  that  more  white  sails  were  to  be  seen  in  fine  weather  plying 
across  its  waters  to  the  harbors  of  Cenchrea  ®  or  Piraeus. 

Now  there   is  indeed  a  certain   desolation  over  this  beautiful  bay : 

'  See  the  passage   from    the     Clouds    of  now.    Plato  complains   that  in  his  day  the 

Aristophanes    quoted    by   Dr.    Wordsworth.  wood  was  diminishing. 
AtJiens  and  Attica,  p.  58.  *  Cic.  Ep.  Fam.  iv.  5. 

2  This  is  written  under  the  recollection  of  *  Corinth  was  in  ruins  in   Cicero's  time, 

the  aspect  of  the  coast  on  a  cloudy  morning  in  For  the  results  of  its  restoration,  see  the  next 

winter.     It  is  perhaps  more  usually  seen  under  chapter, 
the  glare  of  a  hot  sky.  ®  See  Acts  xviii.  18.    Rom.  xvi.  1. 

*  Athens  was  not  always  as  bare  as  it  is 


302  THE  LIFE  AJSB  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  cha*.  x. 

Corinth  is  fallen,  and  Cenchrea  is  an  insignificant  village.  The  Piraeus 
is  probably  more  like  what  it  was,  than  any  other  spot  upon  the  coast. 
It  remains  what  by  nature  it  has  ever  been,  —  a  safe  basin  oi  deep  water, 
concealed  by  the  surrounding  rock ;  and  now,  as  in  St.  Paul's  time,  the 
proximity  of  Athens  causes  it  to  be  the  resort  of  various  shipping.  "VVe 
know  that  we  are  approaching  it  at  the  present  day,  if  we  see,  rising 
above  the  rocks,  the  tall  masts  of  an  English  line-of-battle  ship,  side  by 
side  with  the  light  spars  of  a  Russian  corvette '  or  the  black  funnel  of  a 
French  steamer.  The  details  were  different  when  the  Mediterranean  was 
a  Roman  lake.  The  heavy  top-gear  ^  of  corn-ships  from  Alexandria  or 
the  Euxine  might  then  be  a  conspicuous  mark  among  the  small  coasting- 
vessels  and  fishing-boats  ;  and  one  bright  spectacle  was  then  pre-eminent, 
which  the  lapse  of  centuries  has  made  cold  and  dim,  the  perfect  buildings 
on  the  summit  of  the  Acropolis,  with  the  shield  and  spear  of  Minerva 
Promachus  glittering  in  the  sun.'  But  those  who  have  coasted  along  be- 
neath Hymettus,  —  and  past  the  indentations  in  the  shore,*  which  were 
sufficient  harbors  for  Athens  in  the  days  of  her  early  navigation,  —  and 
round  by  the  ancient  tomb,  which  tradition  has  assigned  to  Themistocles,' 
into  the  better  and  safer  harbor  of  the  Piraeus,  —  require  no  great  effort 
of  the  imagination  to  picture  the  Apostle's  arrival.  For  a  moment,  as 
we  near  the  entrance,  the  land  rises  and  conceals  all  the  plain.  Idlers 
come  down  upon  the  rocks  to  watch  the  coming  vessel.  The  sailors  are 
all  on  the  alert.  Suddenly  an  opening  is  revealed  ;  and  a  sharp  turn  of 
the  helm  brings  the  ship  in  between  two  moles,®  on  which  towers  are 
erected.  We  are  in  smooth  water  ;  and  anchor  is  cast  in  seven  fathoms 
in  the  basin  of  the  Piraeus.'' 

The  Piraeus,  with  its  suburbs  (for  so,  though  it  is  not  strictly  accurate, 
we  may  designate  the  maritime  city),  was  given  to  Athens  as  a  natural 


1  This  was  written  in  1850.  The  entrance  lies  E.  by  S.  and  W.  by  N.,  and 

2  See  Smith's  Shipwreck,  S/v.  has  in  it  nine  and  ten  fathoms.  There  are 
8  See  above,  p.  300.  three  molcheads,  two  of  which  you  have  on  the 
*  The  harbors  of  Phalerum  and  Manychia.  starboard  hand,  and  one  on  the  larboard. 
6  For  the  sepulchre  by  the  edf^e  of  the  When  past  these  moleheads,  shorten  all  sail, 

water,  popularly  called  the  "  tomb  of  Themis-  lufF  uj),  and  anchor  in  seven   fathoms.     The 

tocles,"  see  Leake's  Alliens,  pp.  379,  380,  and  ground   is  clear  and  good.     There    is   room 

the  notes.  enough  for  three  frigates.     As  the  place  is  very 

"  Some  parts  of  the  ancient  moles  arc  re-  narrow,  great  care  is  required.  .  .  .  During 

maining.    Leake,  p.  272.     See  what  is  said  of  the  summer  months  the  sea-breezes  blow,  nearly 

the  colossal   lions  (now  removed   to   Venice)  all  day,   directly   into   the  harbor.  .  .  .  The 

which  gave  the  harbor  its  modern  name,  p.  254.  middle  channel  of  the  harbor,  with   a  depth 

■^  "  The  entrance  of  the  Piraius  (Port  Leoni)  of  9  or  10  fathoms,  is  110  feet  in  breadth; 

is  known  by  a  small  obelisk,  built  on  a  low  the  starboard  channel,  with  6  fathoms,  40  feet; 

point  by  the  company  of  H.  M.  ship  Cambria,  the  larboard,  with  2  fathoms,  only  28  feet."  — 

tn  1820,  on  the  starboard  hand  going  in.  .  .  .  Purdy's  Sailing  Directions,  p.  S.'i. 


CHAP.  X.  THE   "LONG  WALLS."  303 

advantage,  to  which  much  of  her  greatness  must  be  traced.  It  consists 
of  a  projecting  portion  of  rocky  ground,  which  is  elevated  above  the 
neighboring  sliore,  and  probably  was  originally  entirely  insulated  in  the 
sea.  The  two  rivers  of  Athens  —  the  Cephisus  and  Ilissus  —  seem  to 
have  formed,  in  the  course  of  ages,  the  low  marshy  ground  which  now 
connects  Athens  with  its  port.  The  port  itself  possesses  all  the  advan- 
tages of  shelter  and  good  anchorage,  deep  water,  and  sufficient  space.^ 
Themistocles,  seeing  that  the  pre-eminence  of  his  country  could  only  be 
maintained  by  her  maritime  power,  fortified  the  Piraeus  as  the  outpost  of 
A  thens,  and  enclosed  the  basin  of  the  harbor  as  a  dock  within  the  walls. 
In  the  long  period  through  which  Athens  had  been  losing  its  political 
power,  these  defences  had  been  neglected  and  suffered  to  fall  into  decay, 
or  had  been  used  as  materials  for  other  buildings  :  but  there  was  still  a 
fortress  on  the  highest  point ;  ^  the  harbor  was  still  a  place  of  some  re- 
sort ; '  and  a  considerable  number  of  seafaring  people  dwelt  in  the  streets 
about  the  seashore.  When  the  republic  of  Athens  was  flourishing,  the 
sailors  were  a  turbulent  and  worthless  part  of  its  population.  And  the 
Pirasus  under  the  Romans  was  not  without  some  remains  of  the  same 
disorderly  class,  as  it  doubtless  retained  many  of  the  outward  features  of 
its  earlier  appearance  :  —  the  landing-places  and  covered  porticoes  ;  *  the 
warehouses  v^here  the  corn  from  the  Black  Sea  used  to  be  laid  up ;  the 
stores  of  fish  brought  in  daily  from  the  Saronic  Gulf  and  the  ^Egean  ; 
the  gardens  in  the  watery  ground  at  the  edge  of  the  plain  ;  the  theatres  ^ 
into  which  the  sailors  used  to  flock  to  hear  the  comedies  of  Menander  ; 
and  the  temples  ®  where  they  were  spectators  of  a  worship  which  had  no 
beneficial  effect  on  their  characters. 

Had  St.  Paul  come  to  this  spot  four  hundred  years  before,  he  would 
liav3  b33n  ixi  Athens  from  the  moment  of  his  landing  at  the  Piraeus.  At 
that  time  the  two  cities  were  united  together  by  the  double  line  of  fortifi- 
cation, which  is  famous  under  the  name  of  the  "  Long  Walls."  The 
space  included  between  these  two  arms  ^  of  stone  might  be  considered 
(as,  indeed,  it  was  sometimes  called)  a  third  city  ;  for  the  street  of  five 
miles  in  length  thus  formed  across  the  plain  was  crowded  with  people, 

1  See  the  preceding  note.  ^  In  one  of  the  theatres  near  the  harbor  we 

2  The  height  of  Munychia.  have  the  mention  of  a  great  meeting  during 
'  Strabo  speaks  of  the  population  living  in      the  Peloponnesian  war.     Leake,  p.  394. 

"  villages  about  the  port."     One  of  them  was  «  See  Pausanias.     It  is  here  that  Pausanias 

probably  near  the  theatre  of  Munychia,  on  the  mentions  the  altars  to  the  unknown  fjods. 
low  ground  on  the  east  of  the  main  harbor.  "^  "  Theseae  brachia  longa  vise,"  as  they  are 

Leake,  p.  396.     Even  in  the  time  of  Alexander  called  by  Propertius   (iii.   20,24).    But  the 

the  Piraeus  had  so  much  declined  that  a  comic  name  by  which  they  were  usually  known  at 

writer  compared  it  to  a  great  empty  walnut.  Athens  was  "  the  Long  legs." 
Leake,  p.  402. 

*  We  read  especially  of  the  "  long  portico," 
which  was  also  used  as  a  market. 


304  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.x. 

whose  habitations  were  shut  out  from  all  view  of  the  country  by  the  vast 
wall  on  either  side.  Some  of  the  most  pathetic  passages  of  Athenian 
history  are  associated  with  this  "  longomural "  enclosure  :  as  when,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  Peloponnesian  war,  the  plague  broke  out  in  the 
autumn  weather  among  the  miserable  inhabitants,  who  were  crowded 
here  to  suffocation  ;  *  or,  at  the  end  of  the  same  war,  when  the  news 
came  of  the  defeat  on  the  Asiatic  shore,  and  one  long  wail  went  up  from 
the  Piraeus,  "  and  no  one  slept  in  Athens  that  night."  ^  The  result  of 
that  victory  was,  that  these  long  walls  were  rendered  useless  by  being 
partially  destroyed  ;  and  though  another  Athenian  admiral  and  states- 
man^ restored  what  Pericles  had  first  completed,  this  intermediate  fortifi- 
cation remained  effective  only  for  a  time.  In  the  incessant  changes 
which  fell  on  Athens  in  the  Macedonian  period,  they  were  injured  and 
became  unimportant.^  In  the  Roman  siege  under  Sulla,  the  stones  were 
used  as  materials  for  other  military  works.  So  that  when  Augustus  was 
on  the  throne,  and  Athens  had  reached  its  ultimate  position  as  a/ree  city 
of  the  province  of  Achaia,  Strabo,  in  his  description  of  the  place,  speaks 
of  the  Long  Walls  as  matters  of  past  history  ;  and  Pausanias,  a  century 
later,  says  simply  that  "  you  see  the  ruins  of  the  walls  as  you  go  up  from 
the  Piraeus."  Thus  we  can  easily  imagine  the  aspect  of  these  defences 
in  the  time  of  St.  Paul,  which  is  intermediate  to  these  two  writers.  On 
each  side  of  the  road  were  the  broken  fragments  of  the  rectangular 
masonry  put  together  in  the  proudest  days  of  Athens  ;  more  conspicuous 
than  they  are  at  present  (for  now  *  only  the  foundations  can  be  traced 
here  and  there  acro.'s  the  plain),  but  still  very  different  from  what  they 
were  when  two  walls  of  sixty  feet  high,  with  a  long  succession  of  towers,* 
stood  to  bid  defiance  to  every  invader  of  Attica. 

The  consideration  of  the  Long  Walls  leads  us  to  that  of  the  city  walls 
themselves.  Here  many  questions  might  be  raised  concerning  the  ex- 
tent of  the  enclosure,'  and  the  positions  of  the  gates,®  when  Athens  was 

^  Thucyd.  ii.  17.  relating  to  the  Long  Walls  leaves  no  question 

2  Xen.  Hell  ii.  2,  3.  *  Conon.  as  to  their  having  existed."  —  Leake. 

*  Livy  speaks  of  their  ruins  being  objects  ^  Our  plan  of  Athens  is  taken  from  that  of 

of  admiration  in  the  time  of  ^m.  Paulus.  Kiepert,  which  is  based  on  Forchammer's  argu- 

^  See  Leake,  Wordsworth,  and  other  mod-  ments.    It  differs    materially  from    that    of 

em  travellers.     It  seems  from  what  Spon  and  Leake,  especially  in  giving  a  larger  ai-ea  to  the 

Wheler  say,  that,  in   1676,  the  remains  were  city  on  the  east  and  south,  and  thus  bringing 

larger  and  more  continuous  than  at  present.  the  Acropolis  into   the  centre.     Forchammer 

"  "  There  is  no  direct  evidence  of  the  height  thinks  that  the  traces  of  ancient  walls  which 

of  the  Long  Walls  ;  but,  as  Appian  informs  us  are  found  on  the  Pnyx,  &c.,  do  not  belong  to 

that  the  walls  of  the  Peiraic  city  were  forty  the  fortification  of  Thcmistocles,  but  to  som« 

cubits  high,  we  may  presume  those  of  the  Long  later  defences  erected  by  Valerian. 
Walls  were  not  less.     Towers  were  absolutely  ^  For  various  discussions  on  the  gates,  aea 

necessary  to  such  a  work ;  and  the  inscription  Leake,  Wordsworth,  and  Forchammer. 


CHAP.  X.  OBJECTS   SEEN  BY  ST.   PAUL  305 

under  the  Roman  dominion.  But  all  such  inquiries  must  be  entirely 
dismissed.  We  will  assume  that  St.  Paul  entered  the  city  by  the  gate 
which  led  from  the  Piraeus,  that  this  gate  was  identical  with  that  by 
which  Pausanias  entered,  and  that  its  position  was  in  the  hollow  between 
the  outer  slopes  of  the  Pnyx  and  Museum.^  It  is  no  ordinary  advantage 
that  we  possess  a  description  of  Athens  under  the  Romans,  by  the  trav- 
eller and  antiquarian  whose  name  has  just  been  mentioned.  The  work 
of  Pausanias'^  will  be  our  best  guide  to  the  discovery  of  what  St.  Paul 
saw.  By  following  his  route  through  the  city,  we  shall  be  treading  in 
the  steps  of  the  Apostle  himself,  and  shall  behold  those  very  objects  which 
excited  his  indignation  and  compassion. 

Taking,  then,  the  position  of  the  Peiraic  gate  as  determined,  or  at  least 
resigning  the  task  of  topographical  inquiries,  we  enter  the  city,  and,  with 
Pausanias  as  our  guide,  look  round  on  the  objects  which  were  seen  by  the 
Apostle.  At  the  very  gateway  we  are  met  with  proofs  of  the  peculiar 
tendency  of  the  Athenians  to  multiply  their  objects  both  of  art  and  de- 
votion.^ Close  by  the  building  where  the  vestments  were  laid  up  which 
were  used  in  the  annual  procession  of  their  tutelary  divinity  Minerva,  is 
an  image  of  her  rival  Neptune,  seated  on  horseback,  and  hurling  his  tri- 
dent.* We  pass  by  a  temple  of  Ceres,  on  the  walls  of  which  an  archaic 
inscription  informs  us  that  the  statues  it  contains  were  the  work  of 
Praxiteles.  We  go  through  the  gate :  and  immediately  the  eye  is  at- 
tracted by  the  sculptured  forms  of  Minerva,  Jupiter,  and  Apollo,  of  Mer- 
cury and  the  Muses,  standing  near  a  sanctuary  of  Bacchus.  We  are 
already  in  the  midst  of  an  animated  scene,  where  temples,  statues,  and 
altars  are  on  every  side,  and  where  the  Athenians,  fond  of  publicity  and 
the  open  air,  fond  of  hearing  and  telling  what  is  curious  and  strange,' 
are  enjoying  their  climate  and  inquiring  for  news.  A  long  street  is 
before  us,  with  a  colonnade  or  cloister  on  either  hand,  like  the  covered 
arcades  of  Bologna  or  Turin.*     At  the  end  of  the  street,  by  turning  to 

1  Pausanias  does  not  mention  the  Peiraic  exception   of    the  new  buildings  erected   by 

gate  by  that  name.     See  Leake,  Wordsworth,  Hadrian, 
and  Forchammer.     The  first  of  these  authori-  *  Acts  xvii.  23. 

ties  places  it  where  the  modem  road  from  the  *  TVe  have  used  the  terms  "  Minerva,  Nep- 

Piraeus  enters  Athens,   beyond  all   the  high  tune,"  &c.,  instead  of  the  more  accurate  terms 

ground  to  the  north  of  the  Puyx ;  the  second  "  Athene,  Poseidon,"  &c.,  in  accommodation  to 

places  it  in  the  hollow  between  the  Pnyx  and  the  popular  language.     So  before   (Ch.   VI.),  in 

Museum  ;  the  third  in  the  same  direction,  but  the  case  of  Jupiter  and  Mercury.     See  note  p. 

more  remote  from  the  Acropolis,  in  conformity  168,  n.  3. 
with  his  view  concerning  the  larger  circum-  ^  Acts  xvii.  21. 

ference  of  the  walls.  ®  Forchammer  makes  this  comparison.     It 

-  Pausanias  visited  Athens  about  fifty  years  is  probable,  however,  that  these  coveted  walk* 

after  St.  Paul.     It  is  probable  that  very  few  were  not  formed  with  arches,  but  with  pillars 

changes  had  taken  place  in  the  city,  with  the  bearing  horizontal   entablatures.      The   posi- 
20 


80G  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  ch.vp.  x. 

the  left,  we  might  go  through  the  whole  Ceramicus,^  which  leads  by  the 
tombs  of  eminent  Athenians  to  the  open  inland  country  and  the  groves 
of  the  Academy.  But  we  turn  to  the  right  into  the  Agora,  which  was  the 
centre  of  a  glorious  public  life,  when  the  orators  and  statesmen,  the  poets 
and  the  artists  of  Greece,  found  there  all  the  incentives  of  their  noblest 
enthusiasm ;  and  still  continued  to  be  the  meeting-place  of  philosophy, 
of  idleness,  of  conversation,  and  of  business,  when  Athens  could  only  be 
proud  of  her  recollections  of  the  past.  On  the  south  side  is  the  Pnyx,'^ 
a  sloping  hill  partially  levelled  into  an  open  area  for  political  assemblies  ; 
on  the  north  side  is  the  more  craggy  eminence  of  the  Areopagus  ;  ^  before 
us,  towards  the  east,  is  the  Acropolis,^  towering  high  above  the  scene  of 
which  it  is  the  glory  and  the  crown.  In  the  valley  enclosed  by  these 
heights  is  the  Agora,'  which  must  not  be  conceived  of  as  a  great "  market " 
(Acts  xvii.  17),  like  the  bare  spaces  in  many  modern  towns,  where  little 
attention  has  been  paid  to  artistic  decoration,  —  but  is  rather  to  be  com- 
pared to  the  beautiful  squares  of  such  Italian  cities  as  Verona  and  Flor- 
ence, where  historical  buildings  have  closed  in  the  space  within  narrow 
limits,  and  sculpture  has  peopled  it  with  impressive  figures.  Among  the 
buildings  of  greatest  interest  are  the  porticoes  or  cloisters,  which  were  dec- 
orated with  paintings  and  statuary,  like  the  Campo  Santo  at  Pisa.  We 
think  we  may  be  excused  for  multiplying  these  comparisons :  for  though 
they  are  avowedly  imperfect,  they  are  really  more  useful  than  any  at- 
tempt at  description  could  be,  in  enabling  us  to  realize  the  aspect  of 
ancient  Athens.  Two  of  the  most  important  of  these  were  the  Portico 
of  the  King,  and  the  Portico  of  the  Jupiter  of  Freedom.^  On  the 
roof  of  the  former  were  statues  of  Theseus  and  the  Day:  in  front  of 
the  latter  was  the  divinity  to  whom  it  was  dedicated,  and  within  were 
allegorical  paintings  illustrating  the  rise  of  the  Athenian  democracy. 
One  characteristic  of  the  Agora  was,  that  it  was  full  of  memorials  of 
actual  history.     Among  the  plane-trees  planted  by  the  hand  of  Cimou 

tion   we  Duvi    issierned  to  this  street  is    in  because  it  was  simply  a  level  space,  without 

accordance  with  the  plan  of  Forchammer,  who  any  work  of  art  to  attract  the  notice  of  an 

places  the  wall  and  gate  more  remotely  from  antiquarian, 
the  Agora  than  our  English  topographers.  *  See  this  more  fully  described  below. 

1  This  term,  in  its  full  extent,  included  not  *  See  above,  p.  300. 

only  the  road  between  the  city  wall  and  the  ^  We    adopt    the  view    of    Forchammer, 

Academy,  but  the  Agora  itself.     See  plan  of  which  is  now  generally  received,  that  the  posi- 

Athens.  tion  of  the  Agora  was  always  the  same.     The 

'^  It  is    remarkable    that    the    Pnyx,   the  hypothesis  of  a  new  Agora  to  the  north  of  the 

famous  meeting-place  of  the  political  assem-  Arcopajjus  was  first  advanced  by  Meursius,  and 

blies  of  Athens,  is  not  mentioned  by  Pausanias.  has  been  adopted  by  Leake. 
This  may  be  because  there  were  no  longer  any  *  In  the  plan,  these  two  porticoes  are  placed 

such  assemblies,  and   therefore  his  attention  side  by  side,  after  Kicpert. 
«va8  not  called  to  it ;  or,  perhaps,  it  is  omitted 


CHAP.  X.  THE  AGOEA.  307 

were  the  statues  of  the  great  men  of  Athens  —  such  as  Solon  the  law- 
giver, Conou  the  Admiral,  Demosthenes  the  orator.  But  among  her  his- 
torical men  were  her  deified  heroes,  the  representatives  of  her  mythology 
—  nercules  and  Theseus  —  and  all  the  series  of  the  Eponymi  on  their 
elevated  platform,  from  whom  the  tribes  were  named,  and  whom  an 
ancient  custom  connected  with  the  passing  of  every  successive  law.  And 
among  the  deified  heroes  were  memorials  of  the  older  divinities,  —  Mer- 
curies, which  gave  their  name  to  the  street  in  which  they  were  placed, — 
statues  dedicated  to  Apollo,  as  patron  of  the  city,^  and  her  deliverer  from 
plague,'^  —  and,  in  the  centre  of  all,  the  Altar  of  the  Twelve  Gods,  which 
was  to  Athens  what  the  Golden  Milestone  was  to  Rome.  If  we  look  up 
to  the  Areopagus,  we  see  the  temple  ^  of  that  deity  from  whom  the 
eminence  had  received  the  name  of  "  Mars'  Hill"  (Acts  xvii.  22)  ;  and 
we  are  aware  that  the  sanctuary  of  the  Furies  *  is  only  hidden  by  the 
projecting  ridge  beyond  the  stone  steps  and  the  seats  of  the  judges.  If 
we  look  forward  to  the  Acropolis,  we  behold  there,  closing  the  long  per- 
spective, a  series  of  little  sanctuaries  on  the  very  ledges  of  the  rock, — 
shrines  of  Bacchus  and  ^sculapius,  Venus,  Earth,  and  Ceres,  ending 
with  the  lovely  form  of  that  Temple  of  Un winged  Victory  *  which  glittered 
by  the  entrance  of  the  Propylaea  above  the  statues  of  Harmodius  and 
Aristogeiton.^  Thus,  every  god  in  Olympus  found  a  place  in  the  Agora. 
But  tlie  religiousness  of  the  Athenians  (Acts  xvii.  22)  went  even  further. 
For  every  public  place  and  building  was  likewise  a  sanctuary.  The 
Record-House  was  a  temple  of  the  Mother  of  the  Gods.  The  Council- 
House  held  statues  of  Apollo  and  Jupiter,  with  an  altar  of  Vesta.'  The 
Theatre  at  the  base  of  the  Acropolis,  into  which  the  Athenians  crowded  to 
hear  the  words  of  their  great  tragedians,  was  consecrated  to  Bacchus.^ 
The  Pnyx,  near  which  we   entered,  on  whose   elevated   platform   they 

1  Apollo  Patrous.  His  temple  was  called  Wheler.  Subsequent  travellers  found  that  it 
Pythium.  In  this  building  the  naval  car,  used  had  disappeared.  In  1835  the  various  portions 
in  the  Panathenaic  procession,  was  laid  up  were  discovered  in  an  excavation,  with  the 
after  its  festal  voyages,  to  be  exhibited  to  exception  of  two,  which  are  in  the  British 
travellers  ;  "  as  the  Ducal  barge  of  Venice,  the  Museum.  It  is  now  entirely  restored.  The 
Bucentoro,  in  which  the  Doge  solemnized  the  original  structure  belongs  to  the  period  of  the 
annual  marriage  with  the  sea,  is  now  preserved  close  of  the  Persian  wars. 

for  the  same  purpose  in  the  Venetian  arsenal.",  ^  For  their  position,  see  Pausaaias.     These 

Wordsworth,  p.  189.  statues  were  removed  by  Xerxes ;  and  Alexan- 

2  Apollo  Alexicacus,  who  was  believed  to  der,  when  at  Babylon,  gave  an  order  for  their 
have  made  the  plague  to  cease  in  the  Pelopon-  restoratioa.  Images  of  Brutus  and  Cassius 
nesian  war.                           ^  See  the  plan.  were  at  one  time  erected  near  them,  but  proba- 

*  Tlie  sanctuary  was  in  a  deep  cleft  in  the  bly  they  were  removed  by  Augustus. 
front  of  the  Areopagus,  facing  the  Acropolis.  "^  For  these  two  buildings,  the  Metroum  and 

See  below.  Bouleuterium,  see  the  plan. 

6  The  history  of  this  temple  is  very  curious.  *  Its  position  may  be  seen  on  the  plan,  on 

In    1676   it  was  found   entire  by   Spon   and  the  south  side  of  the  Acropolis. 


308  THE  LIFE  AIn^D   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  x. 

listened  in  breathless  attention  to  their  orators,  was  dedicated  to  Jupiter 
on  High,^  with  whose  name  those  of  the  Nymphs  of  the  Demus  were  grace- 
fully associated.  And,  as  if  the  imagination  of  the  Attic  mind  knew  no 
bounds  in  this  direction,  abstractions  were  deified  and  publicly  honored. 
Altars  were  erected  to  Fame,  to  Modesty,  to  Energy,  to  Persuasion,  and 
to  Pity.^  This  last  altar  is  mentioned  by  Pausanias  among  "  those  objects 
in  the  Agora  which  are  not  understood  by  all  men:  for,"  he  adds,  "  the 
Athenians  alone  of  all  the  Greeks  give  divine  honor  to  Pity."  ^  It  is 
needless  to  show  how  the  enumeration  which  we  have  made  (and  which  is 
no  more  than  a  selection  from  what  is  described  by  Pausanias)  throws 
light  on  the  words  of  St.  Luke  and  St.  Paul ;  and  especially  how  the 
groping  after  the  abstract  and  invisible,  implied  in  the  altars  alluded  to 
last,  illustrates  the  inscription  "  To  the  Unknown  God^''  which  was  used 
by  Apostolic  wisdom  (Acts  xvii.  23)  to  point  the  way  to  the  highest  truth. 
What'  is  true  of  the  Agora  is  still  more  emphatically  true  of  the 
Acropolis,  for  the  spirit  which  rested  over  Athens  was  concentrated  here. 
The  feeling  of  the  Athenians  with  regard  to  the  Acropolis  was  well, 
thoiigh  fancifully,  expressed  by  the  rhetorician  who  said  that  it  was  the 
middle  space  of  five  concentric  circles  of  a  shield,  whereof  the  outer 
four  were  Athens,  Attica,  Greece,  and  the  world.  The  platform  of  the 
Acropolis  was  a  museum  of  art,  of  liistory,  and  of  religion.  The  whole 
was  "  one  vast  composition  of  architecture  and  sculpture,  dedicated  to 
the  national  glory  and  to  the  worship  of  the  gods."  By  one  approach 
only  —  through  the  Propylaea  built  by  Pericles  —  could  this  sanctuary 
be  entered.  If  St.  Paul  went  up  that  steep  ascent  on  the  western  front 
of  the  rock,  past  the  Temple  of  Victory,  and  through  that  magnificent 
portal,  we  know  nearly  all  the  features  of  the  idolatrous  spectacle  he  saw 
before  him.  At  the  entrance,  in  conformity  with  his  attributes,  was  the 
statue  of  Mercurius  Propylaeus.  Farther  on,  within  the  vestibule  of  the 
beautiful  enclosure,  were  statues  of  Venus  and  the  Graces.  The  re- 
covery of  one  of  those  who  had  labored  among  the  edifices  of  the 
Acropolis  was  commemorated  by  a  dedication  to  Minerva  as  the  goddess 
of  Health.  There  was  a  shrine  of  Diana,  whose  image  had  been  wrought 
by  Praxiteles.    Intermixed  with  what  had  reference  to  divinities  were  the 

1  This  is  attributed  to  the  elevated  position  Cicero  speaks  of  a  temple  or  altar  to  Contu- 

of  the  Pnyx  as  .seen  from  the  Agora.     Words-  mely.     In  the  temple  of  Minerva  Polias,  in 

worth's  Athens  and  Attica,  p.  72.  the  Acropolis,  Plutarch  mentions  an  altar  of 

'^  It  is  doubtful   in   what   part  of  Athens  Oblivion, 

the  altars  of  Fame,  Modesty,  and  Energy  were  ^  He  adds,  that  this  altar  was  not  so  much 

placed.      iEschines   alludes   to   the    altar  of  due  to  their  human  si/mpathi/  as  to  their  peculiar 

Fame.     The  altar  of  Persuasion  was  on  the  piety  towards  the  gods;  and   he  confirms   this 

ascent  of   the  Acrojjolis.     There  were   many  opinion  by  proceeding  to  mention  the  altart 

other  memorials  of  the  same  kind  in  Athens.  of  Fame,  Modesty,  and  Energy. 


CHAP.  X.  THE  PABTHENON.  309 

memorials  of  eminent  men  and  of  great  victories.  The  statue  of  Peri- 
cles, to  whom  the  glory  of  the  Acropolis  was  due,  remained  there  for 
centuries.  Among  the  sculptures  on  the  south  wall  was  one  which 
recorded  a  victory  we  have  alluded  to, — that  of  Attains  over  the  Gala- 
tiaus.'  Nor  was  the  Roman  power  without  its  representatives  on  this 
proud  pedestal  of  Athenian  glory.  Before  the  entrance  were  statues  of 
Agrippa  and  Augustus ;  -  and  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  esplanade 
a  temple  was  erected  in  honor  of  Rome  and  the  Emperor.'  But  the 
main  characteristics  of  the  place  were  mythological  and  religious,  and 
truly  Athenian.  On  the  wide  levelled  area  were  such  groups  as  the  fol- 
lowing :  —  Theseus  contendmg  with  the  Minotaur  ;  Hercules  strangling 
the  serpents ;  the  Earth  imploring  showers  from  Jupiter ;  Minerva 
causing  the  olive  to  sprout  while  Neptune  raises  the  waves.  The 
mention  of  this  last  group  raises  our  thoughts  to  the  Parthenon, — 
the  Virgin's  House,  —  the  glorious  temple  which  rose  in  the  proudest 
period  of  Athenian  history  to  the  honor  of  Minerva,  and  which  ages  of 
war  and  decay  have  only  partially  defaced.  The  sculptures  on  one  of  its 
pediments  represented  the  birth  of  the  goddess :  those  on  the  other 
depicted  her  contest  with  Neptune.*  Under  the  outer  cornice  were 
groups  exhibiting  the  victories  achieved  by  her  champions.  Round  the 
inner  frieze  was  the  long  series  of  the  Panathenaic  procession.^  Within 
was  the  colossal  statue  of  ivory  and  gold,  the  work  of  Phidias,  unrivalled 
in  the  world,  save  only  by  the  Jupiter  Olympius  of  the  same  famous 
artist.  This  was  not  the  only  statue  of  the  Virgin  Goddess  within  the 
sacred  precincts ;  the  Acropolis  boasted  of  three  Minervas.*^  The  oldest 
and  most  venerated  was  in  the  small  irregular  temple  called  the  Erec- 
theium,  which  contained  the  mystic  olive-tree  of  Minerva  and  the  mark 
of  Neptune's  trident.  Tliis  statue,  like  that  of  Diana  at  Ephesus  (Acts 
xix.  35),  was  believed  to  have  fallen  from  heaven.''     The  third,  though 

1  See  p.  206.     Several  of  the  statues  seen  icate  any  temple  to  him  except  in  conjunction 

by  Pausanias   in  Athens   were   those  of   the  with  Rome.     There  was  a  temple  of  this  kind 

Greek  kings  who  reigned  over  the  fragments  at  Csesaraea.     See  p.  107. 
of  Alexander's  empire.  *  For  descriptive  papers  on  these  pediments, 

^  One  pedestal  is  still  standing  in  this  posi-  see  the  Classical  Museum,  Nos.   VI.,  XVIII., 

tion,  with  the  name  of  Agrippa  inscribed  on  and  XXII.     With  the  remains  themselves,  in 

it.     There  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  some  the  Elgin  Room  at  the  British  Museum,  the 

earlier   Greek  statues  had  been  converted  in  restoration  of  Mr.  Lucas  should  be  studied, 
this  instance,  as  in  so  many  others,  into  mon-  ^  For  these  sculptures,  it  is  only  necessary 

uments  of  Augustus  and  Agrippa.     Cicero,  in  to  refer  to   the   Elgin   Room   in   the  British 

one  of  his  letters  from  Athens,  speaks  indig-  Museum, 
nantly  of  this  custom.  ''  See  here,   especially,   Dr   Wordsworth's 

*  Some  fragments  remain,  and  among  them  chapter  on  the  three  Minervas. 
the  inscription  which  records  the  dedication.  "^  Its  material  was  not  marble  nor  metal, 

Augustus  did  not  allow  the  provinces  to  ded-  but  olive-wood. 


310  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OP  ST.   PAUL.  crap.  x. 

less  sacred  than  the  Minerva  Polias,  was  the  most  conspicuous  of  all.^ 
Formed  from  the  brazen  spoils  of  the  battle  of  Marathon,  it  rose  in 
gigantic  proportions  above  all  the  buildings  of  the  Acropolis,  and  stood 
with  spear  and  shield  as  the  tutelary  divinity  of  Athens  and  Attica.  It 
was  the  statue  which  may  have  caught  the  eye  of  St.  Paul  himself,  from 
the  deck  of  the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed  round  Suuium  to  the  Piraeus.^ 
Now  he  had  landed  in  Attica,  and  beheld  all  the  wonders  of  that  city 
which  divides  with  one  other  city  all  the  glory  of  Heathen  antiquity. 
Here,  by  the  statue  of  Minerva  Promachus,  he  could  reflect  on  the 
meaning  of  the  objects  he  had  seen  in  his  progress.  His  path  had  been 
among  the  forms  of  great  men  and  deified  heroes,  among  the  temples, 
the  statues,  the  altars  of  the  gods  of  Greece.  He  had  seen  the  creations 
of  mythology  represented  to  the  eye,  in  every  form  of  beauty  and 
grandeur,  by  the  sculptor  and  the  architect.  And  the  one  overpowering 
result  was  this  :  —  "  His  spirit  was  stirred  within  him,  when  he  saw  the 
city  crowded  with  idols .^^ 

But  we  must  associate  St.  Paul,  not  merely  with  the  Religion,  but  with 
the  Philosophy,  of  Greece.  And  this,  perhaps,  is  our  best  opportunity 
for  doing  so,  if  we  wish  to  connect  together,  in  this  respect  also,  the  ap- 
pearance and  the  spirit  of  Athens.  If  the  Apostle  looked  out  from  the 
pedestal  of  the  Acropolis  over  the  city  and  the  open  country,  he  would 
see  the  places  which  are  inseparably  connected  with  the  names  of  those 
who  have  always  been  recognized  as  the  great  teachers  of  the  pagan 
world.  In  opposite  directions  he  would  see  the  two  memorable  suburbs 
where  Aristotle  and  Plato,  the  two  pupils  of  Socrates,  held  their  illustri- 
ous schools.  Their  positions  are  defined  by  the  courses  of  the  two  rivers 
to  which  we  have  already  alluded.'  The  streamless  bed  of  the  Ilissus 
passes  between  the  Acropolis  and  Hymettus  in  a  south-westerly  direction, 
till  it  vanishes  in  the  low  ground  which  separates  the  city  from  the 
Piraeus.  Looking  towards  the  upper  part  of  this  channel,  we  see  (or 
we  should  have  seen  in  the  first  century)  gardens  with  plane-trees  and 
thickets  of  agnus-castus,  with  "  others  of  the  torrent-loving  shrubs  of 
Greece."  *  At  one  spot,  near  the  base  of  Lycabettus,  was  a  sacred  en- 
closure. Here  was  a  statue  of  Apollo  Lycius,  represented  in  an  attitude 
of  repose,  leaning  against  a  column,  with  a  bow  in  the  left  hand  and  the 

'■  For  the  position  of  this  statue,  see  coin  *  Leake,    p.    275.     See    Plato's    Phadrus. 

at  end  of  the  chapter.     The  pedestal  appears  The  Lyceum  was  remarkable  for  its   plaue- 

to  have  been  twenty  feet,  and  the  statue  fifty-  trees.     Socrates  used  to  discourse  under  them, 

five   feet,   in   height.      Leake,   p.   351.     The  and   Aristotle   and   Theophrastus    afterwards 

lower  part  of  the  pedestal  has  lately  been  dis-  enjoyed  their  shade.     We  cannot  tell  how  far 

covered.  these  groves  were  restored  since  the  time  nf 

2  See  above,  pp.  300,  302.  Sulla,  who  cut  them  down. 

»  Above,  p.  303. 


rHAP.  X.  THE    "  PAINTED   CLOISTEK.  311 

right  hand  resting  on  his  head.  The  god  gave  the  name  to  the  Lyceum. 
Here  among  the  groves,  the  philosopher  of  Stagirus,^  the  instructor  of 
Alexander,  used  to  walk.  Here  he  founded  the  school  of  the  Peripatetics. 
To  this  point  an  ancient  dialogue  represents  Socrates  as  coming,  outside 
the  northern  city-wall,  from  the  grove  of  the  Academy.  Following, 
therefore,  this  line  in  an  opposite  direction,  we  come  to  the  scene  of 
Plato's  school.  Those  dark  olive-groves  have  revived  after  all  the  disas- 
ters which  have  swept  across  the  plain.  The  Cephisus  has  been  more 
highly  favored  than  the  Ilissus.  Its  waters  still  irrigate  the  suburban 
gardens  of  the  Athenians.^  Its  nightingales  are  still  vocal  among  the 
twinkling  olive-branches.'  The  gnarled  trunks  of  the  ancient  trees  of 
our  own  day  could  not  be  distinguished  from  those  which  were  familiar 
with  the  presence  of  Plato,  and  are  more  venerable  than  those  which 
had  grown  up  after  Sulla's  destruction  of  the  woods,  before  Cicero* 
visited  the  Academy  in  the  spirit  of  a  pilgrim.  But  the  Academicians  and 
Pel  ipate tics  are  not  the  schools  to  which  our  attention  is  called  in  consid- 
ering the  biography  of  St.  Paul.  We  must  turn  our  eye  from  the  open  coun- 
try to  the  city  itself,  if  we  wish  to  see  the  places  which  witnessed  the  rise 
of  the  Stoics  and  Epicureans.  Lucian,  in  a  playful  passage,  speaks  of  Phi- 
losophy as  coming  up  from  the  Academy,  by  the  Ceramicus,  to  the  Agora  : 
"  and  there,"  he  says,  "  we  shall  meet  her  by  the  Stoa  Pcecile."  Let  us 
follow  this  line  in  imagination,  and,  having  followed  it,  let  us  look  down 
from  the  Acropolis  into  the  Agora.  There  we  distinguish  a  cloister  or 
colonnade,  which  was  not  mentioned  before,  because  it  is  more  justly 
described  in  connection  with  the  Stoics.  The  Stoa  Pcecile,''  or  the 
"  Painted  Cloister,"  gave  its  name  to  one  of  those  sects  who  encountered 
the  Apostle  in  the  Agora.  It  was  decorated  with  pictures  of  the  legen- 
dary wars  of  the  Athenians,  of  their  victories  over  their  fellow-Greeks, 
and  of  the  more  glorious  struggle  at  Marathon.  Originally  the  meeting- 
place  of  the  poets,  it  became  the  school  where  Zeno  met  his  pupils,  and 
founded  the  system  of  stern  philosophy  which  found  adherents  both 
among  Greeks  and  Romans  for  many  generations.  The  system  o\  Epicurus 
was  matured  nearly  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  neighborhood. 
The  site  of  the  philosopher's  G-arden  ®  is  now  unknown,  but  it  was  well 
known  in  the  time  of  Cicero ; '  and  in  the  time  of  St.  Paul  it  could  not 

1  See  an  allusion  to  his  birthplace  above,  *  Cicero,   at  one   time,   contemplated   the 
p.  277.  erection  of  a  monument  to  show  his  attach- 

2  The  stxeam  is  now  divided  and  distrib-  ment  to  the  Academy.    Att.  vi.  1. 
ut«d,  in  order  to  water  the  gardens  and  olive-  ^  "ZToa  irMKikri,  —  hence  "  Stoic." 

trees.     Plutarch  calls  the  Academy  the  best  ^  This    garden    was    proverbially    known 

wooded  of  the  suburbs  of  Athens.  among  the  ancients.     See  Jnvenal,  xiii.   172, 

8  See  the  well-known  chorus  in  Sophocles.  xiv.  319. 

(Ed.  Col.  668.  ''  On  his  first  visit  to  Athens,  at  the  age 


312  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  a. 

have  been  forgotten,  for  a  peculiarly  affectionate  feeling  subsisted  among 
the  Epicureans  towards  their  founder.  He  left  this  garden  as  a  legacy 
to  the  school,  on  condition  that  philosophy  should  always  be  taught  there, 
and  that  he  himself  should  be  annually  commemorated.  The  sect  had 
dwindled  into  smaller  numbers  than  their  rivals,  in  the  middle  of  the  first 
century.  But  it  is  highly  probable  that,  even  then,  those  who  looked 
down  from  the  Acropolis  over  the  roofs  of  the  city  could  distinguish  the 
quiet  garden  where  Epicurus  lived  a  life  of  philosophic  contentment,  and 
taught  his  disciples  that  the  enjoyment  of  tranquil  pleasure  was  the 
highest  end  of  human  existence. 

The  spirit  in  which  Pausanias  traversed  these  memorable  places  and 
scrutinized  every  thing  he  saw,  was  that  of  a  curious  and  rather  supersti- 
tious antiquarian.  The  expressions  used  by  Cicero,  when  describing  the 
same  objects,  show  that  his  taste  was  gratified,  and  that  he  looked  with 
satisfaction  on  the  haunts  of  those  whom  he  regarded  as  his  teachers. 
The  thoughts  and  feelings  in  the  mind  of  the  Christian  Apostle,  who 
came  to  Athens  about  the  middle  of  that  interval  of  time  which  separates 
the  visit  of  Pausanias  from  that  of  Cicero,  were  very  different  from  those 
of  criticism  or  admiration.  He  burned  with  zeal  for  that  God  whom, 
"  as  he  went  through  the  city,"  he  saw  dishonored  on  every  side.  He 
was  melted  with  pity  for  those  who,  notwithstanding  their  intellectual 
greatness,  were  "  wholly  given  to  idolatry."  His  eye  was  not  blinded  to 
the  reality  of  things,  by  the  appearances  either  of  art  or  philosophy. 
Forms  of  earthly  beauty  and  words  of  human  wisdom  were  valueless  in 
his  judgment,  and  far  worse  than  valueless,  if  they  deified  vice  and  made 
falsehood  attractive.  He  saw  and  heard  with  an  earnestness  of  convic- 
tion which  no  Epicurean  could  have  understood,  as  his  tenderness  of 
affection  was  morally  far  above  the  highest  point  of  the  Stoic's  impassive 
dignity. 

It  is  this  tenderness  of  affection  which  first  strikes  us,  when  we  turn 

of  twenty-eight,  Cicero  lodged  with   an  Epi-  master  in  danger  of  being  destroyed.     They 

curean.     On  the  occasion  of  his  second  visit,  had  written  to  Cicero  at  Rome,  to  beg  him  to 

the  attachment  of  the  Epicureans  to  the  gar-  intercede  with  Memmius  to  consent  to  a  resto- 

den  of  their  founder  was  brought  before  him  ration  of  it ;  and  now  at  Athens  they  renewed 

in  a  singular  manner.     "  There   lived  at  this  their  instances,  and  prevailed  on  him  to  write 

time  in  exile  at  Athens  C.  ]\Icmmius.   .   .   .  about  it.  .  .  .  Cicero's  letter  is  drawn  with 

The  figure  which  he  had  borne  in  Rome  gave  much  art  and  accuracy  ;  he  laughs  at  the  tri- 

him  great  authority  in  Athens ;  and  the  coun-  fling  zeal  of  these  philoso})licrs  for  the  old  rub- 

cil  of  Areopagus  had  granted  him  a  piece  of  bish   and   paltry  ruins  of   their   founder,  yet 

ground  to   build   upon,  where   Epicurus   for-  earnestly  presses  Memmius  to  indulge  them  in 

merly  lived,  and  where  there   still   remained  a  prejudice  contracted  through  weakness,  not 

the  old  ruins  of  his  walls.     But   this  grant  wickedness."  —  Middleton's    Life    of    Cicero. 

had  given  great  offence  to  the  whole  body  of  Sect.  vii. 
the  Epicureans,  to  see   the   remains  of  their 


CHAP.  X.  ST.   PAUL  ALONE  IN  ATHENS,  313 

from  the  manifold  wonders  of  Athens  to  look  upon  the  Apostle  himself. 
The  existence  of  this  feeling  is  revealed  to  us  in  a  few  words  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians.^  He  was  filled  with  anxious  thoughts  con- 
cerning those  whom  he  had  left  in  Macedonia,  and  the  sense  of  solitude 
weighed  upon  his  spirit.  Silas  and  Timotheus  were  not  arrived,  and  it 
was  a  burden  and  a  grief  to  him  to  be  "  left  in  Athens  alone.''''  Modern 
travellers  have  often  felt,  when  wandering  alone  through  the  streets  of  a 
foreign  city,  what  it  is  to  be  out  of  sympathy  with  the  place  and  the  peo- 
ple. The  heart  is  with  friends  who  are  far  ofif;  and  nothing  that  is 
merely  beautiful  or  curious  can  effectually  disperse  the  cloud  of  sadness. 
If,  in  addition  to  this  instinctive  melancholy,  the  thought  of  an  irreligious 
world,  of  evil  abounding  in  all  parts  of  society,  and  of  misery  following 
everywhere  in  its  train,  —  if  this  thought  also  presses  heavily  on  the 
spirit,  —  a  state  of  mind  is  realized  which  may  be  some  feeble  approxi- 
mation to  what  was  experienced  by  the  Apostle  Paul  in  his  hour  of 
dejection.  But  with  us  such  feelings  are  often  morbid  and  nearly  allied 
to  discontent.  We  travel  for  pleasure,  for  curiosity,  for  excitement.  It 
is  well  if  we  can  take  such  depressions  thankfully,  as  the  discipline  of  a 
worldly  spirit.  Paul  travelled  that  he  might  give  to  others  the  knowledge 
of  salvation.  His  sorrow  was  only  the  cloud  that  kindled  up  into  the 
bright  pillar  of  the  divine  presence.  He  ever  forgot  himself  in  his  Mas- 
ter's cause.  He  gloried  that  God's  strength  was  made  perfect  in  his 
weakness.  It  is  useful,  however,  to  us,  to  be  aware  of  the  human  weak- 
ness of  that  heart  which  God  made  strong.  Paul  was  indeed  one  of  us. 
He  loved  his  friends,  and  knew  the  trials  both  of  anxiety  and  loneliness. 
As  we  advance  with  the  subject,  this  and  similar  traits  of  the  man  ad- 
vance more  into  view,  —  and  with  them,  and  personified  as  it  were  in 
liim,  touching  traits  of  the  religion  which  he  preached,  come  before  us, — 
and  we  see,  as  we  contemplate  the  Apostle,  that  the  Gospel  has  not  only 
deliverance  from  the  coarseness  of  vice,  and  comfort  for  ruder  sorrows, 
but  sympathy  and  strength  for  the  most  sensitive  and  delicate  minds. 

No  mere  pensive  melancholy,  no  vain  regrets  and  desires,  held  sway 
over  St.  Paul,  so  as  to  hinder  him  in  proceeding  with  the  work  appointed 
to  him.  He  was  "  in  Athens  alone,"  but  he  was  there  as  the  Apostle  of 
God.  No  time  was  lost ;  and,  according  to  his  custom,  he  sought  out  his 
brethren  of  the  scattered  race  of  Israel.  Though  moved  with  grief  and 
indignation  when  he  saw  the  idolatry  all  around  him,  he  deemed  that  his 

1  1  Thess.  iii.  1.     It  may  be  thought  that  chapter),  and   the  depression   and   sense    of 

too  mnch  is  built  here  on  this  one  expression.  isolation  evidently  experienced  by   St.   Taul 

But  we  think  the  remarks  in  the  text  will  be  when  he  was  without  companions.     See,  ea- 

justified  by  those  who   consider  the  tone  of  pecially,  Acts  xxviii.  15;  and  2  Cor.  ii.   13, 

the  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians   (see  next  vii.  6.     Compare  the  Introduction. 


314  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  j. 

first  thought  should  be  given  to  his  own  people.  They  had  a  synagogue 
at  Athens,  as  at  Thessaloniea ;  and  in  this  synagogue  he  first  proclaimed 
his  Master.  Jewish  topics,  however,  are  not  brought  before  us  promi- 
nently here.  They  are  casually  alluded  to  ;  and  we  are  not  informed 
whether  the  Apostle  was  welcomed  or  repulsed  in  the  Athenian  syna- 
gogue. The  silence  of  Scripture  is  expressive :  and  we  are  taught  that 
the  subjects  to  which  our  attention  is  to  be  turned  are  connected,  not 
with  Judaism,  but  with  Paganism.  Before  we  can  be  prepared  to  con- 
sider the  great  speech,  which  was  the  crisis  and  consummation  of  this 
meeting  of  Christianity  and  Paganism,  our  thoughts  must  be  given  for  a 
few  moments  to  the  characteristics  of  Athenian  Religion  and  Athenian 
Philosophy. 

The  mere  enumeration  of  the  visible  objects  with  which  the  city  of  the 
Athenians  was  crowded,  bears  witness  (to  use  St.  Paul's  own  words)  to 
their  "  carefulness  in  Religion.''''  ^  The  judgment  of  the  Christian  Apostle 
agreed  with  that  of  his  Jewish  contemporary  Josephus,  —  with  the  proud 
boast  of  the  Athenians  themselves,  exemplified  in  Isocrates  and  Plato,  — 
and  with  the  verdict  of  a  multitude  of  foreigners,  from  Livy  to  Julian, — 
all  of  whom  unite  in  declaring  that  Athens  was  peculiarly  devoted  to 
religion.  Replete  as  the  whole  of  Greece  was  with  objects  of  devotion, 
the  antiquarian  traveller  informs  us  that  there  were  more  gods  in  Athens 
than  in  all  the  rest  of  the  country ;  and  the  Roman  satirist  hardly  exag 
gerates,  when  he  says  that  it  was  easier  to  find  a  god  there  than  a  man. 
But  the  same  enumeration  which  proves  the  existence  of  the  religious 
sentiment  in  this  people,  shows  also  the  valueless  character  of  the  religion 
which  they  cherished.  It  was  a  religion  which  ministered  to  art  and 
amusement,  and  was  entirely  destitute  of  moral  power.  Taste  was 
gratified  by  the  bright  spectacle  to  which  the  Athenian  awoke  everj 
morning  of  his  life.  Excitement  was  agreeably  kept  up  by  festal  sea- 
sons, gay  processions,  and  varied  ceremonies.  But  all  this  religious 
dissipation  had  no  tendency  to  make  him  holy.  It  gave  him  no  victory 
over  himself :  it  brought  him  no  nearer  to  God.  A  religion  which  ad- 
dresses itself  only  to  the  taste  is  as  weak  as  one  that  appeals  only  to  the 
intellect.  The  Greek  religion  was  a  mere  deification  of  human  attributes 
and  the  powers  of  nature.  It  was  doubtless  better  than  other  forms  of 
idolatry  which  have  deified  the  brutes  ;  but  it  had  no  real  power  to  raise 
him  to  a  higher  position  than  that  which  he  occupied  by  nature.  It  could 
not  even  keep  him  from  falling  continually  to  a  lower  degradation.  To 
the  Greek  this  world  was  every  thing :  he  hardly  even  sought  to  rise 
above  it.  And  thus  all  his  life  long,  in  the  midst  of  every  thing  to  gratify 
his  taste  and   exercise  his  intellect,  he  remained  in  ignorance  of  God 

1  See  below,  on  the  Speech,  p.  327. 


CHAP.  X.  GBEEK  RELIGION.  315 

This  fact  was  tacitly  recognized  by  the  monuments  in  his  own  religious 
city.  The  want  of  something  deeper  and  truer  was  expressed  on  the 
very  stones.  As  we  are  told  by  a  Latin  writer  that  the  ancient  Eomans, 
when  alarmed  by  an  earthquake,  were  accustomed  to  pray,  not  to  any 
epecihed  divinity,  but  to  a  god  expressed  in  vague  language,  as  avowedly 
Unknown ;  so  the  Athenians  acknowledged  their  ignorance  of  the  True 
Deity  by  the  altars  "  with  this  inscription,  to  the  unknown  god,"  which 
are  mentioned  by  Heathen  writers,^  as  well  as  by  the  inspired  historian. 
Whatever  the  origin  of  these  altars  may  have  been,^  the  true  significance 
of  the  inscription  is  that  which  is  pointed  out  by  the  Apostle  himself.* 
The  Athenians  were  ignorant  of  the  right  object  of  worship.  But  if  we 
are  to  give  a  true  account  of  Athenian  religion,  we  must  go  beyond  the 
darlaiess  of  mere  ignorance  into  the  deeper  darkness  of  corruption  and 
sin.  The  most  shameless  profligacy  was  encouraged  by  the  public  works 
of  art,  by  the  popular  belief  concerning  the  character  of  the  gods,  and 
by  the  ceremonies  of  the  established  worship.  Authorities  might  be 
crowded  in  proof  of  this  statement,  both  from  Heathen  and  Christian 
writings.*  It  is  enough  to  say  with  Seneca,  that "  no  other  effect  could  pos- 
sibly be  produced,  but  that  all  shame  on  account  of  sin  must  be  taken 
away  from  men,  if  they  believe  in  such  gods  ;  "  and  with  Augustine,  that 
"  Plato  himself,  who  saw  well  the  depravity  of  the  Grecian  gods,  and  has 
seriously  censured  them,  better  deserves  to  be  called  a  god,  than  those 
ministers  of  sin."  It  would  be  the  worst  delusion  to  infer  any  good  of 
the  Grecian  religion  from  the  virtue  and  wisdom  of  a  few  great  Athe- 
nians whose  memory  we  revere.  The  true  type  of  the  character  formed 
by  the  influences  which  surrounded  the  Athenian,  was  such  a  man  as 
Alcibiades,  —  with  a  beauty  of  bodily  form  equal  to  that  of  one  of  the 
consecrated  statues,  —  with  an  intelligence  quick  as  that  of  Apollo  or 
Mercury,  —  enthusiastic  and  fickle,  —  versatile  and  profligate,  —  able  to 
admire  the  good,  but  hopelessly  following  the  bad.  And  if  we  turn  to  the 
one  great  exception  in  Athenian  history,  —  if  we  turn  from  Alcibiades  to 

1  The  two  Heathen  writers  who  mention  scription  was  not  as  St.  Paul  quoted  it,  but  in 

these  altars  are  Pausanias   and   Philostratus.  the  form  of  a  general  dedication  to  all  un- 

See  above,  pp.  298  and  308.  known  gods.    But  unless  St.  Psiul  quoted  the 

^  It  is  very  probable  that   they  originated  actual  words,  his  application  of  the  inscrip- 

from  a  desire  to  dedicate  the  altar  to  the  god  tion  would  lose  nearly  all   its  poiiit.     Some 

under  whose  censure  the  dedicator  had  fallen,  have  fancifully  found  in  the  inscription  an  al- 

whom  he  had  unwittingly  offended,  or  whom,  lusion  to  the  God  of  the  Jews.     For  some  of 

in  the  particular  case,  he  ought  to  propitiate.  the  notions  of  the  older  antiquarians  concern- 

Eichhorn  thinks  that  these  altars  belonged  to  a  ing  the  "  temple  "  of  the  Unknown  God,  see 

period  when  writing  was  unknown,  and  that  Leake.                                    ^  Acts  xvii.  23. 

the  inscription  was  added  afterwards  by  those  *  A  great  number  of  passages  are  collected 

who  were  ignorant  of  the  deity  to  which  they  together  by    Tholuck,   in   his    Essay  on    the 

were  consecrated.     Jerome  says   that   the  in-  Nature  and  Moral  Influence  of  Heathenism. 


316  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PADL,  cha*.  x 

the  friend  who  noblj  and  affectionately  warned  him,  —  who,  conscioufc 
of  his  own  ignorance,  was  yet  aware  that  God  was  best  known  by  listen- 
ing to  the  voice  within,  —  yet  even  of  Socrates  we  cannot  say  more  than 
has  been  said  in  the  following  words  :  "  His  soul  was  certainly  in  some 
alliance  with  the  Holy  God  ;  he  certainly  felt,  in  his  demon  or  guardian 
spirit,  the  inexplicable  nearness  of  his  Father  in  heaven  ;  but  he  was  des- 
titute of  a  view  of  the  divine  nature  in  the  humble  form  of  a  servant, 
the  Redeemer  with  the  crown  of  thorns  ;  he  had  no  ideal  conception  of 
that  true  holiness,  which  manifests  itself  in  the  most  humble  love  and 
the  most  affectionate  humility.  Hence,  also,  he  was  unable  to  become 
fully  acqiiainted  with  his  own  heart,  though  he  so  greatly  desired  it. 
Hence,  too,  he  was  destitute  of  any  deep  humiliation  and  grief  on  ac- 
count of  his  sinful  wretchedness,  of  that  true  humility  which  no  longer 
allows  itself  a  biting,  sarcastic  tone  of  instruction ;  and  destitute,  like- 
wise, of  any  filial,  devoted  love.  These  perfections  can  be  shared  only 
by  the  Christian,  who  beholds  the  Redeemer  as  a  wanderer  upon  earth  in 
the  form  of  a  servant ;  and  who  receives  in  his  own  soul  the  sanctifying 
power  of  that  Redeemer  by  intercourse  with  Him."  ' 

When  we  turn  from  the  Religion  of  Athens  to  take  a  view  of  its 
Philosophy,  the  first  name  on  which  our  eye  rests  is  again  that  of  Socra- 
tes.^ This  is  necessarily  the  case,  not  only  because  of  his  own  singular 
and  unapproachcd  greatness  ;  but  because  he  was,  as  it  were,  the  point 
to  which  all  the  earlier  schools  converged,  and  from  which  the  later 
rays  of  Greek  philosophy  diverged  again.  The  earlier  philosophical 
systems,  such  as  that  of  Thales  in  Asia  Minor,  and  Pytliagoras  in  Italy, 
were  limited  to  physical  inquiries :  Socrates  was  the  first  to  call  man  to 
the  contemplation  of  himself,  and  became  the  founder  of  ethical  science.' 
A  new  direction  was  thus  given  to  all  the  philosophical  schools  which 
succeeded  ;  and  Socrates  may  be  said  to  have  prepared  the  way  for  the 
gospel,  by  leading  the  Greek  mind  to  the  investigation  of  moral  truth. 
He  gave  the  impulse  to  the  two  schools,  which  were  founded  in  the 
Lyceum  and  by  the  banks  of  the  Cephisus,*  and  which  have  produced 
such  vast  results  on  human  thought  in  every  generation.  We  are  not 
called  here  to  discuss  the  doctrines  of  the  Peripatetics  and  Academicians. 
Not  that  they  are  unconnected  with  the  history  of  Christianity :  Plato 
and  Aristotle  have  had  a  great  work  appointed  to  them,  not  only  as  the 

1  Tholuck's  Essay  on  Heathenism,  as  above,  raaturite,  elle  change  do  caractbrc  et  de  direo- 

p.  163.  tion.  et  die  dcvient  une  philosophie  morale, 

'^  For   Socrates,  sec  especially   the  eighth  sociale,  humalne.      C'est   Socrate  qui  ouvre 

volume  of  flrote's  Ilistonj,  and  the   Quarterly  cette  nouvclle  ^re,  et  qui  en  repre'sente  Ic     \- 

Reiriew  for  December,  18.^>0.  ractcre  en  sa  pcrsonne."  —  Victor  Cousin. 

^  "  La  philosophie  grecque  avait  ete' d'abord  *  See  above,  pp.  310,  311. 

uno  philosophie  de  la  nature ;   arrivee  k  sa 


cBAT.x.  greek:  philosophy.  317 

fieatheii  pioneers  of  the  Truth  before  it  was  revealed,  but  as  the  educa- 
tors of  Christian  minds  in  every  age :  the  former  enriched  human 
thought  with  appropriate  ideas  for  the  reception  of  the  highest  truth  in 
the  highest  form  ;  the  latter  mapped  out  all  the  provinces  of  human 
knowledge,  that  Christianity  might  visit  them  and  bless  them  :  and  the 
historian  of  the  Church  would  have  to  speak  of  direct  influence  exerted 
on  the  Gospel  by  the  Platonic  and  Aristotelian  systems,  in  recounting 
the  conflicts  of  the  parties  of  Alexandria,  and  tracing  the  formation  of 
the  theology  of  the  Schoolmen.  But  the  biographer  of  St.  Paul  has 
only  to  speak  of  the  Stoics  and  Epieureans.  They  only,  among  the 
various  philosophers  of  the  day,  are  mentioned  as  having  argued  with 
the  Apostle  ;  and  their  systems  had  really  more  influence  in  the  period 
in  which  the  Gospel  was  established,  though,  in  the  Patristic  and  Mediae- 
val periods,  the  older  systems,  in  modified  forms,  regained  their  sway. 
The  Stoic  and  Epicurean,  moreover,  were  more  exclusively  limited  than 
other  philosophers  to  moral  investigations,^  —  a  fact  which  is  tacitly  im- 
plied by  the  proverbial  application  of  the  two  words  to  moral  principles 
and  tendencies  which  we  recognize  as  hostile  to  true  Cliristianity. 

Zeno,  the  founder  of  the  Stoic  school,  was  a  native  of  the  same  part 
of  the  Levant  with  St.  Paul  liimself.'^  He  came  from  Cyprus  to  Athens 
at  a  time  when  patriotism  was  decayed  and  political  liberty  lost,  and 
when  a  system,  which  promised  the  power  of  brave  and  self-sustaining 
endurance  amid  the  general  degradation,  found  a  willing  acceptance 
among  the  nobler  minds.  Thus  in  the  Painted  Porch,  which,  as  we  have 
said,  had  once  been  the  meeting-place  of  the  poets,  those  who,  instead  of 
yielding  to  the  prevailing  evil  of  the  times,  thought  they  were  able  to 
resist  it,  formed  themselves  into  a  school  of  philosophers.  In  the  high 
tone  of  this  school,  and  in  some  part  of  its  ethical  language.  Stoicism 
was  an  apparent  approximation  to  Christianity ;  but  on  the  whole,  it  was 
a  hostile  system,  in  its  physics,  its  morals,  and  its  theology.  The  Stoics 
condemned  the  worship  of  images  and  the  use  of  temples,  regarding 
them  as  nothing  better  than  the  ornaments  of  art.  But  they  justified 
the  popular  polytheism,  and,  in  fact,  considered  the  gods  of  mythology  as 
minor  developments  of  the  Great  World-God,  which  summed  up  their 

^  "Le  caract^re  commun  du  Stoicisme  et  shipwrecked  near  the  Piraeus,  and  settled  in 

de  I'Epicure'isme  est  de  re'duire  presque  en-  Athens.     The  exact  dates  of  his  birth   and 

tierement  la   philosophie  k  la  morale."  —  V.  death  are  not  known,  but  he  lived  through  the 

Cousin.  greater  part  of  the  century  between  b  c.  '350 

'^  He  was  born  at  Citium  in  Cypras.     See  and  b.c.  250.     A  portrait-bust  at  Naples  is  as- 

p.  139.     His  attention  was  turned  to  philoso-  signed  to  him,  but  there  is  some  doubt  whether 

phy  by  the  books  brought  fiom  Athens  by  it  is  to  be  referred  to  him  or  to  Zeno   the 

his  father,  who  was  a  merchant.     Somewhere  Eleatic. 
between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  thirty  he  was 


Si  8  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST,   PAUL.  chap.  x. 

belief  concerning  the  origin  and  existence  of  the  world.  The  Stoics 
were  Pantheists  ;  and  much  of  their  language  is  a  curious  anticipation 
of  the  phraseology  of  modern  Pantheism.  In  their  view,  God  was  merely 
the  Spirit  or  Reason  of  the  Universe.  The  world  was  itself  a  rational 
soul,  producing  all  things  out  of  itself,  and  resuming  them  all  to  itself 
again.  Matter  was  inseparable  from  the  Deity.  He  did  not  create:  He 
only  organized.'  He  merely  impressed  law  and  order  on  the  substance, 
which  was,  in  fact,  himself.  The  manifestation  of  the  Universe  was  only 
a  period  in  the  development  of  God.  In  conformity  with  these  notions 
of  the  world,  which  substitute  a  sublime  destiny  for  the  belief  in  a  per- 
sonal Creator  and  Preserver,  were  the  notions  which  were  held  concern- 
ing the  soul  and  its  relations  to  the  body.  The  soul  was,  in  fact,  cor- 
poreal. The  Stoics  said  that  at  death  it  would  be  burnt,  or  return  to  be 
absorbed  in  God.  Thus,  a  resurrection  from  the  dead,  in  the  sense  in 
which  the  Gospel  has  revealed  it,  must  have  appeared  to  the  Stoics 
irrational.  Nor  was  their  moral  system  less  hostile  to  "  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Jesus."  The  proud  ideal  which  was  set  before  the  disciple  of 
Zeno  was,  a  magnanimous  self-denial,  an  austere  apathy,  untouched 
by  human  passion,  unmoved  by  change  of  circumstance.  To  the  Wise 
man  all  outward  things  were  alike.  Pleasure  was  no  good.  Pain  was 
no  evil.  All  actions  conformable  to  Reason  were  equally  good ;  all 
actions  contrary  to  Reason  were  equally  evil.  The  Wise  man  lives 
according,  to  Reason  ;  and  living  thus,  he  is  perfect  and  self-sufficing. 
He  reigns  supreme  as  a  king :  "^  he  is  justified  in  boasting  as  a  god. 
Nothing  can  well  be  imagined  more  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity. 
Nothing  could  be  more  repugnant  to  the  Stoic  than  the  news  of  a 
"  Saviour,"  who  has  atoned  for  our  sin,  and  is  ready  to  aid  our  weakness. 
Christianity  is  the  School  of  Humility :  Stoicism  was  the  Education  of 
Pride.  Christianity  is  a  discipline  of  life  :  Stoicism  was  nothhig  better 
than  an  apprenticeship  for  death.^  And  fearfully  were  the  fruits  of  its 
principle  illustrated  both  in  its  earlier  and  later  disciples.  Its  first  two 
leaders  *  died  by  their  own  hands  ;  like  the  two  Romans  ^  whose  names 

^  "  Le  Dieu  des  Stoiciens  n'a  pas  cre^  la  philosophie  n'est  plus  qu*«n  apprentissage  de  la 

nature,    il    I'a    formee    et    organisde."  —  V.  mort  et  non  de  la  vie ;  elle  tend  a  la  mort  par  son 

Cousin  :    who,   however,  will   not  allow   the  image,  I'apathie  et  I'ataraxie,  et  se  re'sout  de'fini- 

Stoical  system  to  be  Pantheistic.  tiveraent  en  un  (fr/olsme  sublime."  —  V.  Cousin. 
2  Hor.  Sat.  I.  iii.,  Ep.  i.  i.  *  Zeno  and  Clcanthes.     And  yet  Clcanthes 

^  "  Le  Stoicisme  est  essenticllement  soli-  was  the  author  of  that  hymn  which  is,  per- 

taire ;  c'est  le  soin  exclusif  de  son  ame,  sans  haps,  the  noblest  ajjproximation  to  a  Christian 

regard  a  celle  des  autres  ;  et,  comme  la  seule  hymn  that  heathenism  has  produced.     In  the 

cliose  impoitante  est  la  parete'  de  I'ame,  quand  speech  below  (Acts  xvii.  28)  there  is  sjome  doubt 

cette  puretc  est  trop  en  pe'ril,  quand  on  deses-  whether  the  Apostle  quotes  from  Clcanthes  or 

pi-re  d'etre  victorieux  dans  la  lutte,  on  pent  la  Aratus.     See  the  note  there, 
terminer  comme  I'a  terminee  Caton.     Ainsi  la  ^  Cato  and  Seneca. 


ciiAP.  X,  STOICS  AND  EPICUBEANS.  319 

first  rise  to  tbe  memory  when  the  school  of  the  Stoics  is  mcDtioned. 
But  Christianity  turns  the  desperate  resolution,  that  seeks  to  escape 
disgrace  by  death,  into  the  anxious  question,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?  "  ^  It  softens  the  pride  of  stern  indifference  into  the  consolation 
of  mutual  sympathy.  How  grAit  is  the  contrast  between  the  Stoic  ideal 
and  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ!  How  different  is  the  acquiescence 
ill  an  iron  destiny  from  the  trust  in  a  merc.ful  and  watchful  Providence  ! 
How  infinitely  inferior  is  that  sublime  egotism,  which  looks  down  with 
contempt  on  human  weakness,  to  the  religion  which  tells  us  that  "  they 
who  mourn  are  blessed,"  and  which  commands  us  to  "  rejoice  with  them 
iliat  rejoice,  and  to  weep  with  them  that  weep  "  ! 

If  Stoicism,  in  its  full  development,  was  utterly  opposed  to  Christianity, 
the  same  may  be  said  of  the  very  primary  principle  of  the  Epicurean'^ 
school.  If  the  Stoics  were  Pantheists,  the  Epicureans  were  virtually 
Atheists.  Their  philosophy  was  a  system  of  materialism,  in  the  strictest 
sense  of  the  word.  In  their  view,  the  world  was  formed  by  an  accidental 
concourse  of  atoms,  and  was  not  in  any  sense  created,  or  even  modified, 
by  the  Divinity.  They  did  indeed  profess  a  certain  belief  in  what  were 
called  gods  ;  but  these  equivocal  divinities  were  merely  phantoms,  —  im 
pressions  on  the  popular  mind,  —  dreams,  which  bad  no  objective  reality, 
or  at  least  exercised  no  active  influence  on  the  physical  world  or  the 
business  of  life.  The  Epicurean  deity,  if  self-existent  at  all,  dwelt  apart. 
in  serene  indiiference  to  all  the  afiairs  of  the  universe.  The  universe  was 
a  great  accident,  and  sufficiently  explained  itself  witliout  any  reference  to 
a  higher  power.  The  popular  mythology  was  derided,  but  the  Epicureans 
had  no  positive  faith  in  any  thing  better.  As  there  was  no  creator,  so 
there  was  no  moral  governor.  All  notions  of  retribution  and  of  judg- 
ment to  come  were  of  course  forbidden  by  such  a  creed.  The  principles 
of  the  atomic  theory,  when  applied  to  the  constitution  of  man,  must  have 
caused  the  resurrection  to  appear  an  absurdity.  The  soul  was  nothing 
without  the  body  ;  or  rather,  the  soul  was  itself  a  body,  composed  of  finer 
atoms,  or  at  best  an  unmeaning  compromise  between  the  material  and 
immaterial.  Both  body  and  soul  were  dissolved  together  and  dissipated 
into  the  elements  ;  and  when  this  occurred,  all  the  life  of  man  was  ended. 
The  moral  result  of  such  a  creed  was  necessarily  that  which  the  Apostle 
Paul  described:^  —  "If  the  dead  rise  not,  let  us  eat  and  drink:  for  to- 
morrow we  die."     The  essential  principle  of  the  Epicurean  philosoplier 

1  See  p.  266.  He  died   b.c.  270.      An   authentic  bust   has 

2  Epicurus,  who  founded,  and  indeed  ma-      been  preserved  of  him,  which   is  engrared  to 
tured,  this  school  (for  its  doctrines  were  never      Milman's  Horace,  p.  391. 

further  developed),  was  born  in  Samos,  b.c.  ^  1  Cor.  xv.  32 

342,  though  his  parents  were  natives  of  Attica. 


320  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES  OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap.  i. 

was  that  tliere  was  nothing  to  alarm  him,  nothing  to  disturb  him.  His 
furthest  reach  was  to  do  deliberately  what  the  animals  do  instinctively. 
His  Inghest  aim  was  to  gratify  himself.  With  the  coarser  and  more 
energetic  minds,  this  principle  inevitably  led  to  the  grossest  sensuality 
and  crime ;  in  the  case  of  others,  whose  temperament  was  more  common- 
place, or  whose  taste  was  more  pure,  the  system  took  the  form  of  a 
selfishness  more  refined.  As  the  Stoic  sought  to  resist  the  evil  which 
surrounded  him,  the  Epicurean  endeavored  to  console  himself  by  a  tran- 
quil and  indifferent  life.  He  avoided  the  more  violent  excitements  of 
political  and  social  engagements,  to  enjoy  the  seclusion  of  a  calm  con 
tentment.  But  pleasure  was  still  the  end  at  which  he  aimed  ;  and  if  we 
remove  this  end  to  its  remotest  distance,  and  understand  it  to  mean  an 
enjoyment  which  involves  the  most  manifold  self-denial,  —  if  we  give  Epi- 
curus credit  for  taking  the  largest  view  of  consequences,  —  and  if  we  be- 
lieve that  the  life  of  his  first  disciples  was  purer  than  there  is  reason  to 
suppose,^  —  the  end  remains  the  same.  Pleasure,  not  duty,  is  the  motive 
of  moral  exertion  ;  expediency  is  the  test  to  which  actions  are  referred  ; 
and  the  self-denial  itself,  which  an  enlarged  view  of  expediency  requires, 
will  probably  be  found  impracticable  without  the  grace  of  God.  Thus, 
tlie  Gospel  met  in  the  Garden  an  opposition  not  less  determined,  and 
more  insidious,  than  the  antagonism  of  the  Porch.  The  two  enemies  it 
lias  ever  had  to  contend  with  are  the  two  ruling  principles  of  the  Epicu- 
reans and  Stoics,  —  Pleasure  and  Pride. 

Such,  in  their  original  and  essential  character,  were  the  two  schools  of 
philosophy  with  which  St,  Paul  was  brought  directly  into  contact.  We 
ought,  however,  to  consider  how  far  these  schools  had  been  modified  by 
the  lapse  of  time,  by  the  changes  which  succeeded  Alexander  and  accom- 
panied the  formation  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  by  the  natui-al  tenden- 
cies of  the  Roman  character.  When  Stoicism  and  Epicureanism  were, 
l)rouglit  to  Rome,  they  were  such  as  we  have  described  them.  In  as  far  as 
they  were  speculative  systems,  they  found  little  favor :  Greek  philosophy 
was  always  regarded  with  some  degree  of  distrust  among  the  Romans. 
Their  mind  was  alien  from  science  and  pure  speculation.  Philosophy, 
like  art  and  literature,  was  of  foreign  introduction.  The  cultivation  of 
such  pursuits  was  followed  by  private  persons  of  wealth  and  taste,  but 
was  little  extended  among  the  community  at  large.  There  were  no  pub- 
lic scliools  of  philosophy  at  Rome.  Where  it  was  studied  at  all,  it  was 
studied,  not  for  its  own  sake,  but  for  the  service  of  the  state.'^  Thus,  the 
peculiarly  practical  character  of  the  Stoic  and  Epicurean  systems  recom- 

^  Ritter  speaks  strongly  of  scenes  of  sen-  *  Tennemann. 

raalitj  witnessed  in  tlie  Garden  of  Epicoras. 


«HAP.  X.  ~  GREEK   PHILOSOPHY.  321 

mended  them  to  the  notice  of  many.  What  was  wanted  in  the  prevail- 
ing misery  of  the  Roman  world  was  a  philosophy  of  life.  There  were 
some  who  weakly  yielded,  and  some  who  offered  a  courageous  resistance, 
to  the  evil  of  the  times.  The  former,  under  the  name  of  Epicureans, 
either  spent  their  time  in  a  serene  tranquillity,  away  from  the  distractions 
and  disorders  of  political  life,  or  indulged  in  the  grossest  sensualism,  and 
justified  it  on  principle.  The  Roman  adherents  of  the  school  of  Epicurus 
were  never  numerous,  and  few  great  names  can  be  mentioned  among 
them  ;  though  one  monument  remains,  and  will  ever  remain,  of  this  phase 
of  philosophy,  in  the  poem  of  Lucretius.  The  Stoical  school  was  more 
congenial  to  the  endurance  of  the  Roman  character ;  and  it  educated  the 
minds  of  some  of  the  noblest  men  of  the  time,  who  scorned  to  be  carried 
away  by  the  stream  of  vice.  Three  great  names  can  be  mentioned,  which 
divided  the  period  between  the  preaching  of  St.  Paul  and  the  final  estab- 
lishment of  Christianity,  —  Seneca,  Epictetus,  and  Marcus  Aurelius.^ 
But  such  men  were  few  in  a  time  of  general  depravity  and  unbelief.  And 
this  was  really  the  character  of  the  time.  It  was  a  period  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  when  conquest  and  discovery,  facilities  of  travelling,  and 
the  mixture  of  races,  had  produced  a  general  fusion  of  opinions,  result- 
ing in  an  indifference  to  moral  distinctions,  and  at  the  same  time  encour- 
aging the  most  abject  credulity.  The  Romans  had  been  carrying  on  the 
work  which  Alexander  and  his  successors  begun.  A  certain  degree  of 
culture  was  very  generally  diffused.  The  opening  of  new  countries  ex- 
cited curiosity.  New  religions  were  eagerly  welcomed.  Immoral  rites 
found  willing  votaries.  Vice  and  superstition  went  hand  in  hand  through 
all  parts  of  society,  and,  as  the  natural  consequence,  a  scornful  scepti- 
cism held  possession  of  all  the  higher  intellects. 

But  though  the  period  of  which  we  are  speaking  was  one  of  general 
scepticism,  for  the  space  of  three  centuries  the  old  dogmatic  schools  still 
lingered  on,  more  especially  in  Greece.^  Athens  was  indeed  no  longer  what 
she  had  olice  been,  the  centre  from  which  scientific  and  poetic  light  radiated 
to  the  neighboring  shores  of  Asia  and  Europe.  Philosophy  had  found  new 
homes  in  other  cities,  more  especially  in  Tarsus  and  Alexandria.'  But 
Alexandria,  though  she  was  commercially  great  and  possessed  the  trade 
of  three  continents,  had  not  yet  seen  the  rise  of  her  greatest  schools ;  and 
Tarsus  could  never  be  what  Athens  was,  even  in  her  decay,  to  those  who 
travelled  with  cultivated  tastes  and  for  the  purposes  of  education.  Thus 
Philosophy  still  maintained  her  seat  in  the  city  of  Socrates.     The  four 

^  The  approximation  of  the  latter  Stoics,  yirtue."  —  See  Paradise  Regained,  book  it.  line 

especially  Epictetus,  to  Christianity,  is  remark-  300.  ' 

able.     Hence  the  emphasis  laid  by  Milton  on  ^  Tennemann. 

the  Stoic's  "  philosophic  pride,  by  him  called  '  For  the  schools  of  Tarsus,  see  pp.  21, 98 

21 


322  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  cuap.  x. 

great  schools,  the  Lyceum  and  the  Academy,  the  Garden  and  the  Porch, 
were  never  destitute  of  exponents  of  their  doctrines.  When  Cicero  came, 
not  long  after  Sulla's  siege,  he  found  the  philosophers  in  residence.^  As 
the  Empire  grew,  Athens  assumed  more  and  more  the  character  of  a 
university  town.  After  Christianity  was  first  preached  there,  this  char- 
acter was  confirmed  to  the  place  by  the  embellishments  and  the  benefac- 
tions of  Hadrian.^  And  before  the  schools  were  closed  by  the  orders  of 
Justinian,*  the  city  which  had  received  Cicero  and  Atticus  "*  as  students 
together  became  the  scene  of  the  college-friendship  of  St.  Basil  and  St. 
Gregory,^  one  of  the  most  beautiful  episodes  of  primitive  Christianity. 

Thus,  St.  Paul  found  philosophers  at  Athens,  among  those  whom  he 
addressed  in  the  Agora.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the  common  meet- 
ing-place of  a  population  always  eager  for  fresh  subjects  of  intellectual 
curiosity.  Demosthenes  had  rebuked  the  Athenians  for  this  idle  tendency 
four  centuries  before,  telling  them  that  they  were  always  craving  after  news 
and  excitement,  at  the  very  moment  when  destruction  was  impending 
over  their  liberties.  And  they  are  described  in  the  same  manner,  on  the 
occasion  of  St.  Paul's  visit,  as  giving  their  whole  leisure  to  telling  and 
hearing  something  newer  than  the  latest  news  (Acts  xvii.  21).  Among 
those  who  sauntered  among  the  plane-trees  ®  of  the  Agora,  and  gathered  in 
knots  under  the  porticoes,  eagerly  discussing  the  questions  of  the  day, 
were  philosophers,  in  the  garb  of  their  several  sects,  ready  for  any  new 
question,  on  which  they  might  exercise  their  subtlety  or  display  their  rheto- 
ric. Among  the  other  philosophers,  the  Stoics  and  Epicureans  would  more 
especially  be  encountered  ;  for  the  "  Painted  Porch  " ''  of  Zeno  was  in  the 
Agora  itself,  and  the  "  Garden  "  ^  of  the  rival  sect  was  not  far  distant.  To 
both  these  classes  of  hearers  and  talkers  —  both  the  mere  idlers  and  the 
professors  of  philosophy  —  any  question  connected  with  a  new  religion  was 
peculiarly  welcome  ;  for  Athens  gave  a  ready  acceptance  to  all  supersti- 
tions and  ceremonies,  and  was  glad  to  find  food  for  credulity  or  scepticism, 
ridicule  or  debate.  To  this  motley  group  of  the  Agora,  St.  Paul  made 
known  the  two  great  subjects  he  had  proclaimed  from  city  to  city.  He 
spoke  aloud  of  "Jesus  and  the  Resurrection," '  —  of  that  Name  which  is 

1  See  above,  p.  311,  and  the  note.  *>  See  above,  p.  306.    It  is,  of  course,  im- 

'  Between  the  visits  of  St.  Paul  and  Pau-  oossible  to  prove  that  Cimon's  plane-trees  were 

aanias,  Hadrian  made  vast  additions   to   the  succeeded  by  others ;  but  a  boulevard  is  com- 

buildings  of  Athens,  and  gave  large  endow-  monly  renewed,  when  a  city  recovers  from  itp 

ments  for  the  j)urposes  of  education.  disasters. 

'  See  Gibbon,  xl.  ''  For  the  "  Stoa  Pcecile,"  see  above,  p.  811. 

*  See  Middleton's  Life  of  Cicero.  '  See  again  above,  p.  311. 

»  Basil  and  Gregory  Nazianzene  were  stu-  ^  Acts  xvii.  18. 

dents   together  at  Athens   from  351    to  355. 
Julian  was  there  at  the  same  time- 


^HAP.  I.  ST.    PAUL  IN  THE  AGOKA  323 

above  evcjiy  name,  —  that  consummation  which  awaits  all  die  generations 
of  men  who  have  successively  passed  into  the  sleep  of  death.  He  was  in 
the  habit  of  conversing  "  daily  "  on  these  subjects  with  those  whom  he  met. 
His  varied  experience  of  men,  and  his  familiarity  with  many  modes  of 
thought,  enabled  him  to  present  these  subjects  in  such  a  way  as  to  arrest 
attention.  As  regards  tlie  philosophers,  he  was  providentially  prepared 
for  his  collision  with  them.  It  was  not  the  first  time  he  had  encountered 
them.^  His  own  native  city  was  a  city  of  philosophers,  and  was  especially 
famous  (as  we  have  remarked  before)  for  a  long  line  of  eminent  Stoics, 
and  he  was  doubtless  familiar  with  their  language  and  opinions. 

Two  different  impressions  were  produced  by  St.  Paul's  words  according 
to  the  disposition  of  those  who  heard  him.  Some  said  that  he  was  a 
mere  "  babbler,"^  and  received  him  with  contemptuous  derision.  Others 
took  a  more  serious  view,  and,  supposing  that  he  was  endeavoring  to 
introduce  new  objects  of  worship,'  had  their  curiosity  excited,  and  were 
desirous  to  hear  more.  If  we  suppose  a  distinct  allusion,  in  these  two 
classes,  to  the  two  philosophical  sects  which  have  just  been  mejitioned, 
we  have  no  difficulty  in  seeing  that  the  Epicureans  were  those  who, 
according  to  their  habit,  received  the  new  doctrine  with  ridicule,  — 
while  the  Stoics,  ever  tolerant  of  the  popular  mythology,  were  naturally 
willing  to  hear  of  the  new  "  demons  "  which  this  foreign  teacher  was 
proposing  to  introduce  among  the  multitude  of  Athenian  gods  and  heroes. 
Or  we  may  imagine  that  the  two  classes  denote  the  philosophers  on  the 
one  hand,  who  heard  with  scorn  the  teaching  of  a  Jewish  stranger 
untrained  in  the  language  of  the  schools,  —  and  the  vulgar  crowd  on  the 
other,  who  would  easily  entertain  suspicion  (as  in  the  case  of  Socrates) 
against  any  one  seeking  to  cast  dishonor  on  the  national  divinities,  or 
would  at  least  be  curious  to  hear  more  of  this  foreign  and  new  religion. 
It  is  not,  however,  necessary  to  make  any  such  definite  distinction 
between  those  who  derided  and  those  who  listened.  Two  such  classes 
are  usually  found  among  those  to  whom  truth  is  presented.  When  Paul 
came  among  the  Athenians,  he  came  "•  not  with  enticing  words  of  man's 
wisdom,"  and  to  some  of  the  "  Greeks  "  who  heard  him  the  Gospel  was 

1  See  Ch.  III.  p.  98.     Two  of  the  most  temptible  and   worthless  person."     Or,  from 

influential  of  the  second  generation  of  Stoics  the  perpetual  chattering  or  chirping  of  such 

were  Antipater  of  Tarsus  and  Zeno  of  Tar-  birds,  the  word  may  denote  an  idle  "  balbler." 
sus.     Chrysippus   also   is  said   by  Strabo   to  ^  Acts  xvii.  18.     These  are  the  very  words 

have  been  a  native  of  the  same  place.  used  in  the  accusation  against  Socrates.     The 

■^  The  Greek  word  here  means  properly  a  terra  "  demon "  is  probably  here   used  quite 

bkd  that  picks  up  seeds  from  the  ground,  and  generally.      This  is  the  only  place  where  it 

it  is  so  used  in  the   Birds  of  Aristophanes.  occurs  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.     See   the 

Hence,  secondarily,   it   may   mean   a  pauper  remarks  which  have  been  made  before  on  this 

who  prowls  about  the  market-place,  or  a  para-  subject,  pp.  257-260. 
site  who  lives  by  his  wits,  and  hence  "a  con- 


24  THE  LIFE    AKD   EPISTLES   OF   ST,   PAUL.  chap.  x. 

"  foolishness  ;  "  ^  while  in  others  there  was  at  least  that  curiosity  which  is 
sometimes  made  the  path  whereby  the  highest  truth  enters  the  mind ;  and 
they  sought  to  have  a  fuller  and  more  deliberate  exposition  of  the  myste- 
rious subjects,  which  now  for  the  first  time  had  been  brought  before  their 
attention. 

Tlie  place  to  which  they  took  him  was  the  summit  of  the  hill  of 
Areopagus,  where  the  most  awful  court  of  judicature  had  sat  from  time 
immemorial,  to  pass  sentence  on  the  greatest  criminals,  and  to  decide  the 
most  solemn  questions  connected  with  religion.  The  judges  sat  in  the 
open  air,  upon  seats  hewn  out  in  the  rock,  on  a  platform  which  was 
ascended  by  a  flight  of  stone  steps  immediately  from  the  Agora.^  On 
this  spot  a  long  series  of  awful  causes,  connected  with  crime  and  religion, 
had  been  determined,  beginning  with  the  legendary  trial  of  Mars,  which 
gave  to  the  place  its  name  of  "  Mars'  Hill."  A  temple  of  the  god,'  as  we 
have  seen,  was  on  the  brow  of  the  eminence  ;  and  an  additional  solemnity 
was  given  to  the  place  by  the  sanctuary  of  the  Furies,*  in  a  broken  cleft 
of  the  rock,  immediately  below  the  judges'  seats.  Even  in  the  political 
decay  of  Athens,  this  spot  and  this  court  were  regarded  by  the  people 
with  superstitious  reverence.*  It  was  a  scene  with  which  the  dread  recol- 
lections of  centuries  were  associated.  It  was  a  place  of  silent  awe  in  the 
midst  of  the  gay  and  frivolous  city.  Those  who  withdrew  to  the  Areopa- 
gus from  the  Agora,  came,  as  it  were,  into  the  presence  of  a  higher  power. 
No  place  in  Athens  was  so  suitable  for  a  discourse  upon  the  mysteries  of 
religion.  We  are  not,  however,  to  regard  St.  Paul's  discourse  on  the 
Areopagus  as  a  formal  defence,  in  a  trial  before  the  court.^     The  whole 

1  Seel  Cor.  i.  I8-ii.  5.  and   the   Sanctuary  of  the  Eumenides  men- 

2  The   number  of   steps   is  sixteen.     See      tioned  below. 

Wordsworth's  Athens  and  Attica,  p.  73.    "  Six-  **  This  temple  was  on  the  southern  slope 

teen  stone  steps  cut  in  the  rock,  at  its  south-  of   the    Areopagus,    immediately    above    the 

east  anf,'le,  lead  up  to  the  hill  of  the  Areopa-  Agora,  near  the  Eponymi  and  the  statue  of 

gus  from  the  valley  of  the  Agora,  which  lies  Demosthenes. 

between  it  and  the  Pnyx.     This  angle  seems  *  In  harmony  with  the  euphemistic  titles 

to  be  the  point  of  the  hill  on  which  the  coun-  given  by  the  Athenians  to   these  dread  god- 

cil  of  the  Areopagus  sat.     Immediately  above  desses,  Pausanias  says  that   their  8tatu*is  in 

the  steps,  on  the  level  of  the  hill,  is  a  bench  this  place  had  nothing  ferocious  in  their  as- 

of  stone  excavated   in   the    limestone    rock,  pect.     The  proximity  of  this  sanctuary  to  the 

forming  three  sides  of  a  quadrangle,  like  a  Areopagite  court  must  have  tended  to   ^ive 

triclinium  :  it  faces  the  south  :  on  its  east  and  additional  solemnity  to  the  place, 

west  side  is  a  raised  block :  the  former  may,  ^  In  some  respects  it  seems  that  the  influ- 

perhaps,  have  been  the  tribunal,  the  two  lat-  ence  of  the  court  was  increased   under  the 

ter  the    rude    stones   which    Pausanias    saw  Romans. 

here,  and  which  are  described  by  Euripides  as  "  Some     are    of    opinion     that    he    was 

a.ssigned,  the  one  to  the  accuser,  the  other  to  forcibly  apprehended  and   put  on   a  formal 

the  criminal,  in  the  causes  which  were  tried  in  trial.     It  may  be  argued  that,  if  a  public  ad- 

this  court."     The  stone  seats  are  intermediate  dress   was  all   that  was  required,   the  Pnyx 

in  position  to  the  sites  of  the  Temple  of  Mars  would  have  been  more  suitable  than  the  Areop- 


CHAP.  X.  ST.   PAUL'S  DISCOUESE  ON  THE  AREOPAGUS.  325 

aspect  of  the  narrative  in  the  Acts,  and  the  whole  tenor  of  the  discourse 
itself,  militate  against  this  supposition.  The  words,  half  derisive,  half 
courteous,  addressed  to  the  Apostle  before  he  spoke  to  his  audience, 
"  May  we  know  what  this  new  doctrine  is  ?  "  are  not  like  the  words  which 
would  have  been  addressed  to  a  prisoner  at  the  bar ;  and  still  more  unlike 
a  judge's  sentence  are  the  words  with  which  he  was  dismissed  at  the 
conclusion,  "  We  will  hear  thee  again  of  this  matter."  '  Nor  is  there 
any  thing  in  the  speech  itself  of  a  really  apologetic  character,  as  any  one 
may  perceive,  on  comparing  it  with  the  defence  of  Socrates.  Moreover, 
the  verse  '^  which  speaks  so  strongly  of  the  Athenian  love  of  novelty  and  ex- 
citement is  so  introduced,  as  to  imply  that  curiosity  was  the  motive  of  the 
whole  proceeding.  "We  may,  indeed,  admit  that  there  was  something  of  a 
mock  solemnity  in  this  adjournment  from  the  Agora  to  the  Areopagus. 
Tlie  Athenians  took  the  Apostle  from  the  tumult  of  public  discussion,  to 
the  place  which  was  at  once  most  convenient  and  most  appropriate. 
Tliere  was  every  thing  in  the  place  to  incline  the  auditors,  so  far  as  they 
were  seriously  disposed  at  all,  to  a  reverent  and  thoughtful  attention.  It 
is  probable  that  Dionysius,'  with  other  Areopagites,  were  on  the  judicial 
seats.  And  a  vague  recollection  oi  the  dread  thoughts  associated  by 
poetry  and  tradition  with  the  Hill  oi  Mars  may  have  solemnized  the 
minds  of  some  of  those  who  crowded  up  the  stone  steps  with  the  Apostle, 
and  clustered  round  the  summit  of  the  hill,  to  hear  his  announcement  of 
the  new  divinities. 

There  is  no  point  in  the  annals  of  the  first  planting  of  Christianity 
which  seizes  so  powerfully  on  the  imagination  of  those  wlio  are  familiar 
with  the  history  of  the  ancient  world.  Whether  we  contrast  the  intense 
earnestness  of  the  man  who  spoke,  with  the  frivolous  character  of  those 
who  surrounded  him,  —  or  compare  the  certain  truth  and  awful  meaning 
of  the  Gospel  he  revealed,  with  the  worthless  polytheism  which  had 
made  Athens  a  proverb  in  the  earth,  —  or  even  think  of  the  mere  words 
uttered  that  day  in  the  clear  atmosphere,  on  the  summit  of  Mars'  Hill, 
in  connection  with  the  objects  of  art,  temples,  statues,  and  altars,  which 

agus.     But  we  need  not  suppose  the  crowd  ^  There  is  indeed  an  apparent  resemblance 

about  St.  Paul  to  have  been  yery  great ;  and  between  Acts  xvii.  32  and  Acts  xxiv.  25,  bnf 

though  the  Pnyx  might  be  equally  accessible  even  in  the  latter  passage  Felix  is  rather  set 

from  the  Agora,  and  more  convenient  for  a  ting  aside  an  irksome  subject  than  giving  a 

general  address,  the  Areopagus  was  more  ap-  judicial  decision. 
propriate  for  a  discourse  upon  religion.     We  ^  Acts  xvii.  21. 

are  disposed,  too,  to  lay  great  stress  on  the  ^  Tradition  says  that  he  was  the  first  bishop 

verse  (21)  which  speaks  of  the  curiosity  of  the  of  Athens.     The  writings  attributed  to  him, 

Athenians.     Unless  it  were  meant  to  be  em-  which  were  once  so  famous,  are  now  acknowl- 

phatic,  it  would  almost  have  the  appearance  edged  to  be  spurious, 
of  an  interpolation.     The  phrase  in  v.  19  is  a 
word  of  general  import.     See  Acts  ii.  27. 


326  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  3 

stood  rouud  on  every  side,  —  we  feel  that  the  moment  was,  and  was 
intended  to  be,  full  of  the  most  impressive  teaching  for  every  age  of  the 
world.  Close  to  the  spot  where  he  stood  was  the  Temple  of  Mars.  The 
sanctuary  "  of  the  Eumenides  was  immediately  below  him ;  the  Parthenon 
of  Minerva  facing  him  above.  Their  presence  seemed  to  challenge  the 
assertion  in  which  he  declared  here,  that  in  temples  made  with  hands  the 
Deity  does  not  dwell.  In  front  of  him,  towering  from  its  pedestal  on  tha 
rock  of  the  Acropolis,  —  as  the  Borromean  Colossus,  which  at  this  day, 
with  outstretched  hand,  gives  its  benediction  to  the  low  village  of  Arena  ; 
or  as  the  brazen  statue  of  the  armed  angel,  which  from  the  summit  of 
the  Castle  S.  Angelo  spreads  its  wings  over  the  city  of  Rome,  —  was  the 
bronze  Colossus  of  Minerva,  armed  with  spear,  shield,  and  helmet,  as  the 
champion  of  Athens.  Standing  almost  beneath  its  shade,  he  pronounced 
that  the  Deity  was  not  to  he  likened  either  to  that,  the  work  of  Phidias,  or 
to  other  forms  in  gold,  silver,  or  stone,  graven  by  art,  and  man^s  device, 
which  peopled  the  scene  before  him."  ^  Wherever  his  eye  was  turned,  it 
saw  a  succession  of  such  statues  and  buildings  in  every  variety  of  form 
and  situation.  On  the  rocky  ledges  on  the  south  side  of  the  Acropolis, 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  hum  of  the  Agora,  were  the  "  objects  of  devo- 
tion "  already  described.  And  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  city,  which 
are  equally  visible  from  the  Areopagus,  on  the  level  spaces,  and  on  every 
eminence,  were  similar  objects,  to  which  we  have  made  no  allusion,  — 
and  especially  that  Temple  of  Theseus,  the  national  hero,  which  remains 
in  unimpaired  beauty,  to  enable  us  to  imagine  what  Athens  was  when 
this  temple  was  only  one  among  the  manj  ornaments  of  that  city,  which 
was  "  crowded  with  idols." 

In  this  scene  St.  Paul  spoke,  probably  in  his  wonted  attitude,'^  "  stretch- 
ing out  his  hand  ;  "  his  bodily  aspect  still  showing  what  he  had  suffered 
from  weakness,  toil,  and  pain  ; '  and  the  traces  of  sadness  and  anxiety 
mingled  on  his  countenance  with  the  expression  of  unshaken  faith. 
Whatever  his  personal  appearance  may  have  been,  we  know  the  words 
which  he  spoke.  And  we  are  struck  with  the  more  admiration,  the  more 
narrowly  we  scrutinize  the  characteristics  of  his  address.  To  defer  for 
the  present  all  consideration  of  its  manifold  adaptations  to  the  various 
characters  of  his  auditors,  we  may  notice  how  truly  it  was  the  outpour- 
ing of  the  emotions  which,  at  the  time,  had  possession  of  his  soul.  The 
mouth  spoke  out  of  the  fulness  of  the  heart.  With  an  ardent  and 
enthusiastic  eloquence  he   gave  vent   to   the   feelings  which   had    been 

1  Wordsworth's  Athens  and  Attica,  p.  77.  '^  See  p.  155  and  the  note. 

The  word  "graven"  (Acts  xvii.  29)  should  be  ^  See  the  account  of  what  took  place  %\ 

noticed.      The  Apostle  was    surrounded    by  Philippi,  and  compare  p.  2S1 
aculpture  as  well  as  bj  temples. 


CHAP.  X.  SPEECH  OF   ST.   PAUL.  327 

excited  by  all  that  he  had  seen  around  him  in  Athens.  We  observe, 
also,  how  the  whole  course  of  the  oration  was  regulated  by  his  own 
peculiar  prudence.  He  was  placed  in  a  position,  when  lie  might  easily 
liave  been  insnared  into  the  use  of  words  which  would  have  brought 
down  upon  him  the  indignation  of  all  the  city.  Had  he  begun  by 
attacking  the  national  gods  in  the  midst  of  their  sanctuaries  and  with 
the  Areopagites  on  the  seats  near  him,  he  would  have  been  in  almost  as 
great  danger  as  Socrates  before  him.  Yet  he  not  only  avoids  the 
snare,  but  uses  the  very  difficulty  of  his  position  to  make  a  road  to 
the  convictions  of  those  who  heard  him.  He  becomes  a  Heathen  to  the 
Heathen.  He  does  not  say  that  he  is  introducing  new  divinities.  He 
rather  implies  tlie  contrary,  and  gently  draws  his  hearers  away  from 
polytheism  by  telling  them  that  he  was  making  known  the  God  whom 
they  themselves  were  ignorantly  endeavoring  to  worship.  And  if  the 
speech  is  characterized  by  St.  Paul's  prudence,  it  is  marked  by  that 
wisdom  of  his  Divine  Master,  which  is  the  pattern  of  all  Christian  teach- 
ing. As  our  Blessed  Lord  used  the  tribute-money  for  the  instruction 
of  His  disciples,  and  drew  living  lessons  from  the  water  in  the  well  of 
Samaria,  so  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  employed  the  familiar  objects  of 
Athenian  life  to  tell  them  of  what  was  close  to  them,  and  yet  they  knew 
not.  He  had  carefully  observed  the  outward  appearance  of  the  city. 
He  had  seen  an  altar  with  an  expressive,  though  humiliating,  inscrip- 
tion. And,  using  this  inscription  as  a  text,^  he  spoke  to  them,  as  follows, 
the  Words  of  Eternal  Wisdom. 


Their  altars  to       ^^  ^^^   ^^  Atheus,  all   things  which  I  behold  bear  wit-  acw 
Go  us  prove     ucss  to   your   carcfulness   in   religion.^     For    as    I    passed  22 

boili  tlieirdesire 

tLTrTliOT-aliw   through   your   city,   and   beheld   the   objects   of   your  wor-  23 
In  worshipping.  ^-^^^^^  j  found  amougst  them  an  altar  with  this  inscription, 
TO  THE^  UNKNOWN  GOD.     Whom,  therefore,  ye  worship,  though  ye 
know  Him   not.  Him  declare  I  unto  you. 

1  Tlie  altar  erected  to  Pity,  above  alluded  ^  Although  there  is  no  article  before  the 
to,  was  once  used  in  a  similar  manner.  The  adjective,  yet  we  need  not  scruple  to  retain 
Athenians  were  about  to  introduce  gladiatorial  the  definite  article  of  the  Authorized  Version ; 
shows,  and  Demonax  the  Cynic  said  :  "  Do  for  although,  if  we  take  the  expression  by  it- 
not  do  this  till  you  have  first  thrown  down  self,  "  AN  Unknown  God  "  would  be  a  more 
the  altar  of  Pity."  correct   translation,  yet  if  we    consider    the 

2  The  mistranslation  of  this  verse  in  the  probable  origin  (see  ahove)  of  these  altars 
Authorized  Version  is  much  to  be  regretted,  erected  to  unknown  gods  it  will  be  evident 
because  it  entirely  destroys  the  graceful  cour-  that  "  To  THE  Unknown  God  "  would  be 
tesy  of  St.  Paul's  opening  address,  and  repre-  quite  as  near  the  sense  of  the  inscription  upon 
sents  him  as  beginning  his  speech  by  offending  any  particular  one  of  such  altars.  Each  par- 
his  audience.  ticular  altar  was  devoted  to  the  unknown  god 


328  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  x. 

24  God,  who  made  the  world  and  all  things  therein,  seeing  God  dwells  not 

in  the  temples 

that  He  is  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  dwelleth  not  in  tern-  {-s/no^i.  need^ 

25  pies  made  with  hands.'     Neither  is  He  served  by  the  hands  h^  creatures. 
of  men,  as  though  He  needed  any  thing ;  for  it  is  He  that  giveth  unto 

26  all  life,  and  breath,  and  all  things.  And  He  made  of  one  blood  ^  all  the 
nations  of  mankind,  to  dwell  upon  the  face  of  the  whole  earth ;  and 
ordained   to   each   the   appointed   seasons   of   their   existence,  and  the 

27  bounds  of  their  habitation.     That  they  should  seek  God,^  sian  was  creat- 

•'  '     ed  capable  of 

if    haply    they    might    feel    after    Him     and    find    Him,  andoug!unot 
though    He  be  not  far  from   every  one  of  us,  for  in   Him  into'tiie  foiiies 

°  •'  '  of  idolatry, 

28  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being ;    as  certain  also  of  waTadomed" 

,    1  ,  .  J  by  the  art  of 

your  own  poets*  nave  said,  Phidias. 

"  For  we  are  also  His  ofispring." 

29  Forasmuch,  then,  as  we  are  the  ofispring  of  God,  we  ought  not  to 
think  that  the  Godhead  is  like  unto  gold,  or  silver,  or  stone,  graven  by 
the  art  and  device  of  man. 

80  Howbeit,  those  past  times  of  ignorance  God  hath  over-  Sokc'Jftlirp'a'st. 
looked ;  ^  but  now  He   commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  the  worw  to 

prepare  for 

31   repent,  because   He  hath  appointed  a  day  wherein  He  will  ^ent?*^*"^^" 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness,  by  that  Man  whom  He  hath  ordained ; 

to  wbom  it  properly  belonged,  though  which  *  The  quotation  is  from  Aratus,  a  Greek 

of  the  gods  it  might  be  the  dedicator  knew  poet,  who  was  a  native  of  Cilicia ;  a  circum- 

not.  stance  which  would,  perhaps,  account  for  St. 

1  Here  again  (as   at  Antioch  in  Pisidia)  Paul's    familiarity  with    his    writings.      Hia 

we  find  St.  Paul  employing  the  very  words  of  astronomical  poems  were  so  celebrated,  that 

St.  Stephen.    Acts  vii.  48.  Ovid  declares  his  fame  will  live  as  long  as  the 

^  "  0/  one  blood;"  excluding  the  boastful  sun  and  moon  endure.  How  little  did  the 
assumption  of  a  different  origin  claimed  by  the  Athenian  audience  imagine  that  the  poet's  im- 
Greeks  for  themselves  over  the  barbarians.  It  mortality  would  really  be  owing  to  the  quota- 
is  not  necessaiy  to  take  the  words  together  so  tion  made  by  the  despised  provincial  who  ad- 
as  to  mean  "  Ue  caused  to  dwell,"  as  some  in-  dressed  them  !  Nearly  the  same  words  occur 
terpreters  maintain.  also  in  the  hymn  of  Cleanthes.    [  See  p.  5,  n. 

8  The  reading  of  MSS.  A.  B.  G.  H.  &c.  2,  and  p.  318,  n.  4.     The  opening  lines  of 

("  God,"  not  "  Lord  ")  is  the  best.  this  hymn  have  been  thus  translated :  — 

"  Thou,  who  amid  the  Immortals  art  throned  the  highest  in  glory, 
Giver  and  Lord  of  life,  who  by  law  disposest  of  all  things. 
Known  by  many  a  name,  yet  One  Almighty  forever, 
Hail,  O  Zeus  I  for  to  Thee  should  each  mortal  voice  be  uplifted : 
Offspring  are  we  too  of  thine,  we  and  all  that  in  mortal  around  us."  H.J 

•  See  notes  upon  St.  Paul's  speech  at  Lys-  phor  as  "  winked  at"  is  to  be  found  in  the 
tra.     It  shoTild  be  observed  that  no  such  meta-      original. 


OTAP.  X.  DEPAETUEE  FEOM  ATHENS.  329 

Christ's  mission  wliereof  He  hath  giveu  assurance  unto  all,*  in  that  He  hath 

is  proved  by  His         •       -.    tt-         c  ^^        j       j 

resurrection,      raiseu  Him  iroui  the  deaa. 

St.  Paul  was  here  suddenly  interrupted,  as  was  no  doubt  frequently 
the  case  with  his  speeches  both  to  Jews  and  Gentiles.  Some  of  those 
who  listened  broke  out  into  laughter  and  derision.  The  doctrine  of  the 
"  resurrection  "  was  to  them  ridiculous,  as  the  notion  of  equal  religious 
fights  with  the  "  Gentiles  "  was  offensive  and  intolerable  to  the  Hebrew 
audience  at  Jerusalem.^  Others  of  those  who  were  present  on  the  Are- 
opagus said,  with  courteous  indifference,  that  they  would  "  hear  him  again 
on  the  subject."  The  words  were  spoken  in  the  spirit  of  Felix,  who  had 
no  due  sense  of  the  importance  of  the  matter,  and  who  waited  for  "  a 
convenient  season."  Thus,  amidst  the  derision  of  some,  and  the 
indifference  of  others,^  St.  Paul  was  dismissed,  and  the  assembly  dis- 
persed, k 

But  though  the  Apostle  "  departed  "  thus  "  from  among  them,"  and 
though  most  of  his  hearers  appeared  to  be  unimpressed,  yet  many  of 
them  may  have  carried  away  in  their  hearts  the  seeds  of  truth,  destined 
to  grow  up  into  the  maturity  of  Christian  faith  and  practice.  We  can- 
not fail  to  notice  how  the  sentences  of  this  interrupted  speech  are  con- 
structed to  meet  the  cases  in  succession  of  every  class  of  which  the 
audience  was  composed.  Each  word  in  the  address  is  adapted  at  once  to 
win  and  to  rebuke.  The  Athenians  were  proud  of  every  thing  that 
related  to  the  origin  of  their  race  and  the  home  where  they  dwelt.  St. 
Paul  tells  them  that  he  was  struck  by  the  aspect  of  tlieir  city ;  but  he 
shows  them  that  the  place  and  the  time  appointed  for  each  nation's 
existence  are  parts  of  one  great  scheme  of  Providence,  and  that  one 
God  is  the  common  Father  of  all  nations  of  the  earth.  For  the  general 
and  more  ignorant  population,  some  of  whom  were  doubtless  listening,  a 
word  of  approbation  is  bestowed  on  the  care  they  gave  to  the  highest  of 
all  concerns ;  but  they  are  admonished  that  idolatry  degrades  all  wor- 
ship, and  leads  men  away  from  true  notions  of  the  Deity.  That  more 
educated  and  more  imaginative  class  of  hearers,  who  delighted  in  the 
diversified  mythology  which  personified  the  operations  of  nature  and 
locaHzed  the  divine  presence*  in  sanctuaries  adorned  by  poetry  and  art, 
are  led  from  the  thought  of  their  favorite  shrines  and  customary  sacri- 


1  Observe    the    coincidence    between    this  *  The  sacred  grottoes  in  the  rocks  within 

sentiment  and  that  in  Rom.  i.  4.  view  from  the  Areopagus  should  be  remem- 

'^  Acts  xxii.  22.  bered,  as  well  as  the  temples,  &c.     See  Worda- 

^  Some  commentators  find  again  in  these  worth, 
two  classes  the  Stoics  and  Epicureans.     It  is 
•ot  necessary  to  make  so  precise  a  division. 


330  THE   LIFE   AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  x. 

fices,  to  views  of  that  awful  Being  who  is  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
and  the  one  Author  of  universal  life.  "  Up  to  a  certain  point  in  this 
liigh  view  of  the  Supreme  Being,  the  pliilosoplier  of  the  Garden,  as  well 
as  of  the  Porch,  might  listen  with  wonder  and  admiration.  It  soared, 
indeed,  high  above  the  vulgar  religion ;  but  in  the  lofty  and  serene  Deity, 
who  disdained  to  dwell  in  the  earthly  temple,  and  needed  nothing  from 
the  hand  of  man,  the  Epicurean  might  almost  suppose  that  he  heard  the 
language  of  his  own  teacher.  But  the  next  sentence,  which  asserted  the 
providence  of  God  as  the  active,  creative  energy, —  as  the  conservative, 
the  ruling,  the  ordaining  principle,  —  annihilated  at  once  the  atomic 
theory,  and  the  government  of  blind  chance,  to  which  Epicurus  ascribed 
the  origin  and  preservation  of  the  universe."  ^  And  when  the  Stoic 
heard  the  Apostle  say  that  we  ought  to  rise  to  the  contemplation  of  the 
Deity  without  the  intervention  of  earthly  objects,  and  that  we  live  and 
move  and  have  our  being  in  Him  —  it  might  have  seemed  like  an  echo 
of  his  own  thought  ^  —  until  the  proud  philosopher  learnt  that  it  was 
no  pantheistic  diffusion  of  power  and  order  of  which  the  Apostle  spoke, 
but  a  living  centre  of  government  and  love  —  that  the  world  was  ruled, 
not  by  the  iron  necessity  of  Fate,  but  by  the  providence  of  a  personal 
God  —  and  that  from  the  proudest  philosopher  repentance  and  meek 
submission  were  sternly  exacted.  Above  all,  we  are  called  upon  to 
notice  how  the  attention  of  the  whole  audience  is  concentred  at  the 
last  upon  Jesus  Christ,  though  His  name  is  not  mentioned  in  the  whole 
speech.  Before  St.  Paul  was  taken  to  the  Areopagus,  he  had  been 
preaching  "  Jesus  and  the  resurrection  ;  " '  and  though  his  discourse  was 
interrupted,  this  was  the  last  impression  he  left  on  the  minds  of  those 
who  heard  him.  And  the  impression  was  such  as  not  merely  to  excite 
or  gratify  an  intellectual  curiosity,  but  to  startle  and  search  the  con- 
science. Not  only  had  a  revival  from  the  dead  been  granted  to  that  man 
whom  God  had  ordained  —  but  a  day  had  buen  appointed  on  which  by 
Him  the  world  must  be  judged  in  righteousness. 

Of  the  immediate  results  of  this  speech  we  have  no  further  knowledge, 
than  that  DionysiuS,*  a  member  of  the  Court  of  Areopagus,  and  a  woman 
whose  name  was  Damaris,*  with  some  others,  were  induced  to  join 
themselves  to  the  Apostle,  and  became  converts  to  Christianity.     How 

1  Milman's  History  of  Christianity,  vol.  ii.  ^  Acts  xvii.  18. 

p.    18.       See  his  observations  on  the   whole  *  See  above,  p.  325,  n.  3. 

speech.      He  remarks,  in  a  note,  the   coinci-  6  Nothing  is   known  of   Damaris.      But, 

dence  of  St.  Paul's  "  needing  nothing  "  with  considering  the  seclusion  of  the  Greek  women, 

the  "  nihil  indiga  nostri "  of  the  Epicurean  the  mention  of  her  name,  and  apparently  in 

Lucretius.  connection  with  the  crowd  on  the  Areopagus. 

^  This  strikes  us  the  more  forcibly  if  the  quo-  is  remarkable, 
tation  is  from  the  Stoic  Cleanthes.    See  above 


CHAP.  I.  FRUITS   OF  PAUL'S   SOJOUEN  AT  ATHENS.  331 

long  St.  Paul  staid  in  Athens,  and  with  what  success,  cannot  possibly 
be  determined.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  been  driven  away  by  any 
tumult  or  persecution.  We  are  distinctly  told  that  he  waited  for  some 
time  at  Athens,  till  Silas  and  Timotheus  should  join  him ;  and  there  is 
some  reason  for  believing  that  the  latter  of  these  companions  did  rejoin 
him  in  Athens,  and  was  despatched  again  forthwith  to  Macedonia.^  The 
Apostle  himself  remained  in  the  province  of  Achaia,  and  took  up  his 
abode  at  its  capital  on  the  Isthmus.  He  inferred,  or  it  was  revealed  to 
him,  that  the  Gospel  would  meet  with  a  more  cordial  reception  there 
than  at  Athens.  And  it  is  a  serious  and  instructive  fact  that  the  mer- 
cantile populations  of  Thessalouica  and  Corinth  received  the  message  of 
God  with  greater  readhiess  than  the  highly  educated  and  polished  Athe- 
nians. Two  letters  to  the  Thessalonians,  and  two  to  the  Corinthians, 
remain  to  attest  the  flourishing  state  of  those  Churches.  But  we  possess 
no  letter  written  by  St.  Paul  to  the  Athenians  ;  and  we  do  not  read  that 
be  was  ever  m  Atliens  again.^ 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  immediate  results  of  St.  Paul's  sojourn 
at  Athens,  its  real  fruits  are  those  which  remain  to  us  still.  That  speech 
on  the  Areopagus  is  an  imperishable  monument  of  the  first  victory  of 
Christianity  over  Paganisni.  To  make  a  sacred  application  of  the  words 
used  by  Uie  Athenian  historian,^  it  was  "  no  mere  effort  for  the  moment," 
but  it  is  a  "  perpetual  possession,"  wherein  the  Church  finds  ever-fresh 
supplies  of  wisdom  and  guidance.  It  is  in  Athens  we  learn  what  is  the 
highest  point  to  which  unassisted  human  nature  can  attain  ;  and  here  we 
learn  also  the  language  which  the  Gospel  addresses  to  a  man  on  his 
proudest  eminence  of  unaided  strength.  God,  in  His  providence,  has 
preserved  to  us,  in  fullest  profusion,  the  literature  which  unfolds  to  us  all 
the  life  of  the  Athenian  people,  in  its  glory  and  its  shame  ;  and  He  has 
ordained  that  one  conspicuous  passage  in  the  Holy  Volume  should  be  the 
speech,  in  which  His  servant  addressed  that  people  as  ignorant  idolaters, 
called  them  to  repentance,  and  warned  them  of  judgment.  And  it  can 
hardly  be  deemed  profane,  if  we  trace  to  the  same  Divine  Providence  the 
preservation  of  the  very  imagery  which  surrounded  the  speaker  —  not 
only  the  sea,  and  the  mountains,  and  the  sky,  which  change  not  with  the 
decay  of  nations — but  even  the  very  temples,  which  remain,  after  wars 
and  revolutions,  on  their  ancient  pedestals  in  astonishing  perfection.     We 

1  See  1  Thess.  iii.  1.     For  the  movements  flourishing  there  as  ever.     The  Christian  com- 

of  Silas  and  Timotheus  about  this  time,  see  munity  seems  at  one  time  to  have  been  entirely 

the  note  at  p.  338.  dispersed,  and  to  have  been  collected  again 

=^  The  church  of   Athens  appears  to  have  about  a.d.  165.     See  Leake,  p.  6C, 
been  long  in  a  very  weak  state.     In  the  time  ^  Thuc.  i.  22. 

of  the  Antonines,  Paganism   was  almost  as 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  x. 

are  tlius  provided  with  a  poetic  and  yet  a  truthful  commentary  on  the 
words  that  were  spoken  once  for  all  at  Athens  ;  and  Art  and  Nature  have 
been  commissioned  from  above  to  enframe  the  portrait  of  that  Apostle, 
who  stands  forever  on  the  Areopagus  as  the  teacher  of  the  Gentiles. 


Coin  of  Athens. 1 


1  From  the  British  Mnseam.     Thia  coin  shows  the  position  of  ib»  odkMsal  itatne  ef 
Minerra  Promnchns,  facing  the  west. 


CHAPTER  XL 

Letters  to  Thessalonica  written  from  Corinth.  —  Expnision  of  the  Jews  from  Kome.  —  Aqoila 
and  Priscilla. —  St.  Paul's  Labors.  —  Arrival  of  Timothv  and  Silas.  —  First  Epistle  to  the 
Thesmlonians.  —  St.  Paul  is  opposed  by  the  Jews,  and  turns  to  the  Gentiles.  —  His  Vision.  — 
Second  Epistle  to  tlie  Thessalonians.  —  Continued  residence  in  Corinth. 

WHEN  St.  Paul  went  from  Athens  to  Corinth,  he  entered  on  a  scene 
very  different  from  that  which  he  had  left.  It  is  not  merely  that 
his  residence  was  transferred  from  a  free  Greek  city  to  a  Roman  colony ; 
as  would  have  been  the  case  had  he  been  moving  from  Thessalonica  to 
Philippi.^  His  present  journey  took  him  from  a  quiet  provincial  town 
to  the  busy  metropolis  of  a  province,  and  from  the  seclusion  of  an  ancient 
university  to  the  seat  of  government  and  trade.'^  Once  there  had  been  a 
time,  in  the  flourishing  age  of  the  Greek  republics,  when  Athens  had 
been  politically  greater  than  Corinth :  but  now  that  the  little  territories 
of  the  Levantine  cities  were  fused  into  the  larger  political  divisions  of 
the  empire,  Athens  had  only  the  memory  of  its  pre-eminence,  while 
Corinth  held  the  keys  of  commerce  and  swarmed  with  a  crowded  popu- 
lation. Both  cities  had  recently  experienced  severe  vicissitudes,  but  a 
spell  was  on  the  fortunes  of  the  former,  and  its  character  remained  more 
entirely  Greek  than  that  of  any  other  place :  ^  while  the  latter  rose  from 
its  ruins,  a  new  and  splendid  city,  on  the  Isthmus  between  its  two  seas, 
where  a  multitude  of  Greeks  and  Jews  gradually  united  themselves  with 
the  military  colonists  sent  by  Julius  Caesar  from  Italy,*  and  were  kept  in 
order  by  the  presence  of  a  Roman  proconsul.* 

The  connection  of  Corinth  with  the  life  of  St.  Paul  and  the  early  prog- 
ress of  Christianity  is  so  close  and  eventful,  that  no   student  of  Holy 

1  See  above,  p.  288.  Julius  Caesar  established  the  city  on  the  Isth- 

2  A  journey  in  the  first  century  from  Ath-  mus,  in  the  form  of  a  colony ;  and  the  mer- 
ens  to  Corinth  might  almost  be  compared  to  a  cantile  population  flocked  back  to  their  old 
journey,  in  the  eighteenth,  from  Oxford  to  place ;  so  that  Corinth  rose  with  great  rapidity, 
London.  For  the  probabilities  of  St.  Paul's  till  it  was  a  city  of  the  second  rank  in  tnc 
actual  route,  see  notes  on  p.  356.  Empire.     The  historical  details  will  be  given 

^  See  the  preceding  chapter  on  Athens.  in  the  next  chapter. 

*  At  the  close  of  the  Republic,  Corinth  was  ^  ^cts  xviii.  12  shows  that  the  province  of 

entirely  destroyed.     Thus  we  find  Cicero  trav-      Achaia  was  proconsular.     See,  under  Cyprus, 
elling,  not  by  Corinth,  but  by  Athens.     But      pp.  129-131. 

833 


334  THE  LITE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xi. 

Writ  ought  to  be  satisfied  without  obtaining  as  correct  and  clear  an  idea 
as  possible  of  its  social  condition,  and  its  relation  to  other  parts  of  the 
Empire.  This  subject  will  be  considered  in  the  succeeding  chapter.  At 
present  another  topic  demands  our  chief  attention.  We  are  now  arrived 
at  that  point  in  the  life  of  St.  Paul  when  his  first  Epistles  were  written. 
This  fact  is  ascertained,  not  by  any  direct  statements  either  in  the  Acts 
or  the  Epistles  themselves,  but  by  circumstantial  evidence  derived  from  a 
comparison  of  these  documents  with  one  another.^  Such  a  comparison 
enables  us  to  perceive  that  the  Apostle's  mind,  on  his  arrival  at  Corinth, 
was  still  turning  with  afifection  and  anxiety  towards  his  converts  at  Thes- 
salonica.  In  the  midst  of  all  his  labors  at  the  Isthmus,  his  thoughts 
were  continually  with  those  whom  he  had  left  in  Macedonia ;  and  though 
the  narrative-  tells  us  only  of  his  tent-making  and  preaching  in  the 
metropolis  of  Achaia,  we  discover,  on  a  closer  inquiry,  that  the  Letters  to 
the  Thessalonians  were  written  at  this  particular  crisis.  It  would  be 
interesting,  in  the  case  of  any  man  whose  biography  has  been  thought 
worth  preserving,  to  find  that  letters  full  of  love  and  wisdom  had  been 
written  at  a  time  when  no  traces  would  have  been  discoverable,  except 
in  the  letters  themselves,  of  the  thoughts  which  had  been  occupying  the 
writer's  mind.  Such  unexpected  association  of  the  actions  done  in  one 
place  with  affection  retained  towards  another,  always  seems  to  add  to 
our  personal  knowledge  of  the  man  whose  history  we  may  be  studying, 
and  to  our  interest  in  the  pursuits  which  were  the  occupation  of  his  life. 
This  is  peculiarly  true  in  the  case  of  the  first  Christian  correspondence^ 
which  has  been  preserved  to  the  Church.  Such  has  ever  been  the  influ- 
ence of  letter-writing,  —  its  power  in  bringing  those  who  are  distant 
near  to  one  another,  and  reconciling  those  who  are  in  danger  of  being 
estranged  ;  —  such  especially  has  been  the  influence  of  Cliristian  letters 
in  developing  the  growth  of  faith  and  love,  and  binding  together  the  dis- 
located members  of  the  body  of  our  Lord,  and  in  making  each  generation 
in  succession  the  teacher  of  the  next,  —  that  we  have  good  reason  to  take 
these  Epistles  to  tlie  Thessalonians  as  tlie  one  chief  subject  of  tlie  present 
chapter.  The  earliest  occurrences  which  took  place  at  Corinth  must 
first  be  mentioned  :  but  for  this  a  few  pages  will  suffice. 

The  reasons  which  determined  St.  Paul  to  come  to  Corinth  (over  and 
above  the  discouragement  he  seems  to  have  met  with  in  Athens)  were, 
probably,  twofold.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  a  large  mercantile  city,  in 
immediate  connection  with  Rome  and  the  West  of  the  Mediterranean, 
with  Thessalonica  and  Ephesus  in  the  ^gean,  and  with  Antioch  and 
Alexandria  in  the  East.'    The  Gospel  once  established  in  Corinth,  would 

1  See  the  arguments  below,  p.  340,  n.  0.  '  For  full  details,  see  the  next  chapter. 

'  Acts  x'^^iii.  1-4. 


CHAP.  XI.  EXPULSION   OF  THE   JEWS  FROM  ROME.  335 

rapidly  spread  everywhere.  And,  again,  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
city,  the  Jews  established  there  were  numerous.  Communities  of  scat- 
tered Israelites  were  found  in  various  parts  of  the  province  of  Achaia, — 
in  Athens,  as  we  have  recently  seen,^  —  in  Argos,  as  we  learn  from  Philo, 
—  in  Boeotia  and  Euboea.  But  their  chief  settlement  must  necessarily 
have  been  in  that  city,  which  not  only  gave  opportunities  of  trade  by 
land  along  the  Isthmus  between  the  Morea  and  the  Continent,  but  received 
in  its  two  harbors  the  ships  of  the  Eastern  and  Westerja  Seas.  A  religion 
which  was  first  to  be  planted  in  the  Synagogue,  and  was  thence  intended 
to  scatter  its  seeds  over  all  parts  of  the  earth,  could  nowhere  find  a  more 
favorable  soil  than  among  the  Hebrew  families  at  Corinth.^ 

At  this  particular  time  there  was  a  greater  number  of  Jews  in  the  city 
than  usual ;  for  they  had  lately  been  banished  from  Rome  by  command 
of  the  Emperor  Claudius.'  The  history  of  this  edict  is  involved  in  some 
obscurity.  But  there  are  abundant  passages  in  the  contemporary  Hea- 
then writers  which  show  the  suspicion  and  dislike  with  which  the  Jews 
were  regarded.*  Notwithstanding  the  general  toleration,  they  were 
violently  persecuted  by  three  successive  Emperors  ;  *  and  there  is  good 
reason  for  identifying  the  edict  mentioned  by  St.  Luke  with  that  alluded 
to  by  Suetonius,  who  says  that  Claudius  drove  the  Jews  from  Rome  be- 
cause they  were  incessantly  raising  tumults  at  the  instigation  of  a  certain 
Chrestus.^  Much  has  been  written  concerning  this  sentence  of  the 
biographer  of  the  Cassars.  Some  have  held  that  there  was  really  a  Jew 
called  Chrestus,  who  had  excited  political  disturbances,  others  that  the 
name  is  used  by  mistake  for  Christus,  and  that  the  disturbances  had 
arisen  from  the  Jewish  expectations  concerning  the  Messiah,  or  Christ. 
It  seems  to  us  that  the  last  opinion  is  partially  true  ;  but  that  we  must 
trace  this  luuvement  not  merely  to  the  vague  Messianic  idea  entertained 
by  tlie  Jews,  but  to  the  events  which  followed  the  actual  appearance  of 
the  Christ.  We  have  seen  how  the  first  progress  of  Christianity  had  been 
the  occasion  of  tumult  among  the  Jewish  communities  in  the  provinces  ;  "^ 
and  there  is  no  reason  why  the  same  might  not  have  happened  in  the 
capital  itself.^  Nor  need  we  be  surprised  at  the  inaccurate  form  in 
which   the  name  occurs,  when  we  remembe.r  how  loosely  more  careful 

1  See  the  preceding  chapter,  p.  313.  secution  of  Caligula  has  been  mentioned  previ- 

2  See  what  has  been  said  above  on  Thessa-      ously,  Ch.  IV.  pp.  102,  103. 

lonica.  "  The  words  are  quoted  p.  262,  n.  2.    Com- 

3  Acts  xviii.  2.  pare  p.  287. 

*  Tacitus,  for  instance,  and  Juvenal.     See  ''  In  Asia  Minor  (Ch. VI.),  and  more  espe- 

the  quotation  from  Cicero,  p.  262,  n.  1.  cially  in  Thessalonica  and  Bercea  (Ch.  IX.). 

^  Four  thousand  Jews  or  Jewish  proselytes  *  Christianity  must  have  been  more  or  less 

were  sent  as  convicts  by  Tiberius  to  the  island  known  in  Rome  since  the  return  of  the  Italian 

of  Sardinia.     The  more  directly  religious  per-  Jews  from  Pentecost  (Acts  ii.). 


336  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xi. 

writers  than  Suetonius  express  themselves  concerning  the  aflfairs  of  the 
Jews.^  Chrestus  was  a  common  name  ;  ^  Christus  was  not :  and  we  have 
a  distinct  statement  by  Tertullian  and  Lactantius '  that  in  their  day  the 
former  was  often  used  for  the  latter.* 

A  moug  the  Jews  who  had  been  banished  from  Rome  by  Claudius,  and 
had  settled  for  a  time  at  Corinth,  were  two  natives  of  Pontus,  whose 
names  were  Aquila  and  Priscilla.^  We  have  seen  before  (Ch.  YIII.) 
that  Pontus  denoted  a  province  of  Asia  Minor  on  the  shores  of  the 
Euxine,  and  we  have  noticed  some  political  facts  which  tended  to  bring 
this  province  into  relations  with  Judaea.^  Though,  indeed,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  allude  to  this :  for  there  were  Jewish  colonies  over  every 
part  of  Asia  Minor,  and  we  are  expressly  told  that  Jews  from  Pontus 
heard  St.  Peter's  first  sermon''  and  read  his  first  Epistle.^  Aquila  and 
Priscilla  were,  perhaps,  of  that  number.  Their  names  have  a  Roman 
form ;  ^  and  we  may  conjecture  that  they  were  brought  into  some  con- 
nection with  a  Roman  family,  similar  to  that  which  we  have  supposed 
to  have  existed  in  the  case  of  St.  Paul  himself.^"^  We  find  they  were  on 
the  present  occasion  forced  to  leave  Rome  ;  and  we  notice  that  they  are 
afterwards  addressed  "  as  residing  there  again  ;  so  that  it  is  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  the  metropolis  was  their  stated  residence.  Yet  we 
observe  that  they  frequently  travelled ;  and  we  trace  them  on  the  Asiatic 
coast  on  two  distinct  occasions,  separated  by  a  wide  interval  of  time. 
First,  before  their  return  to  Italy  (Acts  xviii.  18,  26  ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  19), 
and  again,  shortly  before  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Paul  (2  Tim.  iv.  19),  we 
find  them  at  Ephesus.  From  the  manner  in  which  they  are  referred  to 
as  having  Christian  meetings  in  their  houses,  both  at  Ephesus  and  Rome," 

1  Even  Tacitus.  of  good  education.      Her  name  appears  in 

2  Moreover,  Christus  and  Chrestus  are  pro-  2  Tim.  iv.  19  (also,  according  lo  the  best 
nounced  alike  in  Romaic.  MSS.,    in    Rom.    xvi.    3),   under  the    form 

3  See  the  passages  quoted  by  Dean  Milman  "  Prisca."  So,  in  Latin  authors,  '  Livia  "  and 
{Hist,  of  Christianity,  I.  p.  430),  who  remarks  "  Livilla,"  "  Drusa  "  and  "  Drusilla,"  are  used 
that  these  tumults  at  Rome,  excited  by  the  of  the  same  person.  Prisca  is  well  known  as 
mutual  hostility  of  Jews  and  Christians,  imply  a  Roman  name. 

that  Christianity  must  already  have  made  con-  It  is  well  worthy  of  notice  that  in  both 

siderable  progress  there.  cases  St.  Paul  mentions  the  name  of  Priscilla 

*  See  pp.  Ill,  112,  apdTac.  .4nn.  XV.  44.  before  that  of   Aquila.       This    conveys    the 

*  Acts  xviii.  2.  impression   that  she  was  the  more  energetic 

6  Especially  the  maiiiage  of  Polesno  with  character  of  the  two.  See  the  notice  of  these 
Berenice,  p.  23  and  p.  213.  two    Christians    by    the  Archdeacon    Evans 

7  _Actg  ii,  9.  (Script.  Biog.),  and  his  remarks  on  the  proba- 

8  I  pej  i,  i_  ble  usefulness  of  Priscilla  with   reference  to 
»  See  p.  136,  also  p.  44.      From  the  men-      female  converts,  the  training  of  Deaconesses, 

tion  of  Priscilla  as  St.  Paul's  "  fellow-labor-      &c.     Compare  the  note  on  Rom.  xvi.  3. 
er,"  and  as  one  of  the  instructors  of  Apollos,  ^'^  P.  43.  "  Rom.  xvi.  3. 

we  might  naturally  infer  that  she  was  a  woman  ''  Rom.  xvi.  3  ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  19. 


CHAP.  XI.  AQTJILA  AJSTD   PRISCILLA.  337 

we  should  be  inclined  to  conclude  that  they  were  possessed  of  some 
considerable  wealth.  The  trade  at  which  they  labored,  or  which  at  least 
they  superintended,  was  the  manufacture  of  tents,^  the  demand  for 
which  must  have  been  continual  in  that  age  of  travelling,  —  while  the 
cilicium^^  or  hair-cloth,  of  which  they  were  made,  could  easily  be  pro- 
cured at  every  large  town  in  the  Levant. 

A  question  has  been  raised  as  to  whether  Aquila  and  Priscilla  were 
already  Christians  when  they  met  with  St.  Paul.^  Though  it  is  cer- 
tainly possible  that  they  may  have  been  converted  at  Rome,  we  think,  on 
the  whole,  that  this  was  probably  not  the  case.  They  are  simply  classed 
with  the  other  Jews  who  were  expelled  by  Claudius ;  and  we  are  told 
that  the  reason  why  St.  Paul  "  came  and  attached  himself  to  them "  * 
was  not  because  they  had  a  common  religion,  but  because  they  had  a 
common  trade.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  connection  soon 
resulted  in  their  conversion  to  Christianity.*  The  trade  which  St.  Paul's 
father  had  taught  him  in  his  youth  ®  was  thus  made  the  means  of  procur- 
ing him  invaluable  associates  in  the  noblest  work  in  which  man  was  ever 
engaged.  No  higher  example  can  be  found  of  the  possibility  of  combin- 
ing diligent  labor  in  the  common  things  of  life  with  the  utmost  spiritual- 
ity of  mind.  Those  who  might  have  visited  Aquila  at  Corinth  in  the 
working-hours  would  have  found  St.  Paul  quietly  occupied  with  the 
same  task  as  his  fellow-laborers.  Though  he  knew  the  Gospel  to  be  a 
matter  of  life  and  death  to  the  soul,  he  gave  himself  to  an  ordinary 
trade  with  as  much  zeal  as  though  he  had  no  other  occupation.  It  is  the 
duty  of  every  man  to  maintain  an  honorable  independence  ;  and  this,  he 
felt,  was  peculiarly  incumbent  on  him,  for  the  sake  of  the  Gospel  he 
came  to  proclaim.''  He  knew  the  obloquy  to  which  he  was  likely  to  be 
exposed,  and  he  prudently  prepared  for  it.  The  highest  motives  instigat- 
ed his  diligence  in  the  commonest  manual  toil.  And  this  toil  was  no 
hinderance  to  that  communion  with  God,  which  was  his  greatest  joy,  and 
the  source  of  all  his  peace.  While  he  "  labored,  working  with  his  own 
hands,"  among  the  Corinthians,  as  he  afterwards  reminded  them,*  —  in 


^  Many  meanings  have  been  given  by  the  *  Acts  xviii.  2. 

commentators  to  the  word,  —  weavers  of  tap-  ^  They  were  Christians,  ana  able  to  instruct 

estry,     saddlers,     mathematical    instrument-  others,  when  St.  Paul  left  them  at  Ephesug, 

makers,  ropemakers.     But  nothing  is  so  prob-  on  his  voyage  from  Corinth   to  Syria.     See 

able  as  that  they  were  simply  makers  of  those  Acts  xviii.  18,  26. 
hair-cloth  tents,  which  are  still  in  constant  use  ^  See  p.  44. 

in  the  Levant.     That  they  were  manufacturers  "^  See  what  is  said  above  in  reference  to  bis 

of  the  cloth  itself  is  less  likely.  labors   at  Thessalonica,  pp.    284,   285.     We 

2  An  account  of  this  cloth  is  given  in  Ch.  shall  meet  with  the  same  subject  again  in  the 

n.  p.  44.     See  p.  150  and  p.  284.  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians. 

'  See  the  various  commentators.  *  1  Cor.  iv.  12. 

22 


338 


THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


his  heart  he  was  praying  continually,  with  thanksgiving,  on  behalf  of  the 
Thessalonians,  as  he  says  to  them  himself^  in  the  letters  which  he  dictat- 
ed in  the  intervals  of  his  labor. 

This  was  the  first  scene  of  St.  Paul's  life  at  Corinth.  For  the  second 
scene  we  must  turn  to  the  synagogue.  The  Sabbath  ^  was  a  day  of  rest. 
On  that  day  the  Jews  laid  aside  their  tent-making  and  their  other  trades, 
and,  amid  the  derision  of  their  Gentile  neighbors,  assembled  in  the  house 
of  prayer  to  worship  the  God  of  their  ancestors.  There  St.  Paul  spoke 
to  them  of  the  "  mercy  promised  to  their  forefathers,"  and  of  the  "  oath 
sworn  to  Abraham,"  being  "  performed."  There  his  countrymen  listened 
with  incredulity  or  conviction  ;  and  the  tent-maker  of  Tarsus  "  reasoned  " 
with  them,  and  "  endeavored  to  persuade  "  ^  both  the  Jews  and  the  Gen- 
tiles who  were  present  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  promised  Messiah 
and  the  Saviour  of  the  "World. 

While  these  two  employments  were  proceeding,  —  the  daily  labor  in 
the  workshop,  and  the  weekly  discussions  in  the  synagogue,  —  Timotheus 
and  Silas  returned  from  Macedonia.*  The  effect  produced  by  their 
arrival  *  seems  to  have  been  an  instantaneous  increase  of  the  zeal  and 


»  1  Thess.  i.  2,  ii.  13  ;  2  Thess.  i.  IL 
2  See  Acts  xviii.  4. 

*  This  is  the  sense  of  the  imperfect. 

*  Acts  xviii.  5.  We  may  remark  here  that 
Silas  and  Timotheus  were  probably  the 
"  brethren  "  who  brought  the  collection  men- 
tioned 2  Cor.  xi.  9.     Compare  Phil.  iv.  15. 

*  There  are  some  difficulties  and  differences 
of  opinion,  with  regard  to  the  movements  of 
Silas  and  Timotheus,  between  the  time  when 
St.  Paul  left  them  in  Macedonia  and  their 
rejoining  him  in  Achaia. 

The  facts  which  are  distinctly  stated  are  as 
follows.  (1.)  Silas  and  Timotheus  were  left 
at  Bcroea  (Acts  xvii.  14)  when  St.  Paul  went 
to  Athens.  We  are  not  told  why  they  were 
left  there,  or  what  commissions  they  received  ; 
but  the  Apostle  sent  a  message  from  Athens 
(Acts  xvii.  15)  that  they  should  follow  him 
with  all  speed,  and  (Acts  xvii.  16)  he  waited 
for  them  there.  (2.)  The  Apostle  was  rejoined 
by  them  when  at  Corinth  (Acts  xviii.  5). 
We  are  not  informed  how  they  had  been  em- 
ployed in  the  interval,  but  they  came  "  from 
Macedonia."  It  is  not  distinctly  said  that  they 
came  together,  but  the  imjircssion  at  first  sight  is 
tlia't  they  did.  (3.)  St.  Paul  informs  us  (1  Thess. 
iii.  1)  that  he  was  "  left  in  Athens  alone,"  and 
that  this  solitude  was  in  consequence  of  Timothy 
having  been  sent  to  Theasalonica  ( 1  Thess.  iii. 


2).  Though  it  is  not  expressly  stated  that 
Timothy  was  sent  from  •  Athens,  the  first 
impression  is  that  he  was. 

Thus  there  is  a  seeming  discrepancy  be 
tween  the  Acts  and  Epistles;  a  journey  of 
Timotheus  to  Athens,  previous  to  his  arrival 
with  Silas  at  Corinth,  appearing  to  be  men- 
tioned by  St.  Paul,  and  to  be  quite  unnoticed 
by  St.  Luke. 

Paley,  in  the  Horce  Paulince,  says  that  the 
Epistle  "  virtually  asserts  that  Timothy  came 
to  the  Apostle  at  Athens,"  and  assumes  that 
it  is  "  necessary  "  to  suppose  this,  in  order  to 
reconcile  the  history  with  the  Epistle.  And 
he  points  out  three  intimations  in  the  history, 
which  make  the  arrival,  though  not  expressly 
mentioned,  extremely  probable :  —  first,  the 
message  that  they  should  come  with  all  speed; 
secondly,  the  fact  of  his  waiting  for  them; 
thirdly,  the  absence  of  any  appearance  of 
haste  in  his  departure  from  Athens  to  Corinth. 
"  Paul  had  ordered  Timothy  to  follow  him  with- 
out delay  :  he  waited  at  Athens  on  purpose 
that  Timothy  might  come  up  with  him,  and 
he  staid  there  as  long  as  his  own  choice  led 
him  to  continue." 

This  explanation  is  satisfactory.  But  two 
others  might  be  suggested,  which  would 
equally  remove  the  difficulty. 

It  is  not  expressly  said  that  TMuotheus  was 


ARRIVAL  OF  SILAS  AN"D  TIMOTHEUS. 


339 


energy  with  which  St.  Paul  resisted  the  opposition,  which  was  even  now 
beginning  to  hem  in  the  progress  of  the  truth.  The  remarkable  word  ^ 
which  is  used  to  describe  the  "^resswre"  which  he  experienced  at  this 
moment  in  the  course  of  his  teaching  at  Corinth,  is  the  same  whicli  is 
employed  of  our  Lord  Himself  in  a  solemn  passage  of  the  Gospels,^  when 
He  says,  "  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized  with  ;  and  how  am  I  straitened 
till  it  be  accomplished  !  "  He  who  felt  our  human  difficulties  has  given 
us  human  help  to  aid  us  in  what  He  requires  us  to  do.  When  St.  Paul's 
companions  rejoined   him,  he  was  re-enforced  with  new  earnestness  and 


sent  from  Athens  to  Thessalonica.  St.  Paul 
was  anxious,  as  we  have  seen,  to  revisit  the 
Thcssalonians ;  but  since  he  was  hindered 
from  doing  so,  it  is  highly  probable  (as  Hem- 
sen  and  Wieseler  suppose)  that  he  may  have 
sent  Timotheus  to  them  from  Dcrcea.  Silas 
•might  be  sent  on  some  similar  commission,  and 
this  would  explain  why  the  two  companions 
were  left  behind  in  Macedonia.  This  would 
necessarily  cause  St.  Paul  to  be  "  left  alone  in 
Athens."  Such  solitude  was  doubtless  pain- 
ful to  him  ;  but  the  spiritual  good  of  the  new 
converts  was  at  stake.  The  two  companions, 
after  finishing  the  work  intrusted  to  them, 
finally  rejoined  the  Apostle  at  Corinth.  [We 
should  observe  that  the  phrase  is  "from 
Macedonia,"  not  "from  Beroea."]  That  he 
"  waited  for  them  "  at  Athens  need  cause  us 
no  dilBculty  :  for  in  those  days  the  arrival  of 
travellers  could  not  confidently  be  known  be- 
forehand. When  he  left  Athens  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Corinth,  he  knew  that  Silas  and 
Timotheus  could  easily  ascertain  his  move- 
ments, and  follow  his  steps,  by  help  of  infor- 
mation obtained  at  the  synagogue. 

But,  again,  we  may  reasonably  suppose, 
that,  in  the  course  of  St.  Paul's  stay  at 
Corinth,  he  may  have  paid  a  second  visit  to 
Athens,  after  the  first  arrival  of  Timotheus 
and  Silas  from  Macedonia;  and  that  during 
some  such  visit  he  may  have  sent  Timotheus 
to  Thessalonica.  This  view  may  be  taken 
without  our  supposing,  with  Bottger,  that  the 
First  Epistle  to  the  Thcssalonians  was  written 
at  Athens.  Schrader  and  others  imagine  a 
visit  to  that  city  at  a  later  period  of  his  life  ; 
but  this  view  cannot  be  admitted  without  de- 
ranging the  arguments  for  the  date  of  1  Thess., 
which  was  evidently  written  soon  after  leav- 
ing Macedonia. 

Two  further  remarks  may  be  added.  (L) 
\f  Timothy  did  rejoin  St.  Paul  at  Athens,  we 


need  not  infer  that  Silas  was  not  with  him, 
from  the  fact  that  the  name  of  Silas  is  not 
mentioned.  It  is  usually  taken  for  granted 
that  the  second  arrival  of  Timothy  (1  Thess. 
iii.  6)  is  identical  with  the  coming  of  Silas 
and  Timotheus  to  Corinth  (Acts  xviii.  5)  ; 
but  here  we  see  that  only  Timothy  is  men- 
tioned, doubtless  because  he  was  most  recently 
and  familiarly  known  at  Thessalonica,  and  per- 
haps, also,  because  the  mission  of  Silas  was  to 
some  other  place.  (2.)  On  the  other  hand,  it 
is  not  neccessai-y  to  assume,  because  Silas  and 
Timotheus  are  mentioned  together  (Acts 
xviii.  .5),  that  they  came  together.  All  condi- 
tions are  satisfied  if  they  came  about  the  same 
time.  If  they  were  sent  on  missions  to  two 
different  places,  the  times  of  their  return 
would  not  necessarily  coincide.  [Something 
may  be  implied  in  the  form  of  the  Greek 
phrase,  "  Silas  as  well  as  Timotheus."]  In 
considering  all  these  journeys,  it  is  very  need- 
ful to  take  into  account  that  they  would  be 
modified  by  the  settled  or  unsettled  state  of 
the  country  with  regai'd  to  banditti,  and  by 
the  various  opportunities  of  travelling,  which 
depend  on  the  season  and  the  weather,  and  the 
sailing  of  vessels.  Hinderances  connected 
with  some  such  considerations  may  be  referred 
to  in  Phil.  iv.  10. 

1  The  state  of  mind,  whatever  it  was,  is 
clearly  connected  with  the  coming  of  Timo- 
thy and  Silas,  and  seems  to  imply  increasing 
zeal  with  increasing  opposition.  "Instabat 
verbo."  Compare  uvdyKri,  1  Thess.  iii.  7. 
The  A.  V.  rests  on  an  incorrect  reading, 
though  the  general  result  is  the  same.  Hack- 
ett's  note  is  very  much  to  the  purpose.  "  Ht 
was  engrossed  with  the  word.  The  an-ival  of 
his  associates  relieved  him  from  anxiety  which 
had  pressed  heavily  upon  him ;  and  he  could 
now  devote  himself  with  unabated  energy  to 
his  work."  ^  Luke  xii.  50. 


340  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xi. 

vigor  ill  combating  tbe  difBciilties  which  met  him.  He  acknowledges 
himself  that  he  was  at  Corinth  "  in  weakness,  and  in  fear  and  much 
trembling ;  "  ^  but  "  God,  who  comforteth  those  that  are  cast  down,  com- 
forted him  by  the  arrival "  ^  of  his  friends.  It  was  only  one  among  many 
instances  we  shall  be  called  to  notice,  in  which,  at  a  time  of  weakness, 
"  he  saw  the  brethren  and  took  courage."  ^ 

But  this  was  not  the  only  result  of  tlie  arrival  of  St.  Paul's  com 
panions.  Timotheus  *  had  been  sent,  while  St.  Paul  was  still  at  Athens, 
to  revisit  and  establish  the  Church  of  Thessalonica.  The  news  he 
brought  on  his  return  to  St.  Paul  caused  the  latter  to  write  to  these  be- 
loved converts  ;  and,  as  we  have  already  observed,  the  letter  which  he 
sent  them  is  the  first  of  his  Epistles  which  has  been  preserved  to  us.  It 
seems  to  have  been  occasioned  partly  by  his  wish  to  express  his  earnest 
aflfection  for  the  Thessalonian  Christians,  and  to  encourage  them  under 
their  persecutions  ;  but  it  was  also  called  for  by  some  errors  into  which 
they  had  fallen.  Many  of  the  new  converts  were  uneasy  about  the  state 
of  their  relatives  or  friends,  who  had  died  since  their  conversion.  They 
feared  that  these  departed  Christians  would  lose  the  happiness  of  witness- 
ing their  Lord's  second  coming,  which  they  expected  soon  to  behold.  In 
this  expectation  others  had  given  themselves  up  to  a  religious  excitement, 
under  the  influence  of  which  they  persuaded  themselves  that  they  need 
not  continue  to  work  at  the  business  of  their  callings,  but  might  claim 
support  from  the  richer  members  of  the  Church.  Others,  again,  had 
yielded  to  the  same  temptations  which  afterwards  influenced  the  Corin- 
thian Church,  and  despised  the  gift  of  prophesying*  in  comparison  with 
those  otlier  gifts  which  afforded  more  opportunity  for  display.  These 
reasons,  and  others  which  will  appear  in  the  letter  itself,  led  St.  Paul  to 
write  to  the  Thessaloniaus  as  follows  :  — 

FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE  THESSALONIANS.« 

6. 1       PAUL,  and  Silvanus,  and  Timotheus,  TO  THE  CHURCH  salutation. 
OF  THE  THESSALONIANS,  in  God  our  Father,  and  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

1  1  Cor.  ii.  3.  sion  of  the  Thessalonians  (1   Thess.  i.  8,  9), 

2  2  Cor.  vii.  6.  while  the  tidings  of  it  were  still  spreading  (the 

*  Acts  xxviii.  15.     See  above  on  his  soli-      verb  is  in  the  present  tense)  through  Macedo- 
tude  in  Athens,  p.  313.  nia  and  Achaia,  and  while   St.   Paul   could 

*  See  above,  p.  331.  speak  of  himself  as  only  taken  from  them  for 
6  1  Thess.  V.  20.  a  short  season  (1  Thess.  ii.  17).  (2.)  St. 
8  The  correctness  of  the  date  here  assigned       Paul  had  been  recently  at  Athens  (iii.  1),  and 

to  this  Epistle  may  be  proved  as  follows  :  —  had  already  j)rcached  in  Achaia  (i.  7,  8).  (3.) 
(1.)  It  was  written  not  long  after  the  conver-      Timotheus  and  Silas  were  jurf   returned  (iii. 


FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE  THESSALOJSriANS. 


341 


Grace ^  be  to  you  and  peace. 


Thanksgiving 
for  their  cor  ■ 
version. 


1  give '  continual  thanks  to  God  for  you  all,  and   make  i.  2 
mention  of  you  in  my  prayers  witliout  ceasing ;  remembering,     3 
in  the  presence  of  our  God  and  Father,  the  working  of  your  faith,  and 
the  labors  of  your  love,  and  the  steadfastness  of  your  hope  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.*     Brethren,  beloved  by  God,  I  know  how  God  has  chosen     4 
you  ;  for  my  Glad-tidings  came  to  you,  not  only  in  word,  but  also  in     5 
power  ;  with  the  might  of  the   Holy  Spirit,  and  with  the  full  assurance 
of  belief.'     As  you,  likewise,  know  the  manner  in  which  I  behaved  my- 
self among  you,  for  your  sakes.   Moreover,  you  followed  in  my  steps,  and     6 


6)  from  Macedonia,  which  happened  (Acts 
xviii.  5)  soon  after  St.  Paul's  first  arrival  at 
Corinth. 

We  have  already  observed  (Ch.  IX.  p. 
285),  that  the  character  of  these  Epistles  to 
the  Thessalonians  proves  how  predominant 
was  the  Gentile  element  in  that  church,  and 
that  they  are  among  the  very  few  letters  of 
St.  Paul  in  which  not  a  single  quotation  from 
the  Old  Testament  is  to  be  found.  The  use, 
liowever,  of  the  word  "  Satan  "  (  1  Thess.  ii. 
18,  and  2  Thess.  ii.  9)  might  be  adduced  as 
implying  some  previous  knowledge  of  Juda- 
ism in  those  to  whom  the  letter  was  addressed. 
See  also  the  note  on  2  Thess.  ii.  8. 

1  This  salutation  occurs  in  all  St.  Paul's 
Epistles,  except  the  three  Pastoral  Epistles, 
where  it  is  changed  into  "  Grace,  mercy,  and 
peace." 

^  The  remainder  of  this  verse  has  been 
introduced  into  the  Textus  Receptus  by  mis- 
take in  this  place,  where  it  is  not  found  in  the 
best  MSS.  It  properly  belongs  to  2  Thess. 
i.  2. 

^  It  is  important  to  observe  in  this  place, 
once  for  all,  that  St.  Paul  uses  "  we,"  accord- 
ing to  the  idiom  of  many  ancient  writers, 
where  a  modern  writer  would  use  "  /."  Great 
confusion  is  caused  in  many  passages  by  not 
translating,  according  to  his  true  meaning,  in 
the  first  person  singular ;  for  thus  it  often  hap- 
pens, that  what  he  spoke  of  himself  individ- 
ually appears  to  us  as  if  it  were  meant  for  a 
general  truth  :  instances  will  occur  repeatedly 
of  this  in  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians, 
especially  the  Second.  It  might  have  been 
supposed,    that    when     St.    Paul     associated 


others  with  himself  in  the  salutation  at  the 
beginning  of  an  epistle,  he  meant  to  indicate 
that  the  epistle  proceeded  from  them  as  well  as 
from  himself;  but  an  examination  of  the  body 
of  the  Epistle  will  always  convince  us  that 
such  was  not  the  case,  but  that  he  was  the  sole 
author.  For  example,  in  the  present  Epistle, 
Silvanus  and  Timotheus  are  joined  with  him 
in  the  salutauon;  but  yet  we  find  (ch.  iii. 
1,  2)  —  "we  thought  it  good  to  be  left  in 
Athens  alone,  and  sent  Timothy  our  brother." 
Now,  who  was  it  who  thought  fit  to  be  left 
at  Athens  alone  ?  Plainly  St.  Paul  himself, 
and  he  only  ;  neither  Timotheus  (who  is  here 
expressly  excluded)  nor  Silvanus  (who  proba- 
bly did  not  rejoin  St.  Paul  till  afterwards 
at  Corinth,  Acts  xviii.  5,  and  see  the  note, 
p.  338)  being  included.  Ch.  iii.  6  is  not  less 
decisive  — "  but  now  that  Timotheus  is  just 
come  to  MS  from  you"  —  when  we  remember 
that  Silvanus  came  with  Timotheus.  Several 
other  passages  in  the  Epistle  prove  the  same 
thing,  but  these  may  sufiice. 

It  is  true,  that  sometimes  the  ancient  idiom 
in  which  a  writer  spoke  of  himself  in  the  plu- 
ral is  more  graceful,  and  seems  less  egotistical, 
than  the  modern  usage ;  but  yet  (the  modern 
usage  being  what  it  is)  a  literal  translation  of 
the  /)|U«f  very  often  conveys  a  confused  iilea  of 
the  meaning ;  and  it  appears  better,  therefore, 
to  translate  according  to  the  modem  idiom. 

*  St.  Paul  is  here  referring  to  the  time  when 
he  first  visited  and  converted  the  Thessalo- 
nians ;  the  "  hope  "  spoken  of  was  the  hope  of 
our  Lord's  coming, 

^  In  illustration  of  the  word  here  we  ma^ 
refer  to  Rom.  xiv.  5,  and  Heb.  x.  22. 


342  THE  LLFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL,  chap.  vi. 

in  the  steps  of  the  Lord  ;  and  you  received  the  word  in  great  tribula- 
i.  7   tion,^  with  joy  which  came  from  the  Holy  Spirit.     And  thus  you  have 

8  become  patterns  to  all  the  believers  in  Macedonia  and  in  Achaia.  For 
from  you  the  word  of  the  Lord  has  been  sounded  forth ,"^  and  not  only 
has  its  sound  been  heard  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia,  but  also  in  every 
place  the  tidings  of  your  faith  towards  God  have  been  spread  abroad,  so 

9  that  I  have  no  need  to  speak  of  it  at  all.  For  others  are  telling  of  their 
own  accord,'  concerning  me,  what  welcome  you  gave  me,  and  how  you 
forsook  your  idols,  and  turned  to  serve  God,  the  living  and  the  true  ; 

10   and  to  wait  for  His  Son  from  the  heavens,  whom  He  raised  from  the 
dead,  even  Jesus  our  deliverer  from  the  coming  wrath. 
B.  1       For,   you   know   yourselves,   brethren,   that    my   coming  He  reminds 

them  of  bis 

2   amongst  you  was  not  fruitless  ;  but  after  I  had  borne  suffer-  0^°  example, 
ing  and  outrage  (as  you  know)  at  Philippi,  I  trusted  in  my  God,  and 
boldly  declared  to  you  God's  Glad-tidings,  in  the  midst  of  great  conten- 

8  tion.     For   my  exhortations   are   not   prompted   by   imposture,   nor  by 

4  lasciviousness,  nor  do  I  speak  in  guile.*  But  as  God  has  proved  my 
fitness  for  the  charge  of  the  Glad-tidings,  so  I  speak,  not  seeking  to 

5  please  men,  but  God,  who  proves  our  hearts.  For  never  did  I  use  flatter- 
ing words,  as  you  know ;  nor  hide  covetousness  under  fair  pretences, 

6  (God  is  witness)  ;  nor  did  I  seek  honor  from  men,  either  from  you  or 
others ;  although  I  might  have  been  burdensome,  as  Christ's  apostle.* 

7  But  I   behaved   myself  among  you  with   gentleness ;   and  as   a   nurse 

8  cherishes  her  own  children,^  so  in  my  fond  affection  it  was  my  joy  to  give 
you  not  only  the  Glad-tidings  of  God,  but  my  own  life  also,  because  you 

9  were  dear  to  me.     For  you  remember,  brethren,  my  toilsome  labors  ; 

^  This  tribulation   they  brought  on  them-  Judaizing  opponents  denied  his  apostolic  an- 

selves  by  receiving  the  Gospel.  thority  was  the  fact  that  he  (in  general)  refused 

2  See  p.  279,  n.  8.  to  be  maintained  by  his  converts,  whereas  our 

*  "  Themselves,"  emphatic.  Lord  had  given  to  His  apostles  the  right  of 

*  In  this  and  the  following  verses,  we  have  being  so  maintained.  St.  Paul  fully  explains 
allusions  to  the  accusations  brought  against  his  reasons  for  not  availing  himself  of  that 
St.  Paul  by  his  Jewish  opponents.  He  would  right  in  several  passages,  especially  1  Cor.  ix. ; 
of  course  have  been  accused  of  imposture,  as  and  he  here  takes  care  to  allude  to  his  posses- 
the  preacher  of  a  miraculous  revelation ;  the  sion  of  the  right,  while  mentioning  his  renun- 
charge  of  impurity  might  also  have  been  sug-  elation  of  it.     Cf  2  Thess.  iii.  9. 

gested  to  impure  minds,  as  connected  with  the  ^  "  Her  own  children."     See  p.  284,  n.  4. 

conversion  of  female  proselytes ;  the  charge  of  It  will   be  observed,   also,  that  we  adopt  a 

seeking  to  phase  men  was  repeated  by  the  Juda-  different  punctuation  from  that  which  has  led 

i?:er8  in  Galatia.     See  Gal.  i.  10.  to  the  received  version. 
'  One  of  the  grounds  upon  which  St.  Paul's 


CHAP.  XI.  FIEST  EPISTLE  TO  THE  THESSALONIANS.  343 

how  I  worked  both  night  and  day,  that  I  might  not  be  burdensome  to 
any  of  you,  while  I  proclaimed  to  you  the  message^  which  I  bore,  the 
Glad-tidings  of  God.      Ye   are  yourselves  witnesses,  and  God  also  is  ii.  Id 
witness,  how  holy,  and  just,  and  unblamable  were  my  dealings  towards 
you  that  believe.     You  know  how  earnestly,  as  a  father  his  own  children,   11 
I  exhorted,  and  entreated,  and  adjured  each  one  among  you  to  walk   12 
worthy  of  God,  by  whom  you  are  called  into  His  own  kingdom  and  glory. 

Wherefore  I  also   give   continual  thanks  to  God,  because,  when  you   13 
heard  from  me  the  spoken  word  ^  of  God,  you  received  it  not  as  the  word 
of  man,  but,  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  word  of  God  ;  who  Himself  works 
effectually  in  you  that  believe.     For  you,  brethren,  followed  in  the  steps   14 
of  the  churches  of  God  in  Judaea,  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  inasmuch 
as  you  suffered  the  like  persecution   from  your  own  countrymen,  which 
they  endured  from  the  Jews  ;  who  killed  both  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  the   15 
prophets,  and  who  have  driven  me  forth  [from  city  to  city  ^  ]  ;  a  people 
displeasing  to  God,  and  enemies  to  all  mankind,  who  would  hinder  me   16 
from  speaking  to  the  Gentiles  for  their  salvation ;  continuing  always  to 
fill  up  the  measure  of  their  sins  ;  but  the  wrath  [of  God]  has  overtaken 
them  to  destroy  them.* 
Expresses  hia       But  I,  brethren,  having  been   torn   from  you  for  a  short  17 

desire  to  see 

them.  season  (m  presence,  not  in  heart),  sought  very  earnestly  to 

behold  you  [again]  face  to  face.'     Wherefore  I,  Paul  (for  my  own  part),   18 
desired  to  visit  you  once  and  again  ;  but  Satan  hindered  me.     For  what  19 
is  my  hope  or  joy  ?  what  is  the  crown  wherein  I  glory  ?  what  but  your 
own  selves,  in  the  presence  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  at  His  appearing  ?  • 
Yea,  you  are  my  glory  and  my  joy.  20 

And  his  joy         Therefore,  when  I  was  no  longer  able  to  forbear,  I  deter-  m.  1 
their' w'eif-°    mined  willingly  to  be  left  at  Athens  alone  ;  and  I  sent  Timo-     2 

doing  from 

Timotheus.     thcus,  my  brother,  and  God's  fellow-worker ''  in  the  Glad-tidings 
of  Christ,  that  he  might  strengthen  your  constancy,  and  exhort  you  con- 

1  The  original  word  involves  the  idea  of  a  *  The  anticipative  blending  of  the  future 

herald  proclaiming  a  message.  with   the  present  here   is    parallel  with  and 

^  Literally  word  received  by  hearing,  i.  e.  explains  Rom.  ii.  15,  16. 
spoken  word.     Cf.  Rom.  x.  16.  ^  There  is  some  doubt  about  the  reading 

^  Referring  to  his  recent  expulsion  from  here.     That  which  we  adopt  is  analogous  to 

Thessalonica  and  Beroea.  1  Cor.  iii.  9.     The  boldness  of  the  expression 

*  More  literally,  "  to  make  an  end  of  them."  probably  led  to  the  variation  in  the  MSS.     Ou 

^  See  what  is  said  in  the  preceding  chapter  the  fact  mentioned  in  these  two  verses,  see  tlae 

in  connection  with  Beroea.  note  at  p.  338  above. 


844  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xi. 

£.  3  cerning  your  faith,  that  none  of  you  should  waver  in  these  afflictions  ;  since 

4  you  know  yourselves  that  such  is  our  appointed  lot,  for  when  I  was  with 
you,  I  forewarned  you  that  aflQiction  awaited  us,  as  you  know  that  it  befell. 

5  For  this  cause,  I  also,  when  I  could  no  longer  forbear,  sent  to  learn 
tidings  of  your  faith  ;  fearing  lest  perchance  the  tempter  had  tempted  yoa. 

6  and  lest  my  labor  should  be  in  vain.  But  now  that  Timotheus  hivs 
returned  from  you  to  me,  and  has  brought  me  the  glad  tidings  of  your 
faith  and  love,  and  that  you  still  keep  an  affectionate  remembrance  of  me, 

7  longing  to  see  me,  as  I  to  see  you  —  I  have  been  comforted,  brethren,  on 
your  behalf,  and  all  my  own  tribulation  and  distress  '  has  been  lightened 

8  by  your  faith.     For  now  I  live,^  if  you  be  steadfast  in  the  Lord.     What 

9  thanksgiving  can  I  render  to  God  for  you,  for  all  the  joy  which  you 

10  cause  me  in  the  presence  of  my  God  ?     Night  and  day,  I  pray  exceeding 
earnestly  to  see  you  face  to  face,  and  to  complete  what  is  yet  wanting  in 

11  your  faith.     Now,  may  our  God  and  Father  Himself,  and  our  Lord  Jesus,' 

12  direct  my  path  towards  you.     Meantime,  may  the  Lord  cause  you  to 
increase  and  abound  in  love  to  one  another  and  to  all  men  ;  even  as  I 

18  to  you.     And  so  may  He  keep  your  hearts  steadfast  and  unblamable  Id 
holiness,  in  the  presence  of  our  God  and  Father,  at  the  appearing  of  oui 
Lord  Jesus,  with  all  his  saints. 
IT  1       Furthermore,  brethren,  I  beseech  and  exhort  you  in  the  .    ,   , 

•'    •*  '  '  •'  Against    sen- 

name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that,  as  I  taught  you  how  to  walk  that  ^"^'J^- 

2  you  might  please  God,  you  would  do  so  more  and  more.  For  you  know 
what  commands  I  delivered  to  you  by  the  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

3  This,  then,  is  the  will  of  God,  even  your  sanctification  ;  that  you  should 

4  keep  yourselves  from  fornication,  that  each  of  you  should  learn  to  master 

5  his  body,*  in  sanctification  and  honor ;  not  in  lustful  passions,  like  the 

6  Heathen  who  know  not  God ;  that  no  man  wrong  his  brother  in  this 
matter  by  transgression.'    All  such  the  Lord  will  punish,  as  I  forewarned 

7  you  by  my  testimony.     For  God  called  us  not  to  uncleanness,  but  His 

^  See  p.  339,  and  note.  may  be  said  to  gain  possession  of  his  own  body 

2  Compare  Rom.  vii.  9.  when  he  subdues  those  lusts  which  tend  to 

*  The  word  for  "  Christ "  is  omitted  by  the  destroy  his  mastery  over  it.  Hence  the  inter- 
best  MSS.  both  here  and  in  verse  13.  pretatiou  which  we  have  adopted. 

*  The  original  cannot  mean  to  possess ;  it  ^  The  reading  adopted  in  the  Received 
means,  to  gain  possession  of,  to  acquire  for  one's  Text  is  allowed  by  all  modem  critics  to  be 
mm  use.  The  use  of  "vessel"  for  body  is  wrong.  The  obvious  translation  is.  "in  the 
common,  and  found  2  Cor.  iv.  7.     Now  a  man  matter  in  question." 


'^HAP.  XI.  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE  THESSA1.0NIANS.  345 

railing  is  a  holy  calling.^     Wherefore,  he  that  despises  these  my  words  iv.  9 
despises  not  man,  but  God,  who  also  has  given  unto  me  ^  His  Holy  Spirit. 
to1ove!peace,       Concerning  brotherly  love  it  is  needless  that  I  should  write     9 
onief°°         to  you ;  for  ye  yourselves  are  taught  by  God  to  love  one  another ; 
as  you  show  by  deeds  towards  all  the  brethren  through  the  whole  of  10 
Macedonia.     But  I  exhort  you,  brethren,  to  abound  still  more  ;  and  be  it   11 
your  ambition  to  live  quietly,  and  to  mind  your  own  concerns  ;  ^  and  to 
work  with  your  own  hands  (as  I  commanded  you)  ;  that  the  seemly   12 
order  of  your  lives  may  be  manifest  to  those  without,  and  that  you  may 
need  help  from  no  man.* 

uappines*  of       ^ut  I  would  uot  havc  you  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning  13 
dead.  tliose  wlio  are  asleep,  that  you  sorrow  not  like  other  men,  who 

have  no  hope.*    For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  so   14 
also  will  God,  through  Jesus,^  bring  back  those  who  sleep,  together  with 
Him.     This  I  declare  to  you,  in  the  word  of  the  Lord,  that  we  who  are   15 
living,  who  survive  to  the  appearing  of  the  Lord,  shall  not  come  before 
those  who  sleep.     For  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with   16 
the  shout  of  war,''  the  Archangel's  voice,  and  the  trumpet  of  God ;  and 
first  the  dead  in  Christ^  shall  rise ;  then  we  the  living,  who  remain,  shall   17 
be  caught  up  with  them  among  the  clouds  ^  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air  ; 
and   so  we  shall  be  forever  with  the  Lord.     Wherefore  comfort^**  one   18 
another  with  these  words. 

The  sudden-       ^ut  of  the  timcs  and  seasons,  brethren,  you  need  not  that  I  v.  1 
coming  a'"mo-  should  writo  to  you.     For  yourselves  know  perfectly  that  the     2 

tive  to  watch- 
fulness. (Jay  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  robber  in  the  night ;  and  while     3 


i  Literally  "  in  holiness,"  not  "  unto  holi-  '  This  connection  is  more  nataral  than  that 

ness,"  as  in  A.  V.  of  the  Authorized  Version. 

2  We  have    retained  "  us  "  with  the  Re-  '  The  word  denotes  the  shout  used  in  battle, 

ceived  Text,  on  the  ground  of  context ;    al-  *  Equivalent  to  "  they  that  sleep  in  Christ " 

though   the  weight  of   MS.   authority  is  in  (1  Cor.  xv.  18). 

favor  of  "you."  ^  "  [Borne   aloft  from  earth  by  upbearing 

^  The  original  expression  is  almost  equiva-  clouds,"  as  it  is  rendered  by  Professor  Ellicott 

lent  to  "  oe  ambitious  to  be  unambitious."  in   his  Historical  Lectures  on  the  Life  of  our 

*  It  seems  better  to  take  this  as  masculine  Lord,  p.  234.     See  his  note  there,  and  in  his 

than  as  neuter.     We  may  compare  with  these  Comm.  on  1  Thess.  ii.  —  h.] 

verses  the  similar  directions  in  the  speech  at  i'*  This  verb,  originally  to  call  to  one's  fide, 

Miletus,  Acts  xx.  thence  sometimes  to  comfort,  more  usually  to 

"  This  hopelessness  in  death  is  illustrated  exhort,  must  be   translated  according   to   the 

by  the   funeral-inscriptions  found  at   Thessa-  context.     (See  on  Barnabas,  pp.  109,  155,  and 

lonica,  referred  to  p.  286.  notes.  —  h.) 


346  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xt 

men  say  Peace  and   Safety,   destruction   shall   come  upon   them  in   a 

V.  4   moment,  as  the  pangs  of  travail  upon  a  woman  with  child ;  and  they  shall 

find  no  escape.     But  you,  brethren,  are  not  in  darkness,  that  The  Day 

5  should  come  upon  you  as  the  robber  on  sleeping  men  ;  ^  for  you  are  all  • 
the  children  of  the  light  and  of  the  day.     We  are  not  of  the  night,  nor 

6  of  darkness  ;  therefore  let  us  not  sleep  as  do  others,  but  let  us  watch  and 

7  be  sober ;  for  they  who  slumber,  slumber  in  the  night ;  and  they  who  are 

8  drunken,  are  drunken  in  the  night ;  but  let  us,  who  are  of  the  day,  be 
sober ;  putting  on  faith  and  love  for  a  breastplate  ;  and  for  a  helmet,  thi 

9  hope  of  salvation.     For  not  to  abide  His  wrath,  but  to  obtain  salvation, 
hath  God  ordained  us,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  us, 

10  that  whether  we  wake   or  sleep  we   should   live   together   with   Him. 

11  Wherefore  exhort  one  another,  and  build  one  another  up,^  even  as  you 
already  do. 

12  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  to  acknowledge  those  who  are  labor-  The  Presbyter 

•^        '  °  to  be  duly  re- 

ing  among  you ;  who  preside  over  you  in  the  Lord's  name,  garded. 

13  and  give  you  admonition.     I  beseech  you  to  esteem  them  very  highly  in 
love,  for  their  work's  sake.     And  maintain  peace  among  yourselves. 

Postscript  [addressed  to  the  Presbyters  (?)  ].' 

14  But  you,  brethren,  I  exhort ;  admonish  the  disorderly,  en-  j^^^j^^  ^^  ^^ 

15  courage  the  timid,  support  the  weak,  be  patient  with  all.    Take  ^'■®^^*^"' 
heed  that  none  of  you  return  evil  for  evil,  but  strive  to  do  good  always, 

16  both  to  one  another  and  to  all  men.     Rejoice  evermore;  pray  without 

1  There  is  some  autliority  for  the  accusative  plained  1  Cor.  iii.  10-17.  It  is  very  difficult 
plural,  —  "  as  the  daylight  surprises  robbers ;  "  to  express  the  meaning  by  any  single  word  in 
and  this  sort  of  transition,  where  a  word  sug-  English,  and  yet  it  would  weaken  the  expres- 
gests  a  rapid  change  from  one  metaphor  to  sion  too  much  if  it  were  diluted  into  a  pe- 
another,  is  not  unlike  the  style  of  St.  Paul.  riphrasis  fully  expressing  its  meaning. 

We  may  add  that  the  A.  V.  in  translating  the  ^  It     appears     probable,    as     Chiysostom 

word  "  thief,"  both  here  and  elsewhere,  gives  thought,  that  those  who  are  here  directed  "  to 

*in  inadequate  conception  of  the  word.     It  is  admonish "  are  the  same  who   are  describea 

in  fact  the  modern  Greek  "klepht,"  and  de-  immediately  before  (v.  12)  as   "giving  admo- 

notcs  a  bandit,  who  comes  to  murder  as  well  nition."    Also  they  are  very  solemnly  directed 

as  to  steal.     For  the  meaning  of  "  the  Day  "  (v.  27)  to  see  that  the  letter  be  read  to  all  the 

[the  great  daij,  the  day  of  Judgment),  compare  Christians  in  Thessalonica ;    which  seems  to 

1  Cor.  iii.  13.  imply  that  they  presided  over  the  Christian 

2  The  full  meaning  is,  "  build  one  another  assemblies.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  ad- 
np,  that  you  may  all  together  grow  into  a  mitted  that  many  of  the  duties  here  enjoined 
temple  of  God."     The  word  is  frequently  used  are  duties  of  all  Christians. 

by  St.  Paul  in  this  sense,  which  is  fully  ex- 


THE  MALEVOLENCE  OF  THE  JEWS. 


347 


ceasing;  continue  to  give  thanks,  whatever  be  your  lot;  for  this  is  the  v- u 
will  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  concerning  you.     Quench  not  [the  manifes-i8,is 
tation  of]  the  Spirit ;  tliink  not  meanly  of'  prophesjiflgs ;  try  all  [which   20 
the  prophets  utter]  ;   reject*  the  false,  but  keep  the  good;  hold  your-  21 
selves  aloof  from  every  form  of  evil.'  22 

Concluding  Now  may  the  God  of  peace  Himself  sanctify  you  wholly ;   23 

prayers  and 

salutations,     and  may  your  spirit  and  soul  and  body  all  together  be  preserved 
blameless  at  the  appearing  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Faithful  is  He  who   24 
calls  you ;  He  will  fulfil  my  prayer. 

Brethren,  pray  for  me.     Greet  all  the  brethren  with  the  kiss  of  holi-  25 
ness.*     I  adjure  you,'  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  see  that  this  letter  be  26 


r'^ad  to  all  the^  brethren. 

'  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you.' 


>  utograph 
beueUiciion. 


27 
28 


The  strong  expressions  used  in  this  letter  concerning  the  malevolence 
of  the  Jews,  lead  us  to  suppose  that  the  Apostle  was  thinking  not  only 
of  their  past  opposition  at  Thessalonica,"  but  of  the  difficulties  with  which 
they  were  beginning  to  surround  him  at  Corinth.  At  the  very  time  of 
his  writing,  that  same  people  who  had  "  killed  the  Lord  Jesus  and  their 


1  We  know,  from  the  First  Epistle  to 
Corinth,  that  this  warning  was  not  unneeded 
in  the  early  church.  (See  1  Cor.  xiv.)  The 
gift  of  prophesying  {i.  e.  inspired  preaching) 
h'\d  less  the  appearance  of  a  supernatural  gift 
th^n  several  of  the  other  Charisms;  and 
hence  it  was  thought  little  of  by  those  who 
sought  more  for  display  than  edification. 

^  This  word  includes  the  notion  of  reject- 
ing that  which  does  not  abide  the  test. 

3  Not  "appearance"  (A.  V.),  but  species 
under  a  genus. 

*  This  alludes  to  the  same  custom  which  is 
refened  to  in  Rom.  xvi.  16;  1  Cor.  xvi.  20; 
2  Cor.  xiii.  12.  We  find  a  full  account  of  it, 
as  it  was  practised  in  the  early  church,  in  the 
Apostolic  Constitutions  (book  ii.  ch.  57).  The 
men  and  women  were  placed  in  separate  parts 
of  the  building  where  they  met  for  worship ; 
and  then,  before  receiving  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, the  men  kissed  the  men,  and  the 
women  the  women :  before  the  ceremony, 
a  proclamation  was  made  by  th?  principal 
deacon  :  —  "  Let  none  bear  malice  against  any  ; 
tet  none  do  it  in  hypocrisy."     "  Then,"  it  is 


added,  "  let  the  men  salute  one  another,  and 
the  women  one  another,  with  the  kiss  of  the 
Lord."  It  should  be  remembered  by  English 
readers,  that  a  kiss  was  in  ancient  times  (as, 
indeed,  it  is  now  in  many  foreign  countries) 
the  ordinary  mode  of  salutation  between 
friends  when  they  met. 

^  Whom  does  he  adjure  here?  Plainly 
those  to  whom,  in  the  first  instance,  the  letter 
was  addressed,  or  rather  delivered.  Now  these 
must  probably  have  been  the  Presbyters. 

^  The  word  for  "  holy  "  is  omitted  in  the 
best  MSS. 

■^  It  should  be  remarked,  that  this  conclud- 
ing benediction  is  used  by  St.  Paul  at  the  end 
of  the  Epistles  to  the  Romans,  Corinthians 
(under  a  longer  form  in  2  Cor.),  Galatians, 
Ephesians,  Philippians,  and  Thessalonians. 
And,  in  a  shorter  form,  it  is  used  also  at  the 
end  of  all  his  other  Epistles.  It  seems  (from 
what  he  says  in  2  Thess.  iii.  17,  18)  to  have 
been  always  written  with  his  own  hand. 

*  The  "  Amen  "  of  the  Received  Text  i»  » 
later  addition,  not  found  in  the  best  MSS. 

^  See  above,  Chap.  IX. 


348  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xi. 

owu  prophets,"  and  had  already  driven  Paul  "  from  city  to  city,"  were 
showing  themselves  "  a  people  displeasing  to  God,  and  enemies  to  all 
mankind,"  by  endeavoring  to  hinder  him  from  speaking  to  the  Gentiles 
for  their  salvation *(1  Thess.  ii.  15,  16).  Such  expressions  would  natu- 
rally be  used  in  a  letter  written  under  the  circumstances  described  in  the 
Acts  (xviii.  6),  when  the  Jews  were  assuming  the  attitude  of  an  organ- 
ized and  systematic  resistance,^  and  assailing  the  Apostle  in  the  language 
of  blasphemy,^  like  those  who  had  accused  our  Saviour  of  casting  out 
devils  by  Beelzebub. 

Now,  therefore,  the  Apostle  left  the  Jews,  and  turned  to  the  Gentiles. 
He  withdrew  from  his  own  people  with  one  of  those  symbolical  actions, 
which,  in  the  East,  have  all  the  expressiveness  of  language,'  and  which, 
having  received  the  sanction  of  our  Lord  Himself,*  are  equivalent  to  the 
denunciation  of  woe.  He  shook  the  dust  off  his  garments,*^  and  pro- 
claimed himself  innocent  of  the  blood  ®  of  those  who  refused  to  listen  to 
the  voice  which  offered  them  salvation.  A  proselyte,  whose  name  was 
Justus,'^  opened  his  door  to  the  rejected  Apostle  ;  and  that  house  became 
thenceforward  the  place  of  public  teaching.  While  he  continued  doubt- 
less to  lodge  with  Aquila  and  Priscilla  (for  the  Lord  had  said  ^  that  His 
Apostle  should  abide  in  the  house  where  the  "  Son  of  peace  "  was),  he 
met  his  flock  in  the  house  of  Justus.  Some  place  convenient  for  general 
meeting  was  evidently  necessary  for  the  continuance  of  St.  Paul's  work 
in  the  cities  where  he  resided.  So  long  as  possible,  it  was  the  Synagogue. 
When  he  was  exiled  from  the  Jewish  place  of  worship,  or  unable  from 
other  causes  to  attend  it,  it  was  such  a  place  as  providential  circumstances 
might  suggest.  At  Rome  it  was  his  own  hired  lodging  (Acts  xxviii.  30) : 
at  Ephesus  it  was  the  School  of  Tyrannus  (Acts  xix.  9).  Here  at 
Corinth  it  was  a  house  "  contiguous  to  the  Synagogue,"  offered  on  the 
emergency  for  the  Apostle's  use  by  one  who  had  listened  and  believed.  It 
may  readily  be  supposed  that  no  convenient  place  could  be  found  in  the 
manufactory  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla.  There,  too,  in  the  society  of  Jews 
lately  exiled  from  Rome,  he  could  hardly  have  looked  for  a  congregation 
of  Gentiles  ;  whereas  Justus,  being  a  proselyte,  was  exactly  in  a  position 
to  receive  under  his  roof,  indiscriminately,  both  Hebrews  and  Greeks. 

Special  mention  is  made  of  the  fact,  that  the  house  of  Justus  was 
"  contiguous  to  the  Synagogue."     We  are  not  necessarily  to  infer  from 

'  St.  Luke  here  uses  a  military  term.  ''  Nothing  more  is  known  of  him.     The 

^  Compare  Matt.  xii.  24-31.  name  is  Latin. 

»  See  Acts  xiii.  51  [p.  162].  8  LuJ-q  x.  6,  7.     St.  Paul  "  abode  "  (imp.) 

*  Mark  vi.  11.            ^  Acts  xviii.  6.  in  the  house  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla  (t.  3), 

'  See  Acts  T.  28,  XX.  26.  Also  Ezek.  xxxiii.  while  it  is  merely  said  that  iie  "  went  to" 

8,  9 ;  and  Matt,  xxvii.  24.  (aor.)  that  of  Justus  (v.  7). 


CHAP.  XI.  CORINTHIANS  EEFERRED  TO   BY   ST.   PAUL.  349 

this  that  St.  Paul  had  any  deliberate  motive  for  choosing  that  locality. 
Though  it  might  be  that  he  would  show  the  Jews,  as  in  a  visible  symbol, 
that  "  by  their  sin  salvation  had  come  to  the  Gentiles,  to  provoke  them  to 
jealousy,"  '  —  while  at  the  same  time  he  remained  as  near  to  them  as 
possible,  to  assure  them  of  his  readiness  to  return  at  the  moment  of  their 
repentance.  Whatever  we  may  surmise  concerning  the  motive  of  this 
choice,  certain  consequences  must  have  followed  from  the  contiguity  of 
the  house  and  the  Synagogue,  and  some  incident  resulting  from  it  may 
have  suggested  the  mention  of  the  fact.  The  Jewish  and  Christian  con- 
gregations would  often  meet  face  to  face  in  the  street ;  and  all  the  success 
of  the  Gospel  would  become  more  palpable  and  conspicuous.  And  even 
if  we  leave  out  of  view  such  considerations  as  these,  there  is  a  certain 
interest  attaching  to  any  phrase  which  tends  to  localize  the  scene  of  Apos- 
tolical labors.  When  we  think  of  events  that  we  have  witnessed,  we  always 
reproduce  in  the  mind,  however  dimly,  some  image  of  the  place  where  the 
events  have  occurred.  This  condition  of  human  thought  is  common  to 
us  and  to  the  Apostles.  The  house  of  John's  mother  at  Jerusalem  (Acts 
xii.),  the  proseucha  by  the  water-side  at  Philippi  (Acts  xvi.),  were  asso- 
ciated with  many  recollections  in  the  minds  of  the  earliest  Christians. 
And  when  St.  Paul  thought,  even  many  years  afterwards,  of  what 
occurred  on  his  first  visit  to  Corinth,  the  images  before  the  "inward  eye" 
would  be  not  merely  the  general  aspect  of  the  houses  and  temples  of 
Corinth,  with  the  great  citadel  overtowering  them,  but  the  Synagogue 
and  the  house  of  Justus,  the  incidents  which  happened  in  their  neighbor- 
hood, and  the  gestures  and  faces  of  those  who  encountered  each  other  in 
the  street. 

If  an  interest  is  attached  to  the  places,  a  still  deeper  interest  is  attached 
to  the  persons,  referred  to  in  the  history  of  the  planting  of  the  Church. 
In  the  case  of  Corinth,  the  names  both  of  individuals  and  families  aro 
mentioned  in  abundance.  The  family  of  Stephanas  is  the  first  that 
occurs  to  us ;  for  they  seem  to  have  been  the  earhest  Corinthian  converts. 
St.  Paul  himself  speaks  of  that  household,  in  the  first  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians  (xvi.  15),  as  "  the  first-fruits  of  Achaia."^  Another  Chris- 
tian of  Corinth,  well  worthy  of  the  recollection  of  the  church  of  after- 
ages,  was  Caius  (1  Cor.  i.  14),  with  whom  St.  Paul  found  a  home  on  his 
next  visit  (Rom.  xvi.  23),  as  he  found  one  now  with  Aquila  and  Priscilla. 
We  may  conjecture,  with  reason,  that  his  present  host  and  hostess  had 
now  given  their  formal  adherence  to  St.  Paul,  and  that  they  left  the 

^  Rom.  xi.  1 1 .  ia  "  were  retained,  we  should  be  at  liberty  to 

2  In  Rom.  xvi.  6  we  hold  "  Asia  "  to  be  suppose  that  Ep»netus  was  a  member  of  the 

nndoubtedly  the  right  reading.     See  note  on  household  of  Stephanas,  and  thus  we  might 

the  passage.     If,  however,  the  reading  "  Acha-  reconcile  1  Cor.  xvi.  15  with  Rom.  xvi.  5, 


350  THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  n. 

Synagogue  with  him.  After  the  open  schism  had  taken  place,  we  find 
the  Church  rapidly  increasing.  "  Many  of  the  Corinthians  began  to  be- 
lieve when  they  heard,  and  came  to  receive  baptism."  (Acts  xviii.  8.) 
We  derive  some  information  from  St.  Paul's  own  writings  concerning  the 
character  of  those  who  became  believers.  Not  many  of  the  philosopherSj 
—  not  many  of  the  noble  and  powerful  (1  Cor.  i.  26),  —  but  many  of 
those  who  liad  been  profligate  and  degraded  (1  Cor.  vi.  11),  were  called. 
The  ignorant  of  this  world  were  chosen  to  confound  the  wise,  and  the 
weak  to  confound  the  strong.  From  St.  Paul's  language  we  infer  that 
the  Gentile  converts  were  more  numerous  than  the  Jewish.  Yet  one 
signal  victory  of  the  Gospel  over  Judaism  must  be  mentioned  here,  — 
the  conversion  of  Crispus  (Acts  xviii.  8),  —  who,  from  his  position  as 
"  ruler  of  the  Synagogue,"  may  be  presumed  to  have  been  a  man  of 
learning  and  high  character,  and  who  now,  with  all  his  family,  joined 
himself  to  the  new  community.  His  conversion  was  felt  to  be  so  impor- 
tant, that  the  Apostle  deviated  from  his  usual  practice  (1  Cor.  i.  14-16), 
and  baptized  him,  as  well  as  Caius  and  the  household  of  Stephanas,  with 
his  own  hand. 

Such  an  event  as  the  baptism  of  Crispus  must  have  had  a  great  effect 
in  exasperating  the  Jews  against  St.  Paul.  Their  opposition  grew  with 
his  success.  As  we  approach  the  time  when  the  second  letter  to  the 
Thessalonians  was  written,  we  find  the  difficulties  of  his  position  increas- 
ing. In  the  first  Epistle  the  writer's  mind  is  almost  entirely  occupied 
with  the  thought  of  what  might  be  happening  at  Thessalonica :  in  the 
second,  the  remembrance  of  his  own  pressing  trial  seems  to  mingle 
more  conspicuously  with  the  exhortations  and  warnings  addressed  to 
those  who  are  absent.  He  particularly  asks  for  the  prayers  of  the 
Thessalonians,  that  he  may  be  delivered  from  the  perverse  and  wicked 
men  around  him,  who  were  destitute  of  faith.^  It  is  evident  that  he 
was  in  a  condition  of  fear  and  anxiety.  This  is  further  manifest  from 
the  words  which  were  heard  by  him  in  a  vision  vouchsafed  at  this  criti- 
cal period.-  We  have  already  had  occasion  to  observe,  that  such  timely 
visitations  were  granted  to  the  Apostle,  when  he  was  most  in  need  of 
supernatural  aid.''  In  tiie  present  instance,  the  Lord,  who  spoke  to  him 
in  the  night,  gave  him  an  assurance  of  His  presence,*  and  a  promise  of 
safety,  along  with  a  prophecy  of  good  success  at  Corinth,  and  a  command 
to  speak  boldly  without  fear,  and  not  to  keep  silence.  From  this  we  may 
infer  that  his  faith  in  Christ's  presence  was  failing,  —  that  fear  was 
beginning  to  produce  hf^sitation,  —  and  that  the  work  of  extending  th»- 

1  See  below,  2  Thess.  iii.  2.  »  See  p.  243. 

^  Acts  xviii.  9,  10  *  Compare  Matt,  xxriii.  20. 


CHAP.  XI.  THE  SECOND  ADVENT  OF  THE  LOKD.  dbl 

Gospel  was  in  danger  of  being  arrested.^  The  servant  of  God  received 
conscious  strength  in  the  moment  of  trial  and  conflict ;  and  the  divine 
words  were  fulfilled  in  the  formation  of  a  large  and  flourishing  church  at 
Corinth,  and  in  a  safe  and  continued  residence  in  that  city,  through  the 
space  of  a  year  and  six  months. 

Not  many  months  of  this  period  had  elapsed  when  St.  Paul  found  it 
necessary  to  write  again  to  the  Thessalonians.  The  excitement  which 
he  had  endeavored  to  allay  by  his  first  Epistle  was  not  arrested,  and  the 
fanatical  portion  of  the  church  had  availed  themselves  of  the  impres- 
sion produced  by  St.  Paul's  personal  teaching  to  increase  it.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  a  subject  on  which  he  had  especially  dwelt  while  he  was 
at  Thessalouica,^  and  to  which  he  had  also  alluded  in  his  first  Epistle,' 
was  the  second  advent  of  our  Lord.  We  know  that  our  Saviour  Him- 
self had  warned  His  disciples  that  "  of  that  day  and  that  hour  knoweth 
no  man,  no,  not  the  angels  of  heaven,  but  the  Father  only  ; "  and  we 
find  these  words  remarkably  fulfilled  by  the  fact  that  the  early  Church, 
and  even  the  Apostles  themselves,  expected*  their  Lord  to  come 
again  in  that  very  generation.  St.  Paul  himself  shared  in  that  expecta- 
tion, but,  being  under  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  he  did  not 
deduce  therefrom  any  erroneous  practical  conclusions.  Some  of  his 
disciples,  on  the  other  hand,  inferred  that  if  indeed  the  present  woi^ld 
were  so  soon  to  come  to  an  end,  it  was  useless  to  pursue  their  common 
earthly  employments  any  longer.  They  forsook  their  work,  and  gave 
themselves  up  to  dreamy  expectations  of  the  future ;  so  that  the  whole 
framework  of  society  in  the  Thessalonian  Church  was  in  danger  of  dis- 
solution. Those  who  encouraged  this  delusion,  supported  it  by  imagina- 
ry revelations  of  the  Spirit :  ^  and  they  even  had  recourse  to  forgery,  and 
circulated  a  letter  purporting  to  be  written  by  St.  Paul,®  in  confirmation 
of  their  views.  To  check  this  evil,  St.  Paul  wrote  his  second  Epistle. 
Li  this  he  endeavors  to  remove  their  present  erroneous  expectations  of 
Christ's  immediate  coming,  by  reminding  them  of  certain  signs  which 
must  precede  the  second  advent.  He  had  already  told  them  of  these 
signs  when  he  was  with  them ;  and  this  explains  the  extreme  obscurity 
of  his  description  of  them  in  the  present  Epistle  ;  for  he  was  not  giving 
new  information,  but  alluding  to  facts  which  he  had  already  explained  to 

1  Observe  the  strong  expressions  which  St.  iv.  1 5,  deprecates  the  inference  that  the  Apos- 
Paul  himself  uses  (1  Cor.  ii.  3)  of  his  own  tie  definitely  expected  the  second  Advent  to 
state  of  mind  during  this  stay  at  Corinth.  occur  in  his  o^vn  lifetime.  —  h.] 

-  As   he   himself  reminds   his  readers   (2  ^2  Thess.  ii.  2. 

Thess.  ii.  5),  and  as  we  find  in  the  Acts  (xvii.  ^  2  Thess.  ii.  2.     Compare  iii.    17.     Per- 

7).     See  p.  282.  haps,  however,  these  expressions  may  admit 

2  1  Thess.  V.  1-11.  of  being  explained  aa  referring  to  the  rumor 
*  [Professor  Ellicott,  in  his  note  on  I  Thess.  of  a  letter. 


ao2  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chajc.  xi. 

them  at  an  earlier  period.  It  would  have  been  well  if  this  had  been 
remembered  by  all  those  who  have  extracted  such  numerous  and  dis- 
cordant prophecies  and  anathemas  from  certain  passages  in  the  following 
Epistle. 

SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE  THESSALONIANS.* 

1  PAUL,  and  Silvanus,  and  Timotheus,  TO  THE  CHURCH  saiutauon 
OF  THE  THESSALONIANS,  in  God  our  Father,  and  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

2  Grace  be  to  you,  and  peace,  from  God  our  Father  and  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

8       1 2  am  bound  to  give  thanks  to  God  continually  on  your  be-  Encouragement 

'-'  .•  .-  under  their  per- 

half,  brethren,  as  is  fitting,  because  of  the  abundant  increase  ^f,^"/,|fp"e'/r°' 
of  your  faith,  and  the  overflowing  love  wherewith  you  are     >"''''*<>°""°«- 

4  filled,  every  one  of  you,  towards  each  other.  So  that  I  myself  boast  of 
you  among  the  churches  of  God,  for  your  steadfastness  and  faith,  in  all 

5  the  persecutions  and  afflictions  which  you  are  bearing.  And  these 
tilings  are  a  token  that  the  righteous  judgment  of  God  will  count  you 

6  worthy  of  His  khigdom,  for  which  you  are  even  now  suffering.  For 
doubtless  God's  righteousness  cannot  but  render  back  trouble  to  those 

7  who  trouble  you,  and  give  to  you,  who  now  are  troubled,  rest  with 
me,^   when   the   Lord  Jesus  shall   be   revealed    from   heaven  with   the 

8  angels  of  His  might,  in  flames  of  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  those  who 
know  not   God,  and  will  not  hearken  to  the  Glad-tidings  of  our  Lord 

9  Jesus  Christ.  And  from  *  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the 
brightness   of  His   glorious   majesty,  they  shall  receive   their  righteous 

10   doom,  even  an  everlasting  destruction,  in  that  day  when  He  shall  como 

1  It  is  evident  that  this  Epistle  was  written  (2)  Silas  and  Timotheus  were  still  with  St. 

at  the  time  here  assigned  to  it,  soon  after  the  Paul.     2  Thess.   i.  1.     It  should  be  observed 

first,  from  the  followiug  considerations :  —  that  TimothcHS  was  next  with   St.  Paul   at 

(1)  The  state  of  the  Thessalonian  Church  Ephesus;  and  that,  before  then,  Silas  disap- 

described  in  both  Epistles  is  almost  exactly  pears  from  the  history, 
the   same.      (A.)  The  same  excitement  pre-  ^  gee  note  on  1  Thess.  i.  3. 

vails  concerning  the  expected  advent  of  our  »  Qq  the  use  of  the  plural  pronoun,  see 

Lord,   only   in   a  greater  degree.     (B.)  The  note  on  1  Thess.  i.  3. 

same  party  continued   fanatically  to   neglect  *  The  preposition  here  has  the   sense    of 

their    ordinary    employments.       Compare    2  "  proceeding  from.' 
Thess.  iii.  6-14  with  I  Thess.  iv.  10-12,  and 
1  Thess.  ii.  9. 


CHAP.  XI,  SECOND  EPISTLE  T€    THE  THE S SALOPIANS.  353 

to  be  glorified  in  His  saints,  and  to  be  admired  in  all  believers ;  [and  you 
are  of  that  number] ,  for  you  believed  my  testimony.     To  this  end  I  pray  i.  11 
continually  on  your  behalf,  that  our  God  may  count  you  worthy  of  the 
calling  wherevrith  He  has  called  you,  and  mightily  perfect  within  you  all 
the  content  of  goodness  ^  and  the  work  of  faith.     That  the  name  of  our  12 
Lord  Jesus  may  be  glorified  in  you,  and  that  you  may  be  glorified  ^  in 
Him,  acceding  to  the  grace  of  our  God,  and  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Warning  But  conccrning' tlic  appearing  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  ii  1 

against  an  un-  o  i  r  o  ^        •~">i  u.  a 

^ectalion^'of       ^ud  ouF  gathering  together  to  meet  Him,  I  beseech  you,     2 
ing.  brethren,  not  rashly  to  be  shaken  from  your  soberness  of  mind, 

nor  to  be  agitated  either  by  spirit,*  or  by  rumor,  or  by  letter  *  attributed  to 
me,®  saying  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  come.'     Let  no  one  deceive  you  by     3 
any  means ;  for  before  that  day,  the  falling-away  must  first  have  come,  and 
the  man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition ;  who  opposes  himself    4 
and  exalts  himself  against  all  that  is  called  God,  and  against  all  worship ; 
even  to  seat  himself^  in  the  temple  of  God,  and  openly  declare  himself  a 
God.     Do  you  not  remember  that  when  I  was  still  with  you,  I  often  *  told     & 
you  this  ?     And  now  you  know  the  hinderance  why  he  is  not  yet  revealed,     0 
in  his  own  season.     For  the  mystery  of  lawlessness  ^"  is  already  working,     7 
only  he,  who  now  hinders,  will  hinder  till  he  be  taken  out  of  the  way ; 
and  then  the  lawless  one  will  be  revealed,  whom  the  Lord  shall  consume     I 
with  the  breath  of  His  mouth,"  and  shall  destroy  with  the  brightness  of 

1  The  sanje  word  is  used  in  the  sense  of  *  Literally  "  as  though  originated  by  me :  " 

good  will,  good  pleasure,  satisfaction,  in  Luke  ii.  the  words  may  include   both  "  spirit,"  "  m- 

14  and  Roi»».  x.  i.    The  A.  V.  here  would  mor,"  and  "  letter." 

require  a  word  to  be  supplied.  '  Literally  "  is  present."     So  the  verb  \a 

'-*  The  glory  of  our  Lord  at  His  coming  always  used  in  the  New  Testament.  See 
will  be  manifested  in  His  people  (see  v.  10) ;  Horn.  viii.  38;  1  Cor.  iii.  22  j  Gal.  i.  4;  2 
that  is,  they,  by  virtue  of  their  union  with  Tim.  iii.  1  ;  Heb.  ix.  9. 
Him,  will  partake  of  His  glorious  likeness.  ^  The  received  text  interpolates  here  "  at 
Cf  Rom.  viii.  17,  18,  19.  And,  even  in  this  God,"  but  the  MSS.  do  not  confirm  this  read- 
world,  this  glorification  takes  place  partially,  ing. 

by  their  moral  conformity  to  His  image.     See  '  The  verb  is  in  the  imperfect. 

Rom.  viii.  30,  and  2  Cor.  iii.  18.  ^°  The  proper  meaning  of  avofwi  is  one  un- 

*  In  respect  of,  or  perhaps  (as  Prof.  Jowett  restrained  by  law:  hence  it  is  often  used  as  u 
takes  it)  on  behalf  of,  as  though  St.  Paul  were  transgressor,  or,  generally,  a  wicked  man,  as 
pleading  in  honor  of  that  day ;  it  is  wrongly  dvofiia  is  used  often  simply  for  iniquity  ,■  but  in 
translated  in  A.  V.  as  an  adjuration.  this  passage  it  seems  best  to  keep  to  the  origi- 

*  i.  e.  any  pretended  revelation   of  those  nal  meaning  of  the  word. 

who  claimed  inspiration.  "  This   appears   to  be  an   allusion  to  (al- 

*  See  the  preceding  remarks  upon  the  though  not  an  exact  quotation  of )  Isaiah  xi. 
occasion  of  this  Epistle.  4;  —  "  With  the  breath  of  His  lips  He  shall 

23 


354  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  n, 

B.  9   His  appearing.     But  the  appearing  of  that  lawless  one  shall  be  in  the 
strength  of  Satan's  working,  with  all  the  might  and  signs  and  wonders  of 

10  falsehood,  and  all  the  delusions  of  unrighteousness,  for  those  who  are  in 
the  way  of  perdition ;  because  they  received  not  the  love  of  the  truth, 

11  whereby  they  might  be  saved.     For  this  cause,  God  will  send  upon  them 

12  an  inward  working  of  delusion,  making  them  believe  in  lies,  that  all 
should  be  condemned  who  have  not  believed  the  truth,  but  have  taken 
pleasure  in  unrighteousness. 

13  But  for  you,  brethren  beloved  of  the  Lord,  I  am  bound  to 

Exhortation 

thank  God  continually,  because  He  chose  you  from  the  first  n^'ess^and^***" 
unto  salvation,  in  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the  °''^*"^"*'^- 

14  truth.     And  to  this  He  called  you  through  my  Glad-tidings,  that  you 

15  might  obtain  the  glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Therefore,  brethren,  be 
steadfast,  and  hold  fast  the  teaching  which  has  been  delivered  to  you, 

16  whether  by  my  words  or  by  my  letters.  And  may  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
Himself,  and  our  God  and  Father,  who  has  loved  us,  and  has  given  us  in 
His  grace   a  consolation  that  is  eternal,  and  a  hope  that  cannot  fail, 

17  comfort  your  hearts,  and  establish  you  in  all  goodness  both  of  word  and 
deed. 

ai.  1     Finally,  brethren,  pray  for  me,  that  the  word  of  the  Lord 

Jesus  may  hold  its  onward  course,  and  that  its  glory  may  be  players. 

2  shown  forth  towards  others  as  towards  you  ;  and  that  I  may  be  delivered 

3  from  the  perverse  and  wicked  ;  for  not  all  men  have  faith.     But  the  Lord 

4  is  faithful,  and  He  will  keep  you  steadfast,  and  guard  you  from  evil.    And 
I  rely  upon  you  in  the  Lord,  that  you  are  following  and  will  follow  my 

5  precepts.     And  may  the  Lord  guide  your  hearts  to  the  love  of  God,  and 
to  the  steadfastness  of  Christ. 

6  I  charge  you,  brethren,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Exhorts  to  an 

o       J        ■>  '  onlorly  and 

Christ,  to  withdraw  yourselves  from  every  brother  who  walks  a|!p|au„g^f(; 
disorderly,  and  not  according  to  the  rules  which  I  delivered,  ample. 

7  For  you  know  yourselves  the  way  to  follow  my  example  ;  you  know  that 
my  life  among  you  was  not  disorderly,  nor  was  I  fed  by  any  man's 

8  bounty,  but  earned  my  bread  by  my  own  labor,  toiling  night  and  day, 

destr«y  the  impious  man."  (LXX.  version.)  Paul's  thoughts)  to  the  Messiah's  coming,  and 
Some  of  the  Rabbinical  commentators  applied  interpreted  "  the  impious  "  to  mean  an  individ- 
this   prophecy   (which   was   probably   in    St.       ual  opponent  of  the  Messiah. 


CHAP.  XI.  CHRISTIAN   CORRESPONDENCE.  355 

that  I  might  not  be  burdensome  to  any  of  you.^     And  this  I  did,  not  Hi.  9 
because  I  am  without  the  riglit  '^  [of  being  maintained  by  those  to  whom 

1  minister],  but  that  I  might  make  myself  a  pattern  for  you  to  imitate. 
For  when  I  was  with  you  I  often  *  gave  you  this  rule :  "  If  any  man  will   10 
not  work,  neither  let  him  eat."     Whereas  I  hear  that  some  among  you    11 
are  walking  disorderly,  neglecting  their  own  work,  and  meddling  *  with 
that  of  others.     Such,  therefore,  I  charge  and  exhort,  by  the  authority  of  12 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  work  in  quietness,  and  eat  their  own  bread. 
i^^withtiTose  ^^^  y^^'  brethren,  notwithstanding,*  be  not  weary  of   doing  13 
obedfencef      good.     If  any  man  be  disobedient  to  my  written  word,®  mark   14 
that  man,  and  cease  from  intercourse  with  him,  that  he  may  be  brought 

to  shame.     Yet  count  him  not  as  an  enemy,  but  admonish  him  as  a  15 

brother.     And  may  the  Lord  of  peace  Himself  give  you  peace  in  all  ways  16 
and  at  all  seasons.     The  Lord  be  with  you  all. 

An  autograph      The  salutatiou  of  me  Paul  with  my  own  hand,  which  is  my  n 

postscript  the 

sign  of  geuu-  tokeu  in  every  letter.     Thus  I  write.' 

Ineness.  •' 

bendSn!  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  alL'  18 

Such  was  the  second  of  the  two  letters  which  St.  Paul  wrote  to  Thes- 
salonica  during  his  residence  at  Corinth.  Such  was  the  Christian  cor- 
respondence now  established,  in  addition  to  the  political  and  commercial 
correspondence  existing  before,  between  the  two  capitals  of  Achaia  and 
Macedonia.  Along  with  the  official  documents  which  passed  between  the 
governors  of  the  contiguous  provinces,^  and  the  communications  between 
the  merchants  of  the  Northern  and  Western  .^gean,  letters  were  now 
sent,  which  related  to  the  establishment  of  a  "  kingdom  not  of  this 
world,"  ^"  and  to  "  riches  "  beyond  the  discovery  of  human  enterprise. ^^ 

^  Compare  the  speech  at  Miletus,  Acts  xx.  ^  "  Thus."     With   this  we  may  compare 

'^  See  note  on  1  Thess.  ii.  6.  Gal.  vi.  II.     We  have  before  remarked  that 

'  Imperfect.  St.  Paul's  letters  were  written  by  an  amanuen- 

*  The  characteristic  paronomasia  here  is  not  sis,  with  the  exception  of  an  autograph  post- 

rnactly  translatable  into  English.   "  Busy-bodies  script.     Compare  Rom.  xvi.  22. 
who  do  no  business "  would  be  an  imitation.  ^  "Amen  "  here  (as  in  the  end  of  1  Thess.) 

"  t.  e.  although   your  kindness    may  have  is  a  subsequent  addition, 
been  abused  by  such  idle  trespassers  on  your  ^  Cicero's    Cilician     Correspondence     fur- 
bounty,  nishes   many  specimens  of  the  letters  which 
^  Literally,   my   word  \sent\   by    the    letter,  passed  between  the  governors  of  neighboring 
which  probably  refers  to  the  directions  sent  in  provinces, 
the  former  letter,  I  Thess.  iv.  11,  12.     So  a  i''  John  xviii.  36. 
previous  letter  is  referred  to,  1  Cor.  v.  9,  and  ^^  Eph.  iii.  8. 

2  Cor.  vii.  8. 


356 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAITL. 


The  influence  of  great  cities  has  always  been  important  on  tlie  wider 
movements  of  human  life.  We  see  St.  Paul  diligently  using  this  in- 
fluence, during  a  protracted  residence  at  Corinth,  for  the  spreading  and 
strengthening  of  the  Gospel  in  Achaia  and  beyond.  As  regards  the 
province  of  Achaia,  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  confined  his 
activity  to  its  metropolis.  The  expression  used  by  St.  Luke  ^  need  only 
denote  that  it  was  his  headquarters,  or  general  place  of  residence.  Com- 
munication was  easy  and  frequent,  by  land  or  by  water,^  with  other  parts 
of  the  province.  Two  short  days'  journey  to  the  south  were  the  Jews  of 
Argos,^  who  might  be  to  those  of  Corinth  what  the  Jews  of  Beroea  had 
been  to  those  of  Thessalonica.^  About  the  same  distance  to  the  east  was 
the  city  of  Athens,*  which  had  been  imperfectly  evangelized,  and  could  be 
visited  without  danger.  Within  a  walk  of  a  few  hours,  along  a  road 
busy  with  traffic,  was  the  seaport  of  Cenchrea,  known  to  us  as  the  resi- 
dence of  a  Christian  community.®  These  were  the  "  Churches  of  God  " 
(2  Thess.  i.  4),  among  whom  the  Apostle  boasted  of  the  patience  and  the 
faith  of  the  Thessalonians,''  —  the  homes  of  "  the  saints  in  all  Achaia  " 
(2  Cor.  i.  1),  saluted  at  a  later  period,  with  the  Church  of  Corinth,^  in  a 
letter  written  from  Macedonia.  These  Churches  had  alternately  the 
blessings  of  the  presence  and  the  letters  —  the  oral  and  the  written  teach- 
ing—  of  St.  Paul.  The  former  of  these  blessings  is  now  no  longer 
granted  to  us  ;  but  those  long  and  wearisome  journeys,  which  withdrew 
the  teacher  so  often  from  his  anxious  converts,  have  resulted  in  our  pos- 
session of  inspired  Epistles,  in  all  their  freshness  and  integrity,  and  with 
all  their  lessons  of  wisdom  and  love. 


Coin  of  ThoBsalonlea.* 


1  Acts  rviii.  U. 

^  Much  of  the  intercourse  in  Greece  has 
always  gone  on  by  small  coasters.  Pouqne- 
Tille  mentions  traces  of  a  paved  road  between 
Corinth  and  Argos. 

8  See  pp.  17  and  335. 

*  See  above,  p.  293. 

'  We  have  not  entered  into  the  question  of 
St.  Paul's  journey  from  Athens  to  Corinth. 
He  may   have   travelled  by   the    coast    road 


through  Eleusis  and  Megara ;  or  a  sail  of  • 
few  hours,  with  a  fair  wind,  would  take  him 
from  the  PirjBus  to  Cenchrea. 

^  Rom.  xvi.  1. 

■^  Compare  I  Thess.  i.  7,  8. 

*  It  is  possible  that  the  phrase  "  in  every 
place  "  ( 1  Cor  i.  2)  may  have  the  same  meaning. 

8  From  the  British  Museum.  For  a  long 
series  of  coins  of  this  character,  see  Mionnel 
and  the  Supplement. 


CHAPTER    XIL 

The  Isthmns  and  Acrocorinthns.  —  Early  History  of  Corinth.  —  Its  Trade  and  Wealth.— 
Corinth  under  the  Romans.  —  Province  of  Achaia.  —  Gallio  the  Governor.  —  Tumult  at 
Corinth.  —  Cenchrea.  —  Voyage  by  Ephesus  to  Casarea.  —  Visit  to  Jerusalem.  —  Antioch. 

NOW  that  we  have  entered  upon  the  first  part  of  the  long  series  of  St. 
Paul's  letters,  we  seem  to  be  arrived  at  a  new  stage  of  the  Apostle's 
biography.  The  materials  for  a  more  intimate  knowledge  are  before  us. 
More  life  is  given  to  the  picture.  We  have  advanced  from  the  field  of 
geographical  description  and  general  history  to  the  higher  interest  of  per- 
sonal detail.  Even  such  details  as  relate  to  the  writing  materials  employed 
in  the  Epistles,  and  the  mode  in  which  these  epistles  were  transmitted 
from  city  to  city,  —  all  stages  in  the  history  of  an  Apostolic  letter,  from 
the  hand  of  the  amanuensis  who  wrote  from  the  author's  inspired  dicta- 
tion, to  the  opening  and  reading  of  the  document  in  the  public  assembly 
of  the  Church  to  which  it  was  addressed, — have  a  sacred  claim  on  the 
Christian's  attention.  For  the  present  we  must  defer  the  examination  of 
such  particulars.^  We  remain  with  the  Apostle  himself,  instead  of  follow- 
ing the  journeys  of  his  letters  to  Thessalonica,  and  tracing  the  effects 
which  the  last  of  them  produced.  We  have  before  us  a  protracted  resi- 
dence in  Corinth,^  a  voyage  by  sea  to  Syria,'  and  a  journey  by  land  from 
Antioch  to  Ephesus,*  before  we  come  to  the  next  group  of  St.  Paul's 
Epistles. 

We  must  linger  first  for  a  time  in  Corinth,  the  great  city  where  he 
staid  a  longer  time  than  at  any  point  on  his  previous  journeys,  and 
from  which,  or  to  which,  the  most  important  of  his  letters  were  written.* 
And,  according  to  the  plan  we  have  hitherto  observed,  we  proceed  to 
elucidate  its  geographical  position,  and  the  principal  stages  of  its  history. 

The  Isthmus  ^  is  the  most  remarkable  feature  in  the  Geography  of 
Greece  ;  and  the  peculiar  relation  which  it  established  between  the  land 
and  the  water  —  and  between  the  Morea  and  the  Continent  —  had  the 


^  See  a  note  on  this  subject  in  Ch.  XXVI.  '  It  is  from   this   Greek   "  bridge  of   the 

*  Acts  xviii.  11-18.       *  Acts  xviii.  18-22.  sea  that  the  name  isthmus  has  been  given  to 

*  Acts  xviii.  23.     See  xix.  1.  every  similar  neck  of  land  in  ti«  world. 

*  The  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians,  Corin- 
thians, and  Romans. 

3sr 


358  THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL  chap,  xn 

utmost  effect  on  the  whole  course  of  the  History  of  Greece.  When  we 
were  considering  the  topography  and  aspect  of  Athens,  all  the  associa- 
tions which  surrounded  us  were  Athenian.  Here  at  the  Isthmus,  we 
are,  as  it  were,  at  the  centre  of  the  activity  of  the  Greek  race  in  general. 
It  has  the  closest  connection  with  all  their  most  important  movements, 
1)0 th  military  and  commercial. 

In  all  the  periods  of  Greek  history,  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest,  we 
see  the  military  importance  of  the  Isthmus.  The  phrase  of  Pindar  is, 
that  it  was  "  the  bridge  of  the  sea : "  it  formed  the  only  line  of  march 
for  an  invading  or  retreating  army.  Xenophon  speaks  of  it  as  "  the  gate 
of  the  Peloponnesus,"  the  closing  of  which  would  make  all  ingress  and 
egress  impossible.  And  we  find  that  it  was  closed  at  various  times,  by 
being  fortified  and  re-fortified  by  a  wall,  some  traces  of  which  remain  to  the 
present  day.  In  the  Persian  war,  when  consternation  was  spread  amongst 
the  Greeks  by  the  death  of  Leonidas,  the  wall  was  first  built.  In  the 
Peloponnesian  war,  when  the  Greeks  turned  fratricidal  arms  against  each 
other,  the  Isthmus  was  often  the  point  of  the  conflict  between  the  Athe- 
nians and  their  enemies.  In  the  time  of  the  Theban  supremacy,  the  wall 
again  appears  as  a  fortified  line  from  sea  to  sea.  When  Greece  became 
Roman,  the  provincial  arrangements  neutralized,  for  a  time,  the  military 
importance  of  the  Isthmus.  But  when  the  barbarians  poured  in  from 
the  North,  like  the  Persians. of  old,  its  wall  was  repaired  by  Valerian. 
Again  it  was  rebuilt  by  Justinian,  who  fortified  it  with  a  hundred  and 
fifty  towers.  And  we  trace  its  history  through  the  later  period  of  the 
Venetian  power  in  the  Levant,  from  the  vast  works  of  1463,  to  the  peace 
of  1699,  when  it  was  made  the  boundary  of  the  territories  of  the  Re- 
public* 

Conspicuous,  both  in  connection  with  the  military  defences  of  the 
Isthmus,  and  in  the  prominent  features  of  its  scenery,  is  the  Acrocorinthus 
or  citadel  of  Corinth,  which  rises  in  form  and  abruptness  like  the  rock  of 
Dumbarton.  But  this  comparison  is  quite  inadequate  to  express  the 
magnitude  of  the  Corinthian  citadel.  It  is  elevated  two  thousand  feet^ 
above  the  level  of  the  sea ;  it  throws  a  vast  shadow  across  the  plain  at  its 
base ;  the  ascent  is  a  journey  involving  some  fatigue ;  and  the  space  of 
ground  on  the  summit  is  so  extensive,  that  it  contained  a  whole  town,' 

1  The  wall  was  not  built  in  a  straight  line,  the  shadow  of  the  Acrocorinthus,  of  a  conical 
but  followed  the  sinuosities  of  the  ground.  shape,  extended  exactly  half  across  its  length, 
The  remains  of  square  towers  are  visible  in  the  point  of  the  cone  being  central  between 
some  places.      The  eastern  portion   abutted  tlie  two  seas."  —  Dr.  Clarke. 

on  the  Sanctuary  of  Neptune,  where  the  Isth-  ^  Dodwell  and  Clarke.     The  city,  accord- 

mian  games  are  held.  ing  to  Xenophon,  was  forty  stadia  in  circum- 

2  Dodwell.  The  ascent  is  by  a  zigzag  ference  without  the  Acropolis,  and  eighty- St* 
road,  which  Strabo  says  was  thirty  stadia  in  with  it. 

length.     "  Looking  down  upon  the  isthmus. 


ctj^.xn.  THE  ACEOCORINTHUS.  359 

which,  under  the  Turkish  dominion,  had  several  mosques.  Yet  notwith- 
standing its  colossal  dimensions,  its  sides  are  so  precipitous,  that  a  few 
soldiers  are  enough  to  guard  it.'  The  possession  of  this  fortress  has  been 
the  object  of  repeated  struggles  in  the  latest  wars  between  the  Turks  and 
the  Greeks,  and  again  between  the  Turks  and  the  Venetians.  It  was  said  to 
Philip,  when  he  wished  to  acquire  possession  of  the  Morea,  that  the  Acro- 
corinthus  was  one  of  the  horns  he  must  seize,  in  order  to  secure  the  heifer. 
Thus  Corinth  might  well  be  called  "  the  eye  of  Greece  "  in  a  military 
sense,  as  Athens  has  often  been  so  called  in  another  sense.  If  the  rock 
of  Minerva  was  the  Acropolis  of  the  Athenian  people,  the  mountain  of 
the  Isthmus  was  truly  named  "  the  Acropolis  of  the  Greeks." 

It  will  readily  be  imagined  that  the  view  from  the  summit  is  magnifi- 
cent and  extensive.*^  A  sea  is  on  either  hand.  Across  that  which  lies  on 
the  east,  a  clear  sight  is  obtained  of  the  Acropolis  of  Athens,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  forty-five  miles.'  The  mountains  of  Attica  and  Boeotia,  and  the 
islands  of  the  Archipelago,  close  the  prospect  in  this  direction.  Beyond 
the  western  sea,  which  flows  in  from  the  Adriatic,  are  the  large  masses 
of  the  mountains  of  north-eastern  Greece,  with  Parnassus  towering 
above  Delphi.  Immediately  beneath  us  is  the  narrow  plain  which 
separates  the  seas.  The  city  itself  is  on  a  small  table-land  *  of  no  great 
elevation,  connected  with  the  northern  base  of  the  Acrocorinthus.  At 
the  edge  of  the  lower  level  are  the  harbors  which  made  Corinth  the  em- 
porium of  the  richest  trade  of  the  East  and  the  West. 

We  are  thus  brought  to  that  which  is  really  the  characteristic  both  of 
Corinthian  geography  and  Corinthian  history,  its  close  relation  to  the 
commerce  of  the  Mediterranean.     Plutarch  says,  that  there  was  a  want 

1  Plutarch  says  that  it  was  guarded  by  400  tered  up  and  down  it,  is  none  of  the  least  of 
soldiers,  50  dogs,  and  as  many  keepers.  the  ornaments  of   this  prospect.     The   town 

2  "Wheler's  description  is  as  follows  :  —  also  that  lieth  north  of  the  castle,  in  little 
"  We  mounted  to  the  top  of  the  highest  point,  knots  of  houses,  surrounded  with  orchards 
and  had  one  of  the  most  agreeable  prospects  and  gardens  of  oranges,  lemons,  citrons,  and 
in  the  world.  On  the  right  hand  of  us  the  cypress-trees,  and  mixed  with  cornfields  between, 
Saronic  Gulf,  with  all  its  little  islands  strewed  is  a  sight  not  less  delightful.  So  that  it  is  hard 
up  and  down  it,  to  Cape  Colonne  on  the  to  judge  whether  this  plain  is  more  beautiful  to 
Promontory  Sunium.  Beyond  that  the  is-  the  beholders  or  profitable  to  the  inhabitants." 
lands  of  the  Archipelago  seemed  to  close  up  This  was  in  1675,  before  the  last  conflicts  of 
the  mouth  of  the  Gulf     On  the  left  hand  of  us  the  Turks  and  Venetians. 

we  had  the  Gulf   of  Lepanto  or   Corinth,  as  ^  "  As  from  tlie  Parthenon  at  Athens  we 

far  as  beyond  Sicyon,  bounded  northward  with  had  seen  the  citadel  of   Corinth,  so  now  we 

all  these  famous  mountains  of  old  times,  with  had  a  commanding  view,  across  the  Saronic 

the  Isthmus,  even  to  Athens,  lying  in  a  row.  Gulf,  of  Salamis  and   the   Athenian  Acrop- 

and  presenting  themselves  orderly  to  our  view.  olis."  —  Dr.     Clarke.       See     above,     under 

The    plain   of    Corinth    towards    Sicyon    or  Athens. 

Basilico  is  well  watered  by  two  rivulets,  well  *  Leake's  description  entirely  corresponds 

tilled,  well  planted  with  olive-yards  and  vine-  with  Strabo's. 
yards,  and,  having  many  little  villages   scat- 


360  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  cb^.  tb 

of  good  harbors  in  Achaia  ;  and  Strabo  speaks  of  the  circumnavigation 
of  the  Morea  as  dangerous.^  Cape  Malea  was  proverbially  formidable, 
and  held  the  same  relation  to  the  voyages  of  ancient  days  which  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  does  to  our  own.^  Thus,  a  narrow  and  level  isth- 
mus,^ across  which  smaller  vessels  could  be  dragged  from  gulf  to  gulf,* 
was  of  inestimable  value  to  the  early  traders  of  the  Levant.  And  the 
two  harbors,  which  received  the  ships  of  a  more  maturely  developed 
trade,  —  Cenclirea*^  on  the  Eastern  Sea,  and  Lechaeum^  on  the  Western, 
with  a  third  and  smaller  port,  called  Schcenus,''  where  the  isthmus  was 
narrowest,  —  form  an  essential  part  of  our  idea  of  Corinth.  Its  common 
title  in  the  poets  is  "  the  city  of  the  two  seas."  ^  It  is  allegorically 
represented  in  art  as  a  female  figure  on  a  rock,  between  two  other 
figures,  each  of  whom  bears  a  rudder,  the  symbol  of  navigation  and 
trade.®  It  is  the  same  image  which  appears  under  another  form  in  the 
words  of  the  rhetorician,  who  said  that  it  was  "  the  prow  and  the  stern 
of  Greece."  ^^ 

As  we  noticed  above  a  continuous  fortress  which  was  carried  across 
the  Isthmus,  in  connection  with  its  military  history,  so  here  we  have  to 
mention  another  continuous  work  which  was  attempted,  in  connectior 
with  its  mercantile  history.  This  was  the  ship  canal ;  —  which,  after 
being  often  projected,  was  about  to  be  begun  again  near  the  very  time 
of  St.  Paul's  visit.^^  Parallels  often  suggest  themselves  between  the 
relation  of  the  parts  of  the  Mediterranean  to  each  other,  and  those  of 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific :  for  the  basins  of  the  "  Midland  Sea  "  were  to 
the  Greek  and  Roman  trade  what  the  Oceanic  spaces  are  to  ours.     And 


1  He  adds  that  the  Sicilian  sea  was  avoided  of   Neptune  and  the  eastern   portion  of  the 

by  mariners  as  much  as  possible.  Isthmian  wall.     The  ship  is  described  as  sail- 

^  A  proverb  said  of  this  south-eastern  point  ing  to  this  port  in  the  early  times  when  Athens 

of  the  Morea :  "  When  you  are  round  Cape  had  the  presidency  of  the  games. 
Malea,  forget  all  you  have  at  home."  ^  One  phrase  which  was  used  of  it  ia  that 

^  See  above,  note  on  the  word  "Isthmus."  which  we  find  in  Acts  xxvii.  41. 

*  Hence  the  narrowest  part  of  the  Isthmus  »  See  this  on  the  coin  at  the  end  of  Chap, 

was  called  by  a  word  which  in  meaning  and  in  XIII. 

piratic  associations  corresponds  with  the  Tar-  i°  The    phrase  seems   to   have   been    pro- 

bert    of    Scotch    geography.      The     distance  verbial. 

across  is  about  three  miles ;  nearer  Corinth  it  "  Demetrius  Poliorcetes,  Julius  Caesar,  and 

is  six  miles,  whence  the  name  of  the  modern  Caligula  had  all  entertained  the  notion  of  cut 

village  of  ITej:amili.  ting  through  the  Isthmus.     Nero  really  began 

°  For  Cenchrea,  see   below,  pp.  366,  367.  the  undertaking  in  the  year  ."ia,  but  soon  de- 
It  was  seventy  stadia  distant  from  the  city.  sisted.     See  Leake  (pp.  297-302),  who  quotes 

•*  Lecbseum  was  united  to  Corinth  by  long  all  the  authorities.     The  portion  of  the  trencb 

walls.     It  was  about  twelve  stadia  distant  from  which  remains  is  at  the  narrowest  part,  neai 

the  city.  the  shore  of  the  Corinthian  Gulf    DodweU 

T  Schoenus   was   at   the  point  where    the  came  upon  it,  after  crossing  Mount  Geraneia 

Inthraus  was  narrowest,  close  to  the  Sanctuary  from  Attica. 


CTAP.  xn.  COMMEECB  AND   WEALTH   OF   COEINTH.  361 

it  is  difficult,  ill  speaking  of  a  visit  to  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth  in  the  year 
52,^  —  which  only  preceded  by  a  short  interval  the  work  of  Nero's  engi- 
neers,—  not  to  be  reminded  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  in  the  year  1852, 
during  which  active  progress  was  made  in  an  undertaking  often  project- 
ed, but  never  yet  carried  into  effect.^ 

There  is  this  difference,  however,  between  the  Oceanic  and  the  Medi- 
terranean Isthmus,  that  one  of  the  great  cities  of  th/"  ancient  world  always 
existed  at  the  latter.  What  some  future  Darien  may  be  destined  to  be- 
come, we  cannot  prophesy :  but,  at  a  very  early  date,  we  find  Corinth 
celebrated  by  the  poets  for  its  wealth.  This  wealth  must  inevitably  have 
grown  up,  from  its  mercantile  relations,  even  without  reference  to  its  two 
seas,  —  if  we  attend  to  the  fact  on  which  Thucydides  laid  stress,  that  it 
was  the  place  through  which  all  ingress  and  egress  took  place  between 
Northern  and  Southern  Greece,  before  the  development  of  commerce 
by  water  But  it  was  its  conspicuous  position  on  the  narrow  neck  of  land 
between  the  -^gean  and  Ionian  Seas,  which  was  the  main  cause  of  its 
commercial  greatness.  The  construction  of  the  ship  Argo  is  assigned  by 
mythology  to  Corinth.  The  Samians  obtained  their  shipbuilders  from 
her.  The  first  Greek  triremes,  —  the  first  Greek  sea-fights,  —  are  con- 
nected with  her  history.  Neptune  was  her  god.  Her  colonies  were 
spread  over  distant  coasts  in  the  East  and  West;  and  ships  came  from 
every  sea  to  her  harbors.  Thus  she  became  the  common  resort  and  the 
universal  market  of  the  Greeks.'  Her  population  and  wealth  were  fur- 
ther augmented  by  the  manufactures  in  metallurgy,  dyeing,  and  porce- 
lain, which  grew  up  in  connection  with  the  import  and  export  of  goods. 
And  at  periodical  intervals  the  crowding  of  her  streets  and  the  activity 
of  her  trade  received  a  new  impulse  from  the  strangers  who  flocked  to 
the  Isthmian  games ;  —  a  subject  to  which  our  attention  will  often  be  called 
hereafter,  but  which  must  be  passed  over  here  with  a  simple  allusion.* 
If  we  add  all  these  particulars  together,  we  see  ample  reason  why  the 
wealth,  luxury,  and  profligacy  of  Corinth  were  proverbial'  in  the  ancient 
world. 

In  passing  from  the  fortunes  of  the  earlier,  or  Greek  Corinth,  to  its  his- 
tory under  the  Romans,  the  first  scene  that  meets  us  is  one  of  disaster 

1  The  arguments  for  this  date  may  be  seen  Corinth  to  a  ship  loaded  with  merchandise, 
in  Wieseler.  We  shall  return  to  the  subject  and  savs  that  a  perpetual  fair  was  held  yearly 
again.  and  daily  at  the  Isthmus. 

2  Our  first  edition  was  published  in   1832.  *  See  the  beginning  of  Chap.  XX.,  and  the 
At  that  time  the  various  plans  for  an  inter-  plan  of  the  Posidonium  there  given, 
oceanic  canal  were  very  much  before  the  pub-  ^  «<  j^on  cuivis  homini  contingit  adire  Co- 
lic.    Now  at  least  the  railway  is  open  for  rinthum."  —  Hor.   Ep.  i.   17,  36.     The  word 
tralHc  from  ocean  to  ocean.  "  Corinthianize  "  was  used  proverbially  foT  an 

^  One   writer  in  another  place    compares       immoral  life. 


a62  THE  Lll.Ji;   AND'  EPISTLES  OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xii. 

and  ruin.  The  dcstructioa  of  this  city  by  Miimmius,  about  the  same 
time  that  Carthage '  was  destroyed  by  Scipio,  was  so  complete,  that,  like 
its  previous  wealtli,  it  passed  into  a  proverb.  Its  works  of  skill  and  lux- 
ury w(u-e  destroyed  or  carried  away.  Polybius,  the  historian,  saw  Roman 
soldiers  playing  at  draughts  on  the  pictures  of  famous  artists ;  and  the 
exhibition  of  vases  and  statues  that  decorated  the  triumph  of  the  Capitol 
introduced  a  new  era  in  the  habits  of  the  Romans.  Meanwhile,  the  very 
place  of  the  city  from  which  these  works  were  taken  remained  desolate 
for  many  years.'^  The  honor  of  presiding  over  the  Isthmian  games  was 
given  to  Sicyon ;  and  Corinth  ceased  even  to  be  a  resting-place  of  travel- 
lers between  the  East  and  the  West.'  But  a  new  Corinth  rose  from  the 
ashes  of  the  old.  Julius  Caesar,  recognizing  the  importance  of  the  Isth- 
mus as  a  military  and  mercantile  position,  sent  thither  a  colony  of  ItalianSj 
who  were  chiefly  freedmen.'*  This  new  establishment  rapidly  increased 
by  the  mere  force  of  its  position.  Within  a  few  years  it  grew,  as  Sinca- 
pore*  has  grown  in  our  days,  from  nothing  to  an  enormous  city.  The 
Greek  merchants,  who  had  fled  on  the  Roman  conquest  to  Delos  and  the 
neighboring  coasts,  returned  to  their  former  home.  The  Jews  settled 
themselves  in  a  place  most  convenient  both  for  the  business  of  cpmmerce 
and  for  communication  with  Jerusalem.®  Thus,  when  St.  Paul  arrived  at 
Corinth  after  his  sojourn  at  Athens,  he  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  a 
numerous  population  of  Gi;eeks  and  Jews.  They  were  probably  far  more 
numerous  than  the  Romans,  though  the  city  had  the  constitution  of  a 
colony^  and  was  the  metropolis  of  a  province. 

It  is  cu-iimonly  assumed  that  Greece  was  constituted  as  a  province  un- 
aer  the  name  of  Achaia,  when  Coriiith  was  destroyed  by  Mummius.  But 
tnis  appears  to  be  a  mistake.  There  seems  to  have  been  an  intermediate 
period,  during  which  the  country  had  a  nominal  independence,  as  was 
the  case  with  the  contiguous  province  of  Macedonia.     The  description 

1  See  Chap.  I.  p.  13.  *  Professor  Stanley  notices  the  great  nnm- 

2  "Nevertheless,"  says  Colonel  Leake,  ber  of  names  of  Corinthian  Christians  (Caius, 
"  die  site,  I  conceive,  cannot  have  been  quite  Qaartus,  Fortunatus,  Achaicus,  Crispus,  Ju8- 
utiiuh;ibited,  as  the  Romans  neither  destroyed  tus),  which  indicate  "either  a  Roman  or  a 
the  public  buildini;s  norpersecuted  the  religion  servile  origin."     Pref.  to  Corinthians. 

of  the  Corinthians.     And  as  many  of  those  ^  ggg  thg  Ljfe  of  gjr  Stamford  Raffles  and 

buildings  were  still   perfect  in   the   time  of  later  notices  of  the  place  in  Rajah  Brooke's 

Pausanias,  there  must  have  been  some  persons  journals,  &c. 

who  had  the  care  of  them  during  the  century  »  See  the  preceding  chapter  for  the  estab- 

of  desolation."  lishment  of  the  Jews  at  Corinth. 

8  We  have  noticed  above  (p.  33.3,  n.  4)  that  ^  gee   the  Latin   letters  on  its  coins.     It« 

on    Cicero's   journey   between   the   East  and  full    name  was  "  Colonia  Laus  Julia  Corin 

West,  we  find   him  resting,  not  at   Corinth,  thus."     See  coin  at  the  end  of  this  chapter, 
but  at  Athens.     In  the  time  of  Ovid,  the  city 
was  rising  aiirain. 


3HAP.  xn.  ROMAN   PEOVINCE   OF   ACHAIA.  363 

which  has  been  given  of  the  pohtical  limits  of  Macedonia  (Ch.  IX.)  de- 
fines equally  the  extent  of  Achaia.  It  was  bounded  on  all  other  sides  by 
the  sea,  and  was  nearly  co-extensive  with  the  kingdom  of  Modern  Greece. 
The  name  cf  ^1  haia  was  given  to  it,  in  consequence  of  the  part  played 
by  the  Achaear  league  in  the  last  independent  struggles  of  ancient 
Greece  ;  and  C  j>rinth,  the  head  of  that  league,  became  the  metropolis.^ 
The  province  experienced  changes  of  government,  such  as  those  which 
have  been  alluded  to  in  the  case  of  Cyprus.^  At  first  it  was  proconsular. 
Afterwards  it  was  placed  by  Tiberius  under  a  procurator  of  his  own. 
But  in  the  reign  of  Claudius  it  was  again  reckoned  among  the  "  unarmed 
provinces,"  ^  and  governed  by  a  proconsul 

One  of  the  proconsuls  who  were  sent  out  to  govern  the  province  of 
Achaia  in  the  course  of  St.  Paul's  second  missionary  journey  was  Gallio.* 
His  original  name  was  Annaeus  Novatus,  and  he  was  the  brother  of 
Annaeus  Seneca  the  philospher.  The  name  under  which  he  was  known 
to  us  in  sacred  and  secular  history  was  due  to  his  adoption  into  the  family 
of  Junius  Gallio  the  rhetorician.  The  time  of  his  government  at 
Corinth,  as  indicated  by  the  sacred  historian,  must  be  placed  between  the 
years  52  and  54,  if  the  dates  we  have  assigned  to  St.  Paul's  movements 
be  correct.  We  have  no  exact  information  on  this  subject  from  any 
secular  source,  nor  is  he  mentioned  by  any  Heathen  writer  as  having 
been  proconsul  of  Achaia.  But  there  are  some  incidental  notices  of  his 
life,  which  give  rather  a  curious  confirmation  of  what  is  advanced  above, 
VYe  are  informed  by  Tacitus  and  Dio  that  he  died  in  the  year  65.  Pliny 
says  that  after  his  consulship  he  had  a  serious  illness,  for  the  removal  of 
which  he  tried  a  sea-voyage  :  and  from  his  brother  Seneca  we  learn  that 
it  was  in  Achaia  that  he  went  on  shipboard  for  the  benefit  of  his  health. 
If  we  knew  the  year  of  Gallio'?  con'^ulship,  our  chronological  result 
would  be  brought  within  narrow  limits  We  do  not  possess  this  informa- 
tion ;  but  it  has  been  reasonably  conjectured  that  his  promotion,  if  due 
to  his  brother's  influence,  would  be  subsequent  to  the  year  49,  in  which 
the  philospher  returned  from  his  exile  in  Coi'sica,  and  had  the  youthful 
Nero  placed  under  his  tuition.  The  interval  of  time  thus  marked  out 
between  the  restoration  of  Seneca  and  the  death  of  Gallio,  includes  the 
narrower  period  assigned  by  St.  Luke  to  the  proconsulate  in  Achaia. 

The  coming  of  a  new  governor  to  a  province  was  an  event  of  great  im- 
portance The  whole  system  of  administration,  the  general  prosperity, 
the  state  of  political  parties,  the  relative  position  of  different  sections  of 

1  Ritter  says  that  this  is  the  meaning  of  which  were    proconsular    and    required    the 

"  Corinthus  Achaise  urbs,"  in  Tac.  Hist.  ii.  1.  presence  of  no  army.     See  p.  214,  n.  11. 
»  See  Ct..  V.  *  Acts  xviii.  12. 

*  A    phrase    applied    to    those    provinces 


364  THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES  OF  ST.    PAUL  chap,  xn 

the  population,  were  necessarily  affected  by  his  personal  character.  The 
provincials  were  miserable  or  happy,  according  as  a  Verres  or  a  Cicero 
was  sent  from  Rome.  As  regards  the  personal  character  of  Gallio,  the 
inference  we  should  naturally  draw  from  the  words  of  St.  Luke  closely 
corresponds  with  what  we  are  told  by  Seneca.  His  brother  speaks  of  him 
with  singular  affection,  not  only  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  honesty,  but 
as  one  who  won  universal  regard  by  his  amiable  temper  and  popular 
manners.^  His  conduct  on  the  occasion  of  the  tumult  at  Corinth  is  quite 
in  harmony  with  a  character  so  described.  He  did  not  allow  himself,  like 
Pilate,  to  be  led  into  injustice  by  the  clamor  of  the  Jews  ;  ^  and  yet  he 
overlooked,  with  easy  indifference,  an  outbreak  of  violence  which  a 
sterner  and  more  imperious  governor  would  at  once  have  arrested.' 

The  details  of  this  transaction  were  as  follows  :  —  The  Jews,  anxious  to 
profit  by  a  change  of  administration,  and  perhaps  encouraged  by  the  well- 
known  compliance  of  Gallio's  character,  took  an  early  opportunity  of 
accusing  St.  Paul  before  him.  They  had  already  set  themselves  in  battle 
array  *  against  him,  and  the  coming  of  the  new  governor  was  the  signal 
for  a  general  attack.^  It  is  quite  evident  that  the  act  was  preconcerted 
and  the  occasion  chosen.  Making  use  of  the  privileges  they  enjoyed  as  a 
separate  community,  and  well  aware  that  the  exercise  of  their  worship 
was  protected  by  the  Roman  State,®  they  accused  St.  Paul  of  violating 
their  own  religious  Law.  They  seem  to  have  thought,  if  this  violation  of 
Jewish  law  could  be  proved,  that  St.  Paul  would  become  amenable  to  the 
criminal  law  of  the  Empire  ;  or,  perhaps,  they  hoped,  as  afterwards  at 
Jerusalem,  that  he  would  be  given  up  into  their  hands  for  punishment. 
Had  Gallio  been  like  Festus  or  Felix,  this  might  easily  have  happened  ; 
and  then  St.  Paul's  natural  resource  would  have  been  to  appeal  to  the 
Emperor,  on  the  ground  of  his  citizenship.  But  the  appointed  time  of 
his  visit  to  Rome  was  not  yet  come,  and  the  continuance  of  his  missionary 
labors  was  secured  by  the  character  of  the  governor,  who  was  providen- 
tially sent  at  this  time  to  manage  the  affairs  of  Achaia. 

The  scene  is  set  before  us  by  St.  Luke  with  some  details  which  give  us 
a  vivid  notion  of  what  took  place.  Gallio  is  seated  on  that  proconsular 
chair '  from  wliich  judicial  sentences  were  pronounced  by  the  Roman 

1  The  same  character  is  given  of  him  by       Jews  were  citizens  under  their  Ethnarch,  like 

the  poet  Statins.  the  Romans  under  their  Juridicus.     We  need 

-  Acts  xviii.  14.  not  discuss  here  the  later  position  of  the  Jews, 

*  Acts  xviii.  17.  after  Caracalla  had  made  all  freemen  citizens. 

*  See  p.  348,  n.  1.  ''  This  chair,  or  tribunal,  "  the  indispensa- 

*  Acts  xviii.  12.  ble  symbol  of  the  Roman  judirmcnt-seat."  as 
^  Compare    Joseph.  War,  ii.    14,  4,   on        it  has  been  called,  is  mentioned  three  times  in 

Csesarca.  In  Alexandria,  there  were  four  dis-  the  course  of  this  narrative.  It  was  of  two 
linct  classes  of  population,  among  which  the        kinds:    (1)   fixed  in  some  open   and  pablk 


CHAP.xn.  ST.   PAUL  ACCUSED  BEFOEE  GALLIO.  365 

magistrates.  To  this  we  must  doubtless  add  the  other  insignia  of  Roman 
power,  which  were  suitable  to  a  colony  and  the  metropolis  of  a  province. 
Before  this  Heathen  authority  the  Jews  are  preferring  their  accusation 
with  eager  clamor.  Their  chief  speaker  is  Sosthenes,  the  successor  of 
Crispus,  or  (it  may  be)  the  ruler  of  another  synagogue.'  The  Greeks  ^ 
are  standing  round,  eager  to  hear  the  result,  and  to  learn  something 
of  the  new  governor's  character ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  hating  the 
Jews,  and  ready  to  be  the  partisans  of  St.  Paul.  At  the  moment  when 
the  Apostle  is  "  about  to  open  his  mouth,"  '  Gallio  will  not  even  hear  his 
defence,  but  pronounces  a  decided  and  peremptory  judgment. 

His  answer  was  that  of  a  man  who  knew  the  limits  of  his  office,  and 
felt  that  he  had  no  time  to  waste  on  the  religious  technicalities  of  the 
Jews.  Had  it  been  a  case  in  which  the  Roman  law  had  been  violated  by 
any  breach  of  the  peace  or  any  act  of  dishonesty,  then  it  would  have 
been  reasonable  and  right  that  the  matter  should  have  been  fully  investi- 
gated ;  but  since  it  was  only  a  question  of  the  Jewish  law,  relating  to 
the  disputes  of  Hebrew  superstition,*  and  to  names  of  no  public  interest, 
he  utterly  refused  to  attend  to  it.  They  might  excommunicate  the  offend- 
er, or  inflict  on  him  any  of  their  ecclesiastical  punishments ;  but  he 
would  not  meddle  with  trifling  quarrels,  which  were  beyond  his  juris- 
diction. And  without  further  delay  he  drove  the  Jews  away  from  before 
his  judicial  chair.* 

The  effect  of  this  proceeding  must  have  been  to  produce  the  utmost 
rage  and  disappointment  among  the  Jews.  With  the  Greeks  and  other 
bystanders®  the  result  was  very  different.  Their  dislike  of  a  supersti- 
tious and  misanthropic  nation  was  gratified.  They  held  the  forbearance 
of  Gallio  as  a  proof  that  their  own  religious  liberties  would  be  respected 
under  the  new  administration  ;  and,  with  the  disorderly  impulse  of  a  mob 
which  has  been  kept  for  some  time  in  suspense,  they  rushed  upon  the 
ruler  of  the  synagogue,  and  beat  him  in  the  very  presence  of  the  procon- 
sular tribunal.  Meanwhile,  Gallio  took  no  notice'  of  the  injurious  pun- 
place;  (2)  movable,  and  taken  by  the  Eoman  ^  See  note  6,  below, 
magistrates  to  ^e  placed  wherever  they  might  '  Acts  xviii.  14. 

sit   in   a  judicial  character.      Probably   here  *  Acts  xviii.  15.     We  recognize  here  that 

and  in  the  case  of  Pilate  (John  xix.  13)  the       much  had  been  made  by  the  Jews  of  the  name 
former  kind  of  seat  is  intended.     See  Smith's       of  "  Christ "  being  given  to  Jesus. 
Dictionai-y  of  Antiquities,  under  "  Sella."  *  Acts  xviii.  16. 

1  Whether     Sosthenes    had     really     been  •»  The  true  reading  here  does  not  specify 

elected  to  fill  the  place  of  Crispus,  or  was  only       wlib  the  persons  were  who  beat  Sosthenes.     It 
a  co-ordinate  officer  in  the  same  or  some  other        cannot,  however,  be  well   doubted  that   they 
synagogue,   must  be  left  undetermined.     On       were  Greeks.     The  reading  "  Jews,"  found  in 
the  organization   of  the  synagogues,  see  Ch.        some  MSS.,  is  evidently  wrong. 
VI.  p.  154.     It  should  be  added,  that  we  can-  "^  Acts  xviii.  17.      See  above  on  Grallio'l 

not  confidently  identify  this  Sosthenes  with       character, 
the  "  brother"  whose  name  occurs  1  Cor.  i.  1. 


366  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL,  chap.  xn. 

ishmeiit  thus  inflicted  on  the  Jews,  and  with  characteristic  iudifiference 
left  Sosthenes  to  his  fate. 

Thus  the  accusers  were  themselves  ii)Volved  in  disgrace ;  Gallio 
obtained  a  high  popularity  among  the  Greeks,  and  St.  Paul  was  enabled 
to  pursue  his  labors  in  safety.  Had  he  been  driven  away  from  Corinth, 
the  whole  Christian  community  of  the  place  might  have  been  put  in 
jeopardy.  But  the  result  of  the  storm  was  to  give  shelter  to  the  infant 
Church,  with  opportunity  of  safe  and  continued  growth.  As  regards  the 
Apostle  himself,  his  credit  rose  with  the  disgrace  of  his  opponents.  So 
far  as  he  might  afterwards  be  noticed  by  the  Roman  governor  or  the 
Greek  inhabitants  of  the  city,  he  would  be  regarded  as  an  injured  man. 
As  his  own  discretion  had  given  advantage  to  the  holy  cause  at  Philippi, 
by  involving  his  opponents  in  blame ,^  so  here  the  most  imminent  peril 
was  providentially  turned  into  safety  and  honor. 

Thus  the  assurance  communicated  in  the  vision  was  abundantly 
fulfilled.  Though  bitter  enemies  had  "  set  on  "  Paul  (Acts  xviii.  10),  no 
one  had  "  hurt  "  him.  The  Lord  had  been  "  with  him,"  and  "  much 
people"  had  been  gathered  into  His  Church.  At  length  the  time  came 
when  the  Apostle  deemed  it  right  to  leave  Achaia  and  revisit  Judaea, 
induced  (as  it  would  appear)  by  a  motive  which  often  guided  his 
journeys,  the  desire  to  be  present  at  the  great  gathering  of  the  Jews  at 
one  of  their  festivals,^  and  possibly  also  influenced  by  the  movements  of 
Aquila  and  Priscilla,  who  were  about  to  proceed  from  Corinth  to 
Ephesus.  Before  his  departure,  he  took  a  solemn  farewell  of  the  assem- 
bled Church.'  How  touching  St.  Paul's  farewells  must  have  been,  espe- 
cially after  a  protracted  residence  among  his  brethren  and  disciples,  we 
may  infer  from  the  affectionate  language  of  his  letters  ;  and  one  specimen 
is  given  to  us  of  these  parting  addresses,  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
From  the  words  spoken  at  Miletus  (Acts  xx.),  we  may  learn  what  was 
said  and  felt  at  Corinth.  He  could  tell  his  disciples  here,  as  he  told 
them  there,  that  he  had  taught  them  "  publicly  and  from  house  to 
house  ;  "  *  that  he  was  "  pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men  ;  " '  that  by  the 
space  of  a  year  and  a  half  he  had  "  not  ceased  to  warn  every  one  night 
and  day  with  tears."  ®  And  doubtless  he  forewarned  them  of  "  grievous 
wolves  entering  in  among  them,  of  men  speaking  perverse  things  arising' 
of  themselves,  to  draw  away  disciples  after  them."     And  he  could  appeal 

1  See  p.  269.  »  Acts  xviii.  18. 

-  See  Acts  xviii.  21.     There  is  little  doubt  *  Acts  xx.  20. 

tliat  the  festival  was  Pentecost.     We  should  ^  v.  26.     Compare  xviii.  6,  and  se^  p.  348. 

not,  however,  leave  unnoticed  that  it  is  doubt-  '^  v.  31.     Couinare  what  is  said  of  his  tears 

ful  whether  this  allusion  to  the  festival  outrht  at  Philippi.     Ptiilip.  ui.  lo. 
to  be  in  the  text.  •   w.  29,  30. 


CRAP.  xa.  CENCHREA.  367 

to  them,  with  the  emphatic  gesture  of  "  those  hands  "  which  had  labored 
at  Corinth,  in  proof  that  he  had  "  coveted  no  man's  gold  or  silver,"  and  in 
confirmation  of  the  Lord's  words,  that  "  it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive."  ^  Thus  he  departed,  with  prayers  and  tears,  from  those  who 
"  accompanied  him  to  the  ship  "  with  many  misgivings  that  they  might 
"  see  his  face  no  more."  ^ 

The  three  points  on  the  coast  to  which  our  attention  is  called  in 
the  brief  notice  of  this  voyage  contained  in  the  Acts,'  are  Cenchrea, 
the  harbor  of  Corinth ;  Ephesus,  on  the  western  shore  of  Asia 
Minor;  and  Caesarea  Stratonis,  in  Palestine.  More  suitable  occasions 
will  be  found  hereafter  for  descriptions  of  Caesarea  and  Ephesus. 
The  present  seems  to  require  a  few  words  to  be  said  concerning 
Cenchrea. 

After  descending  from  the  low  table-land  on  which  Corinth  was  situ- 
ated, the  road  which  connected  the  city  with  its  eastern  harbor  extended 
a  distance  of  eight  or  nine  miles  across  the  Isthmian  plain.  Cenchrea 
has  fallen  with  Corinth  ;  but  the  name  *  still  remains  to  mark  the  place 
of  the  port,  which  once  commanded  a  large  trade  with  Alexandria  and 
Antioch,  with  Ephesus  and  Thessalonica,  and  the  other  cities  of  the 
uEgean.  That  it  was  a  town  of  some  magnitude  may  be  inferred  from 
the  attention  which  Pausanias  devotes  to  it  in  the  description  of  the  en- 
virons of  Corinth  ;  and  both  its  mercantile  character,  and  the  pains 
which  had  been  taken  in  its  embellishment,  are  well  symbolized  in  the 
coin  *  which  represents  the  port  with  a  temple  on  each  enclosing  promon- 
tory, and  a  statue  of  Neptune  on  a  rock  between  them. 

From  this  port  St.  Paul  began  his  voyage  to  Syria.  But  before  the 
vessel  sailed,  one  of  his  companions  performed  a  religious  ceremony 
which  must  not  be  unnoticed,  since  it  is  mentioned  in  Scripture.  Aquila' 
had  bound  himself  by  one  of  those  vows,  which  the  Jews  often  volunta- 
rily took,  even  when  in  foreign  countries,  in  consequence  of  some  mercy 
received,  or  some  deliverance  from  danger,  or  other  occurrence  which 
had  produced  a  deep  religious  impression  on  the  mind.  The  obligations 
of  these  vows  were  similar  to  those  in  the  case  of  Nazarites,  —  as  regards 
abstinence  from  strong  drinks  and  legal  pollutions,  and  the  wearing  of 

^  Compare  w.  33-35  with  xviii.  3,   and       ments  from  the  structure  of  the  original  are 

with  1  Cor.  iv.  12.  rather  in  faror  of  referring  the  vow,  not  to 

2  w.  36-38.  Aquila,  but  to  St.  Paul.     The  difficulty  lies 

8  Acts  xviii.  18-22.  not  so  much  in  supposing  that  Paul   took  u 

*  The  modern  name  is  Kichries,  Jewish  vow  (see  Acts  xxi.  26),  as  in  suppos- 

*  An  engraving  of  this  coin  will  be  given  ing  that  he  made  himself  conspicuous  for  Jew- 
at  the  end  of  Ch.  XIX.  ish  peculiarities  while  he  was  forming  a  mixed 

^  This  is  left  as  it  stood  in  the  earlier  edi-  church  at  Corinth.  But  we  are  ignorant  of 
tions.      It  must  be  admitted   that  the  argu-       the  circumstances  of  the  case. 


368  THE  LIFE  Jl^B  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  in, 

the  hair  uncut  till  the  close  of  a  definite  length  of  time.  Aquila  could 
not  be  literally  a  Nazarite ;  for,  in  the  case  of  that  greater  vow,  the  cut- 
ting of  the  hair,  which  denoted  that  the  legal  time  was  expired,  could 
only  take  place  at  the  Temple  in  Jerusalem,  or  at  least  in  Judaea.  In 
this  case  the  ceremony  was  performed  at  Cenchrea.  Here  Aquila  — 
who  had  been  for  some  time  conspicuous,  even  among  the  Jews 
and  Christians  at  Corinth,  for  the  long  hair  which  denoted  that  he 
was  under  a  peculiar  religious  restriction  —  came  to  the  close  of  the 
period  of  obligation  ;  and,  before  accompanying  the  Apostle  to  Ephesus, 
laid  aside  the  tokens  of  his  vow. 

From  Corinth  to  Ephesus,  the  voyage  was  among  the  islands  of  the 
Greek  Archipelago.  The  Isles  of  Greece,  and  the  waters  which  break  on 
their  shores,  or  rest  among  them  in  spaces  of  calm  repose,  always  present 
themselves  to  the  mind  as  the  scenes  of  interestmg  voyages,  —  whether 
we  think  of  the  stories  of  early  legend,  or  the  stirring  life  of  classical 
times,  of  the  Crusades  in  the  middle  ages,  or  of  the  movements  of  modern 
travellers,  some  of  whom  seldom  reflect  that  the  land  and  water  round 
them  were  hallowed  by  the  presence  and  labors  of  St.  Paul.  One  great 
purpose  of  this  book  will  be  gained,  if  it  tends  to  associate  the  Apostle  of 
the  Gentiles  with  the  coasts,  which  are  already  touched  by  bo  many  other 
historical  recollections. 

No  voyage  across  the  ^gean  was  more  frequently  made  than  that 
between  Corinth  and  Ephesus.  They  were  the  capitals  of  the  two 
flourishing  and  peaceful  provinces  of  Achaia  and  Asia,*  and  the  two  great 
mercantile  towns  on  opposite  sides  of  the  sea.  If  resemblances  may  again 
be  suggested  between  the  ocean  and  the  Mediterranean,  and  between  an- 
cient and  modern  times,  we  may  say  that  the  relation  of  these  cities  of  the 
Eastern  and  Western  Greeks  to  each  other  was  like  that  between  New 
York  and  Liverpool.  Even  the  time  taken  up  by  the  voyages  constitutes  a 
point  of  resemblance.  Cicero  says  that,  on  his  eastward  passage,  which 
was  considered  a  long  one,  he  spent  fifteen  days,  and  that  his  return  was 
accomplished  iu  thirteen.* 

A  fair  wind,  in  much  shorter  time  than  either  thirteen  or  fifteen  days, 
would  take  the  Apostle  across,  from  Corinth,  to  the  city  on  the  other 
side  of  the  sea.  It  seems  that  the  vessel  was  bound  for  Syria,  and  staid 
only  a  short  time  in  harbor  at  Ephesus.  Aquila  and  Priscilla  remained 
there  while  he  proceeded.^  But  even  during  the  short  interval  of  his 
stay,  Paul  made  a  visit  to  his  Jewish  fellow-countrymen,  and  (the  Sab- 
bath being  probably  one  of  the  days  during  which  he  remained)  he  held 

1  See  how  Achaia  and  Asia  are  mentioned  ^  The  voyage  was  often  accompliahed  it 

by  Tacitus,  Hist.  11.  8.  three  or  four  days.     See  Thnc.  ill.  8. 

'  Acta  xviii.  19. 


CHAP.  xn.  VOYAGE  TO  SYEIA.  3G9 

a  discussion  with  them  in  the  synagogue  concerning  Christianity.'  Their 
curiosity  was  excited  by  what  they  heard,  as  it  had  been  at  Antioch  in 
Pisidia ;  and  perhaps  their  curiosity  would  speedily  have  been  succeeded 
by  opposition,  if  their  visitor  had  staid  longer  among  them.  But  he 
was  not  able  to  grant  the  request  which  they  urgently  made.  He 
was  anxious  to  attend  the  approaching  festival  at  Jerusalem;^  and, 
had  he  not  proceeded  with  the  ship,  this  might  have  been  impossible. 
He  was  so  far,  however,  encouraged  by  the  opening  which  he  saw, 
tliat  he  left  the  Ephesian  Jews  with  a  promise  of  his  return.  This 
promise  was  limited  by  an  expression  of  that  dependence  on  the  divine 
will  which  is  characteristic  of  a  Christian's  life,^  whether  his  vocation  be 
to  the  labors  of  an  Apostle,  or  to  the  routine  of  ordinary  toil.  We  shall 
see  that  St.  Paul's  promise  was  literally  fulfilled,  when  we  come  to  pur- 
sue his  progress  on  his  third  missionary  circuit. 

The  voyage  to  Syria  lay  first  by  the  coasts  and  islands  of  the  ^gean 
to  Cos  and  Cnidus,  which  are  mentioned  on  subsequent  voyages,*  and 
then  across  the  open  sea  by  Rhodes  and  Cyprus  to  Caesarea.*  This  city 
has  the  closest  connection  with  some  of  the  most  memorable  events  of 
early  Christianity.  We  have  already  had  occasion  to  mention  it,  in 
alluding  to  St.  Peter  and  the  baptism  of  the  first  Gentile  convert.®  We 
shall  afterwards  be  required  to  make  it  the  subject  of  a  more  elaborate 
notice,  when  we  arrive  at  the  imprisonment  which  was  suflered  by  St. 
Paul  under  two  successive  Roman  governors.^  The  country  was  now  no 
longer  under  native  kings.  Ten  years  had  elapsed  since  the  death  of 
Herod  Agrippa,  the  last  event  alluded  to  (Ch.  IV.)  in  connection  with 
Caesarea.  Felix  had  been  for  some  years  already  procurator  of  Judasa.^ 
If  the  aspect  of  the  country  had  become  in  any  degree  more  national 
under  the  reign  of  the  Herods,  it  had  now  resumed  all  the  appearance  of 
a  Roman  province.^  Caesarea  was  its  military  capital,  as  well  as  the 
harbor  by  which  it  was  approached  by  all  travellers  from  the  West. 
From  this  city,  roads  '"^  had  been  made  to  the  Egyptian  frontier  on  the 
south,  and  northwards  along  the  coast  by  Ptolemais,  Tyre,  and  Sidon,  to 
Antioch,  as  well  as  across  the  interior  by  Neapolis  or  Antipatris  to  Jeru- 
salem and  the  Jordan. 

The  journey  from  Cassarea  to  Jerusalem  is  related  by  St.  Luke  in  a 
single  word.'^     No  information  is  given  concerning  the  incidents  which 

1  The  aorist  (v.  19)  should  be  contrasted  ^  See  Acts  xxi.  1-3. 

with  the  imperfect  used  (v.  4)  of  the  continued  *  See  p.  113.     Compare  p.  49. 

discussions  at  Corinth.  ^  Acts  xxi.  &c. 

-  Acts  xviii.  21.     See  above.  *  Tac.  Ann.  xiv.  54,  and  Josephiu. 

8  "  If  God  will."    See  James  ir.  15.    "If  »  See  pp.  26  and  51. 

the  Lord  will,  we  shall  liA'e,"  &c.  w  See  the  remaiks,  pp.  78,  79. 

*  Acts  xxi.  1,  xxvii.  7.  "  "When  he  had  gone  up,"  Acts  ariH 
24 


370  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES  OP   ST,   PAUL.  chap.  m. 

occurred  there  :  —  no  meetings  with  other  Apostles,  —  no  controversies 
on  disputed  points  of  doctrine,  —  are  recorded  or  inferred.  We  are  not 
even  sure  that  St.  Paul  arrived  in  time  for  the  festival  at  which  he  de- 
sired to  be  present.*  The  contrary  seems  rather  to  be  implied  ;  for  he  is 
said  simply  to  have  "  saluted  the  Church,"  and  then  to  have  proceeded 
to  Antioch.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  draw  aside  the  veil  which  con- 
ceals the  particulars  of  this  visit  of  Paul  of  Tarsus  to  the  city  of  his 
forefathers.  As  if  it  were  no  longer  intended  that  we  should  view  the 
Church  in  connection  with  the  centre  of  Judaism,  our  thoughts  are 
turned  immediately  to  that  other  city,'^  where  the  name  "  Christian  "  was 
first  conferred  on  it. 

From  Jerusalem  to  Antioch  it  is  likely  that  the  journey  was  accom- 
plished by  land.  It  is  the  last  time  we  shall  have  occasion  to  mention  a 
road  which  was  often  traversed,  at  different  seasons  of  the  year,  by  St. 
Paul  and  his  companions.  Two  of  the  journeys  along  this  Phoenician 
coast  have  been  long  ago  mentioned.  Many  years  had  intervened  since 
the  charitable  mission  which  brought  relief  from  Syria  to  the  poor  in 
Judaea  (Ch.  IV.),  and  since  the  meeting  of  the  council  at  Jerusalem, 
and  the  joyful  return  at  a  time  of  anxious  controversy  (Ch.  VII.). 
When  we  allude  to  these  previous  visits  to  the  Holy  City,  we  feel  how 
widely  the  Church  of  Christ  had  been  extended  in  the  space  of  very  few 
years.  The  course  of  our  narrative  is  rapidly  carrying  us  from  the  East 
towards  the  West.  We  are  now  for  the  last  time  on  this  part  of  the 
Asiatic  shore.  For  a  moment  the  associations  which  surround  us  are  all 
of  the  primeval  past.  The  monuments  which  still  remain  along  this 
coast  remind  us  of  the  ancient  Phoenician  power,  and  of  Baal  and 
Ashtaroth,**  —  or  of  the  Assyrian  conquerors,  who  came  from  the  Eu- 
phrates to  the  West,  and  have  left  forms  like  those  in  the  palaces  of 
Nineveh  sculptured  on  the  rocks  of  the  Mediterranean,*  —  rather  than  of 
any  thing  connected  with  the  history  of  Greece  and  Rome.  The  moun- 
tains which  rise  above  our  heads  belong  to  the  characteristic  imagery  of 
the  Old  Testament ;  the  cedars  are  those  of  the  forests  which  were  hewn 
by  the  workmen  of  Hiram  and  Solomon  ;  the  torrents  which  cross  the 
roads  are  the  waters  from  "  the  sides  of  Lebanon."  *     But  we  are  taking 

22.     Some  commentators  think  that  St.  Paul  voyage  (Acts  xx.,  xxi.),  that  he  could  not 

did  not  go  to  Jerusalem  at  all,  but  that  this  have  arrived  in  time  for  the  festival,  had  not 

participle  merely  denotes  his  going  up  from  the  weather  been  peculiarly  favorable. 

tlie  ship  into  the  town  of  Caesarea :  but,  inde-  ^  Acts  xviii.  22. 

pendently  of  his  intention  to  visit  Jerusalem,  ^  The  ruins  of  Tortosa  and  Aradus. 

it  is   hardly  likuly  that  such  a  circumstance  *  The  sculptures  of  Assyrian   figures  on 

would  have  been  specified  in  a  narrative  so  the  coast  road  near  Beyrout  are  noticed  in  the 

briefly  given.  works  of  many  travellers. 

^  We  shall  see,  in  the  case  of   the   later  ^  These  torrents  are  often  flooded,  so  as  to 


THE   CENTEB   OF  THE   CHUECH. 


371 


our  last  view  of  this  scenery  ;  and,  as  we  leave  it,  we  feel  that  we  are 
passing  from  the  Jewish  infancy  of  the  Christian  Church  to  its  wider 
expansion  among  the  Heathen. 

Once  before  we  had  occasion  to  remark  that  the  Church  had  no  longer 
now  its  central  point  in  Jerusalem,  but  in  Antioch,  a  city  of  the  Gen- 
tiles.^ The  progress  of  events  now  carries  us  still  more  remotely  from 
the  land  which  was  first  visited  by  the  tidings  of  salvation.  The  world 
through  which  our  narrative  takes  us  begins  to  be  European  rather  than 
Asiatic.  So  far  as  we  know,  the  present  visit  which  St.  Paul  paid  to 
Antioch  was  his  last.^  We  have  already  seen  how  new  centres  of  Chris- 
tian life  had  been  established  by  him  in  the  Greek  cities  of  the  ^gean. 
The  course  of  the  Gospel  is  farther  and  farther  towards  the  West ;  and 
the  inspired  part  of  the  Apostle's  biography,  after  a  short  period  of  deep 
interest  in  Judaea,  finally  centres  in  Rome. 


Coin  of  Corinth.* 


be  extremely  dangerons  ;  so  that  St.  Paul  may 
have  encountered  "perils  of  rivers"  in  this 
district.      Manndrell  says  that  the  traveller 
Spor  lost  his  life  in  one  of  these  torrents. 
1  Pp.  101,  102. 


'  Antioch  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Acts 
after  xviii.  22. 

'  From  the  British  Museum.  The  bead  Is 
that  of  Julius  Cesar  himself. 


CHAPTER    Xm. 


The  Spiritnal  Gifts,  Constitution,  Ordinances,  Divisions,  and  Heredes  of  the  Primitive  Chnich  in 

the  Lifetime  of  St.  Paul. 

WE  are  now  arrived  at  a  point  in  St.  Paul's  history  when  it  seems 
needful  for  the  full  understanding  of  the  remainder  of  his  career, 
and  especially  of  his  Epistles,  to  give  some  description  of  the  internal 
condition  of  those  churches  which  looked  to  him  as  their  father  in  the 
faith.  Nearly  all  of  these  had  now  been  founded,  and,  regarding  the 
early  development  of  several  of  them,  we  have  considerable  information 
from  his  letters  and  from  other  sources.  This  information  we  shall  now 
endeavor  to  bring  into  one  general  view ;  and  in  so  doing  (since  the 
Pauline  Churches  were  only  particular  portions  of  the  universal  Church), 
we  shall  necessarily  have  to  consider  the  distinctive  peculiarities  and 
internal  condition  of  the  primitive  Church  generally,  as  it  existed  in  the 
time  of  the  Apostles. 

The  feature  which  most  immediately  forces  itself  upon  our  notice,  as 
distinctive  of  the  Church  in  the  Apostolic  age,  is  its  possession  of  super- 
natural gifts.  Concerning  these,  our  whole  information  must  be  derived 
from  Scripture,  because  they  appear  to  have  vanished  with  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  Apostles  themselves,  and  there  is  no  authentic  account  of 
their  existence  in  the  Church  in  any  writings  of  a  later  date  than  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament.  This  fact  gives  a  more  remarkable  and 
impressive  character  to  the  frequent  mention  of  them  in  the  writings  of 
the  Apostles,  where  the  exercise  of  such  gifts  is  spoken  of  as  a  matter  of 
ordinary  occurrence.  Indeed,  this  is  so  much  the  case,  that  these  miracu- 
lous powers  are  not  even  mentioned  by  the  Apostolic  writers  as  a  class 
apart  (as  we  shovild  now  consider  them),  but  are  joined  in  the  same 
classification  with  other  .gifts,  which  we  are  wont  to  term  natural  endow- 
ments or  "  talents."  *     Thus  St.  Paul  tells  us  (1  Cor.  xii.  11)  that  all 


1  The  two  great  classificatiaps  of  them  in 
St.  Paul's  writings  arc  as  follows :  — 


Class  1. 
to  one. 


Class  2. 
I»  another. 


I.  (1  Cor.  xil.  8.) 
(a^)  the  word  of  wisdom. 
( a  2 )  the  word  of  knowledge. 
(/3l)  faith. 
('^2 )  ff'.f^''  ofhealinq. 
(,tJg)  uorkiiifj  of  miracles. 
(I^i)  prophecy. 
^  (/Jg)  discerning  ofspiriU. 
372 


Class  3.     \  (y^  )  kinds  of  tongues. 

to  another.  \  (y^)  interpretxition  of  tongttet. 

n.  (1  Cor.  xii.  28.) 


1.  apostles. 

2.  prophets 

3.  teachers 

4.  miracles 


and  (qj)  perhaps. 


See{/34). 
including  (a^] 
See(/32). 

(1)  gifts  of  healing.     See  (/?,). 

(2)  helps. 

3)  governments. 

4)  diversities  cf  tongues.     See  (Xj) 


CHA?.  xm.  SPIRITUAL    Gim^S.  373 

these  charisms,  or  spiritual  gifts,  were  wrought  by  one  and  the  same 
Spirit,  who  distributed  them  to  each  severally  according  to  Hib  own  will  r, 
and  among  these  he  classes  the  gift  of  Healing,  and  the  gift  of  Tongue*- 
as  falling  under  the  same  category  with  the  talent  for  administrative  use- 
fulness, and  the  faculty  of  Government.  But  though  we  learn  from  this 
to  refer  the  ordinary  natural  endowments  of  men,  not  less  than  the  super- 
natural powers  bestowed  in  the  Apostolic  age,  to  a  divine  source,  yet, 
since  we  are  treating  of  that  which  gave  a  distinctive  character  to  the 
Apostolic  Church,  it  is  desirable  that  we  should  make  a  division  between 
the  two  classes  of  gifts,  the  extraordinary  and  the  ordinary ;  although 
this  division  was  not  made  by  the  Apostles  at  the  time  when  both  kinds 
of  gifts  were  in  ordinary  exercise. 

The  most  striking  manifestation  of  divine  interposition  was  the  power 
of  working  what  are  commonly  called  Miracles,  that  is,  changes  in  the 
usual  operation  of  the  laws  of  nature.  This  power  was  exercised  by  St. 
Paul  himself  very  frequently  (as  we  know  from  the  narrative  in  the 
Acts),  as  well  as  by  the  other  Apostles;  and  in  the  Epistles  we  find 
repeated  allusions  to  its  exercise  by  ordinary  Christians.*  As  examples 
of  the  operation  of  this  power,  we  need  only  refer  to  St.  Paul's  raising 
Eutychus  from  the  dead,  his  striking  Elymas  with  blindness,  his  healing 
the  sick  at  Ephesus,^  and  his  curing  the  father  of  Publius  at  Melita.' 

The  last-mentioned  examples  are  instances  of  the  exercise  of  the  gift 
of  healing,  which  was  a  peculiar  branch  of  the  gift  of  miracles,  and 
sometimes  apparently  possessed  by  those  who  had  not  the  higher  gift. 
The  source  of  all  these  miraculous  powers  was  the  charism  of  faith ; 
namely,  that  peculiar  kind  of  wonder-working  faith  spoken  of  in  Matt, 
xvii.  20,  1  Cor.  xii.  9,  and  xiii.  2,  which  consisted  in  an  intense  belief 
that  all  obstacles  would  vanish  before  the  power  given.  This  nmst  of 
course  be  distinguished  from  that  disposition  of  faith  which  is  essential  to 
the  Christian  life. 

It  may  be  remarked,  that  the  following  divis-  cAamms  themselves  :  they  are  alluded  lu  only 

ions  are  in  I.,  and  not  in  II. ;  viz.  jSi,  ji^,  and  as  things  well  known  to  the  Corinthians,  and 

ya  :  ci  and  a^,  though  not  explicitly  in  II.,  of  course  without  any  precise  description  of 

yet  are  probably  included  in  it  as   necessary  their  nature. 

gifts    for   "  apostles,"    and    perhaps    also    for  In   Rom.   xii.   6-8,   another   unsystematic 

"  teachers,"  as  Neander  supposes.  enumeration  of  four  charisms  is  given  ;  viz. 

It  isdiflScult  to  observe  any  principle  which  (1)  prophecy,  (2)  ministry,  (3)  teaching,  (4)  ex- 
runs  through  these  classifications  ;  probably  I.  hortation. 

was  not  meant  as  a  systematic  classification  at  ^  Gal.   iii.   5    (where  observe  the  present 

all ;  II.,  however,  certainly  was  in  some  raeas-  tense)  is  one  of  many  examples, 
ure,  because  St.  Paul  uses  the  words  "first,  ^  Acts  xix.  11,  12. 

second,  third,"  ^-c.  ^  On  this  latter  miracle  see  the  excellent 

It  is  very  difficult  to  an-ive  at  any  certain  remarks  in  Smith'*  Voyaye  and  Shipwreck  of 

conclusion  on  the  subject,  because  of  our  im-  St.  Paul,  p.  115. 
perfect   understanding  of  the  nature  of  the 


374  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  cha-p.  im. 

We  have  remarked  that  the  exercise  of  these  miraculous  powers  is 
spoken  of  both  in  the  Acts  and  Epistles  as  a  matter  of  ordinary  occur- 
rence, and  in  that  tone  of  quiet  (and  often  incidental)  allusion  in  which 
we  mention  the  facts  of  our  daily  life.  And  this  is  the  case,  not  in  a 
narrative  of  events  long  past  (where  unintentional  exaggeration  might 
be  supposed  to  have  crept  in),  but  in  the  narrative  of  a  contemporary, 
writing  immediately  after  the  occurrence  of  the  events  which  he  records, 
and  of  which  he  was  an  eye-witness ;  and  yet  farther,  this  phenomenon 
occurs  in  letters  which  speak  of  those  miracles  as  wrought  in  the  daily 
sight  of  the  readers  addressed.  Now  the  question  forced  upon  every 
intelligent  mind  is,  whether  such  a  phenomenon  can  be  explained  except 
by  the  assumption  that  the  miracles  did  really  happen.  Is  this  assump- 
tion more  difficult  than  that  of  Hume  (which  has  been  revived  with  an 
air  of  novelty  by  modern  infidels),  who  cuts  the  knot  by  assuming  that 
whenever  we  meet  with  an  account  of  a  miracle,  it  is  ipso  facto  to  be 
rejected  as  incredible,  no  matter  by  what  weight  of  evidence  it  may  be 
supported  ? 

Besides  the  power  of  working  miracles,  other  supernatural  gifts  of  a 
less  extraordinary  character  were  bestowed  upon  the  early  Church.  The 
most  important  were  the  gift  of  tongues^  and  the  gift  of  prophecy.  With 
regard  to  the  former  there  is  much  difficulty,  from  the  notices  of  it  in 
Scripture,  in  fully  comprehending  its  nature.  But  from  the  passages 
where  it  is  mentioned  ^  we  may  gather  thus  much  concerning  it :  first, 
that  it  was  not  a  knowledge  of  foreign  languages,  as  is  often  supposed ;  we 
never  read  of  its  being  exercised  for  the  conversion  of  foreign  nations, 
nor  (except  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  alone)  for  that  of  individual  foreign- 
ers ;  and  even  on  that  occasion  the  foreigners  present  were  all  Jewish 
proselytes,  and  most  of  them  understood  the  Hellenistic^  dialect.  See- 
ondly,  we  learn  that  this  gift  was  the  result  of  a  sudden  influx  of  super- 
natural inspiration,  which  came  upon  the  new  believer  immediately  after 
his  baptism,  and  recurred  afterwards  at  uncertain  intervals.  Thirdly,  we 
find  that  while  under  its  influence  the  exercise  of  the  understanding  was 
suspended,  while  the  spirit  was  rapt  into  a  state  of  ecstasy  by  the  imme- 
diate communication  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  In  this  ecstatic  trance  the 
believer  was  constrained  by  an  irresistible '  power  to  pour  forth  his  feel- 

1  Viz.  Mark  xvi.  17  ;  Acts  ii.  4,  &c.,  Acts  and  the  Jews  from  these  latter  countries  woald 

X.  46,  Acts  xi.   15-17,   Acts  xix.  6;  1    Cor,  probably  understand  the  Aramaic  of  Palestine, 

xii.,  and  1   Cor.  xiv.     We  must  refer  to  the  [For  a  different  view  of  the  gift  of  tongues  we 

notes  on    these   two   last-named  chapters  for  may  refer  to  Dr.  Wordsworth's  note  on  Acts 

some  further  discussion  of  the  diflBculties  con-  ii.  4.  —  h.] 

nected  with  this  gift.  '  His   spirit  was  not  subject  to  his  will. 

•^  This  must  probably  have  been  the  case  See  1  Cor.  xiv.  32.     [Some  power  of  self-con- 

with  all  tlie  foreigners  mentioned,  except  th«  trol  does  appear  distinctly  implied  in  this  paa- 

Parthians,   Medes,   Elamites,   and    Arabians,  sage  and  t.  28. — h.] 


CHAP.  xm.  THE  GIFT  OF  PHOPHECY.  375 

ings  of  thanksgiving  and  rapture  in  words ;  yet  the  words  which  issued 
from  his  mouth  were  not  his  own ;  he  was  even  (usually)  ignorant  of 
their  meaning,  St.  Paul  desired  that  those  who  possessed  this  gift  should 
not  be  suffered  to  exercise  it  in  the  congregation,  unless  some  one  present 
possessed  another  gift  (subsidiary  to  this),  called  the  interpretation  of 
tongues,  by  which  the  ecstatic  utterance  of  the  former  might  be  ren- 
dered available  for  general  edification.  Another  gift,  also,  was  needful 
for  the  checking  of  false  pretensions  to  this  and  some  other  charisms,  viz. 
the  gift  of  discerning  of  spirits,  the  recipients  of  which  could  distinguish 
between  the  real  and  the  imaginary  possessors  of  spiritual  gifts. ^ 

From  the  gift  of  tongues  we  pass,  by  a  natural  transition,  to  the  gift 
of  prophecy?  It  is  needless  to  remark  that,  in  the  Scriptural  sense  of  the 
term,  a.  prophet  does  not  mean  2u  foreteller  of  future  events,  but  a  revealer 
of  God's  will  to  man;  though  the  latter  sense  may  (and  sometimes  does) 
mclude  the  former.  So  the  gift  of  prophecy  was  that  charism  which 
enabled  its  possessors  to  utter,  with  the  authority  of  inspiration,  divine 
strains  of  warning,  exhortation,  encouragement,  or  rebuke  ;  and  to  teach 
and  enforce  the  truths  of  Christianity  with  supernatural  energy  and 
effect.  The  wide  diffusion  among  the  members  of  the  Church  of  this 
prophetical  inspiration  was  a.  circumstance  which  is  mentioned  by  St. 
Peter  as  distinctive  of  the  Gospel  dispensation  ;  *  in  fact,  we  find  that  in 
the  family  of  Philip  the  Evangelist  alone,*  there  were  four  daughters  who 
exercised  this  gift ;  and  the  general  possession  of  it  is  in  like  manner 
implied  by  the  directions  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Corinthians.'^  The  latter 
Apostle  describes  the  marvellous  effect  of  the  inspired  addresses  thus 
spoken.^  He  looks  upon  the  gift  of  prophecy  as  one  of  the  great  instru- 
ments for  the  conversion  of  unbelievers,  and  far  more  serviceable  in  this 
respect  than  the  gift  of  tongues,  although  by  some  of  the  new  converts 
it  was  not  so  highly  esteemed,  because  it  seemed  less  strange  and  won- 
derful. 

Thus  far  we  have  mentioned  the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Spirit  which 
were  vouchsafed  to  the  Church  of  that  age  alone  ;  yet  (as  we  have  before 
said)  there  was  no  strong  line  of  division,  no  "  great  gulf  fixed  "  between 
these,  and  what  we  now  should  call  the  ordinary  gifts,  or  natural  endow- 
ments of  the  Christian  converts.  Thus  the  gift  of  prophecy  cannot  easily 
be  separated  by  any  accurate  demarcation  from  another  cbarism  often 
mentioned  in  Scripture,  which  we  should  now  consider  an  ordinary  talent, 

1  This  latter  charism  seems  to  have  been  suflBcIent  to  refer  to  flach  passages  as  Acts  xi. 
requisite  for  the  presbyters.     See   1  Thess,  v.  27,  28.  '  Acts  ii.  17,  18. 
21,                                                                                     *  Acta  xxi.  9. 

2  If  it  be  asked  why  we  class  this  as  among  ^  1  Cor.  xi.  4,  and  1  Cor.  xir,  24,  31,  34, 
the  supemuturai  or  extraordinary  gifts,  it  will  be            ^1  Cor.  xiv.  25. 


876  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  iin. 

namely,  the  gift  of  teaching.  The  distinction  between  them  appears  to 
have  been  that  the  latter  was  more  habitually  and  constantly  exercised 
by  its  possessors  than  the  former :  we  are  not  to  suppose,  however,  that 
it  was  necessarily  given  to  different  persons ;  on  the  contrary,  an  excess 
of  divine  inspiration  might  at  any  moment  cause  the  teacher  to  speak  as  a 
prophet ;  and  this  was  constantly  exemplified  in  the  case  of  the  Apostles, 
who  exercised  the  gift  of  prophecy  for  the  conversion  of  their  unbeliev- 
ing hearers,  and  the  gift  of  teaching  for  the  building-up  of  their  converts 
in  the  faith. 

Other  gifts  specially  mentioned  as  charisms  are  the  gift  of  government 
and  the  gift  of  ministration}  By  the  former,  certain  persons  were  spe- 
cially fitted  to  preside  over  the  Church  and  regulate  its  internal  order ;  by 
the  latter  its  possessors  were  enabled  to  minister  to  the  wants  of  their 
brethren  to  manage  the  distribution  of  relief  among  the  poorer  members  of 
the  Church,  to  tend  the  sick,  and  carry  out  other  practical  works  of  piety. 

The  mention  of  these  latter  charisms  leads  us  naturally  to  consider  the 
offices  which  at  that  time  existed  in  the  Church,  to  which  the  possessors 
of  these  gifts  were  severally  called,  according  as  the  endowment  which 
they  had  received  fitted  them  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  respective 
functions.  We  will  endeavor,  therefore,  to  give  an  outline  of  the  con- 
stitution and  government  of  the  primitive  Christian  churches,  as  it  existed 
in  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  so  far  as  we  can  ascertain  it  from  the  informa- 
tion supplied  to  us  in  the  New  Testament. 

Amongst  the  several  classifications  which  are  there  given  of  church 
officers,  the  most  important  (from  its  relation  to  subsequent  ecclesiastical 
history)  is  that  by  which  they  are  divided  into  Apostles,'^  Presbyters,  and 

1  The  "charism"  of  "ministry"  or  of  16  times  in  Corinthians;  — 14  times  of  St. 
"  help."  Paul  or  the  Twelve,  twice  in  etymological 

2  "Apostles    and    Presbyters"    are   men-  sense,  viz.  2  Cor.  viii.  23,  and  xi.  13. 
tioned  Acts  xv.  2,  and  elsewhere ;  and  the  3    times    in   Gal. ;  —  of  St.  Paul  and  the 
two    classes  of   "  Presbyters  and  Deacons  "  Twelve. 

are  mentioned  Phil.  i.  1.     See  p.  378,  n.  2.  4    times  in  Ephes. ;  —  of  St.  Paul  and  the 

The  following  are  the  facts  concerning  the  use  Twelve, 

of  the  word  uT^oaToko^  in  the  New  Testament.  once  in  Philip. ;  —  etymological  sense. 

It  occurs  —  once  in  Thess. ;  —  of  St.  Paul, 

once  in  St.  Matthew ;  —  of  the  Twelve.  4  times  in  Timothy  ;  —  of  St.  Paul, 

once  in  St.  Mark;  —  of  the  Twelve.  once  in  Titus  ;  —  of  St.  Paul. 

6  times  in  St.  Luke ;  —  5  times  of  the  Twelve,  once  in  Hebrews  (iii.  1) ;  —  of  Christ  Himself. 

once  in  its  general  etymological  sense.  3  times  in  Peter ;  —  of  the  Twelve, 

once  in  St.  John  ;  —  in  its  general  etymologi-  once  in  Judo;  —  of  the  Twelve. 

cal  sense.  3   times  in  Apocalypse;  —  cither    of    "false 

30    times  in  Acts;  —  (always  in  plural)   28  apostles "  or  of  the  Twelve. 

times  of  the  Twelve,  and  twice  of  Paul  Besides  this,  the  word  imoaTokn  is  used  to 

and  Barnabas.  signify  the  Apostolic  office,  once  in  Acts  and 

3     times   in   Romans ;  —  twice  of  St.  Paul,  three  times  by  St.  Paul  (who  attributes  it  to 

once  of  Andronicns.  himself). 


CHAP,  xiu,  CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  PRIMITIVE   CHURCH.  377 

Deacons.  The  monarchical,  or  (as  it  would  be  now  called)  the  episcopal 
element  of  church  government  was,  in  this  first  period,  supplied  by  the 
authority  of  the  Apostles.  This  title  was  probably  at  first  confined  to  "  the 
Twelve,"  who  were  immediately  nominated  to  their  ofiice  (with  the  excep- 
tion of  Matthias)  by  our  Lord  himself.  To  this  body  the  title  was  limited 
by  the  Judaizing  section  of  the  Church  ;  but  St.  Paul  vindicated  his  own 
claim  to  the  Apostolic  name  and  authority  as  resting  upon  the  same  com- 
mission given  him  by  the  same  Lord ;  and  his  companion,  St.  Luke,  applies 
the  name  to  Barnabas  also.  In  a  lower  sense,  the  term  was  applied  to  all 
the  more  eminent  Christian  teachers ;  as,  for  example,  to  Andronicus 
and  Junias.^  And  it  was  also  sometimes  used  in  its  simple  etymological 
sense  of  emissary,  which  had  not  yet  been  lost  in  its  other  and  more 
technical  meaning.  Still  those  only  were  called  emphatically  the  Apostles 
who  had  received  their  commission  from  Christ  himself,  including  the 
eleven  who  had  been  chosen  by  Him  while  on  earth,  with  St.  Matthias 
and  St.  Paul,  who  had  been  selected  for  the  office  by  their  Lord  (though 
in  difierent  ways)  after  His  ascension. 

In  saying  that  the  Apostles  embodied  that  element  in  church  govern- 
ment, which  has  since  been  represented  by  episcopacy,  we  must  not, 
however,  be  understood  to  mean  that  the  power  of  the  Apostles  was  sub- 
ject to  those  limitations  to  which  the  authority  of  bishops  has  always 
been  subjected.  The  primitive  bishop  was  surrounded  by  his  council  of 
presbyters,  and  took  no  important  step  without  their  sanction ;  but  this 
was  far  from  being  the  case  with  the  Apostles.  They  were  appointed  by 
Christ  himself,  with  absolute  power  to  govern  His  Church ;  to  them  He 
had  given  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  with  authority  to  admit  or 
to  exclude  ;  they  were  also  guided  by  His  perpetual  inspiration,  so  that 
all  their  moral  and  religious  teaching  was  absolutely  and  infallibly  true ; 
they  were  empowered  by  their  solemn  denunciations  of  evil,  and  their  in- 
spired judgments  on  all  moral  questions,  to  bind  and  to  loose,  to  remit 
and  to  retain  the  sins  of  men.^  This  was  the  essential  peculiarity  of  their 
office,  which  can  find  no  parallel  in  the  after-history  of  the  Church.  But, 
so  far  as  their  function  was  to  govern,  they  represented  the  monarchical  ele- 
ment in  the  constitution  of  the  early  Church,  and  their  power  was  a  full 
counterpoise  to  that  democratic  tendency  which  has  sometimes  been 
attributed  to  the  ecclesiastical  arrangements  of  the  Apostolic  period. 
Another  peculiarity  which  distinguishes  them  from  all  subsequent  rulers 
of  the  Church  is,  that  they  were  not  limited  to  a  sphere  of  action  defined 

1  Horn.  xvi.  7.  now,  but  it  is  in  quite  a  secondary  sense;  viz. 

2  No  doubt,  in  a  certain  sense,  this  power  is  on]y  so  far  as  it  is  exercised  in  exact  accord- 
shared  (according  to  the  teaching  of  our  ance  with  the  inspired  teaching  of  the 
Ordination    Service)  by    Christian    ministers  Apostles. 


378  THE  LIFE   AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xm, 

by  geographical  boundaries :  the  whole  world  was  their  diocese,  and  they 
bore  the  Glad-tidings,  east  or  west,  north  or  south,  as  the  Holy  Spirit 
might  direct  their  course  at  the  time,  and  governed  the  churches  which 
they  founded  wherever  they  might  be  placed.  Moreover,  those  charisms 
which  were  possessed  by  other  Chrstians  singly  and  severally,  were  collec- 
tively given  to  the  Apostles,  because  all  were  needed  for  their  work.  The 
gift  of  miracles  was  bestowed  upon  them  in  abundant  measure,  that  thej 
might  strike  terror  into  the  adversaries  of  the  truth,  and  win,  by  outward 
wonders,  the  attention  of  thousands,  whose  minds  were  closed  by  igno- 
rance against  the  inward  and  the  spiritual.  They  had  the  gift  of  prophecy 
as  the  very  characteristic  of  their  office,  for  it  was  their  especial  commis- 
sion to  reveal  the  truth  of  God  to  man  ;  they  were  consoled  in  the  midst 
of  their  labors  by  heavenly  visions,  and  rapt  in  supernatural  ecstasies,  in 
which  they  "  spake  in  tongues  "  "  to  God,  and  not  to  man."  '  They  had 
the  ^^  gift  of  government,''^  for  that  which  came  upon  them  daily  was  "  the 
care  of  all  the  Churches ;  "  the  "  gift  of  teaching,'"  for  tliey  must  build  up 
their  converts  in  the  faith  ;  even  the  "  gift  of  ministration "  was  not 
unneeded  by  them,  nor  did  they  think  it  beneath  them  to  undertake  the 
humblest  offices  of  a  deacon  for  the  good  of  the  Church.  When  need- 
ful, they  could  "  serve  tables,"  and  collect  arms,  and  work  with  their 
own  hands  at  mechanical  trades,  "  that  so  laboring  they  might  support 
the  weak ; "  inasmuch  as  they  were  the  servants  of  Him  who  came  not 
to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister. 

Of  the  offices  concerned  with  Church  government,  the  next  in  rank  to 
that  of  the  Apostles  was  the  office  of  Overseers  or  Elders,  more  usually 
known  (by  their  Greek  designations)  as  Bishops  or  Presbyters.  These 
terms  are  used  in  the  New  Testament  as  equivalent,^  the  former  (}7tla)ionog) 
denoting  (as  its  meaning  of  overseer  implies)  the  duties,  the  latter 
(7tQ£a§vT£Qog)  the  rank,  of  the  office.  The  history  of  the  Church  leaves 
us  no  room  for  doubt  that  on  the  death  of  the  Apostles,  or  perhaps  at  an 
earlier  period  (and,  in  either  case,  by  their  directions),  one  amongst  the 
Presbyters  of  each  Church  was  selected  to  preside  over  the  rest,  and  to 
him  was  applied  emphatically  the  title  of  the  bishop  or  overseer,  which 
had  previously  belonged  equally  to  all ;  thus  he  became  in  reality  (what  he 
was  sometimes  called)  the  successor  of  the  Apostles,  as  exercising  (though 
in  a  lower  degree)  that  function  of  government  which  had  formerly 
belonged  to  them.'     But  in  speaking  of  this  change  we  are  anticipating  ; 

1  See  note  on  1  Cor.  xiv.  18.  Also  see  (Acts  xx.  17).  See  also  the  Pastoral  Epistles, 
2  Cor.  xii.  12.  passim. 

2  Thus,  in  the  address  at  Miletus,  the  Same  '  Baron  Bunsen  (whom  no  one  can  suspect 
persons  are  called  imoKonovc  (Acts  xx.  28)  of  hierarchal  tendencies)  expressed  his  con- 
who  had  just  before  been  named  irpca^vTcpovs  currence  in  this  view.     He  says :    "  St.  John 


CH.4j.xin.  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  PEIMITIVE   CHURCH.  379 

for  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  now  writing,  at  the  foundation  of  the 
Gentile  Churches,  the  Apostles  themselves  were  the  chief  governors  of 
the  Church,  and  the  presbyters  of  each  particular  society  were  co-ordi- 
nate with  one  another.  We  find  that  they  existed  at  an  early  period  in 
Jerusalem,  and  likewise  that  they  were  appointed  by  the  Apostles  upon 
the  first  formation  of  a  church  in  every  city.  The  same  n«,me,  "  Elder," 
was  attached  to  an  office  of  a  corresponding  nature  in  the  Jewish  syna- 
gogues, whence  both  title  and  office  were  probably  derived.  The  name 
of  Bishop  was  afterwards  given  to  this  office  in  the  Gentile  churches  at 
a  somewhat  later  period,  as  expressive  of  its  duties,  and  as  more  familiar 
than  the  other  title  to  Greek  ears.^ 

The  office  of  the  Presbyters  was  to  watch  over  the  particular  church 
in  which  they  ministered,  in  all  that  regarded  its  external  order  and 
internal  purity  ;  they  were  to  instruct  the  ignorant,^  to  exhort  the  faith- 
ful, to  confute  the  gainsayers,'  to  "  warn  the  unruly,  to  comfort  the 
feeble-minded,  to  support  the  weak,  to  be  patient  towards  all."  *  They 
were  "  to  take  heed  to  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made 
them  overseers,  to  feed  the  Church  of  God  which  He  had  purchased  with 
His  own  blood."  ^  In  one  word,  it  was  their  duty  (as  it  has  been  the 
duty  of  all  who  have  been  called  to  the  same  office  during  the  nineteen 
centuries  whicli  have  succeeded)  to  promote  to  the  utmost  of  their  ability, 
and  by  every  means  within  their  reach,  the  spiritual  good  of  all  those 
committed  to  their  care.® 

The  last  of  the  three  orders,  that  of  Deacons,  did  not  take  its  place  in 
the  ecclesiastical  organization  till  towards  the  close  of  St.  Paul's  life  ;  or, 
at  least,  this  name  was  not  assigned  to  those  who  discharged  the  func- 
tions of  the  Diaconate  till  a  late  period  ;  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians 
being  the  earliest  in  which  the  term  occurs ''  in  its  technical  sense.     In 

established   or  sanctioned   the  institution  of  "  teachers  "  may  at  first  have  been  sometimes 

single  Eectors,  called  Overseers  (^m'(T«07roi),  as  different    from     the     "presbyters,"     as     the 

presidents  of  the  Presbytery.     This  form  of  "  charism  of  teaching  "  was  distinct  from  the 

government,  as  being  the  more  perfect  and  "charism    of    governing;"   but    those  who 

practical,  particularly  in  such  difficult  times,  possessed  both  gifts  would  surely  have  been 

soon  spread  over  the  Christian  world."  —  Bun-  chosen  presbyters  from  the  first,  if  they  were 

sen's  Hippolytus,  2d  ed.  ii.  360.  to  be  found ;  and,  at  all  events,  in  the  time  of 

1  'Ema/coTTOf  was  the  title  of  the  Athenian  the  Pastoral  Epistles  we  find  the  offices  united, 
commissioners  to  their  subject  allies.  (1  Tim.  iii.  2.)     See,  however,  the  note  on 

2  1  Tim.  iii.  2.  1  Tim.  v.  17. 

*  Tit.  i.  9.  ^  ^^  Romans  xvi.  1,  it  is  applied  to  a  wo- 

*  1  Thess,  v.  14.  *  Acts  xx.  28.  man  ;  and  we  cannot  confidently  assert  that  it 

*  Other  f'tles,  denoting  their  office,  are  ap-  is  there  used  technically  to  denote  an  office, 
plied  to  thf'  presbyters  in  some  passages ;  e.  g.  especially  as  the  word  duiKovog  is  so  constantly 
Rom.  xi)  «<;  and  1  Thess.  v.  12 ;  Heb.  xiii.  used  in  its  non-technical  sense  of  one  who 
7;  Eph.  »  11;  1  Cor.  xii.  28.  It  is,  indeed,  ministers  in  any  way  to  others.  [See  next 
possible,     \  as     Neander     thinks ;     that     the  note  but  one.  —  h.] 


380  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   TAUL.  chap.  xm. 

fact  the  word  (8idnovog')  occurs  thirty  times  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
only  three  times  (or  at  most  four)  is  it  used  as  an  official  designation ;  in 
all  the  other  passages  it  is  used  in  its  simple  etymological  sense  of  a 
ministering'  servant.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  too,  that  it  never  once  occurs 
in  the  Acts  as  the  title  of  those  seven  Hellenistic  Christians  who  are  gen- 
erally (though  improperly)  called  the  seven  deacons,  and  who  were  only 
elected  to  supply  a  temporary  emergency.'  But  although  the  title  of 
the  Diaconate  does  not  occur  till  afterwards,  the  office  seems  to  have 
existed  from  the  first  in  the  Church  of  Jerusalem  (see  Acts  v.  6, 10)  ; 
those  who  discharged  its  duties  were  then  called  the  young  men,  in  con- 
tradistinction to  the  presbyters  or  elders ;  and  it  was  their  duty  to  assist 
the  latter  by  discharging  the  mechanical  services  requisite  for  the  well- 
being  of  the  Christian  community.  Gradually,  however,  as  the  Church 
increased,  the  natural  division  of  labor  would  suggest  a  subdivision  of 
the  ministrations  performed  by  them ;  those  which  only  required  bodily 
labor  would  be  intrusted  to  a  less  educated  class  of  servants,  and  those 
which  required  the  work  of  the  head  as  well  as  the  hands  (such,  for 
example,  as  the  distribution  of  alms)  would  form  the  duties  of  the  dea 
cons ;  for  we  may  now  speak  of  them  by  that  name,  which  became  appro 
priated  to  them  before  the  close  of  the  Apostolic  epoch. 

There  is  not  much  information  given  us,  with  regard  to  their  functions, 
in  the  New  Testament :  but,  from  St.  Paul's  directions  to  Timothy  con- 
cerning their  qualifications,  it  is  evident  that  their  office  was  one  of  con- 
siderable importance.  He  requires  that  they  should  be  men  of  grave 
character,  and  "  not  greedy  of  filthy  lucre ;  "  the  latter  qualification 
relating  to  their  duty  in  administering  the  charitable  fund  of  the  Church. 
He  desires  that  they  should  not  exercise  the  office  till  after  their  character 
had  been  first  subjected  to  an  examination,  and  had  been  found  free  from 
all  imputation  against  it.  If  (as  is  reasonable)  we  explain  these  intima- 
tions by  what  we  know  of  the  Diaconate  in  the  succeeding  century,  we 
may  assume  that  its  duties  in  the  Apostolic  Churches  (when  their  organi- 
zation was  complete)  were  to  assist  the  presbyters  in  all  that  concerned 
the  outward  service  of  the  Church,  and  in  executing  the  details  of  those 
measures,  the  general  plan  of  which  was  organized  by  the  presbyters. 
And,  doubtless,  those  only  were  selected  for  this  office  who  had  received 
the  gift  of  ministration  previously  mentioned. 

It  is  a  disputed  point  whether  there  was  an  order  of  Deaconesses  to 
minister  among  the  women  in  the  Apostolic  Church  ;  the  only  procl  of 

^  See  Chap.  II.  p.  61.     We  ob.sci-ve,  also,  much  hi,!,'hcr  importance  than  that  held  oy  the 

that  when  any  of  the  seven  are  referred  to,  it  subsequent  deacons.     [Still  it  can  haidlrbe 

is  never  by  the  title  of  deacon  ;  thus  Philip  is  doubted  that  we  have  here  the  beginmtt,    of 

called   "the  evangelist"    (Acts  xxi.   8).     In  the  oflScial  diaconate  in  the  Church.  —  h.  i 
fact,  the  oflace  of  "  the  seven  "   was  one  of 


CHAP.  xm.  CONSTITUTIOIS;   OF  THE  PRIMITIVE   CHURCH.  381 

their  existence  is  the  epithet  attached  to  the  name  of  Phoebe,^  which  may 
be  otherwise  understood.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  acknowledged 
that  the  ahnost  Oriental  seclusion  in  whicli  the  Greek  women  were  kept 
would  render  the  institution  of  such  an  office  not  unnatural  in  the 
churches  of  Greece,  as  well  as  in  those  of  the  East. 

Besides  the  three  orders  of  Apostles,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons,  we  find 
another  classification  of  the  ministry  of  the  Church  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,'^  where  they  are  divided  under  four  heads,  viz.,^  1st,  Apostles; 
2dly,  Prophets  ;  Sdly,  Evangelists  ;  4thly,  Pastors  and  Teachers.  By 
the  fourth  class  we  must  understand  *  the  Presbyters  to  be  denoted,  and 
we  then  have  two  other  names  interpolated  between  these  and  the 
Apostles  ;  viz.  Prophets  and  Evangelists.  By  the  former  we  must  under- 
stand those  on  whom  the  gift  of  prophecy  was  bestowed  in  such  abundant 
measure  as  to  constitute  their  peculiar  characteristic,  and  whose  work 
it  was  to  impart  constantly  to  their  brethren  the  revelations  which  they 
received  from  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  term  Evangelist  is  applied  to  those 
missionaries,  who,  like  Philip,*  and  Timothy,^  travelled  from  place  to 
place,  to  bear  the  Glad-tidings  of  Christ  to  unbelieving  nations  or  individ- 
uals. Hence  it  follows  that  the  Apostles  were  all  Evangelists,  although 
there  were  also  Evangelists  who  were  not  Apostles.  It  is  needless  to 
add  that  our  modern  use  of  the  word  Evangelist  (as  meaning  writer  of  a 
Gospel)  is  of  later  date,  and  has  no  place  here. 

All  these  classes  of  Church-officers  were  maintained  (so  far  as  they  re- 
quired it)  by  the  contributions  of  those  in  whose  service  they  labored. 
St.  Paul  lays  down,  in  the  strongest  manner,  their  right  to  such  main- 
tenance ; '  yet,  at  the  same  time,  we  find  that  he  very  rarely  accepted  the 
offerings,  which,  in  the  exercise  of  this  right,  he  might  himself  have 
claimed.  He  preferred  to  labor  with  his  own  hands  for  his  own  support, 
that  he  might  put  his  disinterested  motives  beyond  the  possibility  of 
suspicion  ;  and  he  advises  the  presbyters  of  the  Ephesian  Church  to  follow 
his  example  in  this  respect,  that  so  they  might  be  able  to  contribute,  by 
their  own  exertions,  to  the  support  of  the  helpless. 

The  mode  of  appointment  to  these  different  offices  varied  with  the 
nature  of  the  office.  The  Apostles,  as  we  have  seen,  received  their  com- 
mission directly  from  Christ  himself;  the  Prophets  were  appointed  by 

^  Rom.   xvi.    1.      See    p.   379,   n.   7.      It  a  different   view  is   held    of   the    Scriptural 

should   be  observed,  however,  that  the   "wid-  authority  for  a  female  diaconate.  —  h.] 
ows  "  mentioned  1  Tim.  v.  9  were  practically  '^  Eph.  iv.  11. 

Deaconesses,   although  they  do  not  seem,  at  'A  similar  classification  occurs  1  Cor.  xii. 

the  time  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  to  have  been  28;  viz.,  1st,  Apostles;  2dly,  Prophets ;  .3dly, 

called  by  that  name.     [For  a  general   discus-  Teachers.  *  See  above,  p.  379,  n.  6. 

sion  of  this  subject,  see  the  Qiarterly  Review  ^  Acts  xxi.  8.  '2  Tim.  iv.  5. 

for  October,  18G0,  especially  pp.  357, 358,  where  '   1  Cor.  ix.  7-14. 


382  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xm. 

that  inspiration  which  they  received  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  yet  their  claims 
would  be  subjected  to  the  judgment  of  those  who  had  received  the  gift  of 
discernment  of  spirits.  The  Evangelists  were  sent  on  particular  missions 
from  time  to  time,  by  the  Christians  with  whom  they  lived  (but  not  with- 
out a  special  revelation  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  will  to  that  effect),  as  the 
Church  of  Antioch  sent  away  Paul  and  Barnabas  to  evangelize  Cyprus. 
The  Presbyters  and  Deacons  were  appointed  by  the  Apostles  themselves 
(as  at  Lystra,  Iconium,  and  Antioch  in  Pisidia),^  or  by  their  deputies,  as 
in  the  case  of  Timothy  and  Titus ;  yet,  in  all  such  instances,  it  is  not 
improbable  that  the  concurrence  of  the  whole  body  of  the  Church  was 
obtained  ;  and  it  is  possible  that  in  other  cases,  as  well  as  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  seven  Hellenists,  the  officers  of  the  Church  may  have  been 
elected  by  the  Church  which  they  were  to  serve. 

In  all  cases,  so  far  as  we  may  infer  from  the  recorded  instances  in  the 
Acts,  those  who  were  selected  for  the  performance  of  Church  offices  were 
solemnly  set  apart  for  the  duties  to  which  they  devoted  themselves.  This 
ordhiation  they  received,  whether  the  office  to  which  they  were  called  was 
permanent  or  temporary.  The  Church,  of  which  they  were  members,  de- 
voted a  preparatory  season  to  "  fasting  and  prayer ;  "  and  then  those  who 
were  to  be  set  apart  were  consecrated  to  their  work  by  that  solemn  and 
touching  symbolical  act,  the  laying-on  of  hands,  which  has  been  ever 
since  appropriated  to  the  same  purpose  and  meaning.  And  thus,  in 
answer  to  the  faith  and  prayers  of  the  Church,  the  spiritual  gifts  neces- 
sary for  the  performance  of  the  office  were  bestowed  -  by  Him  who  is  "  the 
Lord  and  Giver  of  Life." 

Having  thus  briefly  attempted  to  describe  the  Offices  of  the  Apostolic 
Church,  we  pass  to  the  consideration  of  its  Ordinances.  Of  these,  the 
chief  were,  of  course,  those  two  sacraments  ordained  by  Christ  Himself, 
which  have  been  the  heritage  of  the  Universal  Church  throughout  all 
succeeding  ages.  The  sacrament  of  Baptism  was  regarded  as  the  door 
of  entrance  into  the  Christian  Church,  and  was  held  to  be  so  indispen- 
sable that  it  could  not  be  omitted  even  in  the  case  of  St.  Paul.  We 
have  seen  that  although  he  had  been  called  to  the  apostleship  by  the 
direct  intervention  of  Christ  Himself,  yet  he  was  commanded  to  receive 
baptism  at  the  hands  of  a  simple  disciple.  In  ordinary  cases,  the  sole 
condition  required  for  baptism  was,  that  the  persgns  to  be  baptized 
should  acknowledge  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,^  "  declared  to  be  the  Son  of 

1  Acts  xiv.  21-23.  pear  as  if  only  applicable  to  Jews  or  Jewish 

'^  Compare  2  Tim.  i.  6.     "  The  gift  of  God  proselytes,  who  already  were  looking  for  a 

which  is  in   thee   by  the  putting-on  of   my  Messiah ;  yet,  since  the  a(knowlcd<jinent  of 

hands."  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  involves  in  itself,  when 

*  This  condition  would  (at  first  sight)  &\y-  rightly  understood,  the  whole  of  Christianity, 


CHAP.  rra.  ORDINANCES  OF  THE   tEIMITIVE   CHURCH.  383 

God  with  power,  by  His  resurrection  from  the  dead."  In  this  acknowl- 
edgment was  virtnally  involved  the  readiness  of  the  new  converts  to 
submit  to  the  guidance  of  those  whom  Christ  had  appointed  as  the 
Apostles  and  teachers  of  His  Church  ;  and  we  find '  that  they  were 
subsequently  instructed  in  the  truths  of  Christianity,  and  were  taught  the 
true  spiritual  meaning  of  those  ancient  prophecies,  which  (if  Jews)  they 
had  hitherto  interpreted  of  a  human  conqueror  and  an  earthly  kingdom. 
This  instruction,  however,  took  place  after  baptism,  not  before  it ;  and 
herein  we  remark  a  great  and  striking  difference  from  the  subsequent 
usage  of  the  Church.  For,  not  long  after  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  the 
primitive  practice  in  this  respect  was  completely  reversed ;  in  all  cases 
the  convert  was  subjected  to  a  long  course  of  preliminary  instruction 
before  lie  was  admitted  to  baptism,  and  in  some  instances  the  catechumen 
remained  unbaptized  till  the  hour  of  death  ;  for  thus  he  thought  to 
escape  the  strictness  of  a  Christian  life,  and  fancied  that  a  death-bed 
baptism  would  operate  magically  upon  his  spiritual  condition,  and 
insure  his  salvation.  The  Apostolic  practice  of  immediate  baptism 
would,  had  it  been  retained,  have  guarded  the  Church  from  so  baneful  a 
superstition. 

It  has  been  questioned  whether  the  Apostles  baptized  adults  only,  or 
whether  they  admitted  infants  also  into  the  Church  ;  yet  we  cannot  but 
think  it  probable  that  infant  baptism  ^  was  their  practice.  This  appears, 
not  merely  because  (had  it  been  otherwise)  we  must  have  found  some 
traces  of  the  first  introduction  of  infant  baptism  afterwards,  but  also 

it  was  a  sufficient  foundation  for  the  faith  of  opposite  view.  Yet  the  arguments  on  which 
Gentiles  also.  In  the  case  both  of  Jews  and  he  grounds  his  opinion,  both  in  the  Planting 
Gentiles,  the  thing  required,  in  the  first  in-  and  Leading  and  in  the  Church  History,  seem 
stance,  wjvs  ^  celief  in  the  testimony  of  the  plainly  inconclusive.  He  himself  acknowl- 
Apostles,  that  "  this  Jesus  liuJ  God  raised  up,"  edges  that  the  principles  laid  down  by  St. 
and  thus  had  "  made  that  same  Jesus,  whom  Paul  (1  Cor.  vii.  14)  contain  a  justification  of 
they  had  crucified,  both  Lord  and  Christ."  infant  baptism,  and  he  admits  that  it  was 
The  most  important  passages,  as  bearing  on  practised  in  the  time  of  Irenaeus.  His  chief 
this  subject,  are  the  baptism  and  confirmation  reason  against  thinking  it  an  Apostolical 
of  the  Samaritan  converts  (Acts  viii.),  the  practice  {Church  Eistory,  sect.  3)  is,  that 
account  of  the  baptism  of  the  Ethiopian  Tertullian  opposed  it ;  but  Tertullian  does  not 
eunuch  (Acts  viii.),  of  Cornelius  (Acts  x.),  of  pretend  to  call  it  an  innovation.  It  is  need- 
the  Philippian  jailer  (Acts  xvi.)  (the  only  less  here  to  do  more  than  refer  to  the  well- 
case  where  the  baptism  of  a  non-proselyted  known  passages  of  Origen  which  prove  that 
Heathen  is  recorded),  of  John's  disciples  at  infant  baptism  prevailed  in  the  church  of 
Ephesus  (Acts  xix.),  and  the  statement  in  Alexandria  as  early  as  the  close  of  the  second 
Rom.  X.  9,  10.  century.      Surely  if  infant   baptism  had  not 

1  This  appears  from  such  passages  as  Gal.  been   sanctioned  by  the  Apostles,  we  should 

vi    6  ;  1  Thess.  v.  12  ;  Acts  xx.  20,  28,  and  have  found  some  one  at  least  among  the  many 

manv  othe«s.  ohurches  of  primitive   Chrtsiendom  resisting 

"  It  is  at  first   startling   to   find   Neander,  its  introduction. 
with  his  great  learning  and  candor,  takmg  an 


384  THE   LIPE   AJ^D    EPISTLES    OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xui. 

because  the  very  idea  of  the  Apostolic  baptism,  as  the  entrance  into 
Christ's  ki7igdom^  implies  that  it  could  not  have  been  refused  to  infants 
without  violating  the  command  of  Christ :  '■'  Suffer  little  children  to  come 
unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 
Again,  St.  Paul  expressly  says  that  the  children  of  a  Christian  parent 
were  to  be  looked  upon  as  consecrated  to  God  (ayioi)  by  virtue  of  their 
very  birth  ; '  and  it  would  have  been  most  inconsistent  with  this  view,  as 
well  as  with  the  practice  in  the  case  of  adults,  to  delay  the  reception  of 
infants  into  the  Church  till  they  had  been  fully  instructed  in  Christian 
doctrine. 

We  know  from  the  Gospels  ^  that  the  new  converts  were  baptized  "  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  And 
after  the  performance '  of  the  sacrament,  an  outward  sign  was  given  that 
God  was  indeed  present  with  His  Church,  through  the  mediation  of  The 
Son,  in  the  person  of  The  Spirit ;  for  the  baptized  converts,  when  the 
Apostles  had  laid  their  hands  on  them,  received  some  spiritual  gift, 
either  the  power  of  working  miracles,  or  of  speaking  in  tongues,  be- 
stowed upon  each  of  them  by  Him  who  "  divideth  to  every  man 
severally  as  He  will."  It  is  needless  to  add  that  baptism  was  (unless 
in  exceptional  cases)  administered  by  immersion,  the  convert  being 
plunged  beneath  the  surface  of  the  water  to  represent  his  death  to 
the  life  of  sin,  and  then  raised  from  this  momentary  burial  to  repre- 
sent his  resurrection  to  the  life  of  righteousness.  It  must  be  a  subject 
of  regret  that  the  general  discontinuance  of  this  original  form  of 
baptism  (though  perhaps  necessary  in  our  northern  climates)  has 
rendered  obscure  to  popular  apprehension  some  very  important  passages 
of  Scripture. 

With  regard  to  the  other  sacrament,  we  know  both  from  the  Acts  and 
the  Epistles  how  constantly  the  Apostolic  Church  obeyed  their  Lord's 
command :  "  Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me."  Indeed  it  would  seem 
that  originally  their  common  meals  were  ended,  as  that  memorable  feast 
at  Emmaus  had  been,  by  its  celebration ;  so  that,  as  at  the  first  to  those 
two  disciples,  their  Lord's  presence  was  daily  "  made  known  unto  them 
in  the  breaking  of  bread."  *     Subsequently  the  Communion  was  admin- 

1  1  Cor.  vii.  14.  baptism.     Tho  answer  of  St.  Paul  to  the  dis- 

2  Matt,  xxviii.  19.  We  cannot  agree  with  ciples  of  John  the  Baptist  at  Ephesus  (Acts 
Neander  (Planting  and  Leading,  i.  25,  and  xix.  3),  is  a  strong  argument  that  the  name  of 
188)  that  the  evidence  of  this  positive  com-  the  Holy  Ghost  occurred  in  the  baptismal  for- 
mand  is  at  all  impaired  by  our  finding  baptism  mula  then  employed. 

described  in  the  Acts  and  Epistles  as  baptism  ^  The  case  of  Cornelius,  in  which  the  gifts 

into  the  name  of  Jesus ;  tiie  latter  seems  a  con-  of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  bestowed  before  ba|v 

densed  expression  which  would   natur^Jly  be  tism,  was  an  exception  to  the  ordinary  rule, 
employed,  just  as  we  now  speaR  of  Christian  *  Luke  xxiv.  35. 


CHAP.  xm.  ORDINAKCES   OF  THE  PRIMITIVE  CHURCH.  385 

istered  at  the  close  of  the  public  feasts  of  love  (^Agapce^^  at  which  the 
Christians  met  to  realize  their  fellowship  one  with  another,  and  to  par- 
take together,  rich  and  poor,  masters  and  slaves,  on  equal  terms,  of  the 
common  meal.  But  this  practice  led  to  abuses,  as  we  see  in  the  case  of 
the  Corinthian  Church,  where  the  very  idea  of  the  ordinance  was  vio- 
lated by  the  providing  of  different  food  for  the  rich  and  poor,  and  where 
Bome  of  the  former  were  even  guilty  of  intemperance.  Consequently  a 
change  was  made,  and  the  communion  administered  before  instead  of 
after  the  meal,  and  finally  separated  from  it  altogether. 

T\\Q  festivals  observed  by  the  Apostolic  Church  were  at  first  the  same 
with  those  of  the  Jews ;  and  the  observance  of  these  was  continued, 
especially  by  the  Christians  of  Jewish  birth,  for  a  considerable  time.  A 
higher  and  more  spiritual  meaning,  however,  was  attached  to  their  cele- 
bration ;  and  particularly  the  Paschal  feast  was  kept,  no  longer  as  a 
shadow  of  good  things  to  come,  but  as  the  commemoration  of  blessings 
actually  bestowed  in  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ.  Thus  we 
already  see  the  germ  of  our  Easter  festival  in  the  exhortation  which  St. 
Paul  gives  to  the  Corinthians  concerning  the  manner  in  which  they 
should  celebrate  the  Paschal  feast.  Nor  was  it  only  at  this  annual  feast 
that  they  kept  in  memory  the  resurrection  of  their  Lord  ;  every  Sunday 
likewise  was  a  festival  in  memory  of  the  same  event ;  the  Church  never 
failed  to  meet  for  common  prayer  and  praise  on  that  day  of  the  week  ; 
and  it  very  soon  acquired  the  name  of  the  "  Lord's  Day,"  which  it  has 
since  retained. 

But  the  meetings  of  the  first  converts  for  public  worship  were  not  con- 
fined to  a  single  day  of  the  week  ;  they  were  always  frequent,  often  daily. 
The  Jewish  Christians  met  at  first  in  Jerusalem  in  some  of  the  courts  of 
the  temple,  there  to  join  in  the  prayers  and  hear  the  teaching  of  Peter 
and  John.  Afterwards  the  private  houses  ^  of  the  more  opulent 
Christians  were  thrown  open  to  furnish  their  brethren  with  a  place  of 
assembly ;  and  they  met  for  prayer  and  praise  in  some  "  upper  chamber," ' 
with  the  "  door  shut  for  fear  of  the  Jews."  The  outward  form  and  order 
of  their  worship  differed  very  materially  from  our  own,  as  indeed  was 
necessarily  the  case  where  so  many  of  the  worshippers  were  under  the 
miraculous  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Some  were  filled  with  prophetic 
inspiration  ;  some  constrained  to  pour  forth  their  ecstatic  feelings  in  the 
exercise  of  the  gift  of  tongues,  "  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance." 
We  see,  from  St.  Paul's  directions  to  the  Corinthians,  that  there  was 

1  Jude  12.      This  is  the  custom   to  which  ^  See  Rom.  xvi.  5,  and  1  Cor.  xvi.  19,  and 

Pliny  alludes,  when  he  describes   the   Chris-  Acts  xviii.  7. 

tians  meeting  to  partake  of  cibus  promiscuus  et  ^  "  The   upper  chamber  where   they   wei« 

innoxius.  gathered  togetlar."  —  Acts  xx.  8. 
26 


386  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xm. 

danger  even  then  lest  their  worship  should  degenerate  into  a  scene  of 
confusion,  from  the  number  who  wished  to  take  part  in  the  public  minis- 
trations ;  and  he  lays  down  rules  which  show  that  even  the  exercise  of 
supernatural  gifts  was  to  be  restrained,  if  it  tended  to  violate  the  orderly 
celebration  of  public  worship.  He  directs  that  not  more  than  two  or 
three  should  prophesy  in  the  same  assembly ;  and  that  those  who  had  the 
gift  of  tongues  should  not  exercise  it,  unless  some  one  present  had  the 
gift  of  interpretation,  and  could  explain  their  utterances  to  the  congrega- 
tion. He  also  forbids  women  (even  though  some  of  them  might  be 
prophetesses)  ^  to  speak  in  the  public  assembly ;  and  desires  that  they 
should  appear  veiled,  as  became  the  modesty  of  their  sex. 

In  the  midst  of  so  much  diversity,  however,  the  essential  parts  of 
public  worship  were  the  same  then  as  now,  for  we  find  that  prayer  was 
made,  and  thanksgiving  offered  up,  by  those  who  officiated,  and  that  the 
congregation  signified  their  assent  by  a  unanimous  Amen.'^  Psalms  also 
were  chanted,  doubtless  to  some  of  those  ancient  Hebrew  melodies  which 
have  been  handed  down,  not  improbably,  to  our  own  times  in  the  sim- 
plest form  of  ecclesiastical  music  ;  and  addresses  of  exhortation  or 
instruction  were  given  by  those  whom  the  gift  of  prophecy,  or  the  gift  of 
teaching,  had  fitted  for  the  task. 

But  whatever  were  the  other  acts  of  devotion  in  which  these  assem- 
blies were  employed,  it  seems  probable  that  the  daily  worship  always  con- 
cluded with  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion.^  And  as  in  this 
the  members  of  the  Church  expressed  and  realized  the  closest  fellowship, 
not  only  with  their  risen  Lord,  but  also  with  each  other,  so  it  was  cus- 
omary  to  symbolize  this  latter  union  by  the  interchange  of  the  kiss  of 
peace  before  the  sacrament,  a  practice  to  which  St.  Paul  frequently 
alludes.* 

It  would  have  been  well  if  tljie  inward  love  and  harmony  of  the 
Church  had  really  corresponded  with  the  outward  manifestation  of  it  in 
this  touching  ceremony.  But  this  was  not  the  case,  even  while  the 
Apostles  themselves  poured  out  the  wine  and  broke  the  bread  which 
symbolized  the  perfect  union  of  the  members  of  Christ's   body.     The 

1  Acta  xxi.  9.  of  the  Church.     This  was  certainly  the  case 

2  1  Cor.  xiv.  16.  in  Acts  xx.  8  ;  a  passage  which  Ncander  must 
'  This   seems    proved  by   1    Cor.   xi.   20,       have  overlooked  when  he  says  ( Church  History, 

where  St.  Paul  appears  to  assume   that   the  sect.  3)  that  the  cliurch  service  in  the  time  of 

very  object  of  "  coming  together  in  Church  "  the  Apostles  was  held  early  in  the  morning. 

was  "  to  eat   the   Lord's   Supper."      As   the  There  are  obvious  reasons  why  the  evening 

Lord's  Supper  was  originally  the  conclusion  would  have  been  the  most  proper  time  for  a 

of  the  Agape,  it  was  celebrated  in  the  even-  service  which   was  to   be   attended   by  those 

ing ;  and  probably,  therefore,  evening  was  the  whose  day  was  spent    in  working  with   their 

time,  on  ordinary  occasions,  for  the  meeting  hands.  *  See  note  on  1  Thess.  v.  26. 


CUAP.J.IU.  DIVISIONS   IN  THE  PRIMITIVE    CHUKCH.  387 

kiss  of  peace  sometimes  only  veiled  the  hatred  of  warring  factions.  So 
St.  Paul  expresses  to  the  Corinthians  his  grief  at  hearing  that  there  were 
"  divisions  among  them,"  which  showed  themselves  when  they  met 
together  for  public  worship.  The  earliest  division  of  the  Christian 
Church  into  opposing  parties  was  caused  by  the  Judaizing  teachers,  of 
whose  factious  efforts  in  Jerusalem  and  elsewhere  we  have  already 
spoken.  Their  great  object  was  to  turn  the  newly-converted  Christians 
into  Jewish  proselytes,  who  should  differ /rom  other  Jews  only  in  the 
recognition  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah.  In  tlieir  view  the  natural  posterity 
of  Abraham  were  still  as  much  as  ever  the  theocratic  nation,  entitled  to 
God's  exclusive  favor,  to  which  the  rest  of  mankind  could  only  be  admit 
ted  by  becoming  Jews.  Those  members  of  this  party  who  were  really  sin 
cere  believers  in  Christianity,  probably  expected  that  the  majority  of  theii 
countrymen,  finding  their  own  national  privileges  thus  acknowledged  and 
maintained  by  the  Christians,  would  on  their  part  more  willingly 
acknowledge  Jesus  as  their  Messiah  ;  and  thus  they  fancied  that  the 
Christian  Church  would  gain  a  larger  accession  of  members  than  could 
ever  accrue  to  it  from  Isolated  Gentile  converts  :  so  that  they  probably 
justified  their  opposition  to  St.  Paul  on  grounds  not  only  of  Jewish  but 
of  Christian  policy  ;  for  they  imagined  that  by  his  admission  of  uncir- 
cumcised  Gentiles  into  the  full  membership  of  the  Church  he  was  repel- 
ling far  more  numerous  converts  of  Israelitish  birth,  who  would  otherwise 
have  accepted  the  doctrine  of  Jesus.  This  belief  (which  in  itself,  and 
seen  from  their  point  of  view,  in  that  age,  was  not  unreasonable)  might 
have  enabled  them  to  excuse  to  their  consciences,  as  Christians,  the  bit- 
terness of  their  opposition  to  the  great  Christian  Apostle.  But  in  consid- 
ering them  as  a  party,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  they  felt  themselves 
more  Jews  than  Christians.  They  acknowledged  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as 
the  promised  Messiah,  and  so  far  they  were  distinguished  from  the  rest 
of  tlieir  countrymen  ;  but  the  Messiah  himself,  they  thought,  was  only  a 
"  Saviour  of  His  people  Israel ;  "  and  they  ignored  that  true  meaning  of 
the  ancient  prophecies,  which  St.  Paul  was  inspired  to  reveal  to  the 
Universal  Churcli,  teaching  us  tliat  the  "  excellent  things  "  which  are 
spoken  of  the  people  of  God,  and  the  city  of  God,  in  the  Old  Testar 
ment,  are  to  be  by  us  interpreted  of  the  "  household  of  faith,"  and  "  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem." 

We  have  seen  that  the  Judaizers  at  first  insisted  upon  the  observance  of 
the  law  of  Moses,  and  especially  of  circumcision,  as  an  absolute  requisite 
for  admission  into  the  Church,  "  saying.  Except  ye  be  circumcised  after 
the  manner  of  Moses,  ye  cannot  be  saved."  But  after  the  decision  of  the 
"  Council  of  Jerusalem"  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  require  this  con- 
dition ;   they  therefore  altered  their  tactics,  and  as  the  decrees  of  the 


388  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL,  oiAP.xm 

Council  seemed  to  assume  that  the  Jewish  Christians  would  continue  to 
observe  the  Mosiac  Law,  the  Judaizers  took  advantage  of  this  to  insist 
on  the  necessity  of  a  separation  between  those  who  kept  the  wliole  Law 
and  all  others  ;  they  taught  that  the  uncircumcised  were  in  a  lower  con- 
dition as  to  spiritual  privileges,  and  at  a  greater  distance  from  God  ;  and 
that  only  the  circumcised  converts  were  in  a  state  of  full  acceptance  with 
Him :  in  short,  they  kept  the  Gentile  converts  who  would  not  submit  to 
circumcision  on  the  same  footing  as  the  proselytes  of  the  gate,  and  treated 
the  circumcised  alone  as  proselytes  of  righteousness.  When  we  compre- 
hend all  that  was  involved  in  this,  we  can  easily  understand  the  energetic 
opposition  with  which  their  teaching  was  met  by  St.  Paul.  It  was  no 
mere  question  of  outward  observance,  no  matter  of  indifference  (as  it 
might  at  first  sight  appear),  whether  the  Gentile  converts  were  circum- 
cised or  not ;  on  the  contrary,  the  question  at  stake  was  nothing  less  than 
this,  whether  Christians  should  be  merely  a  Jewish  sect  under  the  bondage 
of  a  ceremonial  law,  and  only  distinguished  from  other  Jews  by  believing 
that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  or  whether  they  should  be  the  Catholic 
Church  of  Christ,  owing  no  other  allegiance  but  to  him,  freed  from  the 
bondage  of  the  letter,  and  bearing  the  seal  of  their  inheritance  no  longer 
in  their  bodies,  but  in  their  hearts.  We  can  understand  now  the  full 
truth  of  his  indignant  remonstrance,  "  If  ye  be  circumcised,  Christ  shall 
profit  you  nothing."  And  we  can  understand  also  the  exasperation  which 
his  teaching  must  have  produced  in  those  who  held  the  very  antithesis 
of  this,  namely,  that  Christianity  without  circumcision  was  utterly  worth- 
less. Hence  their  long  and  desperate  struggle  to  destroy  the  influence 
of  St.  Paul  in  every  Church  which  he  founded  or  visited,  in  Antioch,  in 
Galatia,  in  Corinth,  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  Rome.  For  as  he  was  in  truth 
the  great  prophet  divinely  commissioned  to  reveal  the  catholicity  of  the 
Christian  Church,  so  he  appeared  to  them  the  great  apostate,  urged  by 
the  worst  motives  ^  to  break  down  the  fence  and  root  up  the  hedge,  which 
separated  the  heritage  of  the  Lord  from  a  godless  world. 

We  shall  not  be  surprised  at  their  success  in  creating  divisions  in  the 
Churches  to  which  they  came,  when  we  remember  that  the  nucleus  of  all 
those  Churches  was  a  body  of  converted  Jews  and  proselytes.  The  Ju- 
daizing  emissaries  were  ready  to  flatter  the  prejudices  of  this  influential 
body ;  nor  did  they  abstain  (as  we  know  both  from  tradition  and  from  his 
own  letters)  from  insinuating  the  most  scandalous  charges  against  their 

1  ¥hat  curious  apocryphal  book,  the  Clem-  Peter  to  James.  The  English  reader  should 
entine  Recognitions,  contains,  in  a  modified  consult  the  interesting  remarKS  of  Prof.  Stan- 
form,  a  record  of  the  view  taken  by  the  Juda-  ley  on  the  Clementines  (Stanley's  Sermons, 
izers  of  St.  Paul,  from  the  pen  of  the  Judaiz-  p.  374,  &c.),  and  also  Neander's  Church  IlisTory 
ing  party  itself.  In  the  pretended  epistle  of  CAmerican  translation,  vol.  ii.  p.  35,  &c  ). 


«HAP.  xni.  DIVISIONS  IN  THE  PRIMITIVE     CHURCH  389 

great  opponent.'  And  thus,  in  every  Christian  church  established  by  St. 
Paul,  there  sprang  up,  as  we  shall  see,  a  schismatic  party,  opposed  to  his 
teaching  and  hostile  to  his  person. 

This  great  Judaizing  party  was  of  course  subdivided  into  various  sec- 
tions, united  in  their  main  object,  but  distinguished  by  minor  shades  of 
difference.  Thus,  we  find  at  Corinth  that  it  comprehended  two  factions, 
the  one  apparently  distinguished  from  the  other  by  a  greater  degree  of 
violence.  The  more  moderate  called  themselves  the  followers  of  Peter, 
or  rather  of  Cephas,  for  they  preferred  to  use  his  Hebrew  name.-  These 
dwelt  much  upon  our  Lord's  special  promises  to  Peter,  and  the  necessary 
inferiority  of  St.  Paul  to  him  who  was  divinely  ordained  to  be  the  rock 
whereon  the  Church  should  be  built.  They  insinuated  that  St.  Paul  felt 
doubts  about  his  own  Apostolic  authority,  and  did  not  dare  to  claim  the 
right  of  maintenance,'  which  Christ  had  expressly  given  to  His  true 
Apostles.  They  also  depreciated  him  as  a  maintainer  of  celibacy,  and 
contrasted  him  in  this  respect  with  the  great  Pillars  of  the  Church,  "  the 
brethren  of  the  Lord  and  Cephas,"  who  were  married.*  And  no  doubt 
they  declaimed  against  the  audacity  of  a  converted  persecutor,  "  born 
into  the  Church  out  of  due  time,"  in  "  withstanding  to  the  face  "  the 
chief  of  the  Apostles.  A  still  more  violent  section  called  themselves,  by 
a  strange  misnomer,  the  party  of  Christ.^  These  appear  to  have  laid 
great  stress  upon  the  fact,  that  Paul  had  never  seen  or  known  our  Lord 
while  on  earth  ;  and  they  claimed  for  themselves  a  peculiar  connection 
with  Christ,  as  having  either  been  among  the  number  of  His  disciples,  or 
at  least  as  being  in  close  connection  with  the  "  brethren  of  the  Lord,"  and 
especially  with  James,  the  head  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem.  To  this 
subdivision  probably  belonged  the  emissaries  who  professed  to  come  "  from 
James,"  ®  and  who  created  a  schism  in  the  Church  of  Antioch. 

Connected  to  a  certain  extent  with  the  Judaizing  party,  but  yet  to  be 
carefully  distinguished  from  it,  were  those  Christians  who  are  known  in 
the  New  Testament  as  the  "  weak  brethren." '  These  were  not  a  factious 
or  schismatic  party  ;  nay,  they  were  not,  properly  speaking,  a  party  at  all. 


1  We  learn  from  Epiphanius  that  the  Ebi-  tion  of  the  "Christ"  party  (1   Cor.  i.  12). 

onites  accused  St.  Paul  of  renouncing  Juda-  As  to  the  views  held  by  some  eminent  com- 

ism  because  he  was  a  rejected  candidate  for  mentators  on   the  passage,  it   is   a  question 

the  hand  of  the  High  Priest's  daughter.     See  whether  they  are  consistent  with  2  Cor.  x.  7. 

p.  91.  Sureiy  St.  Paul  would  never  have  said,  ".4s 

-  The  MS.  reading  is  Cephas,  not  Peter,  in  those  who   claim   some   imaginm-y  communion 

those  passages   where   the    language    of   the  with   Christ   belong    to  Christ,  so  also  do   1 

Judaizers  is  referred  to.    See  note  on  Gal.  i.  18.  belong  to  Christ." 

3  1  Cor.  ix.  4,  6  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  9,  10.  o  Gal.  ii.  12. 

*  1  Cor.  ix.  5.  "  Rom.  xiv.  1,2;  Rom.  xv.  1  ;  1  Cor.  vui 

^  Such  appears  the  most  natural  explana-  7,  ix.  22. 


390         >  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xiii. 

They  were  individual  converts  of  Jewish  extraction,  whose  minds  were 
not  as  yet  sufficiently  enlightened  to  comprehend  the  fulness  of  "  the 
liberty  with  which  Christ  had  made  them  free."  Their  conscience  was 
sensitive,  and  filled  with  scruples,  resulting  from  early  habit  and  old 
prejudices  ;  but  they  did  not  join  in  the  violence  of  the  Judaizing  bigots, 
and  there  was  even  a  danger  lest  they  should  be  led,  by  the  example  of 
their  more  enlightened  brethren,  to  wound  their  own  conscience,  by  join- 
ing in  acts  which  they,  in  their  secret  hearts,  thought  wrong.  Nothing  is 
more  beautiful  than  the  tenderness  and  sympathy  which  St.  Paul  shows 
towards  these  weak  Christians.  While  he  plainly  sets  before  them  their 
mistake,  and  shows  that  their  prejudices  result  from  ignorance,  yet  he  has 
no  sterner  rebuke  for  them  than  to  express  his  confidence  in  their  further 
enlightenment :  "  If  in  any  thing  ye  be  otherwise  minded,  God  shall  reveal 
this  also  unto  you."  ^  So  great  is  his  anxiety  lest  the  liberty  which  they 
witnessed  in  others  should  tempt  them  to  blunt  the  delicacy  of  their 
moral  feeling,  that  he  warns  his  more  enlightened  converts  to  abstain 
from  lawful  indulgences,  lest  they  cause  the  weak  to  stumble.  "  If  meat 
make  my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  meat  while  the  world  standeth, 
lest  I  make  my  brother  to  offend."^  "Brethren,  ye  have  been  called 
unto  liberty,  only  use  not  liberty  for  an  occasion  to  the  flesh,  but  by  love 
serve  one  another."  ^  "  Destroy  not  him  with  thy  meat  for  whom  Christ 
died."  " 

These  latter  warnings  were  addressed  by  St.  Paul  to  a  party  very  differ- 
ent from  those  of  whom  we  have  previously  spoken  ;  a  party  who  called 
themselves  (as  we  see  from  his  epistle  to  Corinth)  by  his  own  name,  and 
professed  to  follow  his  teaching,  yet  were  not  always  animated  by  hi? 
spirit.  There  was  an  obvious  danger  lest  the  opponents  of  the  Judaizing 
section  of  the  Church  should  themselves  imitate  one  of  the  errors  of 
their  antagonists,  by  combining  as  partisans  rather  than  as  Christians. 
St.  Paul  feels  himself  necessitated  to  remind  them  that  the  very  idea  of 
the  Catholic  Church  excludes  all  party  combinations  from  its  pale,  and 
that  adverse  factions,  ranging  themselves  under  human  leaders,  involve  a 
contradiction  to  the  Christian  name.  "Is  Christ  divided?  was  Paul 
crucified  for  you  ?  or  were  you  baptized  into  the  name  of  Paul  ?  "  "  Who, 
then,  is  Paul,  and  who  is  ApoUos,  but  ministers  by  whom  ye  believed  ?  "  * 

The  Pauline  party  (as  they  called  themselves)  appear  to  have  ridiculed 
the  scrupulosity  of  their  less  enlightened  brethren,  and  to  have  felt  for 
them  a  contempt  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  Christian  love.^     And  in 

1  Phil.  iii.  15.  -61  Cor.  i.  13,  and  1  Cor.  iii.  5. 

'^  1  Cor.  viii.  13,  '  Rom.  xiv.  10.     "  Why  dost  thou  despise 

8  Gal.  V.  13.  thy  brother?  "  is  a  question  addressed  to  thU 

*  Rom.  xiv.  15.  party. 


CHAP.xm.  DIVISIONS   IN  THE  PRIMITIVE    CHUECH.  391 

their  opposition  to  the  Judaizers,  they  showed  a  bitterness  of  feeling  and 
violence  of  action,'  too  like  that  of  their  opponents.  Some  of  them,  also, 
were  inclined  to  exult  over  the  fall  of  God's  ancient  people,  and  co  glory 
in  their  own  position,  as  though  it  had  been  won  by  superior  merit. 
These  are  rebuked  by  St.  Paul  for  their  "  boasting,"  and  warned  against 
its  consequences.  "  Be  not  high-minded,  but  fear  ;  for  if  God  spared  not 
the  natural  branches,  take  heed  lest  He  also  spare  not  thee."  ^  One  sec- 
tion of  this  party  seems  to  have  united  these  errors  with  one  still  more 
dangerous  to  the  simplicity  of  the  Christian  faith ;  they  received  Chris- 
tianity more  in  an  intellectual  than  a  moral  aspect ;  not  as  a  spiritual 
religion,  so  much  as  a  new  system  of  philosophy.  This  was  a  phase  of 
error  most  likely  to  occur  among  the  disputatious  *  reasoners  who 
abounded  in  the  great  Greek  cities ;  and,  accordingly,  we  find  the  first 
trace  of  its  existence  at  Corinth.  There  it  took  a  peculiar  form,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  arrival  of  Apollos  as  a  Christian  teacher,  soon  after  the 
departure  of  St.  Paul.  He  was  a  Jew  of  Alexandria,  and  as  such  had 
received  that  Grecian  cultivation,  and  acquired  tliat  familiarity  with 
Greek  philosophy,  which  distinguished  the  more  learned  Alexandrian 
Jews.  Thus  he  was  able  to  adapt  his  teaching  to  the  taste  of  his  philos- 
ophizing hearers  at  Corinth  far  more  than  St.  Paul  could  do  ;  and, 
indeed,  the  latter  had  purposely  abstained  from  even  attempting  this  at 
Corintli.''  Accordingly,  tlie  School  which  we  have  mentioned  called 
themselves  the  followers  of  Apollos,  and  extolled  his  philosophic  views,  in 
opposition  to  the  simple  and  unlearned  simplicity  which  they  ascribed  to 
the  style  of  St.  Paul.  It  is  easy  to  perceive  in  the  temper  of  this  portion 
of  the  Church  the  germ  of  that  rationalizing  tendency  which  afterwards 
developed  itself  into  the  Greek  element  of  Gnosticism.  Already,  indeed, 
although  that  heresy  was  not  yet  invented,  some  of  the  worst  opinions  of 
the  worst  Gnostics  found  advocates  among  those  who  called  themselves 
Christians ;  there  was,  eiven  now,  a  party  in  the  Church  which  defended 
fornication  ^  on  theory,  and  which  denied  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.® 
These  heresies  probably  originated  with  those  who  (as  we  have  observed) 
embraced  Christianity  as  a  new  philosophy  ;  some  of  whom  attempted, 
with  a  perverted  ingenuity,  to  extract  from  its  doctrines  a  justification  of  . 
the  immoral  life  to  which  they  were  addicted.  Thus,  St.  Paul  had  taught 
that  the  law  was  dead  to  true  Christians ;  meaning  thereby,  that  those 
who  were  penetrated  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  made  one  with  Christ, 
worked  righteousness,  not  in  consequence  of  a  law  of  precepts  and  penal- 

1  See   the   admonitions  addressed  to    the  ^  The  "  disputers  of  this  world,"  1  Cor.  i 
"  spiritual"  in  Gal.  v.  13,  14,  26,  and  Gal.  tI.       20.  *  1  Cor,  ii.  1. 
1-5.                                                                                    *  See  1  Cor.  vi.  9-20. 

2  Rom.  xi.  17-22  ^  See  1  Cor.  xv.  12. 


392  THE  LIFE  A]SrD  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chat.  iui. 

ties,  but  through  the  necessary  operation  of  the  spiritual  principle  within 
them.  For,  as  the  law  against  theft  might  be  said  to  be  dead  to  a  rich 
man  (because  he  would  feel'  no  temptation  to  break  it),  so  the  whole 
moral  law  would  be  dead  to  a  perfect  Christian  ;  ^  hence,  to  a  real  Chris- 
tian, it  might  in  one  sense  be  truly  said  that  prohibitions  were  abolished? 
But  the  heretics  of  whom  we  are  speaking  took  this  proposition  in  a  sense 
the  very  opposite  to  that  which  it  really  conveyed  ;  and  whereas  St.  Paul 
taught  that  prohibitions  were  abolished  for  the  righteous,  they  maintained 
that  all  things  were  lawful  to  the  wicked.  "  The  law  is  dead  "  ^  was  their 
motto,  and  their  practice  was  what  the  practice  of  Antinomians  in  all 
ages  has  been.  "  Let  us  continue  in  sin,  that  grace  may  abound,"  was 
their  horrible  perversion  of  the  Evangelical  revelation  that  God  is  love. 
"  In  Christ  Jesus,  neither  circumcision  availeth  any  thing,  nor  uncircum- 
cision."  *  "  The  letter  killeth,  but  the  Spirit  giveth  life."  *  "  Meat  com- 
mendeth  us  not  to  God  ;  for  neither  if  we  eat  are  we  the  better,  nor  if  we 
eat  not  are  we  the  worse ; "  ^  "  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and 
drink." '  Such  were  the  words  in  which  St.  Paul  expressed  the  great 
truth,  that  religion  is  not  a  matter  of  outward  ceremonies,  but  of  inward 
life.  But  these  heretics  caught  up  the  words,  and  inferred  that  all  out- 
ward acts  were  indifferent,  and  none  could  be  criminal.  They  advocated 
the  most  unrestrained  indulgence  of  the  passions,  and  took  fjr  their 
maxim  the  worst  precept  of  Epicurean  atheism,  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink, 
for  to-morrow  we  die."  It  is  in  the  wealthy  and  vicious  cities  of  Rome 
and  Corinth  that  we  find  these  errors  first  manifesting  themselves ;  and 
in  the  voluptuous  atmosphere  of  the  latter  it  was  not  unnatural  that  there 
should  be  some  who  would  seek  in  a  new  religion  an  excuse  for  their  old 
vices,  and  others  who  would  easily  be  led  astray  by  those  "  evil  communi- 
cations" whose  corrupting  influence  the  Apostle  himself  mentions  as  the 
chief  source  of  this  mischief. 

The  Resurrection  of  the  Dead  was  denied  in  (he  same  city  and  by  the 
same  ^  party ;  nor  is  it  strange  that  as  the  sensual  Felix  trembled  when 
Paul  preached  to  him  of  the  judgment  to  come,  so  these  profligate  cavil- 
lers shrank  from  the  thought  of  that  tribunal  before  which  account  must 
be  given  of  the  things  done  in  the  body.  Perhaps,  also  (as  some  have 
inferred  from  St.  Paul's  refutation  of  these  heretics),  they  had  misunder 


1  This  state  would  be  perfectly  realized  if  "^  Compare  1  Tim.  i.  9,  — "  the  Law  is  not 

the  renovation  of  heart  were  complete  ;  and  it  made  for  a  righteous  man." 
is   practically  realized  in   proportion   as   the  *  "  All  things?  are  lawful  unto  me,"  1  Cor 

Christian's   spiritual  union   with   Christ    ap-  vi.  12.  *  C?il.  ▼•  6. 

proaches  its   theoretic   standard.      Perhaps  it  ^2  Cor.  iii.  6.  ®  1  Cor.  viii.  8. 

was  perfectly  realized  by  St.  Paul  when  ho  ^  Rom.  xiv.  17. 

wTote  Gal.  ii.  20.  '  This  is  proved  by  1  Cor.  xt.  35. 


CHAT.  xnr.  HERESIES  IN  THE   PRIMITIVE   CHURCH.  393 

stood  the  Christian  doctrine,  which  teaches  us  to  believe  in  the  resurrec- 
tion of  a  spiritual  body,  as  though  it  had  asserted  the  re-animation  of 
"  this  vile  body  "  of  "  flesh  and  blood,"  which  "  cannot  inherit  the  king- 
dom of  God  ;  "  or  it  is  possible  that  a  materialistic  philosophy'  led  them 
to  maintain  that  when  the  body  had  crumbled  away  in  the  grave,  or  been 
consumed  on  the  funeral  pyre,  nothing  of  the  man  remained  in  being. 
In  either  case,  they  probably  explained  away  the  doctrine  of  the  Res- 
urrection as  a  metaphor,  similar  to  that  employed  by  St.  Paul  when  he 
says  that  baptism  is  the  resurrection  of  the  new  convert ;  ^  thus  they 
would  agree  with  those  later  heretics  (of  whom  were  Hymenasus  and 
Philetus)  who  taught  "  that  the  Resurrection  was  past  already." 

Hitherto  we  have  spoken  of  those  divisions  and  heresies  which  appear 
to  have  sprung  up  in  the  several  Churches  founded  by  St.  Paul  at  the 
earliest  period  of  their  history,  almost  immediately  after  their  conversion. 
Beyond  this  period  we  are  not  yet  arrived  in  St.  Paul's  life  ;  and  from 
his  conversion  even  to  the  time  of  his  imprisonment,  his  conflict  was 
mainly  with  Jews  or  Judaizers.  But  there  were  other  forms  of  error 
which  harassed  his  declining  years ;  and  these  we  will  now  endeavor 
(although  anticipating  the  course  of  our  biography)  shortly  to  describe, 
so  that  it  may  not  be  necessary  afterwards  to  revert  to  the  subject,  and 
at  the  same  time  that  particular  cases,  which  will  meet  us  in  the  Epistles, 
may  be  understood  in  their  relation  to  the  general  religious  aspect  of 
the  time. 

We  have  seen  that,  in  the  earliest  epoch  of  the  Church,  there  were 
two  elements  of  error  which  had  already  shown  themselves  ;  namely, 
the  bigoted,  exclusive,  and  superstitious  tendency,  which  was  of  Jewish 
origin  ;  and  the  pseudo-philosophic,  or  rationalizing  tendency,  which  was 
of  Grecian  birth.  In  the  early  period  of  which  we  have  hitherto  spoken, 
and  onwards  till  the  time  of  St.  Paul's  imprisonuient  at  Rome,  the  first 
of  these  tendencies  was  the  principal  source  of  danger ;  but  after  this,  as 
the  Church  enlarged  itself,  and  the  number  of  Gentile  converts  more  and 
more  exceeded  that  of  Jewish  Christians,  the  case  was  altered.  The 
catholicity  of  the  Church  became  an  established  fact,  and  the  Judaizers, 
properly  so  called,  ceased  to  exist  as  an  influential  party  anywhere  except 
in  Palestine.  Yet  still,  though  the  Jews  were  forced  to  give  up  their 
exclusiveness,  and  to  acknowledge  the  uncircumcised  as  "  fellow-heirs 
and  of  the  same  body,"  their  superstition  remained,  and  became  a 
fruitful  source  of  mischief.  On  the  other  hand,  those  who  sought  for 
nothing   more   in    Christianity  than  a  new   philosophy,  were   naturally 

1  If  this  were  the  case,  wi*  must  suppose       Gnostics,  who  denied  the  Resurrection, 
them  to  have  been  of  Epicurean  tendencies,  ^  Col.  ii.  12.     Compare  Rom.  vi.  4 

and,  so  far,  different  from  the  later  Platonizing 


394  THE   LIFE   AJiD   EPISTLES   Or   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xin. 

increased  in  u amber,  in  proportion  as  the  Church  gained  converts  from 
the  educated  classes  ;  the  lecturers  in  t.he  schools  of  Athens,  tlie  "  wis- 
dom-seekers "   of    Corinth,   the   Antinomian    perverters   of   St.    Paul's 
teaching,  and  the  Platonizing  rabbis  of  Alexandria,  all  would  share  in 
this  tendency.     The  latter,  indeed,  as  represented  by  the  learned  Pliilo, 
had  already  attempted  to  construct  a  system  of  Judaic  Platonism,  which 
explained  away  almost  all  the  peculiarities  of  the  Mosaic  theology  into 
accordance  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Academy.     And  thus  the  way  was 
already  paved  for  the  introduction  of  that  most  curious  amalgam  of 
Hellenic  and  Oriental  speculation  with  Jewish  superstition,  which  was 
afterwards  called  the  Gnostic  heresy.     It  is  a  disputed  point  at  what  time 
this  heresy  made  its  first  appearance  in  the  Church  :  some  ^  think  that  it 
had  already  commenced  in  the  Church  of  Corinth  when  3t.  Paul  warned 
them  to  beware  of  the  knowledge  ( Gnosis')  which  pufieth  up  ;  others 
maintain  that  it  did  not  originate  till  the  time  of  Basilides,  long  after 
the  last  Apostle  had  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus.     Perhaps,  however,  we  may 
consider  this  as  a  difference  rather  about  the  definition  of  a  term  than 
the  history  of  a  sect.     If  we  define  Gnosticism  to  be  that  combination  of 
Orientalism  and  Platonism  held  by  the  followers  of  Basilides  or  Yalen- 
tinus,  and  refuse  the  title  of  Gnostic  to  any  but  those  who  adopted  their 
systems,  no  doubt  we  must  not  place  the  Gnostics  among  the  heretics  of 
the  Apostolic  age.     But  if,  on  the  other  hand  (as  seems  most  natural), 
we  define  a  Gnostic  to  be  one  who  claims  the  possession  of  a  peculiar 
''  Gnosis  "  (i.  e.  a  deep  and  philosophic  insight  into  the  mysteries  of 
theology,  unattainable  by  the  vulgar),  then  it  is  indisputable  that  Gnos- 
ticism had  begun  when  St.  Paul  warned  Timothy  against  those  who  laid 
claim  to  a  "  knowledge  {Gnosis')'^  falsely  so  called.     And,  moreover,  we 
find  that,  even  in  the  Apostolic  age,  these  arrogant  speculators  had  begun 
to  blend  with  their  Hellenic   philosophy  certain  fragments  of  Jewish 
superstition,  which  afterwards  were  incorporated  into  the  Cabala.'     In 

1  This  is  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Burton,  the  ing  the  Christian  principle  which   recognizes 

great  Engli.sh  authority  on  the  Gnostic  heresy.  no  religious  distinctions  between  rich  and  poor, 

{Lectures,  pp.  84,  85.)     We   cannot   refer  to  learned  and   ignorant.    (Church  Ilistorij,  sect, 

this   eminent   theologian   without  expressing  4.)      So   in   Hippolytus's   recently-discovered 

our  obligation  to  his  writings,  and  our  admi-  "Refutation  of  Heresies,"  we  find  that  some 

ration   for  that   union   of  profound   learning  of  the  earlier  Gnostics  arc  represented  as  in- 

with  clear  good  sense  and  candor  which  dis-  terpreting  the   "good  ground"  in  the  parable 

tinguishcs  him.     His  premature  death  robbed  of  the  Sower  to  mean   the   higher  order  of 

the  Church  of  England  of  a  writer,  who,  had  intellects. 

his  life  been  spared,  would  have  been  inferior  ^  Thus   the  "  genealogies "  mentioned   in 

'O  none  of  its  brightest  ornaments.  the    Pastoral    Epistles  were   probably    those 

'^  Neander  well  observes,  that  the  essential  speculations  about  the  emanations  of  spiritual 

feature  in  Gnosticism  is  its  re-establishing  an  beings  found  in  the  Cabala ;  at  least,  such  is 

'iriutocracij  of  knowledge  in  religion,  and  rejects  Burton's  opinion.     (Pp.  114  and  413.)     And 


CHAP.  XIII.  HERESIES   IN  THE  PBIMITIVE   CHURCH.  395 

Bpite,  however,  of  the  occurrence  of  such  Jewish  elements,  those  heresies 
v;hich  troubled  the  later  years  of  St.  Paul,  and  afterwards  of  St.  John, 
were  essentially  rather  of  Gentile^  than  of  Jewish  origin.  So  far  as 
they  agreed  with  tlie  later  Gnosticism,  this  must  certainly  have  been  the 
case,  for  we  know  that  it  was  a  characteristic  of  all  the  Gnostic  sects  to 
despise  the  Jewish  Scriptures.'^  Moreover,  those  who  laid  claims  to 
''  Gnosis  "  at  Corinth  (as  we  have  seen)  were  a  Gentile  party,  who  pro- 
fessed to  adopt  St.  Paul's  doctrine  of  the  abolition  of  the  law,  and  per- 
verted it  into  Antinomianism :  in  short,  they  were  the  opposite  extreme 
to  tlie  Judaizing  party.  Nor  need  we  be  surprised  to  find  that  some 
of  these  philosophizing  heretics  adopted  some  of  the  wildest  super- 
stitions of  the  Jews  ;  for  these  very  superstitions  were  not  so  much  the 
natural  growth  of  Judaism  as  ingrafted  upon  it  by  its  Rabbinical 
corrupters  and  derived  from  Oriental  sources.  And  there  was  a  strong 
affinity  between  the  neo-Platonic  philosophy  of  Alexandria  and  the 
Oriental  theosophy  which  sprang  from  Buddhism  and  other  kindred 
systems,  and  which  degenerated  into  the  practice  of  magic  and  incanta- 
tions. 

It  is  not  necessary,  however,  that  we  should  enter  into  any  discussion 
of  the  subsequent  development  of  these  errors ;  our  subject  only  re- 
quires that  we  give  an  outline  of  the  forms  which  they  assumed  during 
the  lifetime  of  St.  Paul ;  and  this  we  can  only  do  very  imperfectly, 
because  the  allusions  in  St.  Paul's  writings  are  so  few  and  so  brief,  that 
they  give  us  but  little  information.  Still,  they  suffice  to  show  the  main 
features  of  the  heresies  which  he  condemns,  especially  when  we  compare 
them  with  notices  in  other  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  and  with  the 
history  of  the  Church  in  the  succeeding  century. 

We  may  consider  these  heresies,  first,  in  their  doctrinal,  and,  secondly, 
in  tlieir  practical  aspect.  With  regard  to  the  former,  we  find  that  their 
general  characteristic  was  the  claim  to  a  deep  philosophical  insight  into 
the  mysteries  of  religion.  Thus  the  Colossians  are  warned  against  the 
false  teachers  who  would  deceive  them  by  a  vain  affectation  of  "  Philoso- 
phy," and  who  were  "  puffed  up  by  a  fleshly  mind."  (Col.  ii.  8,  18.)' 
So,  in  tlie  Epistle  to  Timothy,  St.  Paul  speaks  of  these  heretics  as  falsely 
claiming  "  knowledge  "  (^Gnosis).     And  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

the  Angel  worship  at  Colossae  belonged  to  the  ^  In  the  larger  editions  is  an  Appendix  on 
«ame  class  of  superstitions.  It  has  been  shown  the  "  Heretics  of  the  later  Apostolic  Age." 
by  Dr.  Burton  (pp.  304-306),  as  well  as  by  -  Dr.  Burton  says:  —  "We  find  all  the 
Ncander  and  other  writers,  that  the  later  Gnostics  agreed  in  rejecting  the  Jewish  Scrip- 
Gnostic  theories  of  a3ons  and  emanations  were  tures,  or  at  least  in  treating  them  with  con 
derived,  in  some  measure,  from  Jewish  sources,  tempt."  — P.  39. 

although  the  essential  character  of  Gnosticism  ■^  Compare   1    Cor.    viii.  1  :    "  Knowledge 

is  entirely  Anti-Judaical.  (gnosis)  puffeth  np." 


396  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xni. 

(so  called)  he  seems  to  allude  to  the  same  boastful  assumption,  when  he 
speaks  of  the  love  of  Christ  as  surpassing  "  knowledge,"  in  a  passage 
which  contains  other  apparent  allusions  '  to  Gnostic  doctrine.  Connect- 
ed with  this  claim  to  a  deeper  insight  into  truth  than  that  possessed  by 
the  uninitiated,  was  the  manner  in  which  some  of  these  heretics  explained 
away  the  facts  of  revelation  by  an  allegorical  interpretation.  Thus  we 
find  that  HymenjEus  and  Philetus  maintained  that  "  the  Resurrection 
was  past  already."  We  have  seen  that  a  heresy  apparently  identical  with 
this  existed  at  a  very  early  period  in  the  Church  of  Corinth,  among  the 
free-thinking,  or  pseudo-philosophical,  party  there ;  and  all  the  Gnostic 
sects  of  the  second  century  were  united  in  denying  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead."^  Again,  we  find  the  Colossian  heretics  introducing  a  worship 
of  angels,  "  intruding  into  those  things  which  they  have  not  seen  :  "  and 
so,  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  the  "  self-styled  Gnostics  "  (1  Tim.  vi.  20) 
are  occupied  with  "  endless  genealogies,"  which  were  probably  fanciful 
myths,  concerning  the  origin  and  emanation  of  spiritual  beings.^  This 
latter  is  one  of  the  points  in  which  Jewish  superstition  was  blended  with 
Gentile  speculation  ;  for  we  find  in  the  Cabala,*  or  collection  of  Jewish 
traditional  theology,  many  fabulous  statements  concerning  such  emana- 
tions. It  seems  to  be  a  similar  superstition  which  is  stigmatized  in  the 
Pastoi-al  Epistles  as  consisting  of  "  profane  and  old  wives'  fables  ;  " '  and, 
ao-ain,  of  "  Jewish  fables  and  commandments  of  men."  ®  The  Gnostics  of 
the  second  century  adopted  land  systematized  this  theory  of  emanations, 
and  it  became  one  of  the  most  peculiar  and  distinctive  features  of  their 
heresy.  But  this  was  not  the  only  Jewish  element  in  the  teaching  of 
these  Colossian  heretics  ;  we  find  also  that  they  made  a  point  of  conscience 
of  observing  the  Jewish  Sabbaths '  and  festivals,  and  they  are  charged 
with  clinging  to  outward  rites  (Col.  ii.  8,  20),  and  making  distinctions 
between  the  lawfulness  of  difierent  kinds  of  food. 

1  Eph.  iii.  19.     See  Dr.  Burton's  remarks,       evidence   that  it  had  been  cultivated   by  the 
Lectures,  pp.  83  and  125.  Jewish  doctors  long  before."  — P.  298.     [See 

2  Burton,  p.  131.  above,  Ch.  II.  p.  55.  — h.] 
8  See  p.  394,  n.   3.      According   to    the  ^  1  Tim.  iv.  7, 

Cabala,  there  were  ten  Sephirotk,  or  emana-  ^  Tit.  i.  14. 

tions  proceeding  from  God,  which  appear  to  ">  This  does  not  prove  them,  however,  to 

have  suggested  the  Gnostic  aeons.     Upon  this  have  been  Jews,  for  the  superstitious  Heathen 

tlicorv  was  "raf'ted  a  system  of  magic,  con-  were  also  in  the  habit  of  adopting  some  of 

sisting  mainly  of  the  use  of  Scriptural  words  the  rites  of  Judaism,  under  the  idea  of  their 

to  produce  supernatural  effects.  producing  some  magical  effect  upon  them  ;    as 

'  St.   Paul  denounces   "  the   tradition   of  we  find  from  the  Roman  satirists.     Comi)are 

men"  (Col.  ii.    8)    as    the    source  of   these  Horace,  Sat.  i.  9,  71  ("  Ilodie  tricesima  sab- 

unors  ;  and  the  word  Cabala  means  tradition.  bata,"  &c.),  and  Juv.  vi.   542-547.     See  also 

Dr.  Burton  says,  "  The  Cabala  had  certainly  some   remarks  on   the   Colossian  heretics  in 

grown  into  a  system  at  the  time  of  the  de-  our  introductory  remarks  on  the  Epistle  to  the 

struction    of   Jerusalem;    and    there   is  also  Colossians. 


CHAP.  xin.  HERESIES   IN  THE  PRIMITIVE   CHURCH.  397 

In  their  practical  results,  these  heresies  which  we  are  considering  had 
a  twofold  direction.  On  one  side  was  an  ascetic  tendency,  such  as  we 
find  at  Colossae,  showing  itself  by  an  arbitrarily  invented  worship  of  God,' 
an  affectation  .of  self-humiliation  and  mortification  of  the  flesh.  So,  in 
the  Pastoral  Epistles,  we  find  the  prohibition  of  marriage,^  the  enforced 
abstinence  from  food,  and  other  bodily  mortifications,  mentioned  as 
characteristics  of  heresy.'  If  this  asceticism  originated  from  the  Jewish 
element  which  has  been  mentioned  above,  it  may  be  compared  with  the 
practice  of  the  Essenes,*  whose  existence  shows  that  such  asceticism  was 
not  inconsistent  with  Judaism,  although  it  was  contrary  to  the  views  of 
the  Judaizing  party  properly  so  called.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may  have 
arisen  from  that  abhorrence  of  matter,  and  anxiety  to  free  the  soul  from 
the  dominion  of  the  body,  which  distinguished  the  Alexandrian  Plato- 
nists,  and  which  (derived  from  them)  became  a  characteristic  of  some  of 
the  Gnostic  sects. 

But  this  asceticism  was  a  weak  and  comparatively  innocent  form,  in 
which  the  practical  results  of  this  incipient  Gnosticism  exhibited  them- 
selves. Its  really  dangerous  manifestation  was  derived,  not  from  its 
Jewish,  but  from  its  Heathen  element.  We  have  seen  how  this  showed 
itself  from  the  first  at  Corinth  ;  how  men  sheltered  their  immoralities 
under  tlie  name  of  Christianity,  and  even  justified  them  by  a  perversion 
of  its  doctrines.  Such  teaching  could  not  fail  to  find  a  ready  audience 
wherever  there  were  found  vicious  lives  and  hardened  consciences.  Ac- 
cordingly, it  was  in  the  luxurious  and  corrupt  population  of  Asia  Minor,® 
that  this  early  Gnosticism  assumed  its  worst  form  of  immoral  practice 
defended  by  Antinomian  doctrine.  Thus,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 
St.  Paul  warns  his  readers  against  the  sophistical  arguments  by  which 
certain  false  teachers  strove  to  justify  the  sins  of  impurity,  and  to  per- 
suade them  that  the  acts  of  the  body  could  not  contaminate  the  soul, — 
"  Let  no  man  deceive  you  with  vain  words  ;  for  because  of  these  things 

1  "  Will-worship."  —  Col.  ii.  23.  *  [See  above,  Ch.  II.  p.  32.  —  h.] 

2  Which  certainly  was  the  reverse  of  the  *  Both  at  Colossae  and  in  Crete  it  seems 
Judaizing  exaltation  of  marriage.                            to  have  been  the  Jewish  form  of  these  heresies 

^  St.  Paul  declares  that  these  errors  shall  which  predominated  :    at  Colossse'  they  took 

come  "  in  the  last  days  "  (2  Tim.  iii.  1) ;  but  an  ascetic  direction;   in  Crete,  among  a  sim- 

St.  John  says  "  the  last  days  "  were  come  in  pier  and  more  provincial  population,  the  false 

his  time  (1  John  ii.  18)  ;   and  it  is  implied  by  teachers  seem  to  have  been  hypocrites,  who 

St.  Paul's  words  that  the  evils  he  denounces  encouraged  the  vices  to  which  their  followers 

were  already  in  action ;   just  as  he  had  said  were    addicted,    and    inoculated    them    with 

before  to  the  Thessalonians,  "the  mystery  of  foolish   superstitions    (Tit.  i.   14,  iii.  9) ;  but 

lawlessness   is   already   working"    (2   Thess.  we  do  not  find  in  these  Epistles  any  mention 

ii.  7),  where  the  peculiar  expressions  "  lawless-  of  the  theoretic  Antinomianism  which  existed 

ness  "  and  "  the  lawless  one  "  seem  to  point  to  in  some  of  the  great  cities, 
the  Antinomian  character  of  these  heresies. 


398  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xm. 

coineth  the  wrath  of  God  upon  the  children  of  disobedience."  ^  Hy- 
menaeus  and  Fhiletus  are  the  first  leaders  of  this  party  mentioned  by 
name :  we  have  seen  that  they  agreed  with  the  Corinthian  Antinomians 
in  denying  the  Resurrection,  and  they  agreed  with  them  no  less  in  prac- 
tice than  in  theory.  Of  the  first  of  them  it  is  expressly  said  that  he  ^  had 
"  cast  away  a  good  conscience,"  and  of  both  we  are  told  that  they  showed 
themselves  not  to  belong  to  Christ,  because  they  had  not  His  seal ;  this 
seal  being  described  as  twofold,  —  "  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are 
His,"  and  "  Let  every  one  that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ  depart  from 
iniquity."  ^  St.  Paul  appears  to  imply  that  though  they  boasted  their 
'•  knowledge  of  God,"  yet  the  Lord  had  no  knowledge  of  them  ;  as  our 
Saviour  had  himself  declared  that  to  the  claims  of  such  false  disciples  He 
would  reply,"  I  never  knew  you  ;  depart  from  me,  ye  ivorkers  of  iniquity .'''' 
But  in  the  same  Epistle  where  these  heresiarchs  are  condemned,  St.  Paul 
intimates  that  their  principles  were  not  yet  fully  developed ;  he  warns 
Timothy  *  that  an  outburst  of  immorality  and  lawlessness  must  be  shortly 
expected  within  the  Church  beyond  any  thing  which  had  yet  been  ex- 
perienced. The  same  anticipation  appears  in  his  farewell  address  to  the 
Ephesian  presbyters,  and  even  at  the  early  period  of  his  Epistles  to  the 
Thessalonians ;  and  we  see  from  the  Epistles  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Jude, 
and  from  the  Apocalypse  of  St.  John,  all  addressed  (it  should  be  remem- 
bered) to  the  Churches  of  Asia  Minor,  that  this  prophetic  warning  was 
soon  fulfilled.  We  find  that  many  Christians  used  their  liberty  as  a  cloak 
of  maliciousness  ;  *  "  promising  their  hearers  liberty,  yet  themselves  the 
slaves  of  corruption  ;  "  ^  "  turning  the  grace  of  God  into  lasciviousness  ;  " ' 
that  they  were  justly  condemned  by  the  surrounding  Heathen  for  their 
crimes,  and  even  suffered  punishment  as  robbers  and  murderers.^  They 
were  also  infamous  for  the  practice  of  the  pretended  arts  of  magic  and 
witchcraft,^  which  they  may  have  borrowed  either  from  the  Jewish  sooth- 
sayers ^^  and  exorcisers,"  or  from  the  Heathen  professors  of  magical  arts 
who  so  much  abounded  at  the  same  epoch.  Some  of  them,  who  are  called 
the  followers  of  Balaam  in  the  Epistles  of  Peter  and  Jude,  and  the 
Nicolaitans  (an  equivalent  name)  in  the  Apocalypse,  taught  their  follow- 
ers to  indulge  in  the  sensual  impurities,  and  even  in  the  idol-feasts,  of  the 

1  Eph.  V.  6.     See   also   the  whole  of  the  «  2  Pet.  ii.  19. 

waming.s  in  Eph.  v.     The  Epistle,  though  not  ''  Judo  4. 

iddressed  (at  any  rate  not  exclusively)  to  the  *  1  Pet.  iv.  15. 

E]jhesians,  was  probably  sent  to  several  other  ^  Rev.  ii.  20.     Compare  Rev.  ix.  21,  ReT. 

cities  in  Asia  Minor.  xxi.  8,  and  Rev.  xxii.  15. 

-  1  Tim.  i.  19,20.  ^'^  Compare  Juv.  vi.  546:     "  Qualiacnnqno 

*  2  Tim.  ii.  19.  voles  Judaji   somnia  vendunt."     [See  abova 

♦  2  Tim.  iii.  Ch.  V.  pp.  132,  133.  —  H.] 
'  1  Pet.  ii.  16.  "  See  Acts  xix.  13. 


CHAP.  xm.  HERESIES  IN  THE  PRIMITIVE  CHURCH.  599 

Heathen.^  We  find,  moreover,  that  these  false  disciples,  with  their 
licentiousness  in  morals,  united  anarchy  in  politics,  and  resistance  to  law 
and  government.  They  "  walked  after  the  flesh  in  the  lust  of  unclean- 
uess,  and  despised  governments."  And  thus  they  gave  rise  to  those 
charges  against  Christianity  itself,  which  were  made  by  the  Heathen 
writers  of  the  time,  whose  knowledge  of  the  new  religion  was  naturally 
taken  from  those  amongst  its  professors  who  rendered  themselves  notori- 
ous by  falling  under  the  judgment  of  the  Law. 

When  thus  we  contemplate  the  true  character  of  these  divisions  and 
heresies  which  beset  the  Apostolic  Church,  we  cannot  but  acknowledge 
that  it  iieeded  all  those  miraculous  gifts  with  which  it  was  endowed,  and 
all  that  inspired  wisdom  which  presided  over  its  organization,  to  ward  off 
dangers  which  threatened  to  blight  its  growth  and  destroy  its  very  exist- 
ence. In  its  earliest  infancy,  two  powerful  and  venomous  foes  twined 
themselves  round  its  very  cradle ;  but  its  strength  was  according  to  its 
day  ;  with  a  supernatural  vigor  it  rent  off  the  coils  of  Jewish  bigotry  and 
stifled  the  poisonous  breath  of  Heathen  licentiousness  ;  but  the  peril  was 
mortal,  and  the  struggle  was  for  life  or  death.  Had  the  Church's  fate 
been  subjected  to  the  ordinary  laws  which  regulate  the  history  of  earthly 
commonwealths,  it  could  scarcely  have  escaped  one  of  two  opposite  desti- 
nies, either  of  which  must  have  equally  defeated  (if  we  may  so  speak) 
the  world's  salvation.  Either  it  must  have  been  cramped  into  a  Jewish 
sect,  according  to  the  wish  of  the  majority  of  its  earliest  members,  or 
(having  escaped  this  immediate  extinction)  it  must  have  added  one  more 
to  the  innumerable  schools  of  Heathen  philosophy,  subdividing  into  a 
hundred  branches,  whose  votaries  would  some  of  them  have  sunk  into 

1  Such,  at  least,  seems  the  natural  explana-  not  impute  to  them  sin."    And  Epiphanios 

tion  of  the  words  in  Rev.  ii.  20 ;   for  we  can  gives   the  most  horrible  details  of  the  enor- 

scarcely  suppose  so  strong  a  condemnation  if  mities   which   they    practised.      Again,  their 

the  offence  luid  been  only  eating  meat  which  addiction  to  magical  arts  was  notorious.     And 

had  once  formed  part  of  a  sacrifice.     It  is  re-  their  leaders,  Basilides  and   Valentinus,   are 

markable  how  completely  the  Gnostics  of  the  accused  of  acting  like  the  Nicolaitans  of  the 

second  century  resembled  these  earlier  heretics  Apocalypse,  to  avoid  persecution.     Such  ac- 

in  all  the  points  here  mentioned.     Their  im-  citsations  may,  no  doubt,  be  slanders,  as  far  aa 

morality  is  the  subject  of  constant  animadver-  those    leaders    were    indi\'idually  concerned, 

sion  in  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  who  tell  The  increased  knowledge  of  them  which  we 

ai  that  the  calumnies  which  were  cast  upon  have  lately  derived   from   the  publication  of 

the  Christians  by  the  Heathen  were  caused  by  Hippolytus's  "  Refutation  of  Heresies  "  leads 

the   vices  of   the   Gnostics.     Ireni«us  asserts  us  to  think  of  them  as  bold  speculators,  but 

that  they  said,  "  as  gold  deposited  in  mud  does  not  as  bad  men.     Yet  we  cannot  doubt  that 

not  lose  its  beauty,  so  they  themselves,  what-  their  philosophical    speculations   degenerated 

ever  may  be  their  outward  immorality,  can-  into  the  most  superstitious  theosophy  in  the 

not  be   injured  by  it,  nor  lose  their  spiritual  hands  of   their  followers.      And   the  details 

substance."    And  so  Justin  Martyr  speaks  ol  furnished  by  Hippolytus  prove  that  many  of 

heretics,  who  said '' that  though  they  Ha^c  sin-  the   Gnostics   fully  deserved   the  charges  of 

ful  lives,  yet,  if  theij  know  God,  the  Lord  will  immorality  commonly  brought  against  them. 


400  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xm. 

Oriental  superstitions,  others  into  Pagan  voluptuousness.  If  we  need 
any  proof  how  narrowly  the  Church  escaped  this  latter  peril,  we  have 
only  to  look  at  the  fearful  power  of  Gnosticism  in  the  succeeding  century. 
And,  indeed,  the  more  we  consider  the  elements  of  which  every  Christian 
community  was  originally  composed,  the  more  must  we  wonder  how 
the  little  flock  of  the  wise  and  good  ^  could  have  successfully  resisted  the 
overwhelming  contagion  of  folly  and  wickedness.  In  every  city  the 
nucleus  of  the  Church  consisted  of  JcWs  and  Jewish  proselytes  ;  on  this 
foundation  was  superadded  a  miscellaneous  mass  of  Heathen  converts^ 
almost  exclusively  from  the  lowest  classes,  baptized,  indeed,  into  the  name 
of  Jesus,  but  still  with  all  the  habits  of  a  life  of  idolatry  and  vice  cling- 
ing to  them.  How  was  it,  then,  that  such  a  society  could  escape  the  two 
temptations  which  assailed  it  just  at  the  time  when  they  were  most  likely 
to  bo  fatal  ?  "While  as  yet  the  Jewish  element  preponderated,  a  fanatical 
party,  commanding  almost  necessarily  the  sympathies  of  the  Jewish  por- 
tion of  the  society,  made  a  zealous  and  combined  effort  to  reduce 
Christianity  to  Judaism,  and  subordinate  the  Church  to  the  Synagogue. 
Over  their  great  opponent,  the  one  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  they  won  a 
temporary  triumph,  and  saw  him  consigned  to  prison  and  to  death.  How 
was  it  that  the  very  hour  of  their  victory  was  the  epoch  from  which  we 
date  their  failure?  Again,  —  this  stage  is  passed, —  the  Church  is 
thrown  open  to  the  Gentiles,  and  crowds  flock  in,  some  attracted  by 
wonder  at  the  miracles  they  see,  some  by  hatred  of  the  government  under 
which  they  live,  and  by  hopes  that  they  may  turn  the  Church  into  an 
organized  conspiracy  against  law  and  order ;  and  even  the  best,  as  yet 
unsettled  in  their  faith,  and  ready  to  exchange  their  new  belief  for  a 
newer,  "  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine."  At  such  an  epoch, 
a  systematic  theory  is  devised,  reconciling  the  profession  of  Christianity 
with  the  practice  of  immorality  ;  its  teachers  proclaim  that  Christ  has 
freed  them  from  the  law,  and  that  the  man  who  has  attained  true  spiritual 
enlightenment  is  above  the  obligations  of  outward  morality  ;  and  with 
this  seducing  philosophy  for  the  Gentile  they  readily  combine  the  Caba- 
listic superstitions  of  Rabbinical  tradition  to  captivate  the  Jew.  Who 
could  wonder  if,  when  such  incendiaries  applied  their  torch  to  such  mate- 
rials, a  flame  burst  forth  which  well-nigh  consumed  the  fabric  ?  Surely 
that  day  of  trial  was  "  revealed  in  fire,"  and  the  building  which  was  able 
to  abide  the  flame  was  nothing  less  than  the  temple  of  God. 

It  is  painful  to  be  compelled  to  acknowledge  among  the  Christians 
of  the  Apostolic  Age  the  existence  of  so  many  forms  of  error  and  sin. 
It  was  a  pleasing  dream  which  represented  the  primitive  church  as  a 

1  Whom  St.  Paul  calls  "perfect"  (Phil,  iii,  15),  «'.  «.  mature  in  the  knowledge  of  ChriatiaB 
truth. 


HERESIES   IN   THE  PRIfinTIVE   CHTTECH. 


401 


society  of  angels  ;  aud  it  is  not  without  a  struggle  that  we  bring  our- 
selves to  open  our  eyes  and  behold  the  reality.  But  yet  it  is  a  higher 
feeling  which  bids  us  thankfully  recognize  the  truth  that  "  there  is  no 
partiality  with  God  ; "  ^  that  He  has  never  supernaturally  coerced  any 
generation  of  mankind  into  virtue,  nor  rendered  schism  and  heresy 
impossible  in  any  age  of  the  Church.  So  St.  Paul  tells  his  converts  "^ 
that  there  must  needs  be  heresies  among  them,  that  the  good  may  be 
tried  and  distinguished  from  the  bad ;  implying  that,  without  the  possi- 
bility of  a  choice,  there  would  be  no  test  of  faith  or  holiness.  And  so 
our  Lord  Himself  compared  His  Church  to  a  net  cast  into  the  sea, 
which  gathered  fish  of  all  kinds,  both  good  and  bad  ;  nor  was  its  purity 
to  be  attained  by  the  exclusion  of  evil,  till  the  end  should  come.  There- 
fore, if  we  sigh,  as  well  we  may,  for  the  realization  of  an  ideal  which 
Scripture  paints  to  us  and  imagination  embodies,  but  which  our  eyes 
seek  for  and  cannot  find  ;  if  we  look  vainly  and  with  earnest  longings 
for  the  appearance  of  that  glorious  Church,  "  without  spot  or  wrinkle 
or  any  such  thing,"  the  fitting  bride  of  a  heavenly  spouse;  —  it  may 
calm  our  impatience  to  recollect  that  no  such  Church  has  ever  existed 
upon  earth,  while  yet  we  do  not  forget  that  it  has  existed  and  does 
exist  in  heaven.  In  the  very  lifetime  of  the  Apostles,  no  less  than 
now,  "  the  earnest  expectation  of  the  creature  waited  for  the  mani- 
festation of  the  sons  of  God ; "  miracles  did  not  convert ;  inspira- 
tion did  not  sanctify ;  then,  as  now,  imperfection  and  evil  clung  to  the 
members,  and  clogged  the  energies  of  the  kingdom  of  God ;  now,  as 
then,  Christians  are  fellow-heirs,  and  of  the  same  body  with  the  spirits 
of  just  men  made  perfect ;  now,  as  then,  the  communion  of  saints  unites 
into  one  family  the  Church  militant  with  the  Church  triumphant. 


Coin  of  Corinth.* 


'  Acts  X  84. 

*  1  Cor.  xi.  19. 

'  The  figures  on  the  right  and  left  represent 

ae 


the  eastern  and  western  harbors  of  Corinth, 
which  is  symbolized  by  the  female  figure  on  • 
rock  in  the  centre.    See  p.  360. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Departare  from  Antioch.  —  St.  Paul's  Companions. — Journey  through  Phrygia  and  Galatia. — 
Apollos  at  Ephesus  and  Corinth.  —  Arrival  of  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus.  —  Disciples  of  John  the 
Baptist.  —  The  Synagogue.  —  The  School  of  Tyrannus.  —  Ephesian  Magic. — Miracles.— 
The  Exorcists.  — Burning  of  the  Books. 

THE  next  period  of  St.  Paul's  life  opens  with  a  third  journey  through 
the  interior  of  Asia  Minor.^  In  the  short  stay  which  he  had  made 
at  Ephesus  on  his  return  from  his  second  journey,  he  had  promised  to 
come  again  to  that  city,  if  the  providence  of  God  should  allow  it.  This 
promise  he  was  enabled  to  fulfil,  after  a  hasty  visit  to  the  metropolis  of 
the  Jewish  nation,  and  a  longer  sojourn  in  the  first  metropolis  of  the 
Gentile  Church.^ 

It  would  lead  us  into  long  and  useless  discussions,  if  we  were  to 
speculate  on  the  time  spent  at  Antioch,  and  the  details  of  the  Apostle's 
occupation  in  the  scene  of  his  early  labors.  We  have  already  stated  our 
reasons  for  believing  that  the  discussions  which  led  to  the  Council  at 
Jerusalem,  took  place  at  an  earlier  period,^  as  well  as  the  quarrel  between 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  concerning  the  propriety  of  concession  to  the 
Judaizers.*  But  without  knowing  the  particular  form  of  the  controver- 
sies brought  before  him,  or  the  names  of  those  Christian  teachers  with 
whom  he  conferred,  we  have  seen  enough  to  make  us  aware  that  immi- 
nent dangers  from  the  Judaizing  party  surrounded  the  Church,  and  that 
Antioch  was  a  favorable  place  for  meeting  the  machinations  of  this  party, 
as  well  as  a  convenient  starting-point  for  a  journey  undertaken  to 
strengthen  those  communities  that  were  likely  to  be  invaded  by  false 
teachers  from  Judaea. 

It  is  evident  that  it  was  not  St.  Paul's  only  object  to  proceed  with  all 
haste  to  Ephesus  :  nor  indeed  is  it  credible  that  he  could  pass  through 
the  regions  of  Cilicia  and  Lycaonia,  Phrygia  and  Galatia,  without 
remaining  to  confirm  those  Churches  which  he  had  founded  himself,  and 

^  Acts  xviii.  23.  *  Neander  is  inclined  to  assign  the  mison- 

-  lb.  21.     See  pp.  368,  369.  derstanding  of  the  two  Apostles  to  this  timt. 

8  See  the  end  of  Ch.  XII.  So  Olshausen.    See  p.  198. 

*  See  Appendix  I.  for  the  answers  to  Wie- 
leler's  arguments  on  this  subject. 
402 


CQAP.  XIV.  ST.   PAUL'S  THIRD  JOUKNEY  IN  ASIA  MDfOR.  403 

Bome  of  which  he  had  visited  twice.  We  are  plainly  told  that  his  journey 
was  occupied  in  this  work,  and  the  few  words  which  refer  to  this  subject 
imply  a  systematic  visitation.^  He  would  be  the  more  anxious  to  estab- 
lish tbem  in  the  true  principles  of  the  Gospel,  in  proportion  as  he  was 
aware  of  the  widely-spreading  influence  of  the  Judaizers.  Another 
specific  object,  not  unconnected  with  the  healing  of  divisions,  was  before 
him  during  the  whole  of  this  missionary  journey,  —  a  collection  for  the 
relief  of  the  poor  Christians  in  Judaea.^  It  had  been  agreed,  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Apostolic  Council  (Gal.  ii.  9, 10),  that  while  some  should  go 
to  the  Heathen,  and  others  to  the  Circumcision,  the  former  should  care- 
fully "  remember  the  poor ; "  and  this  we  see  St.  Paul,  on  the  present 
journey  among  the  Gentile  Churches,  "  forward  to  do."  We  even  know 
the  "  order  which  he  gave  to  the  Churches  of  Galatia  "  (1  Cor.  xvi.  1, 
2).  He  directed  that  each  person  should  lay  by  in  store,  on  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  according  as  God  had  prospered  him,  that  the  collection 
should  be  deliberately  made,  and  prepared  for  an  opportunity  of  being 
taken  to  Jerusalem. 

We  are  not  able  to  state  either  the  exact  route  which  St.  Paul  followed, 
or  the  names  of  the  companions  by  whom  he  was  attended.  As  regards 
the  latter  subject,  however,  two  points  may  be  taken  for  granted,  that 
Silas  ceased  to  be,  and  that  Timotheus  continued  to  be,  an  associate  of 
the  Apostle.  It  is  most  probable  that  Silas  remained  behind  in  Jerusa- 
lem, whence  he  had  first  accompanied  Barnabas  with  the  Apostolic  letter,' 
and  where,  on  the  first  mention  of  his  name,  he  is  stated  to  have  held  a 
leading  position  in  the  Church.*  He  is  not  again  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles.'  The  next  place  in  Scripture 
where  his  name  occurs  is  in  the  letter  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Circumcision 
(1  Pet.  V,  12),  which  is  addressed  to  the  strangers  scattered  throughout 
Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia.  There,  "  Silvanus  "  is 
spoken  of  as  one  not  unknown  to  the  persons  addressed,  but  as  "  a  faith- 
ful brother  unto  them ;  "  —  by  him  the  letter  was  sent  which  "  exhorted" 
the  Christians  in  the  north  and  west  of  Asia  Minor,  and  "  testified  that 
that  was  the  true  grace  of  God  wherein  they  stood ; "  —  and  the  same 
disciple  is  seen,  on  the  last  mention  of  his  name,  as  on  the  first,  to  be 
co-operating  for  the  welfare  of  the  Church,  both  with  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul.« 

1  Acts  xviii.  23.     Notice  the  phrase  "in  '  Seep.  198.  *  Acts  xt.  22. 

order."  ®  His  name    is  in   the    salutation  in    the 

-  The  steady  pursuance  of  this  object  in  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians,  bat  not  in  any 

the   whole   course    of   this   journey  may  be  subsequent  letters.     Compare  2  Cor.  i.  19. 
traced  through  the  following  passages :  1  Cor.  ^  Compare  again  the  account  of  the  Coun- 

xvi.  1-4  ;  2  Cor.  viii.,  ix. ;  Rom.  xv.  25,  26;  oil  of  Jerusalem  and  the  mission  of  Silas  utd 

Acts  xxiy.  17  Barnabas. 


404  THE  LITE  AJSTD  EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xiv. 

It  may  be  considered,  on  the  other  hand,  probable,  if  not  certain,  that 
Timothcus  was  with  the  Apostle  through  the  whole  of  this  journey. 
Abundant  mention  of  him  is  made,  both  in  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles,  in 
connection  with  St.  Paul's  stay  at  Ephesus,  and  his  subsequent  move- 
ments.' Of  the  other  companions  who  were  undoubtedly  with  him  at 
Ephesus,  we  cannot  say  with  confidence  whether  they  attended  him  from 
Antioch,  or  joined  him  afterwards  at  some  other  point.  But  Erastus 
(Acts  xix.  22)  may  have  remained  with  him  since  the  time  of  his  first 
visit  to  Corinth,  and  Caius  and  Aristarchus  (Acts  xix.  29)  since  the 
still  earlier  period  of  his  journey  through  Macedonia.'^  Perhaps  we  have 
stronger  reasons  for  concluding  that  Titus,  who,  though  not  mentioned 
in  the  Acts,'  was  certainly  of  great  service  in  the  second  missionary 
journey,  travelled  with  Paul  and  Timotheus  through  the  earlier  part  of 
it.  In  the  frequent  mention  which  is  made  of  him  in  the  Second  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians,  he  appears  as  the  Apostle's  laborious  minister,  and  as 
a  source  of  his  consolation  and  support,  hardly  less  strikingly  than  the 
disciple  whom  he  had  taken  on  the  previous  journey  from  Lystra  and 
Iconium.'* 

Whatever  might  be  the  exact  route  which  the  Apostle  followed  from 
Antioch  to  Ephesus,  he  would  certainly,  as  we  have  said,  revisit  those 
Churches  which  twice'  before  had  known  him  as  their  teacher.  He 
would  pass  over  the  Cilician  plain  on  the  warm  southern  shore,®  and  the 
high  table-land  of  Lycaonia  on  the  other  side  of  the  Pass  of  Taurus.'  He 
would  see  once  more  his  own  early  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Cydnus  ;  ® 
and  Timothy  would  be  once  more  in  the  scenes  of  his  childhood  at  the 
base  of  the  Kara-Dagh.^  After  leaving  Tarsus,  the  cities  of  Derbe, 
Lystra,  and  Iconium,  possibly  also  Antioch  in  Pisidia,'"  would  be  the 
primary  objects  in  the  Apostle's  progress.     Then  we  come  to  Phrygia 


1  See  Acts  xix.  22;  1  Cor.  iv.  17,  xvi.  10;  mentary;  but  it  has  been  put  forth  indepen 
2  Cor.  i.  1  ;  Rom.  xvi.  21 ;  Acts  xx.  4.  dently,   and   more    fully  elaborated    by   Mr. 

2  See  Tate,  pp.  52,  53.  Lightfootin  the  Cmnhridge  Journal  of  Classical 
'  Wieseler,  indeed,  identifies  him  with  Jus-  and  Sacred  Phrlology  (June,  1855). 

tus,  who  is  mentioned  xviii.  7.     See  Appen-  ^  He  had  been  in  Lycaonia  on  the  first  and 

dix  I.  second  missionary  journeys,  in  Cilitia  on  the 

*  If  we  compare  2  Cor.  .\ii.  18  with  1  Cor.  second;  but  he  had  previously  been  there  at 

xvi.  11,  12,   it  is   natural   to  infer  that  the  least  once  since  his  conversion, 
bearers  of  the  First  Epistle  (from  Ephesus  to  «  See  p.  20,  and  the  allusions  to  the  climate 

Corinth)  were  Titus,  and  some  brother,  who  is  in  Ch.  VI.  and  Ch.  VIII. 
unnamed,  but  probably  identical  with  one  of  '  See  again  Ch.  VI.  and  Ch.  VIII.  for  Ly- 

tho  two  brethren  sent  on  the  subsequent  mission  caonia  and  Mount  Taurus. 
(2   Cor.   viii.    16-24),   and  with   the   Second  "  See  pp.  21  and  46. 

Epistle  (from  Macedonia  to  Corinth).      See  *  See  Ch.  VI.  and  VIII.,  with  the  map  cm 

also  2  Cor.  viii.  6.     This  view  is  advocated  by  p.  167,  and  the  engraving  on  p.  226. 
Prof.  Stanlev   in  his  recently  published  Com-  i"  See  p.  232 


HAP.  XIV.  APOLLOS  AT  EPHESUS.  405 

iiiid  Galatia,  both  vague  and  indeterminate  districts,  which  he  had  visited 
oiice,^  and  through  which,  as  before,  we  cannot  venture  to  lay  down  a 
route/  Though  the  visitation  of  the  Churches  was  systematic,  we  need 
not  conclude  that  the  same  exact  course  was  followed.  Since  the  order 
in  which  the  two  districts  are  mentioned  is  different  from  that  in  the 
former  instance.^  we  are  at  liberty  to  suppose  that  he  travelled  first  from 
Lycaonia  througli  Cappadocia*  into  Galatia,  and  then  by  Western 
Phrygia  to  the  coast  of  the  ^Egean.  In  this  last  part  of  his  progress  we 
are  in  still  greater  doubt  as  to  the  route,  and  one  question  of  interest  is 
involved  in  our  opinion  concerning  it.  The  great  road  from  Ephesus  by 
Iconium  to  the  Euphrates  passed  along  the  valley  of  the  Maeander,  and 
near  the  cities  of  Laodicea,  Colossae  and  Hierapolis ;  and  we  should 
naturally  suppose  that  the  Apostle  would  approach  the  capital  of  Asia 
along  this  well-travelled  line.*  But  the  arguments  are  so  strong  for 
])elieving  that  St.  Paul  was  never  personally  at  Colossae,®  that  it  is  safer 
to  imagine  him  following  some  road  farther  to  the  north,  such  as  that, 
for  instance,  which,  after  passing  near  Thyatira,  entered  the  valley  of  the 
Hermus  at  Sardis.'' 

Thus,  then,  we  may  conceive  the  Apostle  arrived  at  that  region,  where 
he  was  formerly  in  hesitation  concerning  his  future  progress,^  —  the 
frontier  district  of  Asia  and  Phrygia,*  the  mountains  ^which  contain  the 
upper  waters  ^^  of  the  Hermus  and  Maeander.  And  now  our  attention  is 
suddenly  called  away  to  another  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  whose  name, 
next  to  that  of  the  Apostles,  is  perhaps  the  most  important  in  the  early 
history  of  the  Church.  There  came  at  this  time  to  Ephesus,  either 
directly  from  Egypt  by  sea,  as  Aquila  or  Priscilla  from  Corinth,  or  by 

1  Acts  xvi.  6.                   2  gee  Ch.  VIII.  of  Hamilton's  travels.     See  especially  ch.  viiL 

'  Compare  Acts  xvi.  6  with  xviii.  23.     In  -x.,  xxviii.-xl. ;   also  li.,  lii.,  and  especially 

both  cases  we  should  observe  that  the  phrase  vol.  i.  pp.  135,  149.    We  may  observe  that,  on 

"region    (or    country)    of    Galatia"   is    used.  one  of  his  journeys,  nearly  in  the  direction  in 

The  Greek  in  each  passage  is  the  same.     See  which  St.  Paul  was  moving,  he  crossed  the 

what  is  said  on  the  expression  "  Churches  of  mountains    from    near  Afium    Kara    Hissar 

Galatia,"  p.  234.  (Synnada)  to  visit  Yalobatch  (Antioch  in  Pisi- 

*  This  is  Wieseler's  view.     For  the  prov-  dia).     The  Apostle  might  easily  do  the  same, 

ince  of  Cappadocia,  see  p.  214.     The  district  *  Acts  xvi.  6-8. 

is  mentioned  Acts  ii.  9,  and  1  Pet.  i.  1.  ^  See  description  of  this  district  on  p.  239. 

°  See  pp.  232-234.  ^^  This  part  of  the  table-land  of  the  interior 

s  From  Col.  ii.  1  we  should  naturally  infer  is  what  is  meant  by  "  the   higher  districts," 

that  &t.  I*Si;i  had  never  been  personally  among  Acts  xix.  1.    It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  word 

the  Colossians.     Compare  Col.  i.  4,  7,8,  and  "coasts  "in  the  Authorized  "Version  has  no 

our  note  below  on  Col.  ii.  1.     A  full  discus-  reference  to  the  sea.     Herodotus  uses  a  similar 

sion  of  the  subject  will  be  found  in  Dr.  David-  expression  of  this  region,  i.  177.     Even  Paley 

son's  Introduction.  makes    a    curious    mistake    here,  ly  taking 

■^  The  characteristic  scenery  of  the  Maean-  "  upper "  in  the  sense  of  "  northern."    Hor. 

der  and  Hermus  is  described  in  several  parts  Paul.     )  Cor.  No.  5. 


406  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xiv. 

some  route  through  the  intermediate  countries,  like  that  of  St.  Paul  him- 
self, a  "  disciple  "  named  Apollos,  a  native  of  Alexandria.  This  visit 
occurred  at  a  critical  time,  and  led  to  grave  consequences  in  reference  to 
the  estabhshment  of  Christian  truth,  and  the  growth  of  parties  iu  the 
Church  ;  while  the  religious  community  (if  so  it  may  be  called)  to  which 
he  belonged  at  the  time  of  his  arrival,  furnishes  us  with  one  of  the  most 
interesting  links  between  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts.' 

Apollos,^  along  with  twelve  others,'  who  are  soon  afterwards  mentioned 
at  Ephesus,  was  acquainted  with  Christianity  only  so  far  as  it  had  been 
made  known  by  John  the  Baptist.  They  "  knew  only  the  baptism  of 
John."  *  From  the  great  part  which  was  acted  by  the  forerunner  of 
Christ  in  the  first  announcement  of  the  Gospel,  and  from  the  effect  pro- 
duced on  the  Jewish  nation  by  his  appearance,  and  the  number  of  dis- 
ciples who  came  to  receive  at  his  hands  the  baptism  of  repentance,  we 
should  expect  some  traces  of  his  influence  to  appear  in  the  subsequent 
period,  during  which  the  Gospel  was  spreading  beyond  Judaea.  Many 
Jews  from  other  countries  received  from  the  Baptist  their  knowledge  of 
the  Messiah,  and  carried  with  them  this  knowledge  on  their  return  from 
Palestine.  We  read  of  an  heretical  sect,  at  a  much  later  period,  who  held 
John  the  Baptist  to  have  been  himself  the  Messiah.®  But  in  a  position 
intermediate  between  this  deluded  party,  and  those  who  were  travelling 
as  teachers  of  the  full  and  perfect  Gospel,  there  were  doubtless  many, 
among  the  floating  Jewish  population  of  the  Empire,  whose  knowledge 
of  Christ  extended  only  to  that  which  had  been  preached  on  the  banks  of 
the  Jordan.  That  such  persons  should  be  found  at  Ephesus,  the  natural 
meeting-place  of  all  religious  sects  and  opinions,  is  what  we  might  have 
supposed  a  priori.  Their  own  connection  with  Judaea,  or  the  connection 
of  their  teachers  with  Judaea,  had  been  broken  before  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost. Thus  their  Christianity  was  at  the  same  point  at  which  it  had  stood 
at  the  commencement  of  our  Lord's  ministry.  They  were  ignorant  of 
the  full  meaning  of  the  death  of  Christ ;  possibly  they  did  not  even  know 
the  fact  of  His  resurrection  ;  and  they  were  certainly  ignorant  of  the 
mission  of  the  Comforter.®  But  they  knew  that  the  times  of  the  Messiah 
were  come,  and  that  one  had  appeared  "^  in  whom  the  prophecies  were 

1  See  the  excellent  remarks  of  Olshausen  ^  See  Acts  xix.  1-7. 

on   the   whole  narrative  concerning  Apollos  *  Acts  xviii.  25.     Compare  xix.  3. 

and  the  other  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist.  ^  The   Zabeans.      So    in    the    Clementine 

2  Winer  remarks  that  this  abbreviated  Recognitions  are  mentioned  some "  oi  Johu'a 
form  of  the  name  ApoUonins  is  found  in  Sozo-  disciples,  who  preached  their  master  as  though 
men.      It  is,  however,  very   rare  ;   and   it  is  he  were  Christ." 

worth  observing  that  among  the  terra-cottas  *  Acts  xix.  2. 

discovered  at  Tarsus  (described  p.  221,  n.  4)  is  ^  Kuinoel  thinks  t^iey  were  not  eren  awar* 

a  circular  disk  which  has  the  name  AlIOAAflC  of  Christ's  appearance. 

inscribed  on  it  in  cursive  Greek. 


CH.VP.  XIV.  APOLLOS  AT   EPHESUS.  407 

fulfilled.  That  voice  had  reached  them,  which  cried,  '*  Prepare  ye  the 
way  of  the  Lord  "  (Is.  xl.  3).  They  felt  that  the  axe  was  laid  to  the  root 
of  the  tree,  that  "  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  was  at  hand,"  that  "  the 
knowledge  of  salvation  was  come  to  those  that  sit  in  darkness  "  (Luke  i. 
77),  and  that  the  children  of  Israel  were  everywhere  called  to  "  repent." 
Such  as  were  in  this  religious  condition  were  evidently  prepared  for  the 
full  reception  of  Christianity,  so  soon  as  it  was  presented  to  them ;  and 
we  see  that  they  were  welcomed  by  St.  Paul  and  the  Christians  at 
Ephesus  as  fellow-disciples  ^  of  the  same  Lord  and  Master. 

In  some  respects  Apollos  was  distinguished  from  the  other  disciples  of 
John  the  Baptist,  who  are  alluded  to  at  the  same  place,  and  nearly  at  the 
same  time.  There  is  much  significance  in  the  first  fact  that  is  stated,  that 
he  was  "  born  at  Alexandria."  Something  has  been  said  by  us  already 
concerning  the  Jews  of  Alexandria,  and  their  theological  influence  in  the 
age  of  the  Apostles.^  In  the  establishment  of  a  religion  which  was  in- 
tended to  be  the  complete  fulfilment  of  Judaism,  and  to  be  universally 
supreme  in  the  Gentile  world,  we  should  expect  Alexandria  to  bear  her 
part,  as  well  as  Jerusalem.  The  Hellenistic  learning  fostered  by  the 
foundations  of  the  Ptolemies  might  be  made  the  handmaid  of  the  truth, 
no  less  than  the  older  learning  of  Judaea  and  the  schools  of  the  Hebrews. 
As  regards  Apollos,  he  was  not  only  an  Alexandrian  Jew  by  birth,  but  he 
had  a  high  reputation  for  an  eloquent  and  forcible  power  of  speaking,  and 
had  probably  been  well  trained  in  the  rhetorical  schools  on  the  banks  of 
the  Nile.'  But  though  he  was  endued  with  the  eloquence  of  a  Greek 
orator,  the  subject  of  his  study  and  teaching  was  the  Scriptures  of  his 
forefathers.  The  character  which  he  bore  in  the  Synagogues  was  that  of 
a  man  "  mighty  in  the  Scriptures."  In  addition  to  these  advantages  of 
birth  and  education,  he  seems  to  have  had  the  most  complete  and 
systematic  instruction  in  the  Gospel  which  a  discipio  of  John  could 
possibly  receive.*  Whether  from  the  Baptist  himself,  or  from  some  of 
those  who  travelled  into  other  lands  with  his  teaching  as  their  possession, 
Apollos  had  received  full  and  accurate  instruction  in  the  "  way  of  the 
Lord."  We  are  further  told  that  his  character  was  marked  by  a  fervent 
zeal  "*  for  spreading  the  truth.  Thus  we  may  conceive  of  him  as  travel- 
ling, like  a  second  Baptist,  beyond  the  frontiers  of  Judaea,  —  expounding 
the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  announcing  that  the  times  of  the 
Messiah  were  come,  and  calling  the  Jews  to  repentance  in  the  spirit  of 

1  Note  the  word  "  disciples,"  xix.  1.  "learned,"  inasmuch  as  in  the  same  verse  he 

2  See  pp.  33-36.     Also  pp.  9,  15-17,  and       is  called  "mighty  in  the  Scriptures." 

103.  *  Literally,    "he    was    catechetically    in- 

^  The  A.  V.  is  probably  correct  in   ren-       str acted  in  the  way  of  the  Lord  " 
dering    the    word    "  eloquent "    rather    than  ''  Acts  xvlii.  25. 


408  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OP  ST.   PAUL.  oba*.  xir. 

Elias.*  Hence  lie  was,  like  his  great  teacher,  diligently  "  preparing  the 
way  of  the  Lord.'"^  Though  ignorant  of  the  momentous  facts  which  had 
succeeded  the  Resurrection  and  Ascension,  he  was  turning  the  hearts  of 
the  "  disobedient  to  the  wisdom  of  the  just,"  and  "  making  ready  a  peo- 
[)le  for  the  Lord,"'  whom  he  was  soon  to  know  "more  perfectly." 
LTimself  "  a  burning  and  a  shining  light,"  he  bore  witness  to  "  that  Light 
which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  tlie  world,"*  —  as,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  was  a  "  swift  witness  "  against  those  Israelites  whose  lives 
were  unholy,  and  came  among  them  "  to  purify  the  sons  of  Levi,  that 
they  might  offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offering  in  righteousness,"  '  and  to 
proclaim  that,  if  they  were  unfaithful,  God  was  still  able  "  to  raise  up 
children  unto  Abraham."  ® 

Thus  burning  with  zeal,  and  confident  of  the  truth  of  what  he  had 
learnt,  he  spoke  out  boldly  in  the  Synagogue.'^  An  intense  interest  must 
have  been  excited  about  this  time  concerning  the  Messiah  in  the  syna- 
gogue at  Ephesus.  Paul  had  recently  been  there,  and  departed  with  the 
promise  of  return.^  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  though  taking  no  forward 
part  as  public  teachers,  would  diligently  keep  the  subject  of  the  Apostle's 
instruction  before  the  mind  of  the  Israelites.  And  now  an  Alexandrian 
Jew  presented  himself  among  them,  bearing  testimony  to  the  same  Mes- 
siah with  singular  eloquence,  and  with  great  power  in  the  interpretation 
of  Scripture.  Tims  an  unconscious  preparation  was  made  for  the  arrival 
of  the  Apostle,  who  was  even  now  travelling  towards  Ephesus  through 
the  uplands  of  Asia  Minor. 

The  teaching  of  Apollos,  though  eloquent,  learned,  and  zealous,  was 
seriously  defective.  But  God  had  provided  among  his  listeners  those  who 
could  instruct  him  more  perfectly.  Aquila  and  Priscilla  felt  that  he  was 
proclaiming  the  same  truth  in  which  they  had  been  instructed  at  Corinth. 
They  could  inform  him  that  they  had  met  with  one  who  had  taught  with 
authority  far  more  concerning  Christ  than  had  been  known  even  to  John 
the  Baptist;  and  they  could  recount  to.  him  the  miraculous  gifts,  which 
attested  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Thus  they  attached  them- 
selves closely  to  Apollos ;  *  and  gave  him  complete  instruction  in  that 
"  way  of  the  Lord,"  which  he  had  already  taught  accurately,^"  though 

'  He  was  probably  able  to  go   further  in  erence  to  John   the  Baptist.      Matt.   iii.   3; 

Christian   teaching    than    John    the    Baptist  Mark  i.  3  ;  Luke  iii.  4  ;  John  i.  23  ;  Isa.  xl 

oould  do,  by  giving  an  account  of  the  life  of  3  (LXX.).     Compare  Mai.  iii.  1  (LXX.). 
Jesus    Christ.      So    far  his    knowledge  was  ^  Luke  i.  16,  17. 

accurate.      Further   instruction    from   Aquila  *  John  t.  35,  i.  9. 

and  Priscilla  made  it  more  accurate.  ^  Mai.  iii.  3-5.  «  Matt.  iii.  9. 

2  The  phrase  "  way  of  the  Lord "  should  ^  Acts  xviii.  26.  «  See  p.  369 

he  carefully  compared  with  the  passages  in  the  »  "  They  took  him  to  themselves,"  v.  26. 

Gospels  and  Prophets,  where  it  occurs  in  ref-  ^^  Compare  v.  25  and  v.  26. 


CHAP.  xiv.  APOLLOS  AT  COErNTH.  409 

imperfectly  ;  and  the  learned  Alexandrian  obtained  from  the  tent-makers 
a  knowledge  of  that  "  mystery  "  which  the  ancient  Scriptures  had  only 
partially  revealed. 

This  providential  meeting  with  Aquila  and  Priscilla  in  Asia  became  the 
means  of  promoting  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  in  Achaia.  Now  that 
Apollos  was  made  fully  acquainted  with  the  Christian  doctrine,  his  zeal 
urged  him  to  go  where  it  had  been  firmly  established  by  an  Apostle.^  It 
is  possible,  too,  that  some  news  received  from  Corinth  might  lead  him  to 
suppose  that  he  could  be  of  active  service  there  in  the  cause  of  truth. 
The  Christians  of  Ephesus  encouraged^  him  in  this  intention,  and  gave 
him  "letters  of  commendation "' to  their  brethren  across  the  ^gean. 
On  his  arrival  at  Corinth,  he  threw  himself  at  once  among  those  Jews 
who  had  rejected  St.  Paul,  and  argued  with  them  publicly  and  zealously 
on  the  ground  of  their  Scriptures,*  and  thus'  became  "  a  valuable  support 
to  those  who  had  already  believed  through  the  grace  of  God ; "  for  he 
proved  with  power  that  that  Jesus  who  had  been  crucified  at  Jerusalem, 
and  whom  Paul  was  proclaiming  throughout  the  world,  was  indeed  the 
Christ.^  Thus  he  watered  where  Paul  had  planted,  and  God  gave  an 
abundant  increase.  (1  Cor.  iii,  6.)  And  yet  evil  grew  up  side  by  side 
with  the  good.  For  while  he  was  a  valuable  aid  to  the  Christians,  and 
a  formidable  antagonist  to  the  Jews,  and  while  he  was  honestly  co-ope- 
rating in  Paul's  great  work  of  evangelizing  the  world,  he  became  the 
occasion  of  fostering  party-spirit  among  the  Corinthians,  and  was  un- 
willingly held  up  as  a  rival  of  the  Apostle  himself.  In  this  city  of  rheto- 
ricians and  sophists,  the  erudition  and  eloquent  speaking  of  Apollos  were 
contrasted  with  the  unlearned  simplicity  with  which  St.  Paul  had  studi- 
ously presented  the  Gospel  to  his  Corinthian  hearers.^  Thus  many 
attached  themselves  to  the  new  teacher,  and  called  themselves  by  the 
name  of  Apollos,  while  others  ranged  themselves  as  the  party  of  Paul 
(1  Cor,  i.  12),  forgetting  that  Christ  could  not  be  "divided,"  and  that 
Paul  and  Apollos  were  merely  "  ministers  by  whom  they  had  believed." 
(1  Cor.  iii.  5.)     We  have  no  reason  to  imagine  that  Apollos  himself 

1  Acts  xviii.  27.  Christians   against   the  Jews,  in   the  contro- 

^  The  exhortation   (v.   27)   may  refer  to  versies   which  had   doubtless  been  going  on 

him.     At  all  events,  he  was  encouraged  in  his  since  St.  Paul's  departure. 

plan.  '^  "  Showing  by  the  Scriptures  that  Jesus 

*  Compare  what  is  said  here  in  v.  27  with  was  Christ,"  v.  28.  The  phrase  is  much  more 
2  Cor.  iii.  1,  where  the  reference  is  to  com-  definite  than  those  which  are  used  above 
mendatory  letters  addressed  to  or  from  the  ("  the  way  of  the  Lord,"  and  "the  things  of 
very  same  Church  of  Corinth.  the  Lord,"   v.  25)  of  the  time  when  he  was 

*  Compare  in  detail  the  expressions  in  v.  not  fully  instructed. 

28  with  those  in  vv.  24-26.  ^  See  the  remarks  on  the  Corintliian  parties 

^  The  word  "  for  "  should  be  noticed.     His       in  p.  391. 
coming    was   a    valuable    assistance    to    the 


410  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL  chap,  xi% 

encouraged  or  tolerated  such  unchristian  divisions.  A  proof  of  his 
strong  feeling  to  the  contrary,  and  of  his  close  attachment  to  St.  Paul, 
is  furnished  by  that  letter  to  the  Corinthians,  which  will  soon  be  brought 
under  our  notice,^  where,  after  vehement  rebukes  of  the  schismatic  spirit 
prevailing  among  the  Corinthians,  it  is  said,  "  touching  our  brother  Apol- 
los,"  that  he  was  unwilling  to  return  to  them  at  that  particular  time, 
though  St.  Paul  himself  had  "greatly  desired  it." 

But  now  the  Apostle  himself  is  about  to  arrive  in  Ephesus.  His  resi- 
dence in  this  place,  like  his  residence  in  Antioch  and  Corinth,  is  a  subject 
to  which  our  attention  is  particularly  called.  Therefore,  all  the  features 
of  the  city  —  its  appearance,  its  history,  the  character  of  its  population, 
its  political  and  mercantile  relations  —  possess  the  utmost  interest  for  us. 
We  shall  defer  such  description  to  a  future  chapter,  and  limit  ourselves 
here  to  what  may  set  before  the  reader  the  geographical  position  of 
Ephesus,  as  the  point  in  which  St.  Paul's  journey  from  Antioch  termi- 
nated for  the  present. 

We  imagined  him^  about  the  frontier  jof  Asia  and  Phrygia,  on  his 
approach  from  the  interior  to  the  sea.  From  this  region  of  volcanic 
mountains,  a  tract  of  country  extends  to  the  ^gean,  whicli  is  watered 
by  two  of  the  long  western  rivers,  the  Hermus  and  the  Masander,  and 
which  is  celebrated  through  an  extended  period  of  classical  history,  and 
is  sacred  to  us  as  the  scene  of  the  Churches  of  the  Apocalypse.'  Near 
the  mouth  of  one  of  these  rivers  is  Smyrna  ;  near  that  of  the  other  is 
Miletus.  The  islands  of  Chios  and  Samos  are  respectively  opposite  the 
projecting  portions  of  coast,  where  the  rivers  flow  by  these  cities  to  the 
sea.*  Between  the  Hermus  and  the  Maeander  is  a  smaller  river,  named 
the  Cayster,  separated  from  the  latter  by  the  ridge  of  Messogis,  and  from 
the  former  by  Mount  Tmolus.^  Here,  in  the  level  valley  of  the  Cayster,  is 
the  early  cradle  of  the  Asiatic  name,  —  the  district  of  primeval  "  Asia," 
—  not  as  understood  in  its  political  or  ecclesiasticarsense,  but  the  Asia  of 
old  poetic  legend.^  And  here,  in  a  situation  pre-eminent  among  the 
excellent  positions  which  the  lonians  chose  for  their  cities,  Ephesus  was 

^  1  Cor.  xvi.  12.     We  may  just  mention  and  Philadelphia  are  in  that  of  the  Hermus; 

that  a  very  different  view  has  been  taken  of  Pergamus    is   farther  to   the    north,    on   the 

the  character  of  Apollos  and  his  relation  to  Caicus.     For  a  description  of  this  district,  see 

St.  Paul,  —  viz.  that  he  was  the  chief  promo-  Arundell's    Visit  to  the  Seven   Chtircfies,   and 

ter  of  the   troubles   at  Corinth,  and  that  he  Fellows's  Asia  Minor. 

acted  rebelliously  in  refusing  to  return  thither  *  In   the  account  of  St.  Paul's  return  we 

when  the  Apostle  desired  him  to  do  so.     We  shall   have  to   take  particular  notice  of  this 

have   no   doubt,   however,  that   the  ordinary  coast.     He  sailed  between   these  islands  and 

view  is  correct.  the  mainland,  touching  at  Miletns.     Acts  xx. 

2  Above,  p.  405.  ^  See  p.  461. 

'  Rev.  i.,  ii.,  iii.     Laodicea  is  in  the  basin  "  For  the  early  history  of  the  word  Aem. 

of  the  Maeander ;   Smyrna,  Thyatira,  Sardis,  see  pp.  205,  206. 


CHAP.xiT.  ST.   PAUL'S  VISIT  TO  EPHESUS.  411 

built,  on  some  hills  near  the  sea.  For  some  time  after  its  foundation  by 
Androclus  the  Athenian,  it  was  inferior  to  Miletus  ;  but  with  the  decay 
of  the  latter  city,  in  the  Macedonian  and  Roman  periods,  it  rose  to 
greater  eminence,  and  in  the  time  of  St.  Paul  it  was  the  greatest  city  of 
Asia  Minor,  as  well  as  the  metropolis  of  the  province  of  Asia.  Though 
Greek  in  its  origin,  it  was  half-Oriental  in  the  prevalent  worship  and  in 
the  character  of  its  inhabitants  ;  and  being  constantly  visited  by  ships 
from  all  parts  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  united  by  great  roads  with  the 
markets  of  the  interior,  it  was  the  common  meeting-place  of  various  char- 
acters and  classes  of  men. 

Among  those  whom  St.  Paul  met  on  his  arrival  was  the  small  company 
of  Jews  above  alluded  to,*  who  professed  the  imperfect  Christianity  of 
John  the  Baptist.  By  this  time,  ApoUos  had  departed  to  Corinth. 
Those  "  disciples  "  who  were  now  at  Ephesus  were  in  the  same  religious 
condition  in  which  he  had  been  when  Aquila  and  Priscilla  first  spoke  to 
him,  though  doubtless  they  were  inferior  to  him  both  in  learning  and  in 
zeal.^  St.  Paul  found,  on  inquiry,  that  they  had  only  received  John's 
baptism,  and  that  they  were  ignorant  of  the  great  outpouring  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  in  which  the  life  and  energy  of  the  Church  consisted.' 
They  were  even  perplexed  by  his  question.*  He  then  pointed  out,  in 
conformity  with  what  had  been  said  by  John  the  Baptist  himself,  that 
that  prophet  only  preached  repentance  to  prepare  men's  minds  for  Christ, 
who  is  the  true  object  of  faith.  On  this  they  received  Christian 
baptism ;  *  and  after  they  were  baptized,  the  laying-on  of  the  Apostle's 
hands  resulted,  as  in  all  other  Churches,  in  the  miraculous  gifts  of 
tongues  and  of  prophecy.^ 

After  this  occurrence  has  been  mentioned  as  an  isolated  fact,  our  atteji- 
tion  is  called  to  the  great  teacher's  labors  in  the  Synagogue.  Doubtless, 
Aquila  and  Priscilla  were  there.  Though  they  are  not  mentioned  here 
in  connection  with  St.  Paul,  we  have  seen  them  so  lately  instructing 
Apollos  (Acts  xviii.),  and  we  shall  find  them  so  soon  again  sending  salu- 
tations to  Corinth  in  the  Apostle's  letter  from  Ephesus  (1  Cor.  xvi.),  that 
we  cannot  but  believe  he  met  his  old  associates,  and  again  experienced 
the  benefit  of  their  aid.     It  is  even  probable  that  he  again  worked  with 

1  Above,  p.  406.     See  Acts  xix.  1-7.  were  baptized,   receive  the   miraculous   gifts 

2  It  is  impossible  to  know  whether  these  of  the  Holy  Ghost?"  The  aorist  is  used 
men  were  connected  with  Apollos.  The  again  in  the  answer.  We  should  compare 
whole  narrative  seems  to  imply  that  they  were  John  vii.  39. 

in  a  lower  state  of  religious  knowledge  than  *  On  the  inference  derivable  from  this  pas- 
te was.                            ^  See  Ch.  XIII.  sage,  that  the  name  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was 

*  The  chief  difficulty  here  is  created  by  the  used  in  the  baptismal   formula,  see  p.  384. 
inaccurate  rendering  of  the  aorists  in  the  A.  V.  «  See  again  Ch.  XIII.  and  the  note  below 

The  Apostle's  question  is,  "Did  ye,  when  ye  on  1  Cor. 


412  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chat.xiv. 

them  at  the  same  trade:  for  in  the  address  to  the  Ephesian  elders  at 
Miletus  (Acts  xx.  34)  he  stated  that  "  his  own  hands  had  ministered  to 
his  necessities,  and  to  those  who  were  with  him ;  "  and  in  writing  to  the 
Corinthians  he  says  (1  Cor.  iv.  11,  12),  that  such  toil  had  continued 
"  even  to  that  hour."  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  "  reasoned  "  in  the 
Synagogue  at  Ephesus  with  the  same  zeal  and  energy  with  which  his 
spiritual  labors  had  been  begun  at  Corinth.^  He  had  been  anxiously  ex- 
pected, and  at  first  he  was  heartily  welcomed.  A  preparation  for  his 
teaching  had  been  made  by  Apollos  and  those  who  instructed  him. 
"  For  three  months,"  Paul  continued  to  speak  boldly  in  the  Synagogue, 
"  arguing,  and  endeavoring  to  convince  his  hearers  of  all  that  related  to 
the  kingdom  of  God."  '^  The  hearts  of  some  were  hardened,  while  others 
repented  and  believed ;  and,  in  the  end,  the  Apostle's  doctrine  was  public- 
ly calumniated  by  the  Jews  before  the  people.'  On  this  he  openly  sepa- 
rated himself,  and  withdrew  the  disciples  from  the  Synagogue ;  and  the 
Christian  Church  at  Ephesus  became  a  distinct  body,  separated  both 
from  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles. 

As  the  house  of  Justus  at  Corinth  *  had  afforded  St.  Paul  a  refuge  from 
calumny,  and  an  opportunity  of  continuing  his  public  instruction,  so  here 
he  had  recourse  to  "the  school  of  Tyrannus,"  who  was  probably  a 
teacher  of  philosophy  or  rhetoric,  converted  by  the  Apostle  to  Chris- 
tianity.^ His  labors  in  spreading  the  gospel  were  here  continued  for  two 
whole  years.  For  the  incidents  which  occurred  during  this  residence,  for 
the  persons  with  w^iom  the  Apostle  became  acquainted,  and  for  the  pre- 
cise subjects  of  his  teaching,  we  have  no  letters  to  give  us  information 
supplementary  to  the  Acts,  as  in  the  case  of  Thessalonica  and  Corinth:^ 
inasmuch  as  that  which  is  called  the  "  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  "  enters 
into  no  personal  or  incidental  details.'  But  we  have,  in  the  address  to 
the  Ephesian  elders  at  Miletus,  an  affecting  picture  of  an  Apostle's  labors 
for  the  salvation  of  those  w^liom  his  Master  came  to  redeem.  From  that 
address  we  learn  that  his  voice  had  not  been  heard  within  the  school  of 
Tyrannus  alone,  but  that  he  had  gone  about  among  his  converts,  instruct- 
ing them  "  from  house  to  house,"  and  warning  "  each  one "  of  them 
affectionately  "  Math  tears,"  *  The  subject  of  his  teaching  was  ever  the 
same,  both  for  Jews  and  Greeks, — "  repentance  towards  God,  and  faith 

1  Acts  xviii.  4.  *  Acts  xix.  8.  *^  See  in   the  chapter  containing  the  two 

8  "  Before  the  multitude,"  v.  9.  Epistles  to  the   Thcssalonians,  and  in  those 

*  Acts  xvili.  7.     See  p.  348.  which  contain  the   two  Epistles   to   the  Co- 

^  Those  who  are   apt  to   see  a  Jewish  or  riuthians. 

Tiilniudical     reference     almost    'everywhere  "  The  peculiarities  of  this  Epistle  will  b« 

think  that  Tyrannus  may  have  been  a  Jew,  considered  hereafter. 

and   his  "school"   a    place    for    theological  »  Acts  xx.  20,  31.     Compare  T.  19 

teaching  such  as  those  mentioned  p.  55. 


CHAP.  xrr.  EPHESIAN  MAGIC.  413 

towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  ^  Labors  so  incessant,  so  disinterested, 
and  continued  through  so  long  a  time,  could  not  fail  to  produce  a  great 
result  at  Ephesus.  A  large  Church  was  formed  over  which  many  pres- 
byters were  called  to  preside.^  Nor  were  the  results  confined  to  the  city. 
Throughout  the  province  of  "  Asia  "  the  name  of  Christ  became  generally 
known,  both  to  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles ; '  and,  doubtless,  many 
daughter-churches  were  founded,  whether  in  the  course  of  journeys  un- 
dertaken by  the  Apostle  himself,*  or  by  means  of  those  with  whom  he 
became  acquainted,  —  as  for  instance  by  Epaphras,  Archippus,  and 
Philemon,  in  connection  with  Colossae,  and  its  neighbor  cities  Hierapolis 
and  Laodicea.* 

[t  is  during  this  interval,  that  one  of  the  two  characteristics  of  the 
people  of  Ephesus  comes  prominently  into  view.  This  city  was  renowned 
throughout  the  world  for  the  worship  of  Diana,  and  the  practice  of  magic. 
Though  it  was  a  Greek  city,  like  Athens  or  Corinth,  the  manners  of  its 
inhabitants  were  half  Oriental.  The  image  of  the  tutelary  goddess 
resembled  an  Indian  idol  ^  rather  than  the  beautiful  forms  which  crowded 
the  Acropolis  of  Athens  :  "^  and  the  enemy  which  St.  Paul  had  to  oppose 
was  not  a  vaunting  philosophy,  as  at  Corinth,^  but  a  dark  and  Asiatic 
superstition.  The  worship  of  Diana  and  the  practice  of  magic  were 
closely  connected  together.  Eustathius  says,  that  the  mysterious 
symbols  called  "  Ephesian  Letters"  were  engraved  on  the  crown,  the 
girdle,  and  the  feet  of  the  goddess.  These  Ephesian  letters  or  monograms 
have  been  compared  by  a  Swedish  writer  to  the  Runic  characters  of  the 
North.  "When  pronounced,  they  were  regarded  as  a  charm  ;  and  were 
directed  to  be  used,  especially  by  those  who  were  in  the  power  of  evil 
spirits.  "When  written,  they  were  carried  about  as  amulets.  Curious 
stories  are  told  of  their  influence.  Croesus  is  related  to  have  repeated 
the  mystic  syllables  when  on  his  funeral-pile  ;  and  an  Ephesian  wrestler 
is  said  to  have  always  struggled  successfully  against  an  antagonist  from 
Miletus  until  he  lost  the  scroll,  which  before  had  been  like  a  talisman. 

1  Acts  XX.  21.  Ephesus  by   Colossae   and  the  valley  of   the 

2  Acts  XX.  17,  "  the  elders  of  the  church,"  Maeander.  The  same  arguments  tend  to  prove 
below  (v.  28)  called  "  overseers."  See  what  is  that  he  never  visited  this  district  from  Ephesus. 
said  on  this  subject,  p.  378.  It  is  thought  by  many  that  Epaphras  was  cou- 

3  "  So  that  all  they  which  dwelt  in  Asia,"  verted  by  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus,  and  founded 
&c..  Acts  xix.  10.  There  must  have  been  the  church  of  Colossae.  See  Col.  i.  7,  iv 
many  Jews    in   various   parts    of   the    prov-  12-17 ;  Philem.  23. 

iace.  6  See  the  coin  at  the  end  of  this  chapter, 

*  What  is  said  of  his  continued  residence  and   the   description  of   Diana's  worship  in 

at  Ephesus  by  no  means  implies  that  he  did  Ch.  XVI. 

not  make  journeys  in  the  province.  ''  See  p.  308,  &c. 

^  See  above  (p.  405,  n.  6)  for  the  arguments  ^  See  p.  391. 

against  supposing  that  St.    Paul   travelled  to 


414  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xr? 

The  study  of  these  symbols  was  an  elaborate  science :  and  books,  both 
numerous  and  costly,  were  compiled  by  its  professors.* 

This  statement  throws  some  light  on  the  peculiar  character  of  the 
miracles  wrought  by  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that 
the  Apostles  were  always  able  to  work  miracles  at  will.  An  influx  of 
supernatural  power  was  given  to  them,  at  the  time,  and  according  to  the 
circumstances,  that  required  it.  And  the  character  of  the  miracles  was 
not  always  the  same.  They  were  accommodated  to  the  peculiar  forms 
of  sin,  superstition,  and  ignorance  they  were  required  to  oppose.'^  Here, 
at  Ephesus,  St.  Paul  was  in  the  face  of  magicians,  like  Moses  and  Aaron 
before  Pharaoh ;  and  it  is  distinctly  said  that  his  miracles  were  "  not 
ordinary  wonders  ;  "  ^  from  which  we  may  infer  that  they  were  different 
from  those  which  he  usually  performed.  We  know,  in  the  case  of  our 
blessed  Lord's  miracles,  that  though  the  change  was  usually  accomplished 
on  the  speaking  of  a  word,  intermediate  agency  was  sometimes  em- 
ployed ;  as  when  the  blhid  man  was  healed  at  the  pool  of  Siloam.*  A 
miracle  which  has  a  closer  reference  to  our  present  subject  is  that  in 
which  the  hem  of  Christ's  garment  was  made  effectual  to  the  healing  of  a 
poor  sufferer,  and  the  conviction  of  the  bystanders.'  So  on  this  occasion 
garments  ^  were  made  the  means  of  communicating  a  healing  power  to 
those  who  were  at  a  distance,  whether  they  were  possessed  with  evil 
spirits,  or  afflicted  with  ordinary  diseases.'  Such  effects,  thus  publicly 
manifested,  were  a  signal  refutation  of  the  charms  and  amulets  and 
mystic  letters  of  Ephesus.  Yet  was  this  no  encouragement  to  blind 
superstition.  When  the  suffering  woman  was  healed  by  touching  the 
hem  of  the  garment,  tlie  Saviour  turned  round,  and  said,  "  Virtue  is  gone 
out  of  we."  ^  And  here  at  Ephesus  we  are  reminded  that  it  was  God 
who  "  wrought  miracles  by  the  hands  of  Paul"  (v.  11),  and  that  "  the 
name,"  not  of  Paul,  but  "  of  the  Lord  JesuSy  was  magnified."  (v.  17.) 

1  The  lives  of   Alexander  of   Tralles  in  Go,  wash  in  the  pool  of  Siloam."    John  ix. 

Smith's  Diet,  of  Biography  and  in  the  Biog-  6,  7. 

raphy  of  the  U.  K.  Society,  contain  some  im-  ^  Matt.  ix.  20.     See  Trench  on  the  Mtracles, 

portant  illustrations  of  Ephesian  magic.  p.  189,  &c. 

^  The  narrative  of  what  was   done  by  St.  ^  Both  the  words  used  hero    are    Latin. 

Paul  at  Ephesus  should  be  compared  with  St.  The   former,  sudarium,  is  that  which  occurs 

Peter's  miracles  at  Jerusalem,  when  "  many  Luke  xix.  20 ;  John  xi.  44,  xx.  7 ;  and  is 

signs  and  wonders  were  wrought  among  the  translated  "napkin."     The  latter,  scmiandium, 

people  .  .  .  insomuch  that  they  brought  forth  denotes  some  such  article  of   dress  —  shawl, 

the  sick  into  the  streets,  and  laid  them  on  beds  handkerchief,   or    apron  —  as    is    easily  laid 

and  couches,  that  at  the  least  the  shadow  of  aside.     Baumgarten's  remarks  on  the  signifi- 

Peter  passing  by  might  overshadow  some  of  cance  of   these   miracles  are  well  worthy  of 

them."  —  Actsr.  12-16.         ^  Acts  xix.  11.  consideration.     He  connects  the  sudaria  and 

*  "  He  spat  on  the  ground,  and  made  clay  semicinctta  with  St.  Paul's  daily  labor  in  hit 

of  the   spittle,  and  anointed   the  eyes  of  the  own  support.  ''  Acts  xix.  12. 

Mind  man  with  the  clay,  and  said  unto  him,  ^  Luke  viii.  46.     Compare  vi.  19. 


CHAP.  XIV.  MLRACLES   WORKED   BY   ST.    PAUL.  415 

These  miracles  must  have  produced  a  great  effect  upon  the  minds  of 
those  who  practised  curious  arts  in  Ephesus.  Among  the  magicians  who 
were  then  in  tliis  city,  in  the  course  of  their  wanderings  througli  the 
East,  were  several  Jewisli  exorcists.^  This  is  a  circumstance  which  need 
not  surprise  us.  The  stern  severity  with  which  sorcery  was  forhidden  in 
the  Old  Testament^  attests  the  early  tendency  of  the  Israelites  to  such 
practices :  the  Talmud  bears  witness  to  the  continuance  of  these  prac- 
tices at  a  later  period  ; '  and  we  have  already  had  occasion,  in  the  course 
of  this  history,  to  notice  the  spread  of  Jewish  magicians  through  various 
parts  of  the  Roman  Empire.*  It  was  an  age  of  superstition  and  impos- 
ture —  an  age  also  in  which  the  powers  of  evil  manifested  themselves  with 
peculiar  force.  Hence  we  find  St.  Paul  classing  "  witchcraft "  among 
the  works  of  the  flesh  (Gal.  v.  20),  and  solemnly  warning  the  Galatians 
both  in  words*  and  by  his  letters,  that  they  who  practise  it  cannot  inherit 
the  kingdom  of  God  ;  and  it  is  of  such  that  he  writes  to  Timothy 
(2  Tim.  iii.  13)  —  that  "  evil  men  and  seducers  *  shall  wax  worse  and 
worse,  deceiving  and  being  deceived."  This  passage  in  St.  Paul's  latest 
letter  had  probably  reference  to  that  very  city  in  which  we  see  him  now 
brought  into  opposition  with  Jewish  sorcerers.  These  men,  believing 
that  the  name  of  Jesus  acted  as  a  charm,  and  recognizing  the  Apostle  as 
a  Jew  like  themselves,  attempted  his  method  of  casting  out  evil  spirits.^ 
But  He  to  whom  the  demons  were  subject,  and  who  had  given  to  His 
servant  "  power  and  authority  "  over  them  (Luke  ix.  1),  had  shame  and 
terror  in  store  for  those  who  presumed  thus  to  take  His  Holy  Name  in 
vain. 

One  specific  instance  is  recorded,  which  produced  disastrous  conse- 
quences to  those  who  made  the  attempt,  and  led  to  wide  results  among 
the  general  population.  In  the  number  of  those  who  attempted  to  cast 
out  evil  spirits  by  the  "  name  of  Jesus,"  were  seven  brothers,  sons  of 
Sceva,  who  is  called  a  high  priest,^  either  because  he  had  really  held  this 
office  at  Jerusalem,  or  because  he  was  chief  of  one  of  the  twenty-four 
courses  of  priests.     But  the  demons,  who  were  subject  to  Jesus,  and  by 

^  Acts  xix.  13  cians   which    they  attributed  to  King  Solo 

'■*  See  Exod.  xxii.  18;  j^er.  xx.  27;  Deut.  mon.  *  See  p.  133,  &c. 

xviii.  10,  11 ;  1  Sam.  xxviii.  3,  9.  ^  Observe  the  phrase  in  v.  21,  "as  I  told 

*  A   knowledge   of  magic  was  a  requisite  you  in  time  past,"  ■parha^s  on  the  very  journey 

qualification  of  a  member  of  the  Sanhedrin,  through  Galatia  which  we  have  just  had  occa- 

that  he  might  be  able  to  try  those  who  were  sion  to  mention. 

accused  of  such  practices.     Josephus  (^n^  xx.  ®  The  word  here  used  is   the  customary 

7  2)  speaks  of  a  Cyprian  Jew,  a  sorcerer,  who  term  for  these  wandering  magicians, 
was  a  friend  and  companion  of  Felix,  and  who  "^  See  v.  13. 

is    identified  by   some  with    Simon    Magus.  ^  Olshausen's  version,  that  he  was  merely 

Again  (Ant.  viii.  2,  5),  he   mentions  certain  the  chief  rabbi  of  the  Ephesian  Jews,  can 

forms  of  incantation   used  by  Jewish  magi-  hardly  be  a  correct  rendering  of  the  term. 


416  THE   LIFE   A^'D   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap,  xiy 

His  will  suljject  to  those  who  preached  His  Gospel,  treated  with  scorn 
those  who  used  His  Name  without  being  converted  to  His  truth.  "  Je- 
sus I  recognize,  and  Paul  I  know  ;  ^  but  who  are  ye  ?  "  was  tlie  answer 
of  the  evil  spirit.  And  straightway  the  man  who  was  possessed  sprang 
upon  them  with  frantic  violence,  so  that  they  were  utterly  discomfited, 
and  "  fled  out  of  the  house  naked  and  wounded."  ^ 

This  fearful  result  of  the  profane  use  of  that  Holy  Name  which  was 
proclaimed  by  the  Apostles  for  the  salvation  of  all  men,  soon  became 
notorious,  both  among  the  Greeks  and  the  Jews.'  Consternation  and 
alarm  took  possession  of  the  minds  of  many ;  and  in  proportion  to  this 
alarm  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  began  to  be  reverenced  and  honored.* 
Even  among  those  who  had  given  their  faith  to  St.  Paul's  preaching," 
some  'appear  to  have  retained  their  attachment  to  the  practice  of  magical 
arts.  Their  conscience  was  moved  by  what  had  recently  occurred,  and 
they  came  and  made  a  full  confession  to  the  Apostle,  and  publicly 
acknowledged  and  forsook  their  deeds  of  darkness.' 

The  fear  and  conviction  seem  to  have  extended  beyond  those  who  made 
a  profession  of  Christianity.  A  large  number  of  the  sorcerers  them- 
selves'openly  renounced  the  practice  which  had  been  so  signally  con- 
demned by  a  higher  power ;  and  they  brought  together  the  books  ^  that 
contained  tlie  mystic  formularies,  and  burnt  them  before  all  the  people. 
When  the  volumes  were  consumed,^  they  proceeded  to  reckon  up  the 
price  at  which  these  manuals  of  enchantment  would  be  valued.  Such 
books,  from  their  very  nature,  would  be  costly ;  and  all  books  in  that  age 
bore  a  value  which  is  far  above  any  standard  with  which  we  are  familiar. 
Hence  we  need  not  be  surprised  that  the  whole  cost  thus  sacrificed  and 
surrendered  amounted  to  as  much  as  two  thousand  pounds  of  English 
money.^"  This  scene  must  have  been  long  remembered  at  Ephesus.  It 
was  a  strong  proof  of  honest  conviction  on  the  part  of  the  sorcerers,  and 
a  striking  attestation  of  the  triumph  of  Jesus  Christ  over  the  powers  of 
darkness.     The  workers  of  evil  were  put  to  scorn,  like  the  priests  of  Baal 

1  The  two  verbs  in  the  original  are  differ-  *  Literally,  "  their  books." 

ent.  •  The  imperfect  should  be  noticed,  as  im- 

2  V,  16.  parting  a  graphic  character  to  the  whole  nar- 
'  V.  17.  rative.  The  buniing  and  blazing  of  the  books 
*  The  verb  is  in  the  imperfect.  went  on  for  some  considerable  time.  Compare 
^  It  seems  unnatural  to  take  the  perfect      the  instances  of  the  burning  of  magical  books 

participle  in  any  other  sense  than   "  those  who  recorded  in  Liv.  xl.  29  ;  Suet.  Aug.  31  :    also 

had  previously  believed."  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  50  ;  Agr.  2. 

^  "  Their  deeds,"  which  must  surely  refer  i''  The  "  piece  of  silver  "  mentioned  here 

to  the  particular  practices  in  question.     The  was  doubtless  the  drachma,  the  current  Greek 

verb  denotes  "  to  make  a  full  confession,"  as  coin  of  the  Levant :  the  value  was  about  ten- 

in  Matt.  iii.  6,  Jam.  v.  16.  pence.      There  can  be  no  reason  to  suppose 

^  V.  19.  with  Grotins  that  the  shekel  is  meant. 


CHAP.  XIT. 


BURNING   OF  THE   BOOKS 


417 


by  Elijah  on  Mount  Carmel ;  ^  and  the  teachmg  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ 
"  increased  mightily  and  grew  strong."  ^ 

With  this  narrative  of  the  burning  of  the  books,  we  have  nearly 
reached  the  term  of  St.  Paul's  three-years'  residence  at  Ephesus.' 
Before  his  departure,  however,  two  important  subjects  demand  our  atten- 
tion, each  of  which  may  be  treated  in  a  separate  chapter :  —  the  First 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthans,  with  the  circumstances  in  Achaia  which  led  to 
the  writing  of  it,  —  and  the  uproar  in  the  Ephesian  Theatre,  which  will 
be  considered  in  connection  with  a  description  of  the  city,  and  some  notice 
of  the  worship  of  Diana. 


Ooln  of  Epbenu.* 


1  1  Kings  zriii. 

•  T.  20. 

*  See  T.  21,  which  immediatelj  fSi^lowa. 

S7 


*  From  Akerman's  Numixmatic  lUvMtratiant, 
p.  49.  For  the  form  nnder  which  Dians  ii 
leptesented,  aee  below,  pp.  465, 466. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

St.  Paul  pays  a  Short  Visit  to  Corinth.  —  Returns  to  Ephesus.  —  Writes  a  Letter  to  the  Corin- 
thians, which  is  now  lost.  —  They  reply,  desiring  further  Explanations.  —  State  of  the 
Corinthian  Church.  — St.  Paul  writes  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians. 

WE  have  hitherto  derived  such  information  as  we  possess,  concern- 
ing the  proceedings  of  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus,  from  the  narrative  in 
the  Acts ;  but  we  must  now  record  an  occurrence  which  St.  Luke  has 
passed  over  in  silence,  and  which  we  know  only  from  a  few  incidental 
allusions  in  the  letters  of  the  Apostle  himself.  This  occurrence,  which 
probably  took  place  not  later  than  the  beginning  of  the  second  year  of 
St.  Paul's  residence  at  Ephesus,  was  a  short  visit  which  he  paid  to  the 
Church  at  Corinth.' 


1  The  occurrence  of  this  visit  is  proved  by 
tlie  foliowing  passages :  — 

(1.)  2  Cor.  xii.  14.  "Now  for  the  third 
time  I  am  prepared  to  come  to  you." 

(2.)  2  Cor.  xiii.  1.  "Now  for  the  third 
time  I  am  coming  to  you." 

If  the  visit  after  leaving  Ephesus  was  the 
third,  there  must  have  been  a  second  before  it. 

(3.)  2  Cor.  xii.  21.  "Lest  again,  when  I 
come,  God  should  humble  me,  and  I  should 
grieve  many  of  those  who  sinned  before."  He 
fears  lest  he  should  again  be  humbled  on  visit- 
ing them,  and  again  have  to  mourn  their  sins. 
Hence  there  must  have  been  a  former  visit,  in 
which  he  was  thus  humbled  and  made  to 
mourn. 

Paley  in  the  IIorcB  Paulime,  and  other  com- 
mentators since,  have  shown  that  these  pas- 
sages (though  they  acknowledge  their  most 
natural  meaning  to  be  in  favor  of  an  inter- 
mediate visit)  may  be  explained  away ;  in  the 
first  two  St.  Paul  might  perhajis  only  have 
meant  "  this  is  the  third  time  I  have  intended 
to  come  to  you  ;  "  and  in  the  third  passage  we 
may  take  again  with  come  in  the  sense  of  "  on 
my  return."  But  we  think  that  nothing  but 
the  hypothesis  of  an  intermediate  visit  can  ex- 
plain the  following  passages :  — 
418 


(4)  2  Cor.  ii.  I.  "I  decided  not  to*come 
again  in  grief  to  you  "  (which  is  the  reading 
of  every  one  of  the  Uncial  manuscripts). 
Here  it  would  be  exceedingly  unnatural  to 
join  again  with  come ;  and  the  feeling  of  this 
probably  led  to  the  error  of  the  Textus  Recep- 
tus. 

(5)  2  Cor.  xiii.  2  (according  to  the  reading 
of  the  best  M  S  S . ) .  /  have  warned  you  formerly, 
and  I  now  forewarn  you,  as  when  I  was  present 
the  second  time,  so  now  while  I  am  ahsent,  saying 
to  those  who  had  sinned  he/ore  that  time,  and  to  all 
the  rest,  "  If  I  come  again,  I  will  not  spare." 

Against  these  arguments  Paley  sets  (1st) 
St.  Luke's  silence,  which,  however,  is  acknowl- 
edged by  all  to  be  inconclusive,  considering 
that  so  very  many  of  St.  Paul's  travels  and  ad- 
ventures are  left  confessedly  uni-ecorded  in  the 
Acts  (see  note  on  2  Cor.  xi.  23,  &c.).  {2dly) 
The  passage,  2  Cor.  i.  15,  16,  in  which  St. 
Paul  tells  the  Corinthians  he  did  not  wish  now 
to  give  them  a  "  second  benefit ; "  whence  he 
argues  that  the  visit  then  approaching  would 
be  his  siicond  visit.  But  a  more  careful  exam- 
ination of  the  passage  shows  that  St.  Paul  ii 
speaking  of  his  original  intention  of  paying 
them  a  double  visit,  on  his  way  to  Macedonia, 
and  on  his  return  from  Macedonia. 


CH."'-»v.  VISIT  TO   CORINTH.  419 

If  we  had  not  possessed  any  direct  information  that  such  a  visit  had 
been  made,  yet  in  itself  it  would  have  seemed  highly  probable  that  St. 
Paul  would  not  have  remained  three  years  at  Ephesus  without  revisiting 
his  Corinthian  converts  "We  have  already  remarked  ^  on  the  facility  of 
communication  existing  between  these  two  great  cities,  which  were  united 
by  a  continual  reciprocity  ot  commerce,  and  were  the  capitals  of  two 
peaceful  provinces.  And  examples  of  the  intercourse  which  actually 
took  place  between  the  Christians  of  the  two  Churches  have  occurred, 
both  in  the  case  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  who  had  migrated  from  the  one  to 
the  other  (Acts  xviii.  18,  19),  and  in  that  of  Apollos,  concerning  whom, 
"  when  he  was  disposed  to  pass  into  Achaia,"  "  the  brethren  [at  Ephesus] 
wrote,  exhorting  the  disciples  [at  Corinth]  to  receive  him"  (Acts  xviii, 
27).  In  the  last  chapter,  some  of  the  results  of  this  visit  of  Apollos  to 
Corinth  have  been  noticed ;  he  was  now  probably  returned  to  Ephesus, 
where  we  know^  that  he  was  remaining  (and,  it  would  seem,  stationary) 
during  the  third  year  of  St.  Paul's  residence  in  that  capital.  No  doubt, 
on  his  return,  he  had  much  to  tell  of  the  Corinthian  converts  to  their 
father  in  the  faith,  —  much  of  joy  and  hope,  but  also  much,  of  pain,  to 
communicate ;  for  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  those  tares  among  the 
wheat,  which  we  shall  presently  see  in  their  maturer  growth,  had  already 
begun  to  germinate,  although  neither  Paul  had  planted,  nor  Apollos 
watered  them.  One  evil  at  least,  we  know,  prevailed  extensively,  and 
threatened  to  corrupt  the  whole  Church  of  Corinth.  This  was  nothing 
less  tlian  the  addiction  of  many  Corinthian  Christians  to  those  sins  of 
impurity  which  they  had  practised  in  the  days  of  their  Heathenism,  and 
which  disgraced  their  native  city,  even  among  the  Heathen.  We  have 
before  mentioned  the  peculiar  licentiousness  of  manners  which  prevailed 
at  Corinth.  So  notorious  was  this,  that  it  had  actually  passed  into  the 
vocabulary  of  the  Creek  tongue  ;  and  the  very  word  "  to  Corinthianize," 
meant  "  to  play  the  wanton  ;  "  •''  nay,  the  bad  reputation  of  the  city  had 
become  proverbial,  even  in  foreign  languages,  and  is  immortalized  by  the 
Latin  poets.*  Such  being  the  habits  in  which  many  of  the  Corinthian 
converts  had  been  educated,  we  cannot  wonder  if  it  proved  most  difficult 
to  root  out  immorality  from  the  rising  Church.  The  offenders  against 
Christian  chastity  were  exceedingly  numerous  *  at  this  period ;  and  it  was 
especially  with  the  object  of  attempting  to  reform  them,  and  to  check  the 
growing  mischief,  that  St.  Paul  now  determined  to  visit  Corinth. 

He  has  himself  described  this  visit  as  a  painful  one  ;  ®  he  went  in  sorrow 

1  P.  368.  ^  Only  a  part  of  them,  who  remained  unro- 

2  1  Cor.  xvi.  12.  pentant  after  rebuke  and  warning,  are  called 
'  It  is  so  used  by  Aristophanes.                           "  many."    2  Cor.  xii.  21. 

*  Her.  Ep.  i.  1 7.     See  p.  361,  n.  5  ^  2  Cor.  ii.  1. 


420  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  cirAr.xf. 

at  the  tidings  he  had  received  ;  and  when  he  arrived,  he  found  xhe  state 
of  things  even  worse  than  he  had  expected ;  he  tells  us  that  it  was  a  time 
of  personal  humiliation  ^  to  himself,  occasioned  by  the  flagrant  sins  of 
so  many  of  his  own  converts ;  he  reminds  the  Corinthians,  afterwards, 
how  he  had  "  mourned  "  over  those  who  had  dishonored  the  name  of 
Christ  by  "  the  uncleanness  and  fornication  and  wantonness  which  they 
had  committed."  ^ 

But  in  the  midst  of  his  grief  he  showed  the  greatest  tenderness  for  the 
individual  offenders ;  he  warned  them  of  the  heinous  guilt  which  they 
were  incurring ;  he  showed  them  its  inconsistency  with  their  Christian 
calling ; '  he  reminded  them  how,  at  their  baptism,  they  had  died  to  sin, 
and  risen  again  unto  righteousness  ;  but  he  did  not  at  once  exclude  them 
from  the  Church  which  they  had  defiled.  Yet  he  was  compelled  to 
threaten  them  with  this  penalty,  if  they  persevered  in  the  sins  which  had 
now  called  forth  his  rebuke.  He  has  recorded  the  very  words  which  he 
used.     "  If  I  come  again,"  he  said,  "  I  will  not  spare."  * 

It  appears  probable  that,  on  this  occasion,  St.  Paul  remained  but  a  very 
short  time  at  Corinth.  When  afterwards,  in  writing  to  them,  he  says 
that  he  does  not  wish  "  now  to  pay  them  a  passing  visit,"  he  seems '  to 
imply  that  his  last  visit  had  deserved  that  epithet.  Moreover,  had  it 
occupied  a  large  portion  of  the  "  space  of  three  years,"  which  he 
describes  himself  to  have  spent  at  Ephesus  (Acts  xx.  31),  he  would 
probably  have  expressed  himself  differently  in  that  part  of  his  address  to 
the  Ephesian  presbyters  ;  ^  and  a  long  visit  could  scarcely  have  failed  to 
furnish  more  allusions  in  the  Epistles  so  soon  after  written  to  Corinth. 
The  silence  of  St.  Luke  also,  which  is  easily  explained  on  the  supposi- 
tion of  a  short  visit,  would  be  less  natural  had  St.  Paul  been  long  absent 
from  Ephesus,  where  he  appears,  from  the  narrative  in  the  Acts,  to  be 
stationary  during  all  this  period. 

On  these  grounds,  we  suppose  that  the  Apostle,  availing  himself  of  the 
constant  maritime  intercourse  between  the  two  cities,  had  gone  by  sea  to 
Corinth  ;  and  that  he  now  returned  to  Ephesus  by  the  same  route  (which 
was  very  much  shorter  than  that  by  land),  after  spending  a  few  days  or 
weeks  at  Corinth. 

^  2  Cor.  xii.  21.  (by  the  direct  route)  on  my  way  to  Macedonia 

^  2  Cor.  xii.  21.  for  a  passing  visit,"  &c. 

*  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  urged  ®  Wieslcr,  however,  gets  over  this,  by  sup- 
upon  them  the  same  arguments  which  he  was  posing  that  when  St.  Paul  mentions  three  yean 
afterwards  obliged  to  repeat  at  1  Cor.  ri.  15.  spent  among  his  hearers,  he  means  to  address 

*  2  Cor.  xiii.  2.  not  only  the  Ephesian  presbyters  whom   h« 

*  1  Cor.  xvi.  7.  Yet  this  admits  of  another  had  summoned,  but  also  the  companions  of 
explanation;  for  perhaps  he  only  meant  to  his  voyage  (Acts  xx.  4)  who  had  been  with 
■my,  "  I  will  not  now  (at  once)  come  to  yon  him  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia. 


t-^AP.  XV.  AN  EPISTLE  CONCEENING  PEOFLIGACY.  421 

But  his  censures  and  warnings  had  produced  too  little  effect  upon  his 
converts ;  his  mildness  had  been  mistaken  for  weakness ;  his  hesitation  in 
punishing  had  been  ascribed  to  a  fear  of  the  offenders  ;  and  it  was  not 
long  before  he  received  new  intelligence  that  the  profligacy  which  had 
infected  the  community  was  still  increasing.  Then  it  was  that  he  felt 
himself  compelled  to  resort  to  harsher  measures  ;  he  wrote  an  Epistle 
(which  has  not  been  preserved  to  us)  ^  in  which,  as  we  learn  from  himself, 
he  ordered  the  Christians  of  Corinth,  by  virtue  of  his  Apostolic  authority, 
"  to  cease  from  all  intercourse  with  fornicators."  By  this  he  meant,  as 
he  subsequently  explained  his  injunctions,  to  direct  the  exclusion  of  all 
profligates  from  the  Church.  The  Corinthians,  however,  either  did  not 
understand  this,  or  (to  excuse  themselves)  they  affected  not  to  do  so ;  for 
they  asked,  how  it  was  possible  for  them  to  abstain  from  all  intercourse 
with  the  profligate,  unless  they  entirely  secluded  themselves  from  all  the 
business  of  life  which  they  had  to  transact  with  their  Heathen  neighbors. 
Whether  the  lost  Epistle  contained  any  other  topics,  we  cannot  know  with 
certainty  ;  but  we  may  conclude  with  some  probability  that  it  was  very 
short,  and  directed  to  this  one  subject ;  -  otherwise  it  is  not  easy  to  under- 
stand why  it  should  not  have  been  preserved  together  with  the  two  subse- 
quent Epistles. 

Soon  after  this  short  letter  had  been  despatched,  Timotheus,  accom- 
panied by  Erastus,'  left  Ephesus  for  Macedonia.  St.  Paul  desired  him, 
if  possible,  to  continue  his  journey  to  Corinth  ;  but  did  not  feel  certain 
that  it  would  be  possible  for  him  to  do  so  *  consistently  with  the  other 
objects  of  his  journey,  which  probably  had  reference  to  the  great  collec- 
tion now  going  on  for  the  poor  Hebrew  Christians  at  Jerusalem. 

Meantime,  some  members  of  the  household  of  Chloe,  a  distinguished 
Christian  family  at  Corinth,  arrived  at  Ephesus ;  and  from  them  St.  Paul 
received  fuller  information  than  he  before  possessed  of  the  condition  of 
the  Corinthian  Church.  The  spirit  of  party  had  seized  upon  its  mem- 
bers, and  well-nigh  destroyed  Christian  love.  We  have  already  seen,  in 
our  general  view  of  the  divisions  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  that  the  great 
parties  which  then  divided  the  Christian  world  had  ranked  themselves 
under  the  names  of  different  Apostles,  whom  they  attempted  to  set  up 

1  In  proof  of  this,  see  the  note  on  1  Cor.  t.  '  Erastus  was  probably  the  "  treasurer  "  of 
9-12.      This   lost    Epistle  must  have   been  the  city  of  Corinth,  mentioned  Rom.  xvi.  23, 
written   after  his   second  visit;   otherwise   he  and  2  Tim.  iv.  20;   and  therefore  was  most 
need  not  have  explained  it  in  the  passage  re-  likely  proceeding  at  any  rate  to  Corinth, 
ferred  to.  *  Timotheus  apparently  did  not  reach  Cor- 

2  Probably  it  was  in  this  lost  letter  that  he  inth  on  this  occasion,  or  the  fact  would  hare 
gave  them  notice  of  his  intention  to  visit  them  been  mentioned  2  Cor.  xii.  18 

on  his  way  to  Macedonia ;  for  altering  which 
he  was  so  much  blamed  by  his  opponents. 


422  THE   LLFE   AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST,   PAUL.  chap.xv. 

against  each  other  as  rival  leaders.  At  Corinth,  as  in  other  ]  laces,  emis- 
saries had  arrived  from  the  Judaizers  of  Palestine,  who  boasted  of  their 
"  letters  of  commendation  "  from  the  metropolis  of  the  faith  ;  they  did  not, 
however,  attempt,  as  yet,  to  insist  upon  circumcision,  as  we  shall  find 
them  doing  successfully  among  the  simpler  population  of  Galatia.  This 
would  liave  been  hopeless  in  a  great  and  civilized  community  like  that  of 
Corinth,  imbued  with  Greek  feelings  of  contempt  for  what  they  would 
have  deemed  a  barbarous  superstition.  Here,  therefore,  the  Judaizers 
confined  themselves,  in  the  first  instance,  to  personal  attacks  against  St. 
Paul,  whose  apostleship  they  denied,  whose  motives  they  calumniated,  and 
whose  authority  they  persuaded  the  Corinthians  to  repudiate.  Some  of 
them  declared  themselves  the  followers  of  "  Cephas,"  whom  the  Lord 
himself  had  selected  to  be  the  chief  Apostle ;  others  (probably  the  more 
extreme  members  of  the  party)  ^  boasted  of  their  own  immediate  connec- 
tion with  Christ  himself,  and  their  intimacy  with  "  the  brethren  of  the 
Lord,"  and  especially  with  James,  the  head  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem. 
The  endeavors  of  these  agitators  to  undermine  the  influence  of  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  met  with  undeserved  success ;  and  they  gained 
over  a  strong  party  to  their  side.  Meanwhile,  those  who  were  still  stead- 
fast to  tlie  doctrines  of  St.  Paul,  yet  were  not  all  unshaken  in  their 
attachment  to  his  person  :  a  portion  of  them  preferred  the  Alexandrian 
learning  with  which  ApoUos  had  enforced  his  preaching,  to  the  simple 
style  of  their  first  teacher,  who  had  designedly  abstained,  at  Corinth,  from 
any  thing  like  philosophical  argumentation.^  This  party,  then,  who 
sought  to  form  for  themselves  a  philosophical  Christianity,  called  them- 
selves the  followers  of  Apollos  ;  although  the  latter,  for  his  part,  evidently 
disclaimed  the  rivalry  with  St.  Paul  which  was  thus  implied,  and  even 
refused  to  revisit  Corinth,^  lest  he  should  seem  to  countenance  the 
factious  spirit  of  his  adherents. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  the  Antinomian  Free-thinkers,  whom  we  have 
already  seen  to  form  so  dangerous  a  portion  of  the  Primitive  Church, 
attached  themselves  to  this  last-named  party  ;  at  any  rate,  they  were,  at 
this  time,  one  of  the  worst  elements  of  evil  at  Corinth  :  they  put  forward 
a  theoretic  defence  of  the  practical  immorality  in  wiiicli  they  lived ;  and 
some  of  them  had  so  lost  the  very  foundation  of  Christian  faith  as  to 
deny  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  thus  to  adopt  the  belief  as  well 
as  the  sensuality  of  their  Epicurean  neighbors,  whose  motto  was,  "  Let  us 
eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die." 

A  crime,  recently  committed  by  one  of  these  pretended  Christians,  was 
now  reported  to  St.  Paul,  and  excited  his  utmost  abhorrence :  a  member 

1  See  above,  p.  389.  "  I  Cor.  ii.  1--5.  "  1  Cor.  xvi.  12. 


CHAP.  XV.  CONTROVERSIES  IN  THE   CORINTHIAN   CHURCH.  423 

of  the  Corinthian  Church  was  openly  living  in  incestuous  intercourse 
with  his  step-mother,  and  that  during  his  father's  life ;  yet  this  audacious 
offender  was  not  excluded  from  the  Church. 

Nor  were  these  the  only  evils :  some  Christians  were  showing  their 
total  want  of  brotherly  love  by  bringing  vexatious  actions  against  their 
brethren  in  the  Heathen  courts  of  law ;  others  were  turning  even  the 
spiritual  gifts  which  they  had  received  from  the  Holy  Ghost  into  occa- 
sions of  vanity  and  display,  not  unaccompanied  by  fanatical  delusion  ; 
the  decent  order  of  Christian  worship  was  disturbed  by  the  tumultuary 
claims  of  rival  ministrations  ;  women  had  forgotten  the  modesty  of  their 
sex,  and  came  forward,  unveiled  (contrary  to  the  habit  of  their  country), 
to  address  the  public  assembly ;  and  even  the  sanctity  of  the  Holy  Com- 
munion itself  was  profaned  by  scenes  of  revelling  and  debauch. 

About  the  same  time  that  all  this  disastrous  intelligence  was  brought 
to  St.  Paul  by  the  household  of  Chloe,  other  messengers  arrived  from 
Corinth,  bearing  the  answer  of  the  Church  to  his  previous  letter,  of  which 
(as  we  have  mentioned  above)  they  requested  an  explanation ;  and  at 
the  same  time  referring  to  his  decision  several  questions  which  caused 
dispute  and  difficulty.  These  questions  related  —  1st,  To  the  contro- 
versies respecting  meat  which  had  been  offered  to  idols  ;  2dly,  To  the 
disputes  regarding  celibacy  and  matrimony ;  the  right  of  divorce ;  and 
the  perplexities  which  arose  in  the  case  of  mixed  marriages,  where  one 
of  the  parties  was  an  unbeliever ;  8dly,  To  the  exercise  of  spiritual  gifts 
in  the  public  assemblies  of  the  Church. 

St.  Paul  hastened  to  reply  to  these  questions,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
denounce  the  sins  which  had  polluted  the  Corinthian  Church,  and  almost 
annulled  its  right  to  the  name  of  Christian.  The  letter  which  he  was 
thus  led  to  write  is  addressed,  not  only  to  this  metropolitan  Church,  but 
also  to  the  Christian  communities  established  in  other  places  in  the  same 
province,'  which  might  be  regarded  as  dependencies  of  that  in  the  capital 
city  ;  hence  we  must  infer  that  these  Churches  also  had  been  infected  by 
some  of  the  errors  or  vices  which  had  prevailed  at  Corinth.  The  letter 
is,  in  its  contents,  the  most  diversified  of  all  St.  Paul's  Epistles  ;  and  in 
proportion  to  the  variety  of  its  topics,  is  the  depth  of  its  interest  for  our- 
selves. For  by  it  we  are  introduced,  as  it  were,  behind  the  scenes  of  the 
Apostolic  Church,  and  its  minutest  features  are  revealed  to  us  under  the 
light  of  daily  life.  We  see  the  picture  of  a  Christian  congregation  as  it 
met  for  worship  in  some  upper  chamber,  such  as  the  house  of  Aquila,  or 
of  Gains,  could  furnish.  "We  see  that  these  seasons  of  pure  devotion 
were  not  unalloyed  by  human  vanity  and  excitement ;  yet,  on  the  other 

^  See  the  translation  of  I  Cor.  ii.  2,  and  the  note.    Also  p.  356 


424  TELE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.  PAUL.  chap.  xt. 

hand,  we  behold  the  Heathen  auditor  pierced  to  the  heart  by  the  inspired 
eloquence  of  the  Christian  prophets,  the  secrets  of  his  conscience  laid 
bare  to  him,  and  himself  constrained  to  fall  down  on  his  face  and  worship 
God  ;  we  hear  the  fervent  thanksgiving  echoed  by  the  unanimous  Amen ; 
we  see  the  administration  of  the  Holy  Communion  terminating  the  feast 
of  love.  Again  we  become  familiar  with  the  perplexities  of  domestic 
life,  the  corrupting  proximity  of  Heathen  immorality,  the  lingering 
superstition,  the  rash  speculation,  the  lawless  perversion  of  Christian 
liberty  ;  we  witness  the  strife  of  theological  factions,  the  party  names,  the 
sectarian  animosities.  We  perceive  the  difficulty  of  the  task  imposed 
upon  the  Apostle,  who  must  guard  from  so  many  perils,  and  guide 
through  so  many  difficulties,  his  children  in  the  faith,  whom  else  he  had 
begotten  in  vain  ;  and  we  learn  to  appreciate  more  fully  the  magnitude 
of  that  laborious  responsibility  under  which  he  describes  himself  as 
almost  ready  to  sink,  "  the  care  of  all  the  Churches." 

But  while  we  rejoice  that  so  many  details  of  the  deepest  historical  in- 
terest have  been  preserved  to  us  by  this  Epistle,  let  us  not  forget  to  thank 
God,  who  so  inspired  His  Apostle,  that  in  his  answers  to  questions  of 
transitory  interest  he  has  laid  down  principles  of  eternal  obligation.^ 
Let  us  trace  with  gratitude  the  providence  of  Him,  who  "  out  of  dark- 
ness calls  up  light ;  "  by  whose  mercy  it  was  provided  that  the  nuchas  tity 
of  the  Corinthians  should  occasion  the  sacred  laws  of  moral  purity  to  be 
established  forever  through  the  Christian  world  ;  —  that  their  denial  of 
the  resurrection  should  cause  those  words  to  be  recorded  whereon 
reposes,  as  upon  a  rock  that  cannot  be  shaken,  our  sure  and  certain  hope 
of  immortality. 

The  following  is  a  translation  of  the  Epistle,  which  was  written  at 
Easter,  m  the  third  year  of  St.  Paul's  residence  at  Ephesus :  — 

FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE   CORINTHIANS.' 

j.  1       PAUL,  a  called  Apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the  will  of  God,  saiutauon. 
2  and    Sosthenes"    the    Brother,    TO    THE    CHURCH    OF    GOD    AT 

1  The  contrast  between  the  short-lived  in-  ^  The  date  of  this   Epistle  can   be  fixe^ 

tercst  of  the  questions   referred   to  him  for  with  more  precision  than  that  of  any  other, 

solution,  and  the  eternal  principles  by  which  It  gives  us   the   means   of  ascertaining,  not 

they  must  be  solved,  was  brought  prominently  merely  the  year,  but  even  (with  great  proba- 

bcfore  the  mind    of  the  Apostle  himself  by  bility)  the  month  and  week,  in  which  it  was 

the    Holy   Spirit,    under  whose  guidance  he  written. 

wrote ;  and  he  has  expressed  it  in  those  sub-  ( 1 )  Apollos  had  been  working  at  Corinth, 

lime  words  which  might  serve  as  a  motto  for  and  was  now  with  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus  (1  Cor. 

the  whole  Epistle  ( 1  Cor.  vii.  29-31).  i.  12;  iii.  4,  22;  iv.  6;   xvi.  12),     This  WM 

*  SoBthenes  is,  perhaps,  the  same  mentioned  Acts  xviii.  1 7 


CHAP.  XV. 


FIEST  EPISTLE  TO  THE   CORINTHIANS. 


425 


CORINTH,  hallowed  in  Christ  Jesus,  called  Saints;^  together  with  alP 
who  call  upon  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  in  every  place  which  is 
their  home  —  and  our  Jiome  also.^ 

Grace   be   unto  you  and  peace,  from  God  our  Father,  and  from  our  i.  3 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

?uank^s"iviug       ^  ^  thank  my  God  continually  on  your  behalf,  for  the  grace  of    4 
vw-sim!! ''°°*   God  given  unto  you  in  Christ  Jesus.     Because,  in  Him,  you     5 
,were'^  every-wise  enriched  with  all  the  gifts  of  speech  and   knowledge 
(for  thus  my  testimony  to  Christ  was  confirmed  among  you),  so  that  you     6 


the  case  during  St.  Paul's  residence  at  Ephe- 
sus  (Acts  xix.  1). 

(2)  He  wrote  during  the  days  of  unleavened 
bread,  i.  e.  at  Easter  ( 1  Cor.  v.  7 :  see  the 
note  on  that  passage),  and  intended  to  remain 
at  Ephesus  till  Pentecost  (xvi.  8,  cf.  xv.  32). 
After  leaving  Ephesus,  he  purposed  to  come 
by  Macedonia  to  Achaia  (xvi.  5-7).  This 
was  the  route  he  took  (Acts  xx.  1,  2)  on  leav- 
ing Ephesus  after  the  tumult  in  the  theatre. 

(.3;  Aquila  and  Priscilla  were  with  him  at 
Ephesus  (xvi.  19).  They  had  taken  up  their 
residence  at  Ephesus  before  the  visit  of  St. 
Paul  (Acts  xviii.  26). 

(4)  The  Great  Collection  was  going  on  in 
Achaia  (xvi.  1-3).  When  he  wrote  to  the 
homans  from  Corinth  during  his  three 
months'  visit  there  (Acts  xx.  3),  the  collection 
was  completed  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia 
(Uom.  XV.  26). 

(.5)  He  hopes  to  go  by  Corinth  to  Jerusa- 
lem, and  thence  to  Rome  (xvi.  4,  and  xv. 
25-28).  Now  the  time  when  he  entertained 
this  very  purpose  was  towards  the  conclusion 
of  his  long  Ephesian  residence  (Acts  xix.  21). 

(6)  He  had  sent  Timothy  towards  Corinth 
^iv.  17),  but  not  direct  (xvi.  10).  Now  it  was 
at  t&e  close  of  his  Ephesian  residence  (Acts 
xix.  22)  that  he  sent  Timothy  with  Erastus 
(the  Corinthian)  from  Ephesus  to  Macedonia, 
which  was  one  way  to  Corinth,  but  not  the 
shortest. 

1  The  sense  of  the  word  for  "  Saints  "  in 
the  New  Testament  is  nearly  equivalent  to  the 
modern  "  Christians ; "  but  it  would  be  an 
anachronism  so  to  translate  it  here,  since  (in 
the  time  of  St.  Paul)  the  word  "  Christian  " 
was  only  used  as  a  term  of  reproach.  The 
objection  to  translating  it  "  saints  "  is,  that  the 


idea  now  often  conveyed  by  that  term  is  differ- 
ent from  the  meaning  of  the  Greek  word  as 
used  by  St.  Paul.  Yet  as  no  other  English 
word  represents  it  better,  either  the  old  render- 
ing must  be  retained,  or  an  awkward  periph- 
rasis employed.  The  English  reader  should 
bear  in  mind  that  St.  Paul  applies  the  term 
to  all  members  of  the  Church. 

2  This  is  added  to  comprehend  those  Chris 
tians  of  the  Church  of  Achaia  who  were  not 
resident  at  Corinth,  but  in  the  neighboring 
places  of  the  same  province.  Compare  2  Cor. 
i.  1. 

8  The  Authorized  Version  here  appears 
scarcely  reconcilable  with  the  order  of  the 
Greek,  though  it  is  defended  by  the  opinions 
of  Chrysostom,  Billroth,  Olshausen,  &c.  The 
translation  of  Meyer,  "  in  every  place  under 
their  and  our  dominion,"  seems  more  like  a 
Papal  than  an  Apostolic  rescript ;  and  that  of 
De  Wette,  "  in  every  place  both  of  their  and  our 
abode,"  is  frigid,  and  adds  nothing  to  the  idea 
of  "  every  place."  St.  Paul  means  to  say 
that  he  feels  the  home  of  his  converts  to  be  also  his 
cum.  Both  sentiment  and  expression  are  the 
same  as  in  Rom.  xvi.  13  :  "  His  mother  and 
mine." 

*  Observe  how  "I  thank"  and  "  my  "  fol- 
low immediately  after  "  Paul  and  Sosthenes," 
showing  that,  though  the  salutation  runs  in 
the  name  of  both,  the  author  of  the  Epistle 
was  St.  Paul  alone.  Compare  the  remarks  on 
1  Thess.  i.  2. 

^  In  this  passage  the  aorists  are  here  trans- 
lated as  aorists.  But  as  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  aorist  and  perfect  is  by  no  means 
constantly  observed  in  St.  Paul's  Hellenistic 
Greek,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  aorists 
here  are  not  used  for  perfects. 


426  THE    LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap  xt. 

1.  7    come  behind  no  other  church  in  any  gift ;  looking  earnestly  for  the  time 
when  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  be  revealed  to  sight.' 

8  And  He  also  will  confirm  ^  you  unto  the  end,  that  you  may  be  without 

9  reproach  at  the  day  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.    For  God  is  faithful,  by  whom 
you  were  called  into  fellowship  with  His  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord. 

10  I   exhort  you,  brethren,  by  the   name   of  our   Lord   Jesus  ^fe^" plr'ly. 

11  Christ,  to  shun  disputes,  and  have  no  divisions  among  you,  spLcmuln- 

sure  of 'the 

but   to   be  knit    together  in   the   same  mind,  and  the  same  pseudo-phiiq- 
"  '  sophicai  par- 

judgment.'     For  I  have  been  informed  concerning  you,  my  *^' 

brethren,  by  the  members  of  Chloe's  household,  that  there  are  contentious 

12  among  you.  I  mean,  that  one  of  you  says,  "  I  am  a  follower  of  Paul ;  " 
another,  "  I  of  ApoUos ;  "  another,  "  I  of  Cephas  ;  "  *  another,   "  I  of 

13  Christ."      Is    Christ   divided  ?     Was   Paul  crucified  for  you  ?  or  were 

14  you  baptized   unto  the   name  of  Paul  ?     I  thank  God  that  I  baptized 

15  none  of  you  excfinf.  Crispus  and  Gains  ^  (lest  any  one  should  say  that  I 

16  baptized  unto  my  own  name)  ;   and  I  bapt'-^ed    also   the   household  of 

17  Stephanas  ;  besides  these  I  know  not  that  I  baptized  any  other.  For 
Christ  sent  me  forth  as  His  Apostle,^  not  to  baptize,  but  to  publish  the 
Glad-tidings  ;  and  that,  not  with  wisdom  of  word,  lest  thereby  the  cross 

18  of  Christ  should  be  made  void.''  For  the  word  of  the  cross  ^  to  those  in 
the  way  of  perdition  is  folly  ;  but  to  us  in  the  way  of  salvation  ^  it  is 

19  the  power  of  God.     And  so  it  is  written,  *'  J  ixrill  trestrog  tlje  fajis- 

bom  of  tijc  torse,  antr  \sxm%  ia  xiQi^m^  i\^t  untrcrslattbinig  of  i\t 

20  prubtnt."  ^^  Where  is  the  Philosopher  ?  Where  is  the  Rabbi  ?  Where 
is  the  reasoner  of  this  world  ?  '^     Has  not  God  turned  the  world's  wis- 

^  See  note  on  Kom.  ii.  5.  ^  Or  Caius,  if  we  use  the  Roman  spelling ; 

^  i.  e.  He  will  do  His  part  to  confirm  you  see  p.  349. 
unto  the  end.     If  you  fall,  it  will  not  be  for  ^  The  verb  involres  this, 

want  of  His  help.  "^  Compare  the  use  of  the  same  verb   in 

^  "  Mind  "  refers  to  the  view  taken  by  the  Rom.  iv.  14. 
understanding;  "judgment,"  to  the  practical  *  i.  e.  the  tidings  o{  a  crucijied  Messiah. 

decision  arrived  at.  ^  For  the  present  participle  we  may  refer 

*  Ce})lias  is  the  name  by  which  St.  Peter  to  Acts  ii.  47,  and  to  ii.  6,  below.  In  render- 
is  called  throughout  this  Epistle.  It  was  the  ing  the  participles  here,  "  alreadif  dead,"  and 
actual  word  used  by  our  Lord  himself,  and  " ahead jf  saved"  Prof.  Stanley  neglects  the 
remained  the  Apostle's  usual  appellation  force  of  the  tense.  [This  is  corrected  in  the 
among  the  Jewish  Christians  up  to  this  time.  2d  edition.  —  H.] 

It  is  strange  that  it  should  afterwards  have  been  i'^  Is.  xxix.  14;  not  quite  literally  quoted 

so  entirely  supplanted  by  its  Greek  equivalent,  from  LXX. 

"  Peter,"  even  among  the  Jewish  Christians.  ii  There  are  two  words  in  the  N.  T.  trans 

See  note  on  Gal.  i.  18.    For  an  explanation  of  lated  "  world  "  in  the  A.  V.     That  which  is 

the  parties  hero  aHiuied  to.  see  pp.  3ft7-.393.  used  here    involves   the    notion    of   trrvsitmi, 


CHAP.  xr.  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO   THE   CORINTHIAI^^S.  427 

dom  into  follj  ?  for  when  the  world  had  failed  to  gain  by  its  wisdom  the  i.  21 
knowledge  of  God  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  it  pleased  God,  by  the  folly  of 
our  preaching,^  to  save  those  who  believe.-     For  the  Jews  require  a  sign   22 
[from  heaven] ,  and  the  Greeks  demand  philosophy ;  but  we  ^  proclaim   23 
a  Messiah  crucified,  to  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block,  and  to  the  Greeks  a 
folly;  but  to  the  called  *  themselves,  whether  they  be  Jews  or  Greeks,   24 
Christ  the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God.     For  the  folly  of  God   25 
is  wiser  than  man's  wisdom,  and  the  weakness  of  God  is  stronger  than 
man's  strength.     For  you  see,  brethren,  how  God  has  called  you ;  how   26 
few  of  you  are  wise  in  earthly  wisdom,  how  few  are  powerful,  how  few 
are  noble.     But  the  world's  folly  God  has  chosen,  to  confound  its  wis-  27 
dom  ;  and  the  world's  weakness  God  has  chosen,  to  confound  its  strengtli ; 
and  the  world's  base  things,  and  things  despised,  yea  things  that  have  no   28 
being,  God  has  chosen,  to  bring  to  nought  the  things  that  be ;  that  no   29 
flesh  should  glory  in  His  presence.     But  you  are  His  children  *  in  Christ  30 
Jesus,  whom  God  sent  unto  us  as  our  wisdom,®  and  righteousness,  and 
sanctification,  and  redemption  ;  that  it  might  be  according  as  it  is  writ- 

ten,  "f  ^  Kjat  boastellj,  let  ^m  boast  in  tijc  forir."'  3i 

In  his  own  So,   brethren,  when  I  myself  came  among  you,  and  do-  ii  1 

teaching  ''C  .  .,  ,  .  p    /~i      i     -r 

hail  not  aimed  clarcd  to  you  tlic  tcstimouy  of  God,  I  came  not  with  surpass- 

at  establish-  •'  J  i  r 

tl'.fn'for'*'      "^g  s^ill  of  speech,  or  wisdom.      For  no  knowledge  did  I     2 
eioque°ccf  °'^  purposc  to  display  among  you,  but  the  knowledge  of  Jesus 

hut  had  relied 

on  the  super-    Christ  alouc,  aud  Him  ^  —  crucified.     And  in  my  intercourse     3 

natural  power  '  j  " 

whicTl  beings  with  you,  I  was  filled  with  weakness  and  fear  and  much  trem- 

to  the  Spirit 

of  God.  bling.^     And  when  I  proclaimed    my   message,  I  used  not     4 


duration.    So  in  English  we  speak  of  "  the  God,  which  has  called  them  to  enter  into  His 

notions  (or  spirit)  of  the  age."    Also  in  this  church. 
xpression  is  contained  a   reference    to  "  the  ^  "  Of  Him." 

future  a<;e,"  the  period  of  the  final  triumph  of  8  Literally,  who  became  wisdom  to  ««  from 

Christ's  kingdom.  God,  the  preposition  implying  "  sent  from." 

1  [Or,   more    correctly,   "that    which    we  "  Jerem.  ix.  23,  24,  from   the   LXX.,  but 

preach,"  viz.    tlie   Gospel,  which   men   deem  not  literally.     Quoted  also  2  Cor.  x.  17 ;  see 

folly.  —  n.]  note  there. 

-  Observe  that  the  participle  here  is  present,  *   /.  e.  Him,   not  exalted  on   the   earthly 

sot  past.  throne  of  David,  but  condemned  to  the  death 

^   We,  including    St.  Paul   and  the   other  of  the  vilest  malefactor, 
preachers  of  Christianity.  ^  St.  Paul  appears,  on  his  first  coming  to 

*  All  who  make  an  outward  profession  of  Corinth,  to  have  been  suffering  under  great 

Christianity  are,  in  St.  Paul's  language,  "  the  depression,    perhaps    caused    by    the    bodily 

called."     They  have  received  a  message  from  malady  to  which  he  was  subject  (cf.  2  Cor 


428  THE  LIFE  AlfD  EPISTLES   OF    ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xv. 

ii.  5   persuasive  words  of  human  wisdom,  but  showed  forth  the  working  of 

God's  Spirit  and  power,  that  your  faitli  might  have  its  foundation   not 

in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but  in  tlie  power  of  God. 

6*      Nevertheless,  among  those  who  are  ripe  in  understanding,^  I  speak 

wisdom  ;  albeit  not  the  wisdom  of  this  world,  nor  of  its  rulers,  who  will 

7  soon  be  nought.^     But  it  is   God's  wisdom  that  I  speak,  whereof  the 
secret  is  made  known  to  His  people ;  *  even  the  hidden  wisdom  which 

8  God  ordained  before  the  ages,  that  we  might  be  glorified  thereby.     But 
the  rulers  of  this  world  knew  it  not ;  for  had  they  known  it,  they  would 

9  not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of  Glory.     But  as  it  is  written,  *'  ^Vt  \ydii) 

not  scciT,  nor  tux  ^eartr,  ttcitfjcr  Ijak  .cntcrth  into  ibt  hart  of  man, 
tlje  lljincjs  to^itlj  ^otr  ^allj  pr^jparcb  for  tljcm  lljat  lobt  Jim."* 

10  Yet  to  us^  God  has  revealed  them  by  His  Spirit.     For  the  Spirit  fathoms 

11  all  things,  even  the  depths  of  God.  For  who  can  know  what  belongs  to 
man  but  the  spirit  of  man  which  is  within  him  ?  even  so  none  can  know 

12  what  belongs  to  God,  but  the  Spirit  of  God  alone.  Now  we  have  received, 
not  the  spirit  of  the  world,  but  the  Spirit  which  is  of  God  ;  that  we  might 
understand  those  things  which  have  been  freely  given  us  by  God. 

13  These  are  the  things  whereof  we  speak,  in  words  not  taught  by  man's 
wisdom,  but  by  the  Spirit;  explaining  spiritual  things  to  spiritual**  men. 

14  But  the  natural^  man  rejects  the  teaching  of  God's  Spirit,  for  to  him  it  is 
folly ;  and  he  cannot  comprehend  it,  because  it  is  spiritually  discerned. 

15  But  the  spiritual  man  judges  all  things  truly,  yet  cannot  himself  be  truly 

xii.  8;  see  p.  235),  perhaps  by  the  ill  success  ^  "Wisdom  in   a  mystery"  is  a  wisdom 

of  his  efforts  at  Athens.     See  p.  334.  revealed  to  the  initiated,  i.  e.  (in  this  case)   to 

The    expression  "  fear  and  trembling "   is  Christians,  but  hidden  from  the  rest  of  the 

peculiarly  Pauline,  being  used  in  four  of  St.  world. 

Paul's  Epistles,  and  by  no  other  writer  in  the  *  Isaiah  Ixiv.  4  is  the  nearest  passage  to 

New  Testament.     It  does  not  mean  fear  of  this  in  the  Old  Testament.     The  quotation  is 

personal  damjer,  but  a  trembling  anxiety  to  per-  not  to  be  found  anywhere  exactly. 
form  a  cftUi/.     Thus  in  Eph.  vi.  5,  slaves  are  ^  Us,  including  all  tlie  inspired  Christian 

charged  to  obey  their  masters   thus,  and  this  teachers,  and  the  rest  of  the  "  perfect." 
anxious  conscieuliousness   is  opposed  to  "  eye-  ''  Compai-e  iii.    1.     It  should   be  observed 

service."  that  this  verb  is  often  used  by  LXX.  for  ex- 

1  "  The  perfect "  is  St.  Paul's  expression  plain,  interpret,  as  at  Gen.  xl.  8. 
for  those  who  had  attained  the  maturity  of  '  Properly   man    considered    as    endowed 

Christian  wisdom.     Compare  1   Cor.  xiv.  20,  with  the  anima  (the  living  principle),  as  dis- 

aud  I'hil.  iii.  15.     Such  men  could  understand  tinguished  fi-om  the  spiritual  principle,      bee 

that   his   teacliing  was   in    truth   the   highest  Juv.  Sat.  xv.  148.     Etymologically  speaking, 

philosophy.  the  animal  man  would  be  the  best  translation  ; 

■^  Literally,    "passing   away  into   nothing-  but  to  English  readers  this  would  convey  a 

ness."  harsher  meaning  than  the  original. 


CBAV.xy  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO   THE   CORINTHIANS.  429 

judged  by  others.     For  ''Wlp  Ijallj  hnoiXfU  %  mmb  of  tlj£  forbu.  16 
that  bt  sboulb  instruct  Bini^"^  but  we  have  the  mind  of  the  Lord^ 
[within  us]. 
The  party  And  I,  brethren,  could  not  speak  to  you  as  spiritual  men, 

whicli  claimed 

to  be  "the       but  as  camal,  yea,  as  babes  in  Christ.     I  fed  you  with  milk,  iii.  1 

spiritual"  are  7  ./       7  j  ?      •  * 

camaf  by  ^^     ^ud  Dot  witli  meat ;  for  you  were  not  able  to  bear  it ;   nay, 

their  disaen-  ,11/.  -n  1         -n 

eions.  you  are  not  yet  able,  tor  you  are  still  carnal.     For  while  you     2 

are  divided  amongst  yourselves  by  jealousy,  and  strife,  and  factious  par-     3 
ties,  is  it  not  evident  that  you  are  carnal,  and  walking  in  the  ways  of 
men  ?    When  one  says, "  I  follow  Paul,"  and  another,  "  I  follow  Apollos," 
can  you  deny  that  you  are  carnal  ?  4 

Who,  then,  is  Paul,  or  who  is  Apollos  ?  what  are  they  but 

It  is  a  contra-  . 

te^ms'to^        servants,  by  whose  ministration  you  believed  ?  and  was  it  not     5 
«an ^teachers  the  Lord  who  gavc  to  cach  of  them  the  measure  of  his  success  ?     6 

the  leaders  of 

opposing  par-  J  planted,  Apollos  watered  ;  but  it  was  God  who  made  the  seed 

ties.     Ivature         r  ?       r  ' 

01  their  worii.  ^^  gpow.    So  that  he  who  plants  is  nothing,  nor  he  who  waters, 
but  God  alone  who  gives  the  growth.     But  the  planter  and  the  waterer     7 
are  one  together  ;'  and  each  will  receive  his  own  wages  according  to  his     8 
work.     For  we  are  God's  fellow-laborers,^  and  you  are  God's  husbandry. 
"Xou  are  God's  building;  God  gave  me  the  gift  of  grace  whereby  like  a     9 
skilful  architect  I  laid  a  foundation  ;    and  on  this  foundation  another  10 
builds  ;  but  let  each  take  heed  what  he  builds  thereon  —  ["  thereon,"  I 
say,]  for  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  already  laid,  which   11 
is  Jesus  Christ.*    But  on  this  foundation  one  may  raise  gold,  and  silver, 
and  precious  stones ;  another,  wood,  hay,  and  stubble.®     But  each  man's   12 
work  will  be  made  manifest ;  for  The  Day  ^  will  make  it  known  ;  because   13 

^  Isaiah  xl.  13  (LXX.),  quoted  also  Rom.  *  [The  image  becomes  much  more  vivid,  if 

xi.  34.  we  remember  the  contrasted  buildings  of  an 

2  The  best  MS S.  are  divided  between  the  ancient    city,  —  the    sumptuous    edifices    of 
readings  of  "  Christ  "  and  "  Lord  "  here.  granite  and  marble,  with  ornaments  of  gold 

3  "  And   therefore  cannot  be   set  against  and  silver,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  hovels  of 
each  other  "  is  implied.  the  poor  on  the  other,  with  walls  of  wood  and 

*  This  remarkable   expression  is  used  by  roof   of   thatch,   and  interstices   stuffed  with 

St.  Paul  more  than  once.     Compare  2  Cor.  vi.  straw.     See  the  description  of  Rome  below, 

1,  and  the  note  on  1  Thess.  iii.  2.  Ch.  XXIII.  —  h.] 

^  The  MSS.  vary  here,  but  the  same  sense  ''  "  The  Day  of  Christ's  coming."      Com' 

is  virtually  involved  in  all  three  readings  ;  viz.  pare  1  Thess.  v.  4. 
that  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  was  the  founda- 
tion of  the  teaching  of  the  Apostles. 


430  THE  LITE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST,    PAUL.  chap.  xr. 

that  day  will  be  revealed  with  fire,  and  the  fire  will  test  each  builder's 
iii.l4work.     He  whose  building  stands  unharmed  shall  receive  payment  for 

15  his  labor ;  he  whose  work  is  burned  down  shall  forfeit  his  reward :  yet 
he  shall  not  himself  be  destroyed,  but  shall  be  saved  as  it  were  through 
the  flames. 

16  Know  ^  ye  not  that  you  are  God's  temple,  and  that  you  form  xhechurchis 

17  a  shrine  wherein  God's  Spirit  dwells  ?     If  any  man  ruin  the 

temple  of  God,  God  shall  ruin  "^  him ;  for  the  temple  of  God  is  holy  ;  and 
holy^  therefore  are  ye. 

18  Let  none  deceive  himself;  if  any  man  is  held  wise  among  intellectual 

pride  and 

you  in  the  wisdom  of  this  world,  let  him  make  himself  a  fool  ^^"^^^11^8. 

19  [in  the  world's  judgment] ,  that  so  he  may  become  wise.     For  *'*°' 

the    wisdom   of  this  world   is  foolishness  with    God,  as   it   is  written, 

20  '"^t  labtlj  %  toise  m  %ir  ofajn  rraftimss."  *  And  again,  "C^t 
^ortr  hitoto^llj   %  Ifrougljts  of  t^^  toise  i\^i  l^Bg  mt  faaht."* 

21  Therefore  let  none  of  you  make  his  boast  in  men;®  for  all  things  are 

22  yours  ;  both  Paul  and  Apollos,  and  Cephas,  and  the  whole  world  itself; 
both  life  and  death,  things  present  and  things  to  come —  all  are  yours  — 

23  but  '^  you  are  Christ's  ;  and  Christ  is  God's. 

Let  us  be  accounted  as  servants  of  Christ,  and  stewards  of  Christ's 

Apostles  are 

iv  1  the  mysteries  of  God.'     Moreover,  it  is  required  in  a  steward  only  stew- 

2  to  be  found  faithful.'     Yet  to  me  it  matters  nothing  that  I  be  rdminis'ter  ib 

3  judged  by  you  or  by  the  doom^®  of  man  ;  nay,  I  judge  not  even  own. 


1  The  connection  with  what  precedes  ia,  rice,  even  as  He  Himself  came  to  do  the  will 
"  In  calling  you  God's  building,  I  tell  you  no  of  His  Father. 

new  thin^' ;   you  know  already  that  you  are  *  Mijsteries  are  secrets  revealed    (i.   e.   the 

God's  temple."  Glad-tidings  of  Christ)  to  the  initiated,  i.  e.  to 

2  The  verbal  link  is  lost  in  the  A.  V.  all  Christians.  See  note  on  ii.  7.  The  meta- 
8  Not  "  which  temple"  (A.  V.).  phor  here  is,  that  as  a  steward  dis])ensed  his 
*  Job  V.  13,  from  LXX.,  with  an  irama-  master's  bread  to  his  fellow-serv'ants,  so  Paul, 

terial  variation.  Peter,  and  Apollos  dispensed  the  knowledge 

6  Ps.  xciv.  11,  from  LXX.,  with  a  slight  of  Christ  to  their  brethren. 

change.  '  [Or  rather,  "  Inquiry  is  made  into  a  stew- 

•>  The  meaning  is,   "  Boast  not  of  having  ard's  conduct,  in  order  that  he  may  be  proved 

this  man  or  that  as  your  leader;  for  all  the  faithful."  — n.] 

Apostles,  nay,  all  things  in  the  universe,  are  i"  This  use  of   "  day"   is   peculiar  to   St. 

ordained  by  God  to  co-operate  for  your  good."  Paul ;  so  that  Jerome  calls  it  a  Cilicism.    It  is 

^  All  things  work  together  for  the  good  of  connected  with  that  above  (iii.  18),  and  ocean 

Christians ;   all  things  conspire  to  do   them  1  Thess.  v.  4. 

service  :  but  their  work  is  t»>  do  Christ's  ser- 


cHxp.  XV.  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE   COBINTHIAKS.  481 

myself.     For  although  I  know  not  that  I  am  guilty  of  unfaithfulness,  yetiv.  4 
this  does  not  justify  me;    but  I  must  be  tried  by  the  judgment  of  the 
Lord.     Therefore  judge  nothing  hastily,  until  the  coming  of  the  Lord ;     6 
for  He  shall  bring  to  light  the  secrets  of  darkness,  and  make  manifest  the 
counsels  of  men's  hearts ;  and  then  shall  each  receive  his  due  *  praise 
from  God. 

Contrast  be-        ^^^  thcsc  things,  brethren,  I  have  represented  under  the     6 
exultation  of   pcrsous  of  mysclf  and  Apollos,  for  your  sakes  ;  that  by  con- 

tlie  pseudo- 

pf^'iiosophicai  sideriug  us  you  might  learn  not  to  think  of  yourselves  above 
o^^clfHst'T^"*  that  which  has  been  written j'^  and  that  you  may  cease  to  puflf 

yourselves  up  in  the  cause '  of  one  against  another.     For  who     7 
makes  thee  to  differ  from  another  ?  what  hast  thou  that  thou  didst  not 
receive  ?    and  how,  then,  canst  thou  boast,  as  if  thou  hadst  won  it  for 
thyself?     But  ye,  forsooth,  have  already  eaten  to  the  full   [of  spiritual     8 
food],  ye  are  already  rich,  ye  have  seated  yourselves  upon  your  throne, 
and  have  no  need  *  of  me.     Would  that  you  were  indeed  enthroned,  that 
I  too  might  reign  with  you !     For,^  I  think,  God  has  set  forth  us  the     9 
Apostles  last  of  all,  like  criminals  condemned  to  die,  to  be  gazed  at  in  a 
theatre^  by  the  whole   world,  both  men  and  angels.     We  for  Christ's    10 
sake  are  fools,  while  you  are  wise  in  Christ ;  we  are  weak,  while  you 
are  strong ;   you   are   honorable,  while   we   are   outcasts ;   even   to  the   11 
present  hour  we  bear  hunger  and  thirst,  and  nakedness  and  stripes,  and 
have  no  certain  dwelling-place,  and  toil  with  our  own  hands ;  curses  we   12 
meet  with  blessings,  persecution  with  patience,  railings  with  good  words. 
We  have  been  made  as  it  were  the  refuse  of  the  earth,  the  offscouring   13 
of  all  things,  unto  this  day.     I  write  not  thus  to  reproach  you  ;  but  as  a   14 
father  I  chide  the  children  whom  I  love.     For  though  you  may  have  ten   15 

^  "  His  praise."     The  error  in  A.  V.  was  *  Literally,   because  we    have   been   made  a 

caused  by  not  observing  the  article.  theatrical    spectacle.      Compare    Heb.    x.    33. 

2  This  is  arabignous ;   the  phrase  is  com-  The  spectacle  to  which  St.  Paul  here  alludes 

monly  employed  in  reference  to  the  Old  Testar  was  common  in  those  times.     Criminals  con- 

ment;   but  here  it  suits  better  with  the  con-  demned  to  death  were  exhibited  for  the  amuse- 

text  to  take  it  as   referring  to  the  preceding  ment  of  the  populace  on   the  arena  of   the 

remarks  of  St.  Paul  himself.  amphitheatre,  and  forced   to   fight  with  wild 

■^  St.  Paul  probably  means  "  in  the  cause  beasts,  or  to  slay  one  another  as  gladiators, 

of    your  party-leaders;"  but  speaks  with  in-  These  criminals  were  exhibited  at  the  end  of 

tentional  indistinctness.  the  spectacle  as  an  exciting  termination  to  the 

^  "  Without  us."  entertainment   ("set  forth  last  of  all").     So 

^  The    connection    is,   "  The    lot  of    an  Tertuliian  paraphrases  the  passage  "  Nos  Deus 

Apostle  is  no  kingly  lot."  Apostolos  novissimos  elegit  veliit  bestiarios." 


432  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chaf.iv. 

thousand  guardians  ^  to  lead  you  towards  the  school  of  Christ,  you  can 
have  but  one  father ;  and  it  was  I  who  begat  you  in  Christ  Jesus,  by  the 
i?  16  Glad-tidings  which  I  brought.     I  beseech  you,  therefore,  become  follow- 
ers of  me. 

17  For  this  cause   I  have  sent  to  you  Timotheus,  my  beloved  Mission  of 

•^  TimotUeus; 

son,  a  faithful  servant    of  the  Lord,   who  shall    put  you  in  ^je'^JjI^^^J! 

1  n  '       rM     •  T    J.         ^  1  dient  facHon 

remembrance  oi    my  ways  m  Christ,  as  1  teach  everywhere  atcorinth. 

18  in  all  the  churches.     Now  some  have  been  hlled  with  arrogance,  sup- 

19  posing  that  I  am  not  coming  to  you.     But  I  shall  be  with  you  shortly, 
if  the  Lord  will ;  and  then  I  shall  learn,  not  the  word  of  these  boasters, 

20  but  their  might.     For  mighty  deeds,  not  empty  words,  are  the  tokens  of 

21  God's  kingdom.     What  is  your  desire  ?     Must  I  come  to  you  with  the 
rod,  or  in  love  and  the  spirit  of  meekness  ? 

?.  1       It   is  reported  that  there  is  fornication  generally  ^  among  judgment 

on  the  inces- 

you,  and  such  fornication,   as   is    not    known  ^   even  among  tuous  person. 

2  the  Heathen,  so  that  one  among  you  has  his  father's  wife.  And  you, 
forsooth,  have  been    puffed    up  when  you  should  have  mourned,  that 

3  the  doer  of  this  deed  might  be  put  away  from  the  midst  of  you.  For 
me,  —  being  present  with  you  in  spirit,  although  absent  in  body,  —  I 
have  already  passed  sentence,  as  though  present,  on  him  who  has  done 

4  this  thing ;  [and  I  decree]  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that 
you  convene  an  assembly,  and  when  you,  and  my  spirit  with  you,  are  gath- 

6  ered  together,  with  the  power  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  you  deliver 
over  to  Satan  *  the  man  who  has  thus  sinned,  for  the  destruction  of  his 
fleshly  lusts,  that  his  spirit  may  be  saved  in  the   day  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

5  Unseemly  is  your  boasting  ;  know  ye  not  that  "  a  little  leaven  leaveneth 

7  the  whole  lump  ?  "  *  Cast  out  therefore  the  old  leaven,  that  you  may  be 
an  untainted  mass,  even  as  now  •*  you  are  without  taint  of  leaven  ;  for 

1  The  guardian  slave  who  led  the  child  to  *  This  expression  appears  used  as  equiva- 
school.  The  word  is  the  same  as  in  Gal.  iii.  lent  to  casting  out  oj  the  Church :  cf.  1  Tim  i. 
24.     See  the  note  there.  20.    From   the  following  words   there  seems 

2  The  adverb  seems  most  naturally  joined  also  a  reference  to  the  doctrine  that  Satan  is 
with  "  among  you,"  but  it  may  be  taken  with  the  author  of  bodily  disease.  Compare  2  Cor. 
•'reported  "  in  the  sense  of  "  universally ;"  so  xii.  7. 

Prof.    Stanley,   "  There  is  nothing  heard  of  ^  The  same  proverb  is  quoted  Gal.  v.  9. 

except  this."  ®  In  spite  of  the  opinion  of  some  eminent 

3  The  "  is  named  "  of  T.  R.  is  omitted  by  modem  commentators,  which  is  countenanced 
the  best  MSS. ;  "  is  heard  of,"  or  something  by  Chrysostom,  we  must  adhere  to  the  inter- 
equivalcnt,  must  be  supplied.  pretation  which  considers  these  words  as  writ' 


FIRST  EPISTLE  TO   THE   COKINTHIAJ^S. 


433 


our  Paschal  Lamb  is  Christ,  who  was  slain  for  us  ;  therefore  let  us  keep  y.  8 
the  feast,  not  with  the  old  leaven,  nor  the  leaven  of  vice  and  wickedness, 
but  with  the  unleavened  bread  of  purity  and  truth. 

fli'^itious  ^  enjoined  you  in   my  letter  ^  to   keep   no  company  with     9 

S'be  ex-     fornicators  ;  not  that  you  should  utterly  forego  all  intercourse   10 
the  Church,     with  the  mcu  of  this  world  who  may  be  fornicators,  or  lasciv- 
ious, or  extortioners,  or  idolaters ;  for  so  you  would  need  to  go  utterly 
out  of  the  world.      But^  .my  meaning  was,  that  you  should  keep  no    11 
company  with  any  man,  who,  bearing  the  name  of  a  Brother,  is  either 


tea  at  the  Paschal  season,  and  suggested  by  it. 
The  words  learrn,  lump,  Paschal  Lamb,  and 
feast,  all  agree  most  naturally  with  this  view. 
It  has  been  objected,  that  St.  Paul  would  not 
address  the  Corinthians  as  engaged  in  a  feast 
which  he,  at  Ephesus,  was  celebrating ;  be- 
cause it  would  be  over  before  his  letter  could 
reach  them.  Any  one  who  has  ever  written  a 
birth-day  letter  to  a  friend  in  India  will  see 
the  weakness  of  this  objection.  It  has  also 
been  urged  that  he  would  not  address  a  mixed 
church  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  as  engaged  in 
the  celebration  of  a  Jewish  feast.  Those  who 
urge  this  objection  must  have  forgotten  that 
St.  Paul  addresses  the  Galatians  (undoubt- 
edly a  mixed  church)  as  if  they  had  all  been 
formerly  idolaters  (Gal.  iv.  8)  ;  and  addresses 
the  Romans,  sometimes  as  if  they  were 
all  Jews  (Rom.  vii.  1),  sometimes  as  if  they 
were  Gentiles  (Rom.  xi.  18).  If  we  take 
"  as  ye  are  unleavened "  in  a  metaphorical 
sense,  it  is  scarcely  consistent  with  the  pre- 
vious "  cast  out  the  old  leaven ;  "  for  the  pas- 
sage would  then  amount  to  saying,  "  Be  ft-ee 
from  leaven  (metaphorically)  as  you  are  free 
from  leaven  (metaphorically) ;"  whereas,  on 
the  other  view,  St.  Paul  says,  "  Be  free  from 
leaven  (metaphorically)  as  you  are  free  from 
leaven  (literally)"  There  seems  no  difficulty 
in  supposing  that  the  Gentile  Christians  joined 
with  the  Jewish  Christians  in  celebrating  the 
Paschal  feast  after  the  Jewish  manner,  at  least 
to  the  extent  of  abstaining  from  leaven  in  the 
love-feasts.  And  we  see  that  St.  Paul  still 
observed  the  "  days  of  unleavened  bread  "  at 
this  period  of  his  life,  from  Acts  xx.  6.  Also, 
from  what  follows,  we  perceive  how  naturally 
this  greatest  of  Jewish  feasts  changed  into  the 
greatest  of  Christian  festivals. 

^  Literally,  "  /  wrote  to  you  in  the  letter," 
28 


viz.  the  letter  which  I  last  wrote,  or  the  letter  to 
which  you  refer  in  your  questions ;  for  they  had 
probably  mentioned  their  perplexity  about  thia 
direction  in  it.  So  in  2  Cor.  vii.  8  the  present 
letter  (1  Cor.)  is  referred  to  in  the  same  phrase 
(/  grieved  you  in  the  letter).  There  are  two 
decisive  reasons  why  these  words  mast  refer 
to  a. previous  letter,  not  to  the  letter  St.  Paul 
is  actually  writing.  (I.)  No  such  direction 
as  "Keep  no  company  with  fornicators"  oc- 
curs in  what  has  gone  before.  (2.)  If  St. 
Paul  had  meant  to  say  "/  have  just  loritten," 
he  could  not  have  added  the  words  "  in  the 
letter,"  which  would  have  been  then  worse 
than  superfluous.  Prof  Stanley  (who  has 
receotly  supported  the  view  here  opposed) 
urges  that  the  aorist  might  be  used  of  the 
preseat  epistle  as  at  1  Cor.  ix.  15 ;  which  is 
obviously  true.  He  also  urges  that  "  the 
letter "  may  sometimes  refer  to  the  present 
letter;  which  may  also  be  admitted  in  cases 
where  the  letter  is  referred  to  as  a  whole  in  its 
postscript ;  e.  g.  "  /  Tertius,  who  wrote  the  lettei  " 
(Rom.  xvi.  22).  "/  charge  you  that  the  letter 
be  read"  (1  Thess.  v.  27).  "  When  the  letter 
has  been  read  among  you,  cause  it  to  be  read  at 
Laodicea"  (Col.  iv.  16).  But  none  of  these 
instances  gives  any  support  to  the  view  that 
a  writer  could  refer  to  his  own  words,  just 
uttered,  by  such  a  phrase  as  "  I  wrote  to  you 
ia  the  letter."  We  are  forced,  therefore,  to 
coaclude  that  these  words  refer  to  a  preceding 
letter,  which  has  not  been  preserved.  And 
this  view  receives  a  strong  confirmation  from 
the  words  of  St.  Paul's  Corinthian  opponents 
(spoken  before  2  Cor.  was  written) :  "  Hi»  let- 
ters are  weighty,  &c."  (2  Cor.  x.  10.) 

2  The  conjunction  here  seems  not  to  b«  « 
particle  of  time,  but  of  connection. 


434  THE  LIFE  A2TD  EPISTLES   OF   ST.  PAUL.  chap.xv. 

a  fornicator,  or  a  wanton,^  or  au  idolater,  or  a  railer,  or  a  drunkard,  or 

an  extortioner ;  with  such  a  man,  I  say,  you  must  not  so  much  as  eat. 

V.12  For  what  need  have  I  to  judge  those   also  that   are  without  ?      Is    it 

13   not  your  part  to  judge  those  that  are  within  ?     But   those  without  are 

for  God's  judgment.    **  Jfrom  amongsl  -QQuxsthts  g^  s^all  tast  out 

vi.  1       Can  there  be  any  of  you  who  dare  to   bring  their  private  J^e?n  cTris"^-*^' 
differences  into  the  courts  of  law,  before  the  wicked,  and  not  be  brought''*' 

iuto  Ueutlien 

2  rather  bring;  them  before  the  saints?^     Know  ye  not  that  the  courts;  and 

"  •'  Its  existence 

saints  shall  judge  the  world?  and  if  the  world  is  subjected  to  evfi.^"''*^''^ 

3  your  judgment,  are  you  unfit  to  decide  the  most  trifling  matters  ?     Know 
ye  not  that  we  shall  judge  angels  ?  how  much  more  the  affairs  of  this 

4  life  ?     If,  therefore,  you  have  disputes  to  settle  which  concern  the  affairs 
of  this  life,  give  the  arbitration  of  them  to  the  very  least  esteemed  in 

5  your  Church.     I  speak  to  your  shame.     Can  it  be  that  amongst  you  there 
is  not  so  much  as  one  man  wise  enough  to  arbitrate  between  his  breth- 

6  ren,  but  must  brother  go  to  law  with  brother,  and  that  in  the  courts  of 

7  the  unbelievers  ?     Nay,  fai-ther,  you  are  in  fault,  throughout,  in  having 
such  disputes  at  all.     Why  do  you  not  rather  submit  to  wrong  ?     Why 

8  not  rather  suffer  yourselves  to  be  defrauded  ?     Nay,  you  are  yourselves 

9  wronging  and  defrauding,  and  that  your  brethren.     Know  ye  j^^  j^^^- 
not  that  wrong-doers  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God  ?  cou'sfst^ldth 

true  Chris- 
Be  not  deceived  —  neither  fornicators,  nor  idolaters,  nor  adul-  tianity. 

10  terers,  nor  self-defilers,  nor   sodomites,  nor  robbers,  nor  wantons,*  nor 

1  The  Greek  word  has  the  meaning  of  o  ^  Deut.  xxiv.  7  (LXX.). 

concupiscent  man  in  some  passages  of  St.  Paul's  »  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  Greek 

writings.     Compare  Eph.   v.  5  (where  it   is  and    Roman    law  gave   its  sanction   to    the 

coupled  with  unclean).     So  the  corresponding  decision   pronounced   in   a    litigated   case  by 

substantive,  in    St.    Paul,   almost    invariably  arbitrators    privately    chosen ;     so    that    the 

means   lasciviousness.      See  Eph.  iv.  19,  v.  3  Christians   might  obtain  a   just   decision   of 

(and  the  note),  and   Col.  iii.  5.      The  only  their  mutual  differences  without  resorting  to 

places  where  the  word  is  used  by  St.  Paul  in  the  Heathen  tribunals.     The  Jews  resident  in 

the  sense  covetousness  are  2  Cor.  ix.  5,  and  foreign  parts  were  accustomed  to  refer  their 

1  Thess.  ii.  5,  in  the  latter  of  which  passages  disputes    to    Jewish    arbitrators.       Joscphus 

the  other  meaning  would  not  be  inadmissible.  {A)7t.  xiv.  10,  17)  gives  a  decree  by  which  the 

How  the  word  contracted  its  Pauline  meaning  Jews  at  Sardis  were  permitted  to  establish  a 

may  be  inferred  from  the  similar  use  of  con-  "  private  court,"  for  the  purpose  of  deciding 

aipiscence  in  English.     [Since  the  above  was  "  their  misunderst^rndings  with  one  another." 
first  published,  Prof  Stanley  and  Prof  Jowett  *  Persons  -jivet-   \o  concupiscence.     See  note 

have  both  expressed  their  concurrence  in  this  on  v.  11. 
rendering  of    the  word ;    see  note  in  this  vol- 
ume on  Kph.  V.  .3.1 


FIRST   EPISTLE  TO   THE   COEINTHIAJ^S, 


435 


drunkards,  nor  railers,  nor  extortioners,  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God.     And  such  were  some  of  you ;  but  you  have  washed  away  your  vi  H 
stains,'  —  you  have  been  hallowed,  you  have  been  justified,  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  in  the  Spirit  of  our  God.^ 

"  All  things  are  lawful  for  me."  ^     But  not  all  things  are   12 

Antinomian 

?«^nceof       good  for  mo.     Though  all  things  are  in  my  power,  they  shall 
refuted.  ^^^  bring  me  under  their  power.     "  Meat  is  for  the  belly,  and   13 

the  belly  for  meat,"  though  God  will  soon  put  aii  end  to  both  ;  but  the 
body  is  not  for  fornication,  but  for  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  for  the  body  ;  * 
and  as  God  raised  the  Lord  from  the  grave,  so  He  will  raise  us  also  by   14 
His  mighty  power.*     Know  ye   not  that  your  bodies  are  members  of  15 
Christ's  body  ?     Siiall  I  then  take  the  members  of  Christ,  and  make  them 
the  members  of  an  harlot  ?     God  forbid.     Know  ye  not,  that  he  who   16 
joins  himself  to  an  harlot  becomes  one  body  with  he?-  ?     For  it  is  said, 

"  tijcn  Itoatit  S^all  ht  ant  fleslj."^  But  he  who  joins  himself  to  the  17 
Lord,  becomes  one  spirit  with  Him.  Flee  fornication.  The  root  of  sin  18 
is  not  in  the  body,^  [but  in  the  soul ;]  yet  the  fornicator  sins  against  his 


1  Observe  that  the  Greek  verb  is  middle, 
not  passive,  as  in  A.  V. :  of.  Acts  xxii.  16. 
If  the  aorist  is  here  used  in  its  proper  sense 
(of  wliicli  we  can  never  be  sure  in  St.  Paul), 
the  reference  is  to  the  time  of  their  first  con- 
version, or  baptism. 

-  The  words  may  be  paraphrased  thus, 
"  By  your  fellowship  with  the  Lord  Jesus, 
whose  name  you  bear,  and  by  the  indwelling 
of  the  Spirit  of  our  God." 

^  See  the  explanation  of  this  in  Ch.  XIII. ;" 
and  compare  (for  the  true  side  of  the  phrase) 
Gal.  V.  23,  "  Against  such  there  is  no  law." 
Probably  St.  Paul  had  used  the  very  words 
"  Ail  things  are  lawful  for  me "  in  this  true 
sense,  and  the  immoral  party  at  Corinth  had 
caught  them  up,  and  used  them  as  their  watch- 
word. It  is  also  probable  that  this  fact  was 
mentioned  in  the  letter  which  St.  Paul  had 
just  received  from  Corinth  (1  Cor.  vii.  1). 
Also  see  chap.  viii.  1  below.  From  what 
follows  it  is  evident  that  these  Corinthian 
freethinkers  argued  that  the  existence  of  bodily 
appetites  proved  the  lawfulness  of  their  gratifi- 
cation. 

*  The  body  is  for  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  be 


consecrated  by  His  indwelling  to  His  service; 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  is  for  the  body,  to  conse- 
crate it  by  dwelling  therein  in  the  person  of 
His  Spirit. 

^  St.  Paul's  argument  here  is,  that  sins 
of  unchastity,  though  bodily  acts,  yet  injure 
a  part  of  our  nature  (compare  the  phrase 
"  spiritual  body,"  1  Cor.  xv.  44)  which  will 
not  be  destroyed  by  death,  and  which  is  closely 
connected  with  our  moral  well-being.  And  it 
is  a  fact  no  less  certain  than  mysterious,  that 
moral  and  spiritual  ruin  is  caused  by  such 
sins ;  which  human  wisdom  (when  untaught 
by  Revelation)  held  to  be  actions  as  blameless 
as  eating  and  drinking. 

•>  Gen.  ii.  24  (LXX.),  quoted  by  our  Lord, 
Matt.  xix.  5. 

■^  Literally,  "  every  sin  which  a  man  commits 
is  without  (external  to)  the  bodi/."  The  Corin- 
thian freethinkers  probably  used  this  argu- 
ment also  ,  and  perhaps  availed  themselves  of 
our  Lord's  words,  Mark  vii.  18:  "  Do  ye  not 
perceive  tfiat  ivhatsoever  thing  from  witiout  enter- 
eth  into  the  man,  it  cannot  defile  him,  because  it 
entereth  not  into  his  heart  f  "  &c.  ( See  the  whol« 
passage.) 


436  THE  LLFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.xv. 

▼i.19  own  body.     Know  ye  not  that  your  bodies  are  temples  of  the  Holy  Spirit 

which  dwells  within  you,  which  ye  have  received  from  God  ?     And  you 

20   are  not  your  own,  for  you  were  bought  with  a  price.^     Glorify  God, 

therefore,  not  in  your  spirit  only,  but  in  your  body  also,  since  both  are 

His.2 

Tii.  1      As  to  the  questions  which  you  have  asked  me  in  your  letter,  Answers  to 

.  questions 

2  this  is  my  answer.     It  is  good  for  a  man  to  remam  unmarried,  concerning 

•^  "  marriage 

Nevertheless,  to  avoid  fornication,^  let  every  man  have  his  own  wuh'^pS' 

rtlcrciicc  to 

3  wife,  and  every  woman  her  own  husband.     Let  the  husband  cases  of 

mixed  mar- 
live  in  the  intercourse  of  affection  with  his  wife,  and  likewise  "»*ges. 

4  the  wife  with  her  husband.  The  wife  has  not  dominion  over  her  own  body, 
but  the  husband  ;  and  so  also  the  husband  has  not  dominion  over  his  own 

5  body,  but  the  wife.  Do  not  separate  one  from  the  other,  unless  it  be  with 
mutual  consent  for  a  time,  that  you  may  give  yourselves  without  disturb- 
ance *  to  prayer,  and  then  return   to   one   another,  lest,  through  your 

6  fleshly  passions,  Satan  should  tempt  you  to  sin.     Yet  this  I  say  by  way  of 

7  permission,  not  of  command.  Nevertheless  I  would  that  all  men  were  as 
I  myself  am ;  but  men  have  different  gifts  from  God,  one  this,  another 

8  that.  But  to  the  unmarried  and  to  the  widows,  I  say  that  it  would  be 
good  for  them  if  they  should  remain  in  the  state  wherein  I  myself  also 

9  am ;  yet  if  they  are  incontinent,  let  them  marry  ;  for  it  is  better  to  marry 

10  than  to  bum.     To  the  married,  not  I,  but  the  Lord  gives  commandment,* 

11  that  the  wife  part  not  from  her  husband  ;  (but  if  she  be  already  parted, 
let  her  remain  single,  or  else  be  reconciled  with  him ;)  and  also,  that  the 
husband  put  not  away  his  wife. 

12  But  to  the  rest  speak  I,  not  the  Lord.  If  any  Brother  be  married  to 
an  unbelieving  wife,  let  him  not  put  her  away,  if  she  be  content  to  live 

13  with  him  ;  neither  let  a  believing  wife  put  away  an  unbelieving  husband 


*  The  price  is  the  blood  of  Christ.     Com-  every  unmarried  person  would  be  liable  to  spe 

pare  Acts  xx.  28,  and  Col.  i.  14.  cial  temptation. 

'■^  The    latter  part    of   this  verse,   though  *  "  Fasting "  is  an  interpolation,  not  found 

not  in  the  best  MSS.,  yet  is  implied  in  the  in  the  best  MSS. 

sense.  ^  This  commandment  is  recorded  Mark  x. 

'  The  plural  in  the  Greek  perhaps  means  11,  12:   Whosoever  shall  put  awaij  his  wife,  and 

(as  Prof.  Stanley  takes  it)  "because  of  the  gen-  marrij  another,  committcth  adultery  against  her. 

eral  prevalence  of  fornication,"  with  special  ref-  And  if  a  woman  shall  put  away  her  husband,  and 

erence    to    the   pro6igacy  of   Corinth,   where  be  married  to  another,  she  committeth  adultery. 


CHAP.  XT.  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE   COE.INTHIAKS.  437 

who  is  willing  to  live  with  her ;  for  the  unbelieving  husband  is  hallowed  vii.i4 
by  union  with  his  believing  wife,  and  the  unbelieving  wife  by  union  with 
her  believing  husband  ;  for  otherwise  your  children  would  be  unclean/ 
but  now  they  are  holy.     But  if  the  unbelieving  husband  or  wife  seeks  for    15 
separation,   let   them   be   separated ;   for  in   such   cases,   the   believing 
husband  or  wife  is  not  bound  to  remain  under  the  yoke.     But  the  call 
whereby  God  has  called  ^  us  is  a  call  of  peace.'     For  thou  who  art  the    16 
wife  of  an  unbeliever,  how  knowest  thou  whether  thou  mayest  save  thy 
husband  ?  or  thou  who  art  the  husband,  whether  thou  mayest  save  thy 
wife? 
General  rule,       Only  *  let  cach  man  Walk  in  the  same  path  which  God  allotted   lY 

that  the  con- 
verts should    to  him,  wherein  the  Lord  has  called  him.     This  rule  I  give  in   18 

not  quit  tliat  '  ° 

whe^'iathly  ^11  tlic  churchcs.     Thus,  if  any  man,  when   he  was   called/ 
conversion,     bore  tlio  mark  of  circumcision,  let  him  not  efface  it ;  if  any 
man  was  uncircumcised  at  the  time  of  his  calling,  let  him  not  receive  cir- 
cumcision.    Circumcision  is  nothing,  and  uucircumcision  is  nothing  ,  but    VJ 
obedience  to  the  commands  of  God.     Let  each  abide  in  the  condition    20 
wherein  he  was  called.     Wast  thou  in  slavery  at  the  time  of  thy  calling  ?    21 
Care  not  for  it.     Nay,  though  thou  have  power  to  gain  thy  freedom," 
rather  make  use  of  thy  condition.     For  the  slave  who  has  been  called  in    22 
the  Lord  is  the  Lord's  freedman  ;  and  so  also  the  freeman  who  has  been 
called  is  Christ's  slave.     He  has  bought  you  all ;  "^  beware  lest  you  make   23 
yourselves  the  slaves  of  man.^    Brethren,  in  the  state  wherein  he  was   24 
called,  let  each  abitle  with  God. 

^  The  V'  icrally,   "unclean,"  *  The    past    ten^e    is    mistranslated    "u 

and  is  used  x^ ,  sense,  to  denote  that  called"  in  A.  V.  throughout  this  chapter. 

which  is  beyond  the  hallowed  pale  of  God's  peo-  ^  The  Greek  here  i^  ambiguous,  and  might 

c/e-  ♦'■'    ^tithesis  to  "holy,"  which  was  ap-  he  so  rendered  as  to  give  directly  opposite  pre- 

..ou  «o  all  within  the  consecrated  limits.      On  cepts ;    but   the  version    given    in    the    text 

the  inferences  from  this  verse,  with  respect  to  (which    is    that    advocated    by    Chrysostom, 

infant  baptism,  see  Ch.  XIII.  Meyer,  and  Dc  "Wette)  agrees  best  with   the 

■^  This  verb,  in  St.  Paul's  writings,  means  order  of  the  Greek  words,  and  also  with  the 

"to  call  into  fellowship  with   Christ;"  "to  context.     We  must  remember,  with  regard  to 

call   from   the    unbelieving  "World    into    the  this  and  other  precepts  here  given,  that  thej 

Church."  were  given  under  the  immediate  anticipation 

^  The  inference  is,  "  therefore  the  profes-  of  our  Lord's  coming, 
sion  of   Christianity  ought  not  to  lead   the  "^  There  is  a  change  here  in  the  Greek  from 

believer  to  quarrel  with  the  unbelieving  mem-  singular  to  plural.    For  the  "  price,"  see  chap, 

bers  of  his  family."  vi.  20. 

*  Literally,  onli/,  as  God  allotted  to  each,  as  ^  Alluding   to   their  servile   adherence   to 

the  Lord  has  called  each,  so  let  him  walk.  party  leaders.     Compare  2  Cor.  xi.  20. 


438 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


Tii.25      Concerning  your  virgin  daughters  ^  I  have  no  command  from  Answer  to 
the  Lord,  but  I  give  my  judgment,  as  one  who  has  been  moved  d^oVai  of 

26  by  the  Lord's  mercy  ^  to  be  faithful.     I  think,  then,  that  it  is  marriage. 

27  good,  by  reason  of  the  present*  necessity,  for  all  to  be  unmarried.*     Art 

28  thou  bound  to  a  wife  ?  seek  not  separation ;  art  thou  free  ?  seek  not 
marriage  ;  yet  if  thou  marry,  thou  sinnest  not."  And  if  your  virgin  daugh- 
ters marry,  they  sin  not ;  but  the  married  will  have  sorrows  in  the  flesh, 

29  and  these  I  would  spare  you.®  But  this  I  say,  brethren,  the  time  is 
short ; '  that  henceforth  both  they  that  have  wives  be  as  though  they  had 

30  none,  and  they  that  weep  as  though  they  wept  not,  and  they  that  rejoice 
as  though  they  rejoiced  not,  and  they  that  buy  as  though  they  possessed 

31  not,  and  they  that  use  this  world  as  not  abusing  ^  it ;  for  the  outward 

32  show  of  this  world  is  passing  away.®  But  I  would  have  you  free  from 
earthly  care.     The  cares  of  the  unmarried  man  are  fixed  upon  the  Lord, 

33  and  he  strives  to  please  the  Lord.     But  the  cares  of  the  husband  are 

34  fixed  upon  worldly  things,  striving  to  please  his  wife.  The  wife  also  has 
this  difference  ^^  from  the  virgin  ;  the  cares  of  the  virgin  are  fixed  upon 


1  We  cannot  help  remarking,  that  the  man- 
ner in  which  a  recent  infidel  writer  has  spoken 
of  this  passage  is  one  of  the  most  striking 
proofs  how  far  a  candid  and  acute  mind  may 
be  warped  by  a  strong  bias.  In  this  case  the 
desire  of  the  writer  is  to  disparage  the  moral 
teaching  of  Christianity;  and  he  brings  for- 
ward this  passage  to  prove  his  case,  and 
blames  St.  Paul  because  he  assumes  these 
Corinthian  daughters  to  be  disposable  in  mar- 
riage at  the  will  of  their  father;  as  if  any 
other  assumption  had  been  possible  in  the 
case  of  Greek  or  Jewish  daughters  in  that  age. 
We  must  suppose  that  this  writer  would  (on 
the  same  grounds)  require  a  modern  mission- 
ary to  Persia  to  preach  the  absolute  incom- 
patibility of  despotic  government  with  sound 
morality.  A  similar  ignoratio  elenchi  runs 
through  all  his  remarks  upon  this  chapter. 

2  Compare  "  I  obtained  mercy,"  1  Tim.  i. 
13. 

^  The  participle  here  can  only  mean  present. 
See  the  note  on  2  Thess.  ii.  2.  The  word  was 
mistranslated  in  this  passage  in  the  first  edition. 

*  "  So,"  namely  "  as  virgins." 

^  Literally,  though  thou  shalt  have  married, 
thou  hast  not  sinned;  the  aorist  used  for  the 
perfect,  as  constantly  by  St.  Paul. 


^  I  is  emphatic,  /,  i/  you  followed  my  ad- 
vice ;  also  observe  the  present,  "  I  am  sparing 
you  [by  this  advice],"  or,  in  other  words,  "  / 
would  spare  you." 

^  We  adopt  Lachmann's  reading.  "  The 
object  of  this  contraction  of  your  earthly  life 
is,  that  you  may  henceforth  set  your  aifections 
on  things  above." 

®  Literally,  the  verb  appears  to  mean  to  use 
up,  as  distinguished  from  to  use.  Compare  ix 
18.  It  thus  acquired  the  sense  of  to  abuse,  in 
which  it  is  sometimes  employed  by  Demos- 
thenes and  by  the  grammarians. 

^  Literally,  "  passing  by,"  flitting  past,  like 
the  shadows  in  Plato's  Cavern  (Repub.  vii.  1), 
or  the  figures  in  some  moving  phantasma- 
goria. 

1"  The  reading  of  Lachmann  makes  a  con- 
siderable difference  in  the  translation,  which 
would  thus  run:  "The  husband  strives  to  pleast 
his  wife,  and  is  divided  [in  7nind] .  Both  the  un- 
married wife  [i.  e.  the  widow]  and  the  virgin  core 
for  the  things  of  the  Lord,"  ^c.  This  reading 
gives  a  more  natural  sense  to  "  divided"  (cf. 
i.  13,  so  Stanley) ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  th« 
use  of  "  unmarried  wife  "  for  widow  is  unprece- 
dented ;  and  in  this  very  chapter  (verse  8) 
the  word  widows  is  opposed  to  unmarried. 


CHAP.  XV.  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO   THE   CORINTHIANS.  439 

the  Lord,  that  she  may  be  holy  both  in  body  and  in  spirit ;  but  the  cares 
of  the  wife  are  fixed  upon  worldly  things,  striving  to  please  her  husband. 
Now  this  I  say  for  your  own  profit ;  not  that  I  may  entangle  you  in  a  vilss 
snare ;  but  that  I  may  help  you  to  serve  the  Lord  with  a  seemly  and 
undivided  service.     But  if  any  man  think  that  he  is  treating  his  virgin   36 
daughter  in  an  unseemly  manner,  by  leaving  her  unmarried  beyond  the 
flower  of  her  age,  and  if  need  so  require,  let  him  act  according  to  his  will ; 
he  may  do  so  without  sin  ;  let  them  ^  marry.     But  he  who  is  firm  in  his  37 
resolve,  and  is  not  constrained  to  marry  his  daughter,  but  has  the  power 
of  carrying  out  his  will,  and  has  determined  to  keep  her  unmarried,  does 
well.     Thus  he  who  gives  his  daughter  in  marriage  does  well,  but  he  who  38 
gives  her  not  in  marriage  does  better. 
Marriage  of         ^^^^  ^^^'^  ^^  bouud  by  the  law  of  wedlock  so  long  as  her  39 

husband  lives  ;  but  after  his  death  she  is  free  to  marry  whom 
she  will,  provided  that  she  choose  one  of  the  brethren  ^  in  the  Lord.     Yet  49 
she  is  happier  if  she  remain  a  widow,  in  my  judgment ;  and  I  think  that 
I,  no  less  ^  than  others,  have  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Answer  to  -^^  to  the  mcats  which  have  been  sacrificed  to  idols,  we  viii.l 

oernine  meats    kuow  —  (for  "  wc   all  havc   kuowledgc ;  "  *   but    knowledsre 

offered  to  ^  °     '  ° 

idols.  p^g-g  ^p^  while  love  builds.     If  any  man  prides  himself  on  his  2 

knowledge,  he  knows  nothing  yet  as  he  ought  to  know  ;  but  whosoever  8 

loves  God,  of  him  God  hath  knowledge) '  —  as  to  eating  the  meats  sacri-  4 
ficed  to  idols,  we  know  (I  say)  that  an  idol  has  no  true  being,  and  that 

there  is  no  other  God  but  one.     For  though  there  be  some  who  are  called  5 
gods,  either  celestial  or  terrestrial,  and  though  men  worship  many  gods 

and  many  lords,  yet  to  us  there  is  but  one  God,  the  Father,  from  whom  6 
are  all  things,  and  we  for  Him ;  and  one  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom 

are  all  things,  and  we  by  Him.®     But  "  all "  have  not  this  "  knowledge  ; "  7 

i  "  Them,"  viz.  the  daughter  and  the  suitor.  '  That  is,  God  acknowledges  him  ;  compare 

^  Literally,  provided  it  be  in  the  Lord.  Gal.  iv.  9. 

8  The  "  also  "  in  "  I  also  "  has  this  meaning.  ^  That  is,  by  whom  the  life  of  all  things,  and 

*  It  is  necessary,  for  the  understanding  of  our  life  also,  is  originated  and  sustained.     So  Col. 

this  Epistle,  that  we  should  remember  that  it  i.  16  :  "  By  Him  and  for  Him  were  all  created, 

is  an  answer  to  a  letter  received  from  the  Co-  and  in   Him  all   things  subsist ; "   where  it 

rinthian  Church  ( 1  Cor.  vii.  1 ),  and  therefore  should  be  remarked  that   the  "  for  Him  "  is 

constantly  alludes  to  topics  in  that  letter.     It  predicated  of  the  Son,  as  in  the  present  passage 

seems  probable,  from  the  way  in  which  they  of  the  Father.     Both  passages  show  how  fully 

are  introduced,  that  these  words,  "  We  all  have  St.  Paul  taught  the  doctrine  of  the  Aoyof. 
knowledge,"  are  quoted  from  that  letter. 


440  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES  OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap,  xv, 

on  the  contrary,  there  are  some  who  still  have  a  conscientious  fear  of  the 

idol,  and  think  the  meat  an  idolatrous  sacrifice,  so  that,  if  they  eat  it, 

till. 8  their  conscience  being  weak  is  defiled.     Now  our  food  cannot  change  our 

place  in  God's  sight ;  with  Him  we  gain  nothing  by  eating,  nor  lose  by 

9   not  eating.     But  beware  lest,  perchance,  this  exercise  of  your  rights  ^ 

10  should  become  a  stumbling-block  to  the  weak.  For  if  one  of  them  see 
thee,  who  boastest  of  thy  knowledge,^  feasting  in  an  idol's  temple,  will 
not  he  be  encouraged  to  eat  the  meat  offered  in  sacrifice,  notwithstanding 

11  the  weakness  of  his  conscience  ?  ^     And  thus,  through  thy  knowledge, 

12  will  thy  weak  brother  perish,  for  whom  Christ  died.  Nay,  when  you 
sin  thus  against  your  brethren,  and  wound  their  weak  conscience,  you 

18    sin  against  Christ.      Wherefore,  if  my  food  cast  a  stumbling-block  in 
my  brother's  path,  I  will  eat  no  flesh  while  the  world  stands,  lest  thereby 
I  cause  my  brother's  fall.* 
tr  1      Is  it  denied  that  I  am  an  Apostle  ?    Is  it  denied  that  I 

*^  '^  He  vlndicatet 

am  free  from  man's  authority  ?  ^     It  is  denied  that  I  have  [',i'elp™to'iio 

2  seen  Jesus  ®  our  Lord  ?     Is  it  denied  that  you  are  the  fruits  of  his'juXiz'ing 

detractors; 

mv  labor  in  the  Lord  ?     If  to  others  I  am  no  apostle,  yet  at  «?fi  explains 

J  '^  '  •'  his  reuuucia- 

least  I  am  such  to  you ;  for  you  are  yourselves  the  seal  which  onlie  ApTtoi 

.....       T        1         1  •     •  ic  privileges. 

3  stamps  the  reality  of  my  apostleship,  in  the  Lord  ;  this  is  my 

4  answer  to  those  who  question  my  authority.     Do  they  deny  my  right  to 

5  be  maintained ''  [by  my  converts]  ?     Do  they  deny  my  right  to  carry  a 
believing  wife  with  me  on  my  journeys,  like  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  and 

6  the  brothers  of  the  Lord,^  and  Cephas  ?     Or  do  ^ihp-  think  that  I  and 

1  "  This  liberty  of  yours."     Observe  again  '  Literally,  will  not  the  conscience  of  him, 

the  reference  to  the  language  of  the  self-styled  though  he  is  weak,  be,  ^c, 

Pauline    party    at    Corinth.      Compare  "  all  *  The  whole  of  this  eighth  chapter  is  paral- 

things  are  lawful  for  me"  (vi.  12).     The  de-  lei  to  Rom.  xiv. 

crees  of  the  "  Council  of  Jerusalem  "  might  ^  "  Free."    Compare  verse  19  and  Gal  i.  1, 

seem  to  have  a  direct  bearing  on  the  question  "  an  Apostle  not  of  men." 

discussed  by  St.  Paul  in  this  passage ;  but  he  ^  "  Christ "   here  is  omitted   by  the  best 

does  not  refer  to  them  as  deciding  the  points  MSS. 

in  dispute,  cither  here  or  elsewhere.     Probably  ''  This  was  a  point  much  insisted  on  by 

the  reason  of  this  is,  that  the   decrees  were  the  Judaizers  (see  2  Cor.  xii.  13-16).     They 

meant  only  to  be  of  temporary  application ;  argued  that  St.  Paul,  by  not  availing  himself 

and  in  their  terms  they  applied  originally  only  of  this  undoubted  apostolic  right,  betrayed  his 

to  the  churches  of  Syria  and  Cilicia  (see  Acts  own    consciousness    that    he    was     no     true 

XV.  23  ;  also  Chap.  VII.).  Apostle. 

^  UterMy,  the  }}ossesior  of  knowledge;  in  MvL-  ^  "The  brothers  of  the  Lord."    It  is  a 

sion  to  the  previous  "  We  all  have  knowl-  very  doubtful  question  whether  these  were  the 


•dge.' 


sons  of  our  Lord's  mother's  sister,  viz.  th© 


CHAP.  XV.  FIRST  EPISTLE   TO   THE    CORINTHIANS.  441 

Barnabas  alone  have  no  right  to  be  maintained,  except  by  the  labor  of 
our  own  hands  ?     What  soldier  ^  ever  serves  at  his  private  cost  ?     What  ix.  7 
husbandman  plants  a  vineyard  without  sharing   in   its   fruit  ?      What 
shepherd  tends  a  flock  without  partaking  of  their  milk  ?     Say  I  this  on     8 
Man's  judgment  only,  or  says  not  the  Law  the  same  ?     Yea,  in  the  Law     9 

of  Moses  it  is  written,  ''  C^ow  sfjalt  itot  mu^^Ie  llj^  0^  lljat  tuabei^ 

Oixi  ihz  COXXl"  ^     Is  it  for  oxen  that  God  is  caring,  or  speaks  He  alto-  10 
gether  for  our  sake  ?     For  our  sake,  doubtless,  it  was  written  ;  because 
the  ploughman  ought  to  plough,  and  the  thresher  to  thresh,  with  hope  to 
share  in  the  produce  of  his  toil.     If  I  have  sown  for  you  the  seed  of  11 
spiritual  gifts,  would  it  be  much  if  I  were  to  reap  some  harvest  from 
your  carnal  gifts  ?     If  others  share  this  right  over  you,  how  much  more   12 
should  I  ?     Yet  I  have  not  used  my  right,  but  forego  every  claim,^  lest  I 
should  by  any  means  hinder  the  course  of  Christ's  Glad-tidings.     Know   13 
ye  not  that  they  *  who  perform  the  service  of  the  temple  live  upon  the 
revenues  of  the  temple,  and  they  who  minister  at  the  altar  share  with  it 
in  the  sacrifices  ?     So  also  the  Lord  commanded  *  those  who  publish  the   14 
Glad-tidings,  to  be  maintained  thereby.     But  I  have  not  exercised  any  of  15 
these  rights,  nor  do  I  write  ^  this  that  it  may  be  practised  in  my  own 
case.      For  I  had   rather  die  than  suffer  any  man  to  make  void  my 
boasting.     For,  although  I  proclaim  the  Glad-tidings,  yet  this  gives  me   16 
no  ground  of  boasting ;  for  I  am  compelled  to  do  so  by  order  of  my ' 
Master.     Yea,  woe  is  me  if  I  proclaim  it  not.     For  were  my  service  of  17 
my  own  free  choice,  I  might  claim  wages  to  reward  my  labor ;  but  since 
I  serve  by  compulsion,  I  am  a  slave  intrusted  with  a  stewardship.^     What, 
then,  is  my  wage  ?     It  is  to  make  the  Glad-tidings  free  of  cost  where  I   18 

Apostles  James  and  Judas,  the  sons  of  Al-  ^  (Matt.  x.  9,  10.)     Provide  neither  gold  nor 

phaeiis    (Luke  vi.    15,    16)    (for  cousins   were  silver  nor  brass  in  your  purses,  nor  scrip  for  yOur 

called  brothers),  or  whether  ihey  were  sons  of  journey,  neither  tioo  coats,  neither  shoes,  nor  yet 

Joseph  by  a  former  marriage,  or  actually  sons  stai'es :  for  the  workman  is  worthy  of  his  meat. 
of  the  mother  of  our  Lord.  ^  The  aorist  is  the  epistolary  tense.     There 

1  He  means  to  say  that,  to  have  this  right  is  considerable  difference  of  reading  in  this 

of  maintenance,  a  man  need  be  no  Apostle.  verse,  but  not  materially  affecting  the  sense. 

^  Deut.  XXV.  4  (LXX.),  quoted  also  1  Tim.  "  "Necessity"  here  is  the  compulsion  ex- 

V.  18.  ercised  by  a  master  over  a  slave.      In  calling 

■*  The  proper  meaning  of  the  verb  used  his  service  compulsory,  St.  Paul  refers  to  the 

here  is  to  hold  out  against,  as  a  fortress  against  miraculous  character  of  his  conversion, 
assault,  or  ice  against  superincumbent  weight.  *  This  "  stewardship  "  consisted  in  dispens- 

Compare  xiii.  7,  and  1  Thess.  iii.  1.  .  ing  his  Master's  goods   to  his  fellow-slares. 

*  Numbers  vii.  and  Deut.  xviii.  See  iv.  1 .  2. 


442  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.xv. 

ix.l9  carry  it,   that   I   may  forego   my  right   as   an   Evangelist.^     Therefore, 

20  although  free  from  the  authority  of  all  men,  I  made  myself  the  slave  of 
all,  that  I  might  gain ''  the  most.  To  the  Jews  I  became  as  a  Jew,  that  I 
might  gain  the  Jews  ;  to  those  under  the  law,  as  though  I  were  under  the 
law  (not  that  I  was  myself  subject  to  the  law) ,'  that  I  might  gain  those 

21  under  the  law  ;  to  those  without  the  law,*  as  one  without  the  law  (not 
that  I  was  without  law  before  God,  but  under  the  law  of  Christ),  that  I 

22  might  gain  those  who  were  without  the  law.  To  the  weak,  I  became 
weak,  that  I  might  gain  the  weak.     I  am  become  all  things  to  all  men, 

23  that  by  all  means  I  might  save  some.  And  this  I  do  for  the  sake  of  the 
Glad-tidings,  that  I  myself  may  share  therein  with  those  who  hear  me. 

24  Know  ye  not  that  in  the  races  of  the  stadium,  though  all  run,  yet  but 

25  one  can  win  the  price  ?  —  (so  run  that  you  may  win)  —  and  every  man 
who  strives  in  the  matches  trains  himself  by  all  manner  of  self-restraint.' 
Yet  they  do  it  to  win  a  fading  crown,^  —  we,  a  crown  that  cannot  fade. 

26  I,  therefore,  run  not  like  the  racer  who  is  uncertain  of  his  goal ;  I  fight, 

27  not  as  the  pugilist  who  strikes  out  against  the  air ;  "^  but  I  bruise  *  my 
body  and  force  it  into  bondage  ;  lest,  perchance,  having  called  others  to 
the  contest,^  I  should  myself  fail  shamefully  of  the  prize. 

>.l       For  ^^  I  would   not   have   you  ignorant,  brethren,  that   our  He  again 
forefathers  all  were  guarded  by  the  cloud,  and  all  passed  safely  againsTimmo. 

2  through  the  sea.     And  all,  in  the  cloud,  and  in  the  sea,  were  examples  of 

the  punish- 

3  baptized  unto   Moses.     And  all  of  them  alike  ate  the  same  "fc^entp^o^'' 
i   spiritual  food  ;  and  all  drank  of  the  same  spiritual  stream  ;  for  ^  *' 

1  Literally,  that  I  viuy  not  fully  use.  See  ^  This  was  the  crown  made  of  the  leaves 
note  on  vii.  31.  The  perplexity  which  com-  of  the  pine,  groves  of  which  surrounded  the 
mentators  have  found  in  this  passage  is  partly  Isthmian  Stadium :  the  same  tree  still  grows 
due  to  the  construction  of  the  Greek,  but  prin-  plentifully  on  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth.  It  was 
cipally  to  the  oxymoron ;  St.  Paul  virtually  the  prize  of  the  great  Isthmian  games. 
says  that  las  wa<je  is  the  refusal  of  wages.  The  Throughout  the  passage,  St.  Paul  alludes  to 
passage  may  be  literally  rendered,  "  It  is,  that  these  contests,  which  were  so  dear  to  the  pride 
/  should,  while  Evangel izimj,  make  the  Evangel  and  patriotism  of  the  Corinthians.  Compare 
free  of  cost,  that  I  may  not  fully  use  my  right  as  an  also  2  Tim.  ii.  5.  And  see  the  beginning  o'' 
Evangelist."  Ch.  XX.  on  the  same  subject. 

2  "  Gain  "  alludes  to  "  wage."  The  souls  "^  Literally,  /  run  as  one  not  uncertain  [of  the 
whom  he  gained  were  his  wage.  goalA :  I  fght  as  one  not  striking  the  air. 

8  The  best  MSS.  here  insert  a  clause  which  "  This  is  the  literal  meaning  of  the  pugili»- 

18  not  in  the  Textus  Ileceptus.  tic  term  which  the  Apostle  here  employs. 

*  For   "  without    law "  in    the    sense    of  '  "  As  a  herald."     See  the  second  note  on 

"  h»>athen,"  compare  Rom.  ii.  12.  Ch.  XX. 

6  For  a  description  of  the  severe  training  i'^  The  reading  of  the  best  MSS.  is  "  for.* 

required,  see  notes  at  the  beginning  of  Ch.  XX.  The  connection  with  what  precedes  is  the  poa- 


CHAP.  XT.  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE   COEIKTHIANS.  44:3 

they  drank  from  the  spiritual  rock  which  followed  them  ; '  but  that  rock 
was  Christ.     Yet  most  of  them  lost  God's  favor,  yea,  they  were  struck  x,  5 
down  and  perished  in  the  wilderness.     Now,  these  things  were  shadows     6 
of  our  own  case,  that  we  might  learn  not  to  lust  after  evil,  as  they  lusted.'^ 
Nor  be  ye  idolaters,  as  were  some  of  them  ;  as  it  is  written,  —  **  ^\)t  mo-     7 
ph  sat  boton  ia  mi  an!Cr  brmk,  unh  xast  up  to  plag." "    Neither  let    8 

us  commit  fornication,  as  some  of  them  committed,  and  fell  in  one  day 
three   and   twenty  thousand.*     Neither  let  us  try  the  long-suffering  of     9 
Christ,  as  did  some  of  them,  who  were  destroyed  by  the  serpents.®     Nor   10 
murmur  as  some  of  them  murmured,  and  were  slain  by  the  destroyer.® 
Now  all  these  things  befell  them  as  shadows  of  things  to  come  ;  and  they  11 
were  written  for  our  warning,  on  whom  the  ends  of  the  ages  are  come.' 
Wherefore,  let  him  who  thinks  that  he  stands  firm,  beware  lest  he  fall.    12 
No  trial  has  come  upon  you  beyond  man's  power  to  bear  ;  and  God  is  faith-  13 
ful   to   His  promises,  and  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  tried  beyond  your 
strength,  but  will  with  every  trial  provide  the  way  of  escape,  that  you 
may  be  able  to  sustain  it. 
They  must  re-       Whercforc,  my  beloved,  flee  from  idolatry.     I  speak  as  to   14 

Bounce  all  lel-  ?       j  7  j  tr 

idoiaiiy.  ^^^''^  Dien  of  understanding ;  *  use   your  own  judgment  upon  my  15 

words.     When  we  drink  the  cup  of  blessing,  which  we  bless,  are  we  not  16 
all  partakers  in  the  blood  of  Christ  ?     When  we  break  the  bread,  are  we 

not  all  partakers  in  the  body  of  Christ?  ^     For  as  the  bread  is  one,  so  we,  17 

the  many,  are  one  body ;  for  of  that  one  bread  we  all  partake.     If  you  18 

sibility  of  failure  even  in  those  who  had  re-  ^  See  Numbers  xvi.  41.     The  murmuring 

ceived  the  greatest  advantages.  of  the  Corinthians  against  the  Apostle  is  com- 

1  St.   Paul's   meaning  is,   that,  under  the  pared   to   the  murmuring  of  Korah    against 
allegorical  representation  of  the  Manna,  the  Moses. 

Water   and   the  Rock    are    shadowed    forth  "  The  coming  of  Christ  was  "  the  end  of 

spiritual  realities  :  for  the  Bock  is  Christ,  the  the  ages,"  i.  e.  the  commencement  of  a  new 

only  source  of  living  twiier  (John  iv.),  and  the  period  of  the  world's  existence.      So  nearly 

Manna   also   is   Christ,    the   true  brexid  from  the  same  phrase  is  used  Ileb.  ix.  26.     A  simi- 

Heaven  (John  vi.).     For  the  Rabbinical  tradi-  lar  expression  occurs  five  times  in  St.  Matthew, 

lions  about  the  rock,  see  Schottgen  ;  and  on  the  signifying  the  coming  of  Christ  to  judgment. 

whole  verse,  see  Prof  Stanley's  excellent  note.  ^  "  Wise    men,"   the  character  pecuharly 

2  Viz.  after  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt.  affected  by  the  Corinthians.     The  word  is  per- 
8  Exod.  xxxii.  6  (LXX.).  haps  used  with  a  mixture  of  irony,  as  at  1 

*  Numbers  xxv.  9,  where  twenty-four  thou-       Cor.  iv.  10,  and  2  Cor.  xi.  19. 

sand  is  the  number  given.     See  the  remarks  ^  LitersHly,  The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless, 

on  p.  157,  n.  2,  on  the  speech  at  Antioch,  and  is  it  not  a  common  participation  in  the  blood  of 

also  the  note  on  Gal.  iii.  17.  Christ  ?     The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not  a 

*  Numbers  xxi.  6.  common  participation  in  the  body  of  Christ  f 


444  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xf 

look  to  the  carnal  Israel,  do  you  not  see  that  those  who  eat  of  the  sacri- 

X.19  fices  are  in  partnership  with  the  altar  ?     What  would  I  say  then  ?  that  an 

idol  has  any  real  bemg  ?  or  that  meat  ofifered  to  an  idol  is  really  changed 

20  thereby  ?  Not  so  ;  but  I  say,  that  when  the  heathen  offer  their  sacrifices, 
"  t^cn  Sarrificc  to  bcmOItS,  aittr  not  to  ^Ob  ;  "  ^  and  I  would  not  have 

21  you  become  partners  ^  with  the  demons.  You  cannot  drink  the  cup  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  cup  of  demons ;  you  cannot  eat  at  the  table  of  the 

22  Lord,  and  at  the  table  of  demons.  Would  we  provoke  the  Lord  to  jeal- 
ousy ?     Are  we  stronger  than  He  ? 

23  "All  things  are  lawful,"  ^  but  not  all  things  are  expedient ;  They  must 

deny  them- 

"  all  things  are  lawful,"  but  not  all  things  build  up  the  church,  jeives  even 

24  Let  no  man  seek  his  own,  but  every  man  his  neighbor's  good  fimiriujure" 

25  Whatever  is  sold  in  the  market,  you  may  eat,  nor  need  you  science  of 

•;  ^         '  '  ^        their  weaker 

26  ask  for  conscience'  sake  whence  it  came  :  *   Jfor  llje  ^artg  IS   i"'«=''^*^'»- 

27  tfje  %QXtiS,  anb  lljc  fulness  lljertof."  *  And  if  any  unbeliever  invites 
you  to  a  feast,  and  you  are  disposed  to  go,  eat  of  all  that  is  set  before  you, 

28  asking  no  questions  for  conscience'  sake  ;  but  if  any  one  should  say  to  you, 
"  This  has  been  offered  to  an  idol,"  eat  not  of  that  dish,  for  the  sake  of 

29  him  who  pointed  it  out,  and  for  the  sake  of  conscience.*  Thy  neighbor's 
conscience,  I  say,  not  thine  own  ;  for  [thou  mayest  truly  say]  "  why  is 

30  my  freedom  condemned  by  the  conscience  of  another  ?  and  if  I  thank- 
fully partake,  why  am  I  called  a  sinner  for  that  which  I  eat  with  thanks- 
giving ?  "  ® 

31  Therefore,  whether  you  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  you  do,  do  all  for 

32  the  glory  of  God.^     Give  no  cause  of  stumbling,  either  to  Jews  or  Gen- 

33  tiles,  or  to  the  Church  of  God.  For  so  I  also  strive  to  please  all  men  in 
all  things,  not  seeking  my  own  good,  but  the  good  of  all,®  that  they  may 

ti  1  be  saved.     I  beseech  you  follow  my  example,  as  I  follow  the  example 
of  Christ. 

1  Deut.    xxxii.   17:    "They  sacrificed   to  *  Psalm  xxiv.  1  (LXX.). 

demons,  not  to  God"  (LXX).  ^  The  repeated  quotation  is  omitted   in  the 

2  This  is  addressed  to  those  who  were  in      best  MSS. 

the  habit  of  accepting  invitations  to  feasts  cele-  "^  Compare  Rom.  xiv.  16:  "Let  not  your 
brated  in  tlie  temples  of  the  heathen  gods  "  sit-  good  be  evil  spoken  of."  Here,  again,  the  hy- 
ling  in  the  idol's  temple  "  (viii.  10).  These  pothesis  thai  St.  Paul  is  quoting  from  the  let- 
feasts  were,  in  fact,  acts  of  idolatrous  worship  ;  ter  of  the  Corinthians  removes  all  difficulty, 
the  wine  was  poured  in  libation  to  the  gods  "^  i.  e.  that  tJie  glori/ of  God  may  be  manifested 
("the  cup  of  demons,"  v.  21),  and  the  feast  to  men. 

was  given  in  honor  of  the  gods.  *  The  phrase  denotes  not   many,   but  t!t» 

*  See  vi.  12  and  note.  many,  the  whole  mass  of  mankind. 


CHAP.    XV. 


FIRST    EPISTLE   TO   THE   CORINTHIANS. 


445 


lhe"cu7tom  I  praise  you,  brethren,  that'   "you  are  always  mindful  of  xi.  2 

"ppearTng  iny  teachiug,  and  keep  unchanged  the  rules  which  I  delivered 

unveiled  in 

the  assem-         to   you."      But  I  would   havc   you  know  that  Christ  is  the     3 

blies  tor  pub-  •'  j  ■>-' 

he  worship.        liead  of  every  man,  and  the  man  is  the  head  of  the  woman, 
as  God  is  the  head  of  Christ.     If  a  man  should  pray  or  prophesy  in  the     4 
congregation  with  a  veil  over  his  head,  he  would  bring  shame  upon  his 
head'^   [by  wearing  the  token  of  subjection].     But  if  a  woman  prays  or     5 
prophesies  with  her  head  unveiled,  she  brings  shame  upon  her  head,  as 
much  as  she  that  is  shaven.     I  say,  if  she  cast  off  her  veil,  let  her  shave      6 
her   head  at  once ;    but  if  it  is  shameful   for  a  woman  to  be  shorn  or 
shaven,  let  her  keep  a  veil  upon  her  head.'     For  a  man  ought  not  to  veil      7 
his  head,  since  he  is  the  likeness  of  God,   and  the  manifestation  of  God's 
glory.     But  the  woman's  part  is  to  manifest  her  husband's  glory.     For      8 
the  man  was  not  made  from  the  woman,  but  the  woman  from  the  man. 
Nor  was  the  man  created  for  the  sake  of  the  woman,  but  the  woman  for      9 
the  sake  of  the  man.     Therefore,   the  woman  ought  to  wear  a  sign  *  of  10 
subjection  upon  her  head,  because  of  the  angels.*     Nevertheless,  in  their   11 
fellowship  with  the  Lord,  man  and  woman  may  not  be  separated  the  one 
from  the  other."      For  as  woman  was  made  from  man,  so  is  man  also   12 
borne  by  woman  ;  and  all  things  spring  from  God.     Judge  of  this  matter   13 
by  your  own  feeling.     Is  it  seemly  for  a  woman  to  offer  prayers  to  God 
unveiled?      Or  does  not  even  nature  itself  teach  you  that  long  hair  is   14 
a  disgrace  to  a  man,  but  a  glory  to  a  woman  ?    for  her  hair  has  been   15 


'  This  statement  was  probably  made  in  the 
letter  sent  by  the  Corinthian  Church  to  St. 
Paul. 

^  It  appears  from  this  passage  that  the  Tal- 
lith  which  the  Jews  put  over  their  heads  when 
they  enter  their  synagogues  (see  p.  154)  was 
in  the  apostolic  age  removed  by  them  when 
they  officiated  in  the  public  worship.  Other- 
wise St.  Paul  could  not,  while  writing  to  a 
church  containing  so  many  born  Jews  as  the 
Corinthian,  assume  it  as  evidently  disgraceful 
to  a  man  to  officiate  in  the  congregation  with 
veiled  head.  It  is  true  that  the  Greek  practice 
was  to  keep  tlie  head  uncovered  at  their  reli- 
gious rites  (as  Grotius  and  Wetstein  have  re- 
marked), but  tliis  custom  would  not  have  af- 
fected the  Corinthian  synagogue,  nor  have  in- 
fluenced the  feelings  of  its  members. 

'  For  the  character  of  this  veil  (or  hood),  see 
Canon  Stanlev's  note  in  loco. 


*  The  word  is  often  used  for  the  dominion 
exercised  by  those  in  lawful  authority  over  their 
subordinates  (see  Luke  vii.  8.)  Here  it  is  used 
to  signify  the  sign  of  that  dominion. 

®  The  meaning  of  this  very  difficult  expres- 
sion seems  to  be  as  follows :  —  The  angels  are 
sent  as  ministering  servants  to  attend  upon 
Christians,  and  are  especially  present  when  the 
church  assembles  for  public  worship ;  and  they 
would  be  offended  by  any  violation  of  decency 
or  order.  For  other  explanations,  and  a  full 
di.scussion  of  the  subject,  the  reader  is  referred 
to  Prof  Stanley's  note. 

^  In  their  relation  to  Christ,  man  and  woman 
are  not  to  be  severed  the  one  from  the  other. 
Compare  Gal.  iii.  28.  St.  Paul  means  to  say 
that  the  distinction  between  the  sexes  is  one 
which  only  belongs  to  this  Ufe. 


446  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.xt. 

xi.l6  given  her  for  a  veil.  But  if  any  one  thinks  to  be  contentious  in  de- 
fence of  such  a  custom,  let  him  know  that  it  is  disallowed  by  me,^  and 
by  all  the  Churches  of  God. 

17  [I    said   that  I  praised  you,   for   keeping  the  rules  which  censure  on 

11.  1,  Ti  ,.,      T.  ,.  -      tlif  ir  profana- 

were  delivered  to  you]  ;  but  while  I  give  you  this  command-  tion  of  the 

•'        -J   '  to  J  Lord's  Sup- 

ment  I  praise  you  not ;  your  solemn  assemblies  are  for  evil  ^^^' 

18  rather  than  for  good.  For  first,  I  hear  that  there  are  divisions  among 
you   when    your   congregation   assembles ;    and    this   I    partly   believe. 

1^   For  there  must  needs  be  not  divisions  only,^  but  also  adverse  sects  among 

20  you,  that  so  the  good  may  be  tested  and  made  known.     Moreover,^  when 

21  you  assemble  yourselves  together,  it  is  not  to  eat  the  Lord's  Supper  ;  for 
each  begins  to  eat  [what  he  has  brought  for]  his  own  supper,  before 
any  thing  has  been  given  to  others  :  and  while  some  are  hungry,  others 

22  are  drunken.*  Have  you,  then,  no  houses  to  eat  and  drink  in  ?  or  do  you 
come  to  show  contempt  for  the  congregation  of  God's  people,  and  to 
shame  the  poor  ?  *     What  can  I  say  to  you  ?     Shall  I  praise  you  in  this  ? 

23  I  praise  you  not.  For  I  myself*  received  from  the  Lord  that  which  1 
delivered  to  you,  that  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  the  night  when  He  was  be- 

24  trayed,  took  bread,  and  when  He  had  given  thanks,  He  brake  it,  and 
said  — "  Take,  eat;  this  is  my  body,  which  is  broken  for  you:   this  do  in 

25  remembrance  of  we."  In  the  same  manner  also.  He  took  the  cup  after 
supper,  saying,  "  This  cup  is  the  new  covenant  in  my  blood :  this  do  ye, 

26  as  of  ten  as  ye  drink  it,  in  remembrance  of  me.^^  For  as  often  as  you  eat 
this  bread  and  drink  this  cup,  you  openly  show  forth  the  Lord's  death 

27  until  He  shall  come  again.  Therefore,  whosoever  shall  eat  this  bread  or 
drink  this   cup  of    the   Lord  unworthily  shall  be  guilty  of  profaning 

28  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord.     But  let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so 

29  let  him  eat  of  this  bread  and  drink  of  this  cup.  For  he  who  eats  and 
drinks  of  it  unworthily  eats  and  drinks  judgment  against  himself,  not 

^  Literally,  that  neither  I,  nor  the  churches  of  entertainment  of  frequent  occurrence  among 

God,  admit  of  such  a  custom.  the   Greeks,   and    known    by   the    name    of 

2  "  There  must  be  also,  &c."  Ipavog. 

^  The  second  subject  of   rebuke  is  intro-  *  Literally,  Those   who    have    not  houses  to 

duced  here.  eat  in,  and  who  therefore  ought  to  have  re- 

*  For   the   explanation  of  this,  see  Chap.  ceived  their  portion  at   the   love-feasts   from 

XIII.     It  should  be  observed  that  a  common  their  wealthier  brethren, 
meal,  to  which  each  of  the  guests  contributed  *  The  "  I "  is  emphatic, 

his  own  share  of  the  provisions,  was  a  form  of 


CHAP.  XV.  FIEST  EPISTLE  TO  THE   CORINTHIANS.  447 

duly  judging  of  the  Lord's  body.^     For  this  cause  mauy  of  you  are  weakxi.30 
aud  sickly,  and  many  sleep.     For  if  we  had  duly  judged  ourselves,  we  31 
should  not  have  been  judged.     But  now  that  we  are  judged,  we  are   32 
chastened  by  the  Lord,  that  we  may  not  be  condemned  together  with  the 
world.     Therefore,  my  brethren,  when  you  are  assembling  to  eat,  wait  for  33 
one  another ;  and  if  any  one  is  hungry,  let  him  eat  at  home,  lest  your  34 
meetings  should  bring  judgment  upon  you.     The  other  matters  I  will  set 
in  order  when  I  come. 

On  the  s  irit        Concerning  those  who  exercise'^  Spiritual  Gifts,  brethren,  Ixii.  1 
uai  Gifts.        would  not  havc  you  ignorant.     You  know  that  in  the  days     2 
of  your  heathenism  you  were  blindly  *  led  astray  to  worship  dumb  and 
senseless  idols  [by  those  who  pretended   to  gifts  from  heaven].     This,     3 
therefore,  I  call  to  your  remembrance  ;  that  no  man  who  is  inspired  by 
the  Spirit  of  God  can  say  "  Jesus  is  accursed  ; "  and  no  man  can  say 
"  Jesus  is  the  Lord,"  unless  he  be  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit.*     More-     4 
over,  there  are  varieties  of  Gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit  gives  them  all ;  and 
[they  are  given  for]    various  ministrations,  but  all  to  serve  the  same     5 
Lord ;   and  the  working  whereby  they  are  wrought  is  various,  but  all     6 
are  wrought  in  all  by  the  working  of  the  same  God.*     But  the  gift  where-     7 
by  the  Spirit  becomes  manifest  is  given  to  each  for  the  profit  of  all.     To     8 
one  ®  is  given  by  the  Spirit  the  utterance  of  Wisdom,  to  another  the 

1  If  in   this  verse  we  omit,  with  the  ma  extraordinary  spiritual  gifts  which   followed 

jority  of  MSS.,  the  words  "  unworthily"  and  Christian  baptism  in  that  age  proceeded  in  all 

"  of  the  Lord,"  it  will  stand  as  follows  :  He  cases  from  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  not  from  the 

who  eats  and  drinks   of  it,  not  duly  judging  of  Spirit  of  Evil.     This  is  St.  Paul's  answer  to  a 

[or  discerning^   the  Body,  eats  and  drinks  judg-  difficulty  apparently  felt  by  the    Corinthians 

ment  against  himself.     The  "  not   discerning  "  (and  mentioned  in  their  letter  to  him),  whether 

is  explained  by   Canon  Stanley,  "  if  he  does  some  of  these  gifts  might  not  be  given  by  the 

not  discern  that  the  body  of  the  Lord  is  in  Author  of  Evil  to  confuse  the  Church.     Prof, 

himself  and  in   the   Christian  society ; "  but  Stanley  observes  that  the  words  Jesus  is  ac- 

the   more   usual   and   perhaps   more    natural  cursed  and  Jesus  is  the  Lord  (according  to  the 

explanation  is,    "  if  he  does  not  distinguish  reading  of  some  of  the  best  MSS.,  which  pro- 

between  the  Eucharistic  elements  and  a  com-  duces  a  much  livelier  sense)  "were  probably 

mon  meal."  well-known  forms  of  speech ;   the  first  for  re- 

^  The  adjective  is  here  taken  as  masculine,  nouncing     Christianity     (compare    mdedicere 

because  this  agrees  best  with  the  context,  and  Christo,  Plin.  Ep.  x.  97),  the  second  for  pro- 

also  because   another  word  is  used   in    this  fessing  allegiance  to  Christ  at  baptism." 
chapter  for  spiritual  gifts.  ^  It  should  be  observed  that  the  4  th,  5th, 

■^  As  ye  chanced  to  be  led  at  the  will  of  your  and   6th   verses    imply    the    doctrine   of    the 

Leaders,  i.  e.  blindly.  Trinity. 

*  i.  e.   the    mere   outward    profession    of  ^  On   this  classification  of  spiritual  gifts, 

Christianity  is  (so  far  aa  it  goes)  a  proof  of  see  p.  372,  note, 
the    Holy  Spirit's  guidance.      Therefore  the 


448  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  x> 

Utterance  uf  Knowledge^  according  to  the  working  of  the  same  Spirit. 
<ii.  9 To  another  Faith'-  through  the  same  Spirit.     To  another  gifts  of  Heahng 

10  through  the  same  Spirit.  To  another  tlie  powers  which  work  Miracles  ; 
to  anotiier  Prophecy ;  to  another  the  discernment  of  Spirits  ;  ^  to  another 

11  varieties  of  Tongues;*  to  another  the  Interpretation  of  Tongues.  But 
all  these  gifts  are  wrought  by  the  working  of  that  one  and  the  same 

12  Spirit,  who  distributes  them  to  each  according  to  His  will.  For  as  the 
body  is  one,  and  has  many  members,  and  as  all  the  members,  though 

13  many,'^  are  one  body  ;  so  also  is  Christ.  For  in  the  communion  of  ouo 
Spirit  we  all  were^  baptized  into  one  body,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gen- 
tiles,^ whether  slaves  or  freemen,  and  were  all  made  to  drink  of  the  same 

14  Spirit.     For  the  body  is  not  one  member,  but  many.     If  ^  the  foot  should 

15  say,  "  I  am  not  the  hand,  therefore  I  belong  not  to  the  body,"  does  it 

16  tliereby  sever  itself  from  the  body  ?  Or  if  the  ear  should  say,  "  I  am 
not  the  eye,  therefore  I  belong  not  to  the  body,"  does  it  thereby  sever 

17  itself  from  the  body  ?  If  the  whole  body  were  an  eye,  where  would  be 
the   hearing?     If  the  whole   body  were   an  ear,  where  would   be  the 

18  smelling  ?     But  now  God  has  placed  the  members  severally  in  the  body 

19  according  to  His  will.     If  all  were  one  member,  where  would  be  the 

20  body  ?     But  now,  though  the  members  are  many,  yet  the  body  is  one. 

21  And  the  eye  cannot  say  to  the   hand,  "  I  have  no  need  of  thee  ; "  nor 

22  again  tlie  head  to  the  feet,  "  I  have  no  need  of  you."     Nay,  those  parts 

23  of  the  body  which  are  reckoned  the  feeblest  are  the  most  necessary,  and 
those  parts  which  we  hold  the  least  honorable,  we  clothe  with  the  more 
abundant  honor,  and  the  less  beautiful  parts  are  adorned  with  the  greater 

24  beauty  ;  whereas  the  beautiful  need  no  adornment.  But  God  has  tem- 
pered the  body  together,  and  given  to  the  lowlier  parts  the  higher  honor, 

25  tliat  there  should  be  no  division  in  the  body,  but  that  all  its  parts  should 
20   feel,  one  for  the  other,  a  common  sympathy.     And  thus,  if  one  member 

1  Knowledge    (gnosis)    is    the    term    used  *  Some  words  of  the  Received  Text  are 

throughout  this  Epistle  for  a  deep  insight  into  omitted  here  by  the  best  IMSS. 
divine  truth ;   Wisdom  is  a  more  general  term,  "  The  past  tense  is  mistranslated  in  A.  V.  aa 

but  here  (as  being  opposed  to  gnosis)  probably  present.  '  See  note  on  Rom.  i.  16. 

means  practical  wisdom.  ^  The   resemblance   between   this  passage 

■^  That  is,  wonder-working  faith.      See  Ch.  and  the  well-known  fable  of  Menenius  Agrippa 

XIII.  (Liv.  II.  32)   can  scarcely  be  accidental;  and 

^  See  Ch.  XIII.  may  perhaps  be  considered  another  proof  that 

*  See  Ch.  XIII.  for  remarks  on  this  and  St.  Paul  was  not  unacquainted  with  classical 

the  other  gifts  mentioned  in  this  passage.  literature. 


CHAP.  XV.  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO   THE   CORINTHIANS.  449 

suffer,  every  member  suffers  with   it ;   or  if  one  member  be  honored, 
every  member  rejoices  with  it.     Now  ye  are  together  the  body  of  Christ,   27 
and  each  one  of  you  a  separate  member.     And  God  has  set  the  mem-  28 
bers  in  the  Church,  some  in  one  place,  and  some  in  another:^  first,' 
Apostles  ;  secondly.  Prophets ;   thirdly,  Teachers  ;  afterwards  Miracles ; 
then  gifts  of  Healing  ;  Serviceable  Ministrations  ;  Gifts  of  Government ; 
varieties   of  Tongues.     Can   all  be  Apostles  ?     Can   all  be  Prophets  ?  29 
Can  all  be  Teachers  ?     Can  all  work  Miracles  ?     Have  all  the  Gifts  of  30 
Healing  ?     Do  all  speak  with  Tongues  ?     Can  all  interpret  the  Tongues  ? 
But  I  would  have  you  delight  ^  in  the  best  gifts  ;  and  moreover,  beyond  81 
them  all,*  I  will  show  you  a  path  wherein  to  walk. 
Superiority  of      Thougli  I  spcak  in  all  the  tongues  of  men  and  angels,  if  luu.} 

Love  to  all  -,•  ^ 

the  extraor-    havc  uot  lovc,  1  am  uo  better  than  sounding  brass  or  a  tm- 

dinary  Gifts  ° 

of  the  Spirit,   kij^g  cymbal.     And  though  I  have  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and     2 
understand  all  the  mysteries,  and  all  the  depths  of  knowledge ;  and 
though  I  have  the  fulness  of  faith,*  so  that  I  could  remove  mountains ; 
if  I  have  not  love,  I  am  nothing.     And  though  I  sell  all  my  goods  to  feed     3 
the  poor,  and  though  I  give  my  body  to  be  burned,®  if  I  have  not  love,     4 
it  profits  me  nothing.     Love  is  long  suffering ;  love  is  kind  ;  love  envies 
not ;  love  speaks  no  vaunts ;  love  swells  not  with  vanity ;  love  offends  not     5 
by  rudeness  ;  love  seeks  not  her  own ;  is  not  easily  provoked  ;  bears  uo 
malice ; '   rejoices   not   over  *   iniquity,    but   rejoices    in   the   victory   of     6 

^  The  omission  of  the  answering  dause  in  the  use  of  the  words  exceedingly  sinful  would 

the  Greek  renders  it  necessary  to  complete  the  not  explain  the  expression  an  exceedingly  path. 
sense  by  this  interpolation.  *  i.  c.  the  charism  of  wonder-working  faith. 

^  On  this  classification,  see  p.  372,  note ;  See  Ch.  XIII.    The  "  removal  of  mountains  " 

on   the  particular  charisms  and  offices   men-  alludes   to  the  words  of  our  Lord,  recorded 

tioned  in  it,  see  pp.  372-378.  Matt.  xvii.  20. 

*  The  verb  means  originally  to  feel  intense  «  Some  MSS.  have  "  give  my  body  that  I 
eagerness  about  a  person  or  thing :  hence  its  may  boast,"  which  gives  a  satisfactory  sense, 
different  senses  of  love,  jealousy,  &c.,  are  ">  Literally,  does  not  reckon  the  evil  [against  the 
derived.  Here  the  wish  expressed  is,  that  the  evil-doer\.  Compare  2  Cor.  v.  19:  "not  reek- 
Corinthians  should  take  that  delight  in  the  oning  their  sins."  The  Authorized  Version 
exercise  of  the  more  useful  gifts,  which  hither-  here,  "  thinketh  no  evil,"  is  so  beautiful  that 
to  they  had  taken  in  the  more  wonderful,  not  one  cannot  but  wish  it  had  been  a  correct 
that  individuals  should  "  covet  earnestly  "  for  translation.  The  same  disposition,  however, 
themselves  gifts  which  God  had  not  given  is  implied  by  the  "  believes  all  things  "  below, 
them.  Compare  xiv.  39,  and  observe  that  the  *  This  verb  sometimes  means  to  rejoice  in 
rerb  is  a  different  one  in  xiv.  1.  the  misfortune  of  another,  and  the  characteristic 

*  This  seems  the  meaning  here.  The  of  love  here  mentioned  may  mean  that  it  does 
phrase  can  scarcely  be  taken  as  an  adjective  not  exult  in  the  punishment  of  iniquity ;  or 
with  "  path,"  as  in  A.  V.  Such  an  instance  may  simply  mean  that  it  does  not  delight  ia 
fts  Kou.  vii.  13  is  not  parallel.    In  English  the  contemplation  of  wickedness. 

29 


450  THE  LIFE   AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xv. 

xiii. 

7  truth  ;  ^  foregoes  all  things,^  believes  all  things,  hopes  all  things,  endures 

8  all  things.     Love  shall  never  pass  away ;    but  Prophecies  shall  vanish, 

9  and  Tongues  shall  cease,  and  Knowledge  shall  come  to  nought.     For  our 

10  Knowledge  is  impei'fect,  and  our  prophesying  is  imperfect.     But  when 

11  the  perfect  is  come,  the  imperfect  shall  pass  away.  When  I  was  a 
child,  my  words  were  childish,  my  desires  were  childish,  my  judgments 
were  childish ;  but  being  grown  a  man,  I  have  done  with  the  things  of 

12  childhood.  So  now  we  see  darkly,*  by  a  mirror,*  but  then  face  to  face  ; 
now  I  know  in  part,  but  then  shall  I  know,  even  as  I  now  am*  known. 

13  Yet  while  other  gifts  shall  pass  away,  these  three.  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Love,  abide  ;  and  the  greatest  of  these  is  Love. 

xiv.l      Follow  earnestly  after  Love  ;   yet  delight  in   the  spiritual  fon?ie*'exer- 

cise  of  the 

2  gifts,  but  especially  in  the  gift  of  Prophecy.  For  he  who  f ^^"^  "^  ^j[°p,^; 
speaks  in  a  Tongue  speaks  not  to  men,  but  to  God ;  for  no  xougues. 

3  man  understands  him,  but  with  his  spirit  he  utters  mysteries.  But  he 
who  prophesies  speaks  to  men,  and  builds  tliem  up,  with  exhortation  and 

4  with  comfort.     He  who  speaks  in  a  Tongue  builds  up  himself  alone  ;  but 

5  he  who  prophesies  builds  up  the  Church.  I  wish  that  you  all  had  the 
gift  of  Tongues,  but  rather  that  you  had  the  gift  of  Prophecy ;  for  he 
who  prophesies  is  above  him  who  speaks  in  Tongues,  unless  he  interpret, 

6  that  the  Church  may  be  built  up  thereby.  Now,  brethren,  if  when  I 
came  to  you  I  were  to  speak  in  Tongues,  what  should  I  profit  you,  unless 
I  should  [also]  speak  either  in  Revelation  or  in  Knowledge,  either  in 

7  Prophesying  or  in  Teaching  ?  Even  if  the  lifeless  instruments  of  sound, 
the  flute  or  the  harp,  give  no  distinctness  to  their  notes,  how  can  we 

8  understand  their  music  ?     If  the  trumpet  utter  an  uncertain  note,  how 

9  shall  the  soldier  prepare  himself  for  the  battle  ?  So  also  if  you  utter 
unintelligible  words  with  your  tongue,  how  can  your  speech  be  under- 

10  stood  ?  you  will  but  be  speaking  to  the  air.  Perhaps  there  may  be  as 
many  languages  in  the  world  [as  the  Tongues  in  which  you  speak],  and 

1  Literally,  rejoices  wlien  the  Truth  rejoices.  *  Literally,  "  I  was  known,"  i.  e.  when  in 

^  For  the  meaning,  sec  note  on  ix.  12.  this  world,  by  God.     The  tense  used  retrospec- 

*  Literally,  in  an  enigma ;  thus  we  see  Grod  tivcly  ;  unless  it  may  be  better  to  take  it  aa 
(e.g.)  in  nature,  while  even  revelation  only  the  oorist  used  in  a  perfect  sense,  whieh  is  not 
shows  us  His  reflected  likeness.     There  is,  no  ancommon  in  St.  Paul's  style. 

doubt,  an  allusion  to  Numbers  xii.  8. 

*  Not  "  through  a  glass,"  but  by  means  of  a 
mirror. 


CTiAP.  xvr  FIEST  EPISTLE  TO   THE   CORINTHIAJSTS.  451 

xiv. 
none  of  them  is  unmeaning.     If,  then,  I  know  not  the  meaning  of  the   11 

language,  I  shall  be  as  a  foreigner  to  him  that  speaks  it,  and  he  will  be 
accounted  a  foreigner  by  me.     Wherefore,  in  your  own  case  (since  you   12 
delight  in  spiritual  gifts)  strive  that  your  abundant  possession  of  them 
may  build  up  the  Church.     Therefore,  let  him  wl)o  speaks  in  a  Tongue   13 
pray  that  he  may  be  able  to  interpret  ^  what  he  utters.     For  if  I  utter   14 
prayers  in  a  Tongue,  my  spirit  indeed  prays,  but  my  understanding  bears 
no  fruit.     What  follows,  then  ?     I  will  pray  indeed  with  my  spirit,  but  I   15 
will  pray  with  my  understanding  also ;  I  will  sing  praises  with  my  spirit, 
but  I  will  sing  with  my  understanding  also.     For  if  thou,  with  thy  spirit,   16 
olferest  thanks  and  praise,  how  shall  the  Amen  be  said  to  thy  thanksgiv- 
ing by  those  worshippers  who  take  no  part^  in  the  ministrations,  while 
they  are  ignorant  of  the  meaning   of  thy  words  ?     Thou  indeed  fitly   17 
offerest  thanksgiving,  but  thy  neighbors  are  not  built  up.     I  offer  thanks-   18 
giving  to  God  in  private,^  speaking  in  Tongues  [to  Him],  more  than  any 
of  you.     Yet  in  the  congregation  I  would  rather  speak  five  words  with   19 
my  understanding  so  as  to  instruct  others  than  ten  thousand  words  in  a 
Tongue.     Brethren,  be  not  children  in  understanding ;  but  in  malice  be   20 
children,  and  in   understanding  be  men.      It  is  written  in  the   Law,*   21 

*'  Millj  men  0f  oil^tx  tongues  attiy  olfjir  lips  toill  J  speak  iintotljis 
pcopk ;  aniJ  get  iax  all  tfjat  tijcij  toill  not  Ijear  me,  saitlj  tlje  |:ortr." 

So  that  the  gift  of  Tongues  is  a  sign  *  given  rather  to  unbelievers  than  to  22 
believers ;   whereas  the  gift  of  Prophecy  belongs  to  believers.     When,  23 
therefore,  the  whole  congregation  is  assembled,  if  all  the  speakers  speak 
in  Tongues,  and  if  any  who  take  no  part  in  your  ministrations,  or  who 
are  unbelievers,  should  enter  your  assembly,  will  they  not  say  that  you 
are  mad  ?  ®     But  if  all  exercise  the  gift  of  Prophecy,  then  if  any  man    24 

^  This  verse  distinctly  proves  that  the  gift  ^  That  is,  a  condemnatory  sign. 

of  Tongues  was  not  a  knowledge  of  foreign  Ian-  ^  We  must  not  be  led,  from  any  apparent 

guages,  as  is  often  supposed.     See  Ch.  XIII.  analogy,  to  confound  the  exercise  of  the  gift 

^  Not  the   unlearned  (A.  V.),  but  him  who  of    Tongues  in   the    primitive    Church   with 

takes  no  part  in  the  particular  matter  in  hand.  modem  exhibitions  of  fanaticism,  which  bear 

^  This  is  evidently  the  meaning  of  the  verse.  •  a  superficial  resemblance  to  it.  We  must  re- 
Compare  verse  2,  "  He  who  speaks  in  a  tongue  member  that  such  modern  pretensions  to  'Jbis 
speaks  not  to  himself  but  to  God,"  and  verse  gift  must  of  course  resemble  the  manifesta- 
28,  "  Let  him  speak  in  private  to  himself  and  tions  of  the  original  gift  in  external  features,  be- 
God  alone."  cause  these  very  features  have  been  the  objects 

*  Is.  xxviii.  11.     Not  exactly  according  to  of  intentional  imitation.     If,  however,  the  in- 

the  Hebrew  or  LXX.  articulate  utterances  of  ecstatic  joy  are  followed 


452  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xv, 

who  is  an  unbeliever,  or  who  takes  no  part  in  your  ministrations,  should 
enter  the  place  of  meeting,  he  is  convicted  in  conscience  by  every  speak- 

25  er,  he  feels  himself  judged  by  all,  and  ^  the  secret  depths  of  his  heart  are 
laid  open ;  and  so  he  will  fall  upon  his  face  and  worship  God,  and  report 

26  that  God  is  in  you  of  a  truth.  What  follows,  then,  brethren  ?  If,  when 
you  meet  together,  one  is  prepared  to  sing  a  hymn  of  praise,  another  to 
exercise  his  gift  of  Teaching,  another  his  gift  of  Tongues,  another  to  deliv- 
er a  Revelation,^  another  an  Interpretation  :  let  all  be  so  done  as  to  build 

27  up  tlie  Church.  If  there  be  any  who  speak  in  Tongues,  let  not  more 
than  two,  or  at  the  most  three,  speak  [in  the  same  assembly]  ;  and  let 
them  speak  in  turn ;  and  let  the  same  interpreter  explain  the  words  of 

28  all.  But  if  there  be  no  interpreter,  let  him  who  speaks  in  Tongues  keep 
silence  in  the  congregation,  and   speak  in  private  to  himself  and  God 

29  alone.     Of  those  who  have  the  gift  of  Prophecy,  let  two  or  three  speak 

30  [in  each  assembly],  and  let  the  rest^  judge;  but  if  another  of  them, 
while  sitting  as  hearer,  receives  a  revelation  [calling  him  to  prophesy], 

31  let  the  first  cease  to  speak.     For  so  you  can  each  prophesy  in  turn,  that 

32  all  may  receive  teaching  and  exhortation ;  and  the  gift  of  Prophecy  does 

33  not  take  from  the  prophets  *  the  control  over  their  own  .spirits.  For  God 
is  not  the  author  of  confusion,  but  of  peace. 

''In  your  congregation,  as  in  all  the  congregations  of  the  The  women 

must  not  offl- 

34  Saints,  the  women  must  keep  silence ;    for  they  are  not  per-  ciate  pubuciy 

'  '■  *  in  the  congre- 

mitted  to  speak  in  public,  but  to  show  submission,  as  saith  gatio°- 

35  also  the  Law.®  And  if  they  wish  to  ask  any  question,  let  them  ask  it  of 
their  own  husbands  at  home  ;  for  it  is  disgraceful  to  women  to  speak  in 

86  the  congregation.  [Whence  is  your  claim  to  change  the  rules  delivered 
to  you  ?] '     Was  it  from  you  that  the  word  of  God  went  forth  ?  or  are 


(as  they  were  in  some  of  Wesley's  converts)  *  Literally,  "  the  spirits  of  the  prophets  are 

by  a  life  of  devoted  holiness,  we  should  hesi-  under  the  control  of  the  prophets."     This  is  a 

tate  to  say  that  they  might  not  bear  some  reason  why  the  rule  given  above  can  easily  be 

analogy  to  those  of  the  Corinthian  Christians.  observed.     [This  seems  to  modify  what  is  said 

^  The  word  *br  "so"  is  omitted  in  best  on  p.  375. — h.] 

MSS.  ^  This  translation  places  a  full-stop  in  the 

2  This  would  be  an  exercise  of  the  gift  of  middle  of  the  33d  verse,  and  a  comma  at  the 

"prophecy."  end  of  it. 

*  i.e.  let  the  rest  of  the  prophets  judge  ^  Gen.  iii.  16:  "Thy  husband  shall  have 

whether  those  who  stand  up  to  exercise  the  the  dominion  over  thee." 

gift  have  really  received  it.     This  is  parallel  to  ''  The  sentence  in  brackets,  or  something 

the  direction  in  1  Thess.  v.  21.  equivalent,  is  implied  in  the  ^  which  begins 


CHAP.  XV.  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO   THE  CORINTHIANS.  453 

xiv. 

you  the  only  church  which  it  has  reached  ?     Nay,  if  any  think  that  he  87 
has  the  gift  of  Prophecy,  or  that  he  is  a  spiritual  ^  man,  let  him  acknowl- 
edge the  words  which  I  write  for  commands  of  the  Lord.     But  if  any  33 
man  refuse  this  acknowledgment,  let  him  refuse  it  at  his  peril. 

Therefore,  brethren,  delight  in  the  gift  of  Prophecy,  and  hinder  not  39 

the  gift  of  Tongues.     And  let  all  be  done  with  decency  and  order.  40 
The  doctrine         Morcovcr,  brethren,  I  call  to  your  remembrance  the  Glad-  xv  1 

ol  the  Resur-  t  i  j  •  •  < 

Deadestab-*'^^  tidiugs  which  I  brought  you,  which  also  you  received,  wherein     2 
its  impugners.  also  you  staud  firm,  whereby  also  you  are  saved,'^  if  you  still 
hold  fast  the  words  wherein  I  declared  it  to  you ;    unless,  indeed,  you 
believed  in  vain.     For  the  first  thing  I  taught  you  was  that  which  I  had     3 
myself  been  taught,  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins,  according  to  the  Scrip- 
tures ; '  and  that  He  was  buried,  and  that  He  rose  *  the  third  day  from     4 
the  dead,  according  to  the  Scriptures  ; '  and  that  He  was  seen  by  Cephas,     5 
and  then  by  The  Twelve  ;  after  that  He  was  seen  by  about  five  hundred     6 
brethren  at  once,  of  whom  the  greater  part  are  living  at  this  present 
time,  but  some  are  fallen  asleep.®     Next  He  was  seen  by  James,  and  then     7 
by  all  the  Apostles ;  and  last  of  all  He  was  seen  by  me   also,  who  am     8 
placed  among  the  rest  as  it  were  by  an  untimely  birth  ;  for  I  am  the  least     9 
of  the  Apostles,  and  am  not  worthy  to  be  called  an  Apostle,  because  I 
persecuted  the  Church  of  God.     But  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  am  what  I   10 
am ;  and  His  grace  which  was  bestowed  upon  me  was  not  fruitless  ;  but 
1  labored  more  abundantly  than  all  the  rest ;  yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of 


the  next.     "  Ok  voas  it  from  you,"  —  i.  e.  "  Or  aorist :  "  He  is  risen,"  not "  He  was  raised"  or 

if  y  mi  set  up  your  judgment  against  that  of  other  (more  literally)  5c  is  awakened,  not  He  was 

Churches,  was  it  from  you,  ^c."  awakened ;   because  Christ,  being  once  risen, 

i  "  Spiritual,"   the  epithet  on  which   the  dieth  no  more.     But  this  present-perfect  can- 
party  of   ApoUos   (the  ultra -Pauline  party)  not  here  be  retained  in  the  English, 
especially  prided   themselves.      See  chap.  iii.  *  Among  the  "  Scriptures "  here  referred 
1-3  and  Gal.  vi.  1.  to  by  St.  Paul,  one  is  the  prophecy  which  he 

■■'  Literally,  you  are  in  the  way  of  salvation.  himself  quoted  in  the  speech  at  Antioch  from 

The   words   which   follow  (the  words   wherein,  Ps.  xvi.  10. 

^•c.)  were  joined   (in  our  first  edition)  with  ^  Can  we  imagine  it  possible  that  St.  Paul 

preached  in  the  preceding  verse,  according  to  should  have  said  this  without  knowing  it  to 

Billroth's  view.      But   further    consideration  be  true  ?  or  without  himself  having  seen  some 

has  led  us  to  think  that  they  may  be   more  of  these  "  five  hundred  brethren,"  of  whom 

naturally  made  dependent  on  hold  fast,  as  they  "  the  greater  part "  were  alive  when  he  wrote 

are  taken  by  De  Wette,  Alford,  and  others.  these  words  1     The  sceptical  (but  candid  and 

^  So  our  Lord  quotes  Is.  liii.  12,  in  Luke  honest)  De  Wette  acknowledges  this  testimony 

xxii.  37.  as  conclusive. 

*  In  the  original  it  is  the  perfect,  not  the 


454  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xv. 

XT 

11  God  which  was  with  me.  So  then,  whether  preached  by  me,  or  them, 
this  is  what  we  preach,  aud  this  is  what  you  believed. 

12  If,  then,  this  be  our  tidings,  that  Christ  is  risen  from  the  dead,  how  is 

13  it  that  some  among  you  say,  there  is  no  resurrection  of  the  dead  ?     But 

14  if  there  be  no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  then  Christ  is  not  risen  ;  and  if 
Christ  be  not  risen,  vain  is  the  message  we  proclaim,  and  vain  the  faith 

15  with  which  you  heard  it.  Moreover,  we  are  found  guilty  of  false  witness 
against  God ;  because  we  bore  witness  of  God  that  He  raised  Christ  from 

16  the  dead,  whom  He  did  not  raise,  if,  indeed,  the  dead  rise  not.     For  if 

17  there  be  no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  Clirist  himself^  is  not  risen.  And 
if  Christ  be  not  risen,  your  faith  is  vain,  you  are  still  in  ^  your  sins. 

18  Moreover,  if  this  be  so,  they  who  have  fallen  asleep  in  Christ  perished 

19  when  they  died.     If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in  Christ,  we  are  of 

20  ^-ll  nien  most  miserable.     But  now,  Christ  is  risen  from  the  dead ;  the 

21  first-fruits  ^  of  all  who  sleep.     For  since  by  man  came  death,  by  man 

22  came  also  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.     For  as,  in  Adam,  all  men  die, 

23  so,  in  Christ,  shall  all  be  raised  to  life.  But  each  in  his  own  order ; 
Christ,  the  first-fruits ;  afterwards  they  who  are  Christ's  at  His  appear- 

24  ing ;  finally,  the  end  shall  come,  when  He  shall  give  up  His  kingdom  to 
God  His  Father,  having  destroyed  all  other  dominion,  and  authority,  and 

25  power.*     For  He  must  reign  **  till  Jfi  Ijat^f  Jjut  all  mmUB  unbtr  gis 

26  iitt."  *     And  last  of  His  enemies,  Death  also  shall  be  destroyed.      For 

27  '*  Jc  Ijalfj  put  all  tljingS  nntitX  Jis  htV^  But  in  that  saying,  "  all 
lljhx^S  au  put  nniitt  Jinx/'  it  is  manifest  that  God  is  excepted,  who 

28  put  all  things  under  Him.  And  when  all  things  are  made  subject  to 
Him,  then  shall  the  Son  also  subject  Himself  to  Him  who  made  them 
subject,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all. 

1  This  argument  is  founded  on  the  union  therefore  is,  "  As  the  single  sheaf  of  first-fruits 
between  Christ  and  His  members :  they  so  represents  and  consecrates  all  the  harvest,  so 
share  His  life,  that,  because  He  lives  forever,  Christ's  resurrection  represents  and  involves 
they  must  live  also;  and  'lonversely,  if  we  that  of  all  who  sleep  in  Him."  It  should  be 
deny  their  immortality,  we  deny  His.  observed  that  the  verb  is  not  present  (as  in 

2  Because  we  "  are  saved"  from  our  sins  A.  V.),  but  past  (not  is  become,  but  became), 
"  by  His  life."     (Rom.  v.  10.)  and  that  the  best  MSS.  omit  it. 

8  On  the  second  day  of  the  feast  of  Pass-  *  Compare  Col.  ii.  15  ;  also  Eph.  i.  21. 

over  a  sheaf  of  ripe  com  was  offered  upon  the  ^  Ps.  ex.  1  (LXX.).     Quoted,  and  similarly 

altar  as  a  consecration  of  the  whole  harvest.  applied,  by  our  Lord  himself,  Matt.  xxii.  44. 
Till  this  was  done  it  was  considered  unlawful  '^  Ps.  viii.  6,  nearly  after  LXX.     Quoted 

to   begin  reaping.     See  Levit.  xxiii.  10,   11,  also  as  JMessianic,  Eph.  i.  22,  and  Heb.  ii.  8 

and  Joseph.   Antiq.  iii.  10.      The  metaphor  See  the  note  on  the  latter  place. 


JHAP.  XV. 


FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE   CORINTHXA.NS. 


■455 


XT. 


Again,  what  will  become  of  those  who  cause  themselves  to  be  baptized  29 
for  the  dead,'  if  the  dead  never  rise  again  "^     Why,  then,  do  they  submit 
to  baptism  for  the  dead  ? 

And  I  too,  why  do  I  put  my  life  to  hazard  every  hour  ?  I  protest  by  30 
mj  ^  boasting  (which  I  have  [not  in  myself,  but]  in  Christ  Jesus  our  31 
Lord)  I  die  daily.  If  I  have  fought  (so  to  speak)  with  beasts  at  Ephe-  32 
sus,^  what  am  I  profited  if  the  dead  rise  not?  "  ^^t  US  mt  anb  brink, 
for  to-morroto  ixre  bu."  *  Beware  lest  you  be  led  astray  ;  "  Converse  33 
with  evil  men  corrupts  good  manners."  *  Change  your  drunken  revellings  * 
into  the  sobriety  of  righteousness,  and  live  no  more  in  sin ;  for  some  of  34 
you  know  not  God  ;  I  speak  this  to  your  shame. 

But  some  one  will  say,  "  How  are  the  dead  raised  up  ?  and  with  what  35 
body  do  they  come  ?  "  '    Thou  fool,  the  seed  thou  so  west  is  not  quick-  36 


1  The  only  meaning  which  the  Greek  seems 
to  admit  here  is  a  reference  to  the  practice  of 
submitting  to  baptism  instead  of  some  person 
who  had  died  unbaptized.  Yet  this  explanation 
is  liable  to  very  great  difficulties.  ( 1 )  How 
strange  that  St.  Paul  should  refer  to  such  a 
superstition  without  rebuking  it !  Perhaps, 
however,  he  may  have  censured  it  in  a  former 
letter,  and  now  only  refers  to  it  as  an  argu- 
mentum  ad  homines.  It  has,  indeed,  been 
alleged  that  the  present  mention  of  it  implies 
a  censure ;  but  this  is  far  from  evident.  (2) 
If  such  a  practice  did  exist  in  the  Apostolic 
Church,  how  can  we  account  for  its  being  dis- 
continued in  the  period  which  followed,  when 
a  magical  efficacy  was  more  and  more  ascribed 
to  the  material  act  of  baptism?  Yet  the 
practice  was  never  adopted  except  by  some 
obscure  sects  of  Gnostics,  who  seem  to  have 
founded  their  custom  on  this  very  passage. 

The  explanations  which  have  been  adopted 
to  avoid  the  difficulty,  such  as  "  over  the 
graves  of  the  dead,"  or  "  in  the  name  of  the 
dead  (meaning  Christ),"  &c.,  are  all  inadmissi- 
ble, as  being  contrary  to  the  analogy  of  the 
language.  On  the  whole,  therefore,  the  pas- 
sage must  be  considered  to  admit  of  no  satis- 
factory explanation.  It  alludes  to  some  prac- 
tice of  the  Corinthians,  which  has  not  been 
recorded  elsewhere,  and  of  which  every  other 
trace  has  perished.  The  reader  who  wishes  to 
see  all  that  can  be  said  on  the  subject  should 
consult  Canon  Stanley's  note. 


'^  We  read  "our"  with  Griesbach,  on  the 
authority  of  the  Codex  Alexandrinns.  If 
"  your  "  be  the  true  reading,  it  can  scarcely  be 
translated  (as  has  been  proposed)  "  my  boasting 
of  you."  For  though  instances  may  be  ad- 
duced (as  Bom.  xi.  31). when  a  possessive  pro- 
noun is  thus  used  objectively,  yet  they  never 
occur  except  where  the  context  renders  mis- 
take impossible.  Indeed  it  is  obvious  that  no 
writer  would  go  out  of  his  way  to  use  a 
possessive  pronoun  in  an  unusual  sense,  when 
by  so  doing  he  would  create  ambiguity  which 
might  be  avoided  by  adopting  a  usual  form  of 
expression. 

^  This  is  metaphorical,  as  appears  by  the 
qualifying  expression  translated  in  A.  V., 
"  after  the  manner  of  men."  It  must  refer  to 
some  very  violent  opposition  which  St.  Paul 
had  met  with  at  Ephesus,  the  particulars  of 
which  are  not  recorded. 

*  Is.  xxii.  13  (LXX.). 

^  St.  Paul  here  quotes  a  line  from  The 
Thais,  a  comedy  of  Menander's :  the  line  had 
probably  passed  into  a  proverbial  expression. 
We  see,  from  this  passage,  that  the  free-think- 
ing party  at  Corinth  joined  immoral  practice 
with  their  licentious  doctrine ;  and  that  they 
were  corrupted  by  the  evil  example  of  their 
heathen  neighbors. 

6  Not  awake  (as  in  A.  V.),  but  cease  to  b« 
drunken.  And  below,  do  not  go  on  signing 
(present). 

^  The  form  of  this  objection  is  oonclnsiv* 


456  THE  LIFE  AJSTD  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xv. 

37  ened  into  life  till  it  bath  partaken  of  death.  And  that  which  thou  sowest 
has  not  the  same  body  with  the  plant  which  will  spring  from  it,  but  it  is 

88  mere  grain,  of  wheat,  or  whatever  else  it  may  chance  to  be.  But  God 
gives  it  a  body  according  to  His  will ;  and  to  every  seed  the  body  of  its 

39  own  proper  plant.  For  all  flesh  is  not  the  same  flesh  ;  ^  [but  each  body 
is  fitted  to  the  place  it  fills]  ;  the  bodies  of  men,  and  of  beasts,  of  birds, 

40  and  of  fishes,  differ  the  one  from  the  other.  And  there  are  bodies  which 
belong  to  heaven,  and  -bodies  which  belong  to  earth ;  but  in  glory  the 

41  heavenly  differ  from  the  earthly.  The  sun  is  more  glorious  than  the 
moon,  and  the  moon  is  more  glorious  than  the  stars,  and  one  star  excels 
another  in  glory.     So  likewise  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  ;  [they  will 

42  be  clothed  with  a  body  fitted  to  their  lot]  ;  it  is  sown  in  corruption,  it 

43  is  raised  in  incorruption  ;  it  is  sown  in  dishonor,  it  is  raised  in  glory ; 

44  it  is  sown  in  weakness,  it  is  raised  in  power  ;  it  is  sown  a  natural  ^  body, 
it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body ;  for  as  there  are  natural  bodies,  so  there  are 

45  also  spiritual  bodies.'  And  so  it  is  written,  **  Cljt  first  mVLVi  %^Km 
toitS  mab^  a  Hhmg  soul/'  *  the  last  Adam  was  made  a  life-giving  spirit. 

46  But  the  spiritual  comes  not  till  after  the  natural.     The  first  man  was  made 

47  of  earthly  clay,  the  second  man  was  the  Lord  from  heaven.     As  is  the 

48  earthly,  such  are  they  also  that  are  earthly  ;  and  as  is  the  heavenly,  such 

49  are  they  also  that  are  heavenly ;  and  as  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the 
60   earthly,  we  shall  also  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly.     But  this  I  say, 

brethren,  that   flesh  and  blood'  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of    God, 

against  tho  hypothesis  of  those  who  suppose  »  The  difference  of  reading  does  not  ma- 

that  these   Corinthians  only  disbelieved    the  terially  affect  the  sense  of  this  verse. 
Resurrection  of  the  body ;   and  that  they  be-  *  Gen.  ii.  7,   slightly  altered   from   LXX. 

lieved  the  Resurrection  of  the  dead.     St.  Paul  The  second  member  of  the  antithesis  is  not  a 

asserts  the  Resurrection  of  the  dead  ;  to  which  part  of  the  quotation. 

they  reply,  "  How  can   the  dead  rise   to  life  ^  The  importance  of  the  subject  justifies 

again,  when  their  body  has  perished  ?  "     This  our  quoting  at    some  length    the    admirable 

objection  he  proceeds  to  answer,  by  showing  remarks  of  Dr.  Burton  (formerly  Regius  Pro- 

that  individual  existence  may  continue,  with-  fessor  of  Divinity  at  Oxford)  on  this  passage, 

out  the  continuance  of  the  material  body.  in  the  hope  that  his  high  rf])utati.)n  for  learn- 

1  Prof  Stanley  translates  "  no  flesh  is  the  ing  and  for  unblemished  orthodoxy  may  lead 
same  flesh,"  which  is  surely  an  untenable  propo-  some  persons  to  reconsider  the  loose  and  un- 
sition,  and  moreover  inconsistent  with  the  scriptural  language  which  they  are  in  the  habit 
context ;  though  the  words  of  the  Greek  no  of  using.  After  regretting  tliat  some  of  the 
doubt  admit  of  such  a  rendering.  early   Fathers    have    (when    treating    of  the 

2  For  the  translation  here,  see  note  on  ii.  Rtsurrectlon  of  the  Body)  ajipearcd  to  contra- 
U.  The  reference  to  this  of  the  following  diet  these  words  of  St.  Paul,  Dr.  Burton  con- 
"  soul  "  (in  the  quotation)  should  be  observed,  tinues  as  follows:  — 

though  it  cannot  be  retained  in  English.  "  It  is  nowhere  asserted  in  the  New  Testa- 


riEST   EPISTLE  TO   THE   CORLNTHIANS. 


457 


X7. 


neither  can  corruption  inherit  incorruption.     Behold,  I  declare  to  you  a   51 
mystery ;  we   shall  not '  all  sleep,  but  we  shall   all   be  changed,  in  a   52 
moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  sound  of  the  last  trumpet ; 
for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible, 
and  we  shall  be  changed.     For  this  corruptible  must  put  on  incorruption,   53 
and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immortality. 

But   when    this    corruptible    is   clothed  with   incorruption,  and   this   54 
mortal  is  clothed  with  immortality,  then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the 
saying,  which  is  written,  "  §iatlj  IS  siuallotocb  Up  hi  bldoxv."^    *'  #   55 

bcatlj,  foljm  is  %  slin^r'     "#  graht,  foljm  is  %  faitlorg?""'  56 

The   stine   of  death  is  sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law;*  but  57 


ment  that  ^e  shall  rise  again  with  our  bodies. 
Unless  a  man  will  say  that  the  stalk,  the 
blade,  and  the  ear  of  corn,  are  actually  the 
same  thing  with  the  single  grain  which  is  put 
into  the  ground,  he  cannot  quote  St.  Paul  as 
saying  that  we  shall  rise  again  with  the  same 
bodies ;  or  at  least  he  must  allow  that  the 
future  body  may  only  be  like  to  the  present 
one,  inasmuch  as  both  come  under  the  same 
genus  ;  i.  e.  we  speak  of  human  bodies,  and  we 
speak  of  heavenly  bodies.  But  St.  Paul's 
words  do  not  warrant  us  in  saying  that  the 
resemblance  between  the  present  and  future 
body  will  be  greater  than  between  a  man  and 
a  star,  or  between  a  bird  and  a  fish.  Nothing 
can  be  plainer  than  the  expression  which  he 
uses  in  the  first  of  these  two  analogies,  Thou 
sowest  not  that  body  that  shall,  be  (xv.  37).  He 
says  also,  with  equal  plainness,  of  the  body, 
It  is  soum  a  natural  body ;  it  is  raised  a  spiritual 
body :  there  is  a  natural  body,  and  there  is  a 
spiritual  body  (ver.  44).  These  words  require 
to  be  examined  closely,  am^  involve  remotely 
a  deep  metaphysical  question.  In  common 
language,  the  terms  Body  and  Spirit  are  ac- 
customed to  be  opposed,  and  are  used  to 
represent  two  things  which  are  totally  distinct. 
But  St.  Paul  here  brings  the  two  expressions 
together,  and  speaks  of  a  spintual  body.  St. 
Paul,  therefore ,  did  not  oppose  Body  to  Spirit ; 
and  though  the  looseness  of  modern  language 
may  allow  us  to  do  so,  and  yet  to  be  correct  in 
our  ideas,  it  may  save  some  confusion  if  we 
consider  Spirit  as  opposed  to  Matter,  and  if 
we  take  Body  to  be  a  generic  term,  which  com- 
prises both.     A  body,  therefore,  in  the  language 


of  St.  Paul,  is  something  which  has  a  distinct 
individual  existence. 

"  St.  Paul  tells  us  that  every  individual, 
when  he  rises  again,  will  have  a  spiritual 
body:  but  the  remarks  which  I  have  made 
may  show  how  different  is  the  idea  conveyed 
by  these  words  from  the  notions  which  some 
persons  entertain,  that  we  shall  rise  again  with 
the  same  identical  body.  St.  Paul  appears  ef- 
fectually to  preclude  this  notion  when  he  says. 
Flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God"  (ver.  50).  —  Burton's  Lectures,  pp.  429- 
431. 

1  The  other  reading  (adopted  by  Lach- 
mann)  gives  the  opposite  assertion,  viz.  "  voe 
shall  all  sleep,  but  we  shall  not  all  be  changed."  It 
is  easy  to  understand  the  motive  which  might 
have  led  to  the  substitution  of  this  reading  for 
the  other ;  a  wish,  namely,  to  escape  the  infer- 
ence that  St.  Paul  expected  some  of  that  gen- 
eration to  survive  until  the  general  resurrec- 
tion. 

2  Is.  XXV.  8.  Not  quoted  from  the  LXX., 
but  apparently  from  the  Hebrew,  with  some 
alteration. 

*  Hosea  xiii.  14.  Quoted,  but  not  exactly, 
from  LXX.,  which  here  differs  from  the 
Hebrew. 

*  Why  is  the  law  called  "  the  strength  of 
sin  "  ?  Because  the  Law  of  Duty,  being  ac- 
knowledged, gives  to  sin  its  power  to  wound 
the  conscience  ;  in  fact,  a  moral  law  of  pre- 
cepts and  penalties  announces  the  fatal  conse- 
quences of  sin,  without  giving  us  any  power 
of  conquering  sin.     Compare  Rom.  vii.  7-11. 


458  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xv. 

thanks  be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory,  through  our  Lord  Jesus 

Christ. 

XV. 

58       Therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  immovable,  always 

abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord ;  knowing  that  your  labor  is  not  in 

.    vain,  in  the  Lord, 
xvi. 

1  Concerning  the  collection  for  the  saints  [at  Jerusalem]  I  Directions 

concerning 

would  have  you  do  as  I  have  enjoined  upon  the  churches  of  ^Jj'^t'j^g  jy'^^ 

2  Galatia.     Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  let  each  of  you  set  tiLm^"^' 
apart  whatever  his  gains  may  enable  him  to  spare ;  that  there  may  be 

3  no  collections  when  I  come.     And  when  I  am  with  you,  whomsoever 
you  shall  judge  to  be  fitted  for  the   trust  I  will  furnish  with   letters, 

4  and  send  them   to  carry  your  benevolence  to  Jerusalem  ;    or  if  there 
shall  seem  sufficient  reason  for  me  also  to  go  thither,  they  shall  „,  „   „  , 

°  7         ./  St.  Paul's  fiH 

5  go  with  me.     But  I  will  visit  you  after  I  have  passed  through  *"''«pi*°s- 

6  Macedonia  (for  through  Macedonia  I  shall  pass),  and  perhaps  I  shall 
remain  with  you,  or  even  winter  with  you,  that  you  may  forward  me  on 

7  my  farther  journey,  whithersoever  I  go.     For  I  do  not  wish  to  see  you 
now  for  a  passing  ^  visit ;  since  I  hope  to  stay  some  time  with  you,  if  the 

8  Lord  permit.     But  I  shall  remain  at  Ephesus  until  Pentecost,  for  a  door 

9  is  opened  to  me  both  great  and  effectual ;  and  there  are  many  adversaries, 

10  [against  whom  I  must  contend] .     If  Timotheus  come  to  you,   Timotheus. 
be  careful  to  give  him  no  cause  of  fear  ^  in  your  intercourse  with  him,  for 

11  he  is  laboring,  as  I  am,  in  the  Lord's  work.  Therefore,  let  no  man  de- 
spise him,  but  forward  him  on  his  way  in  peace,  that  he  may  come  hither 
to  me  ;  for  I  expect  him,  and  the  brethren  with  him. 

12  As  regards  tlie  brother  Apollo.s,  I  urged  him  much  to  visit  Apoiios. 
you  with  the  brethren,  [who   bear   this  letter]  ;  ^  nevertheless,  he  was 
resolved  not  to  come  to  you  at  this  time,  but  he  will  visit  you  at  a  more 
convenient  season. 

1  t.  e.  St.  Paul  had  altered  his  original  in-  and    x.  1-12).     He  explains  his  reason  for 

tention,  which  was  to  go  from  Ephesus  by  sea  postponing  his  visit  in  2  Cor.  i.  23.     It  was 

to  Corinth,  and  thence    to   Macedonia.     For  an  anxiety  to  give  the  Corinthians  time  for 

this  change  of  purpose  he  was  reproached  by  repentance,  that  he  might  not  bo  forced  to  use 

the  Judaizing  party  at   Corinth,  who  insin-  severity  with  them. 

uated  that  he  was  afraid  to  come,  and  that  he  ^  xhe  youth  of   Timotheus  acccrnts   for 

dared  not  support  the  loftiness  of  his'preten-  this  request.     Compare  1  Tim.  iv.  12. 
sions  by  corresponding  deeds  (see  2  Cor.  i.  17  *  See  notes,  pp.  403  and  460. 


FIRST  EPISTLE  TO   THE  CORINTHIANS, 


459 


Exhortatio'<8.       Bo   watcliful,  staiid   firm   in  faith,  be  manful  and  stout-   13 
lieartod.'     Let  all  you  do  be  done  in  love.  14 

Stephanas,  You  kuow,  brethren,  that  the  house  of  Stephanas  ^  were  the   15 

FortuiiJitus, 

and  Achaicp.3.   first-fruits  of  Achaia,  and  that  they  have  taken  on  themselves 
the  task  of  ministering  to  the  saints.     I  exhort  you,  therefore,  on  your   16 
part,  to  show  submission  towards  men  like  these,  and  towards  all  who 
work  laboriously  with  them.     I  rejoice  in  the  coming  of  Stephanas  and   17 
Fortunatus,  and  Achaicus,  because  they'  have  supplied  all  which  you 
needed  ;  for  they  have  lightened  my  spirit  and  yours.*     To  such  render  18 
due  acknowledgment. 

from  th"^"*         The  Churches  of  Asia  salute  you.    Aquila  and  Priscilla  send  19 
Asia!"*^^ "      their  loving  salutation  in  the  Lord,  together  with  the  Church 
which  assembles   at  their  house.     All  the   brethren   here   salute  you.   20 
Salute  one  another  with  the  kiss  of  holiness.' 
.  ,       ^         The  salutation  of  me,  Paul,  with  my  own  hand.     Let  him  21, 22 

Autograph  j  t  j  » 

one  usion.    ^^^^  lovcs  uot  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  accursed.     ^\jt  ^ortr 

The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you.     My  love  be  with  you  23,  J4 
all  in  Christ  Jesus.' 

In  the  concluding  part  of  this  letter  we  have  some  indication  of  the 
A-postle's  plans  for  the  future.  He  is  looking  forward  to  a  journey 
through  Macedonia  (xvi.  5),  to  be  succeeded  by  a  visit  to  Corinth  (ib. 
2-7),  and  after  this  he  thinks  it  probable  he  may  proceed  to  Jerusalem 
(ib.  3,  4).     Li  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  the  same  intentions  ^  are  ex- 


1  I.  e.  under  persecution. 

2  See  p.  349. 

3  Compare  2  Cor.  xi.  9,  and  Phil.  ii.  30. 
It  cnnnot  well  be  taken  objectively,  as  "  my 
want  of  you  ;  "  not  only  because  "  my  "  would 
have  been  added,  but  also  because  the  expres- 
sion is  used  in  eight  passages  by  St.  Paul, 
and  in  one  by  St.  Luke,  and  the  genitive  con- 
nected with  the  word  for  "  want "  is  subjec- 
tively used  in  seven  out  of  these  nine  cases 
without  question,  and  ought,  therefore,  also 
10  be  so  taken  in  the  remaining  two  cases, 
where  the  context  is  not  equally  decisive. 

■*  Viz.  by  supplying  the  means  of  our  inter- 
course. ^  See  note  on  1  Thess.  v.  25. 

"  Maran-Atha  means  "  The  Lord  cometh," 
and  is  used  nf)parent]y  by  St.  Paul  as  a  kind 
of  motto  :  compare  "  the  Lord  is  nigh  "  (Phil. 


iv.  5).  Billroth  thinks  that  he  wrote  it  in 
Hebrew  characters,  as  a  part  of  the  autograph 
by  which  he  authenticated  this  letter.  See 
the  Hebrew  and  Greek  together  at  the  end  of 
this  chapter.  Buxtorf  [Lex.  ChaJd.  827)  says 
it  was  part  of  a  Jewish  cursing  formula,  from 
the  "  Prophecy  of  Enoch  "  ( Jud.  14) ;  but  this 
view  appears  to  be  without  foundation.  In 
fiict,  it  would  have  been  most  inconuruous  to 
blend  together  a  Greek  word  (ANATHEMA) 
with  an  Aramaic  phrase  (MARAN  ATHA), 
and  to  use  the  compound  as  a  formula  of  exe- 
cration. This  was  not  done  till  (in  later  ages 
of  the  Church)  the  meaning  of  the  terms  them- 
selves was  lost. 

■^  The  "  Amen "  is  not  found  in  the  best 
MSS. 

"  The  important  application  made  in  the 


4:60  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xv. 

pressed,  with  a  stronger  purpose  of  going  to  Jerusalem  (xvi.  21),  and  with 
the  additional  conviction  that  after  passing  through  Macedonia  and 
Acbaia,  and  visiting  Palestine,  he  "  must  also  see  Rome  "  (ib.).  He  had 
won  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Asia  Minor  and  Eph^sus  to  the  faith : 
and  now,  after  the  prospect  of  completing  his  charitable  exertions  for  the 
poor  Christians  of  Judaea,  his  spirit  turns  towards  the  accomplishment 
of  remoter  conquests.  Far  from  being  content  with  liis  past  achieve- 
ments, or  resting  from  his  incessant  labors,  he  felt  that  he  was  under  a 
debt  of  perpetual  obligation  to  all  the  Gentile  world. ^  Thus  he  express- 
es himself,  soon  after  this  time,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Roman  Christians, 
whom  he  had  long  ago  desired  to  see  (Rom.  i.  10-15),  and  whom  he 
hopes  at  length  to  visit,  now  that  he  is  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  and  is 
looking  forward  to  a  still  more  distant  and  hazardous  journey  to  Spain 
(ib.  XV.  22-29).  The  path  thus  dimly  traced  before  him,  as  he 
thought  of  the  future  at  Ephesus,  and  made  more  clearly  visible,  when 
he  wrote  the  letter  at  Corinth,  was  made  still  more  evident  ^  as  he  pro- 
ceeded on  his  course.  Yet  not  without  forebodings  of  evil,'  and  much 
discouragement,*  and  mysterious  delays,^  did  the  Apostle  advance  on  his 
courageous  career.  But  we  are  anticipating  many  subjects  which  will 
give  a  touching  interest  to  subsequent  passages  of  this  history.  Im- 
portant events  still  detain  us  in  Ephesus.  Though  St.  Paul's  compan- 
ions ®  had  been  sent  before  in  the  direction  of  his  contemplated  journey 
(Acts  xix.  22),  he  still  resolved  to  stay  till  Pentecost  (1  Cor.  xvi.  8).  A 
"great  door"  was  open  to  him,  and  there  were  many  "  adversaries," 
against  whom  he  had  yet  to  contend. 

ANAOEMA     NriK  pO 

Anathema  Maran  -Atha} 

Horct  PauliruB  of  these  coincidences  between  a  note,  the  probability  that  Titus  was  one  of 

the  Acts  and  Corinthians,  and  again  of  those  those  who  went   to   Corinth  with   the   First 

referred  to  below  between  the  Acts  and  Ro-  Epistle.     See  1  Cor.  xvi.  11,  12;  2  Cor.  xii. 

mans,  need  only  be  alluded  to.  18.      We  find  that  this  is  the  view  of  Mac- 

1  "  I  am  a  debtor  both  to  Greeks  and  Bar-  knight.    TransL,  Sj-c,  of  the  Apost.  Epistles,  vol. 

barians."    Rom.  i.  14.  i.  p.  451.     If  this  view  is  correct,  it  is  in terest- 

'  By  the  vision  at  Jerusalem  (Acts  xxiii.  ing  to  observe  that  Titus   is  at   first  simply 

1 1 ),  and  on  board  the  ship  (xxvii.  23,  24).  spoken  of  as  "  a  brother," —but  that  gradually 

8  Compare  what  he  wrote  to  the  Romans  he  rises  into  note  with  the  faithful  discharge 

(Rom.  XV.  30,  31)  with  what  he  said  at  Mile-  of  responsible  duties.     He  becomes  eminently 

tus  (Acts  XX.  22,  23),  and  with  the  scene  at  conspicuous  in  the  circumstances  detailed  be- 

Ptolcmais  (ib.  xxi.  10-14).  low.  Ch.  XVII.,  and  in  the  end  he  shares  witli 

*  The  arrest  at  Jerusalem.  Timothy  the  honor  of  associating  his  name 
6  The  two-years'  imprisonment  at  Csesarea,  with  the  pastoral  Epistles  of  St.  Paul. 

and  the  shipwreck.  ''    See  note,  p.  459. 

*  See  p.  404.   We  have  mentioned  there,  in 


CHAPTER    XVL 

Descriptic*]  of  Ephesus.  —  Temple  of  Diana.  —  Her  Image  and  Worship.  —  Political  Constita* 
tion  ot  Ephesus.  —  The  Asiarchs.  —  Demetrius  and  the  Silversmiths.  —  Tumult  in  tha 
Theatre.  —  Speech  of  the  Town-Clerk.  —  St.  Paul's  Departure. 

THE  boundaries  of  the  province  of  Asia,^  and  the  position  of  its  chief 
city  Ephesus,'^  have  already  been  placed  before  the  reader.  It  is 
now  time  that  we  should  give  some  description  of  the  city  itself,  with  a 
notice  of  its  characteristic  religious  institutions,  and  its  political  arrange- 
ments under  the  Empire. 

No  cities  were  ever  more  favorably  placed  for  prosperity  and  growth 
than  those  of  the  colonial  Greeks  in  Asia  Minor.  They  had  the  advan- 
tage of  a  coast-line  full  of  convenient  harbors,  and  of  a  sea  which  was 
favorable  to  the  navigation  of  that  day  ;  and,  through  the  long  approaches 
formed  by  the  plains  of  the  great  western  rivers,  they  had  access  to  the 
inland  trade  of  the  East.  Two  of  these  rivers  have  been  more  than  once 
alluded  to,  —  the  Hermus  and  the  Maeander.'  The  valley  of  the  first 
was  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  ridge  of  Tmolus  ;  that  of  the  second 
was  bounded  on  the  north  by  Messogis.  In  the  interval  between  these 
two  mountain-ranges  was  the  shorter  course  of  the  river  Cayster.*  A  few 
miles  from  the  sea  a  narrow  gorge  is  formed  by  Mount  Pactyas  on  the 
south,  which  is  the  western  termination  of  Messogis,  and  by  the  preci- 
pices of  Gallesus  on  the  north,  the  pine-clad  summits '  of  which  are  more 
remotely  connected  witfi  the  heights  of  Tmolus.  This  gorge  separates 
the  Upper  "  Caystrian  meadows "  ^  from  a  small  alluvial  plain  '  by  the 

1  p.  205.  *  p.  410.  Steep  succeeded  steep,  as  we  advanced,  and 

'  See  above,  pp.  405,  410.        *  See  p.  410.  the  path  became  more  narrow,  slippery,  and 

^  "  Our  road  lay  at  the  foot  of  Gallesus,  uneven   •    .    •   the  kno\vn  sureness  of  foot  of 

beneath    precipices  of   a  stupendous  height,  our  horses  being  our  confidence  and  security 

abrupt    and    inaccessible.     In    the    rock    are  by  fearful  precipices  and  giddy  heights."  —  p. 

many  holes  inhabited  by  eagles;   of   which  103.    For  the  Cayster  and  the  site  of  Ephesus, 

several   were  soaring   high   in   the  air,   with  see  p.  107.      The   approach  from  Sardis,  by 

crows  clamoring  about  them,  so  far  above  us  which  St.  Paul  is  supposed  to  have  come  (see 

as  hardly  to  be  discernible."  —  Chandler,  p.  above,  p.  405^,  was  on  this  side:  and  part  of 

111.     Of  another  journey  he  says  :  "  We  rode  the  pavement  of  the  road  still  remains, 
among  the  roots  of  Gallesus,  or  the  Aleman,  ^  For  the  "  Asian  meadow,"  see  above,  p. 

through  pleasant  thickets  abounding  with  gold-  205. 

finches.     The  aerial  summits  of  this  immense  ''  The  plain  is  said  by  Mr.  Arundell  to  bo 

mountain  towered  above  us,  clad  with  pines.  about  five  miles  long ;   and  the  morass   has 

461 


462  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xyi. 

sea.  Partly  on  the  long  ridge  of  Goressus,  which  is  the  southern  boun- 
dary of  this  plain,  —  partly  on  the  detached  circular  eminence  of  Mount 
Prion,  —  and  partly  on  the  plain  itself,  near  the  windings  of  the  Cayster, 
and  about  the  edge  of  the  harbor,  —  were  the  buildings  of  the  city. 
Ephesus  was  not  so  distinguished  in  early  times  as  several  of  her  Ionian 
sisters ; '  and  some  of  them  outlived  her  glory.  But,  though  Phocaea 
and  Miletus  sent  out  more  colonies,  and  Smyrna  has  ever  remained  a 
flourishing  city,  yet  Ephesus  had  great  natural  advantages,  which  were 
duly  developed  in  the  age  of  which  we  are  writing.  Having  easy  access 
through  the  defiles  of  Mount  Tmolus  to  Sardis,  and  thence  up  the  valley 
of  the  Hermus  far  into  Phrygia,^  —  and  again,  by  a  similar  pass  through 
Messogis  to  the  Maeander,  being  connected  with  the  great  road  through 
Iconium  to  the  Euphrates,' — it  became  the  metropolis  of  the  province  of 
Asia  under  the  Romans,  and  the  chief  emporium  of  trade  on  the  nearer 
side  of  Taurus.  The  city  built  by  Androclus  and  his  Athenian  followers 
was  on  the  slope  of  Goressus  ;  but  gradually  it  descended  into  the  plain, 
in  the  direction  of  the  Temple  of  Diana.  The  Alexandrian  age  produced 
a  marked  alteration  in  Ephesus,  as  in  most  of  the  great  towns  in  the 
East ;  and  Lysimachus  extended  his  new  city  over  the  summit  of  Prion 
as  well  as  the  heights  of  Goressus.  The  Roman  age  saw,  doubtless,  a 
still  further  increase  both  of  the  size  and  magnificence  of  the  place.  To 
attempt  to  reconstruct  it  from  the  materials  whfch  remain  would  be 
a  difficult  task,*  —  far  more  difficult  than  in  the  case  of  Athens,  or  even 
Antioch ;  but  some  of  the  more  interesting  sites  are  easily  identified. 
Those  who  walk  over  the  desolate  site  of  the  Asiatic  metropolis  see  piles 
of  ruined  edifices  on  the  rocky  sides  and  among  the  thickets  of  Mount 
Prion :  ^  they  look  out  from  its  summit  over  the  confused  morass  wliicli 
once  was  the  harbor,^  where  Aquila  and  Priscilla  landed  ;  and  they  visit 

advanced  considerably  into  the  sea  since  the  Though  St.  Paul  may  never  have  seen  them, 

flourishing  times  of  Ephesus.  they  are  interesting  as   connected  with  Epa- 

1  The  Ephesian  Diana,  however,  was  the  phras  and  his  other  converts, 
patroness  of   the  I'hocean    navigators,   even  *  A  plan  of  the  entire  city,  with  a  descrip- 

when  the  city  of  E])hesxis  was  unimportant.  tive  memoir,  has  been  prej)ared  by  E.  Falkener, 

'^  In  this  direction  we  imagine  St.  Paul  to  Esq.,  architect,  but  remains  uapublished. 
have  travelled.     See  above,  p.  405.  ^  Hamilton's  Researches  ■  in  Asia  Minor,  p. 

^  We  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  men-  23.     Compare  Chandler, 
tion  this  great  road.     See  pp.  231-234,  405.  ^  "Even  the  sea  has  retired  from  the  scene 

It  was  the  principal  line  of  communication  of  desolation,  and  a  pestilential  morass,  cov- 

with  the  eastern  provinces ;  but  we  have  con-  ered  with  mud  and  rushes,  has  succeeded  to 

jectured  that  St.  Paul  did  not  travel  by  it,  the  waters  which  brought  up  the  ships  laden 

because  it  seems  probable  that  he  never  was  with  merchandise  from  every  country." — Arun- 

at  Colossse.     Sec  p.  405.     A  description  of  the  dell's   Seven    Churches,  p.  27.     Another  occa- 

route  by  Colossae  and  Laodicea  will  be  found  sion   will  occur  for  mentioning   the   harbor, 

in  Arundell's  Asia  Minor.     The  view  he  gives  which  was  very  indifferent.     Some   atiemj)t«i 

of   the  cliflfe  of   Colossae   should   be   noticed.  to  improve  it  were  made  about  this  time 


CHAP.  XVI. 


EPHESUS. 


463 


in  its  deep  recesses  the  dripping  marble-quarries,  where  the  marks  of  the 
tools  are  visible  still. ^  On  the  outer  edge  of  the  same  hill  they  trace  the 
enclosure  of  the  Stadium,'^  which  may  have  suggested  to  St.  Paul  many 
of  those  images  with  which  he  enforces  Christian  duty,  in  the  first  letter 
written  from  Ephesus  to  Corinth.'  Farther  on,  and  nearer  Coressus,  the 
remains  of  the  vast  Theatre  *  (the  outline  of  the  enclosure  is  still  dis- 
tinct, though  the  marble  seats  are  removed)  show  the  place  where  the 
multitude,  roused  by  Demetrius,  shouted  out,  for  two  hours,  in  honor  of 
Diana.^  Below  is  the  Agora,^  through  which  the  mob  rushed  up  to  the 
well-known  place  of  meeting.  And  in  the  valley  between  Prion  and 
Coressus  is  one  of  the  Gymnasia,'  where  the  athletes  were  trained  for 
transient  honors  and  a  perishable  garland.  Surrounding  and  crowning 
the  scene  are  the  long  Hellenic  walls  of  Lysimachus,  following  the  ridge 
of  Coressus.*  On  a  spur  of  the  hill,  they  descend  to  an  ancient  tower, 
which  is  still  called  the  Prison  of  St.  Paul.^  The  name  is  doubtless 
legendary :  but  St.  Paul  may  have  stood  here,  and  looked  over  the  city 
and  the  plain,  and  seen  the  Cayster  winding  towards  him  from  the  base 
of  Gallesus.^"     Within  his  view  was  another  eminence,  detached  from  the 


1  Chandler.  A  curious  story  is  told  of  the 
discovery  of  this  marble.  A  shepherd  named 
Pixbdorus  was  feeding  his  flock  on  the  hill : 
two  of  his  rams  fighting,  oire  of  them  missed 
his  antagonist,  and  with  his  horn  broke  a 
crust  of  the  whitest  marble.  The  Ephesians 
were  at  this  time  in  search  of  stone  for  the 
building  of  their  temple.  <  The  shepherd  ran 
to  his  fellow-citizens  with  the  specimen,  and 
was  received  with  jo}'.  His  name  was  changed 
into  Evangelus  (giver  of  glad-tidings),  and 
divine  honors  were  afterwards  paid  to  him. 

2  See  Chandler,  who  measured  the  area, 
and  found  it  687  feet  in  length.  The  side 
next  the  plain  is  raised  on  vaults,  and  faced 
with  a  strong  wall. 

^  1  Cor.  ix.  24-27. 

*  "  Of  the  site  of  the  theatre,  the  scene  of 
the  tumult  raised  by  Demetrius,  there  can  be 
no  doubt,  its  ruins  being  a  wreck  of  immense 
grandeur.  I  think  it  must  have  been  larger 
than  the  one  at  Miletus,  and  that  exceeds  any 
I  have  elsewhere  seen  in  scale,  although  not  in 
ornament.  Its  form  alone  can  now  be  spoken 
of,  for  every  seat  is  removed,  and  the  prosce- 
nium is  a  hill  of  ruins." — Fellows's  Asia 
Minor,  p.  274.  The  Theatre  of  Ephesus  is 
said  to  be  the  largest  known  of  any  that  have 
remained  to  us  from  antiquity. 

^  Acts  xix.     The  second  edition  contains  a 


view  (from  Laborde),  combining  the  steps  of 
the  theatre  with  a  general  prospect  towards  the 
sea.  See  also  the  art.  Epiiesus  in  the  Diet,  of 
the  Bible. 

^  The  Agora,  with  its  public  buildings, 
would  naturally  be  between  the  hill-side  on 
which  the  theatre  and  stadium  stood,  and  the 
harbor.  For  the  general  notion  of  a  Greek 
Agora,  see  the  description  of  Athens. 

"  See  an  engraving  of  these  ruins  in  the 
second  volume  of  Ionian  Antiquities,  published 
by  the  Dilettanti  Society. 

^  "  An  interesting  feature  in  these  ruins  is 
the  Hellenic  wall  of  Lysimachus,  ranging 
along  the  heights  of  Coressus.  It  extends  for 
nearly  a  mile  and  three-quarters,  in  a  S.  E. 
and  N.  W.  direction,  from  the  heights  imme- 
diately to  the  S.  of  the  gymnasium  to  the 
tower  called  the  Prison  of  St.  Paul,  but  which 
is  in  fact  one  of  the  towers  of  the  ancient  wall. 
...  It  is  defended  and  strengthened  by  nu- 
merous square  towers  of  the  same  character  at 
unequal  distances."  —  Hamilton's  Researches, 
vol.  ii.  p.  26.  An  engraving  of  one  of  the 
gateways  is  given,  p.  27. 

3  Hamilton,  as  above. 

I'j  «  This  eminence  (a  root  of  Coressus  run- 
ning out  towards  the  plain)  commands  a  lovely 
prospect  of  the  river  Cayster,  vrhich  there 
crosses  the  plain  from  near  Gallesus,  with  a 


464  THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  itl 

city  of  that  day,  but  which  became  the  Mohammedan  town  when  ancient 
Ephesus  was  destroyed,  and  nevertheless  preserves  in  its  name  a  record 
of  another  Apostle,  the  "  disciple  "  St.  John.^ 

But  one  building  at  Ephesus  surpassed  all  the  rest  in  magnificence  and 
in  fame.  This  was  the  Temple  of  Artemis  or  Diana,  which  glittered  in 
brilliant  beauty  at  the  head  of  the  harbor,  and  was  reckoned  by  the  an- 
cients as  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world.  The  sun,  it  was  said,  saw 
nothing  in  his  course  more  magnificent  than  Diana's  Temple.  Its  honor 
dated  from  a  remote  antiquity.  Leaving  out  of  consideration  the  earliest 
temple,  which  was  contemporaneous  with  the  Athenian  colony  under 
Androclus,  or  even  yet  more  ancient,  we  find  the  great  edifice,  which 
was  anterior  to  the  Macedonian  period,  begun  and  continued  in  the 
midst  of  the  attention  and  admiration  both  of  Greeks  and  Asiatics.  The 
foundations  were  carefully  laid,  with  immense  substructions,  in  the 
marshy  ground.^  Architects  of  the  highest  distinction  were  employed.' 
The  quarries  of  Mount  Prion  supplied  the  marble.*  All  the  Greek 
cities  of  Asia  contributed  to  the  structure ;  and  Croesus,  the  king  of 
Lydia,  himself  lent  his  aid.  The  work  thus  begun  before  the  Persian 
war  was  slowly  continued  even  through  the  Peloponnesian  war  ;  and  its 
dedication  was  celebrated  by  a  poet  contemporary  with  Euripides.'  But 
the  building,  which  had  been  thus  rising  through  the  space  of  many 
years,  was  not  destined  to  remain  long  in  the  beauty  of  its  perfection. 
The  fanatic  Herostratus  set  fire  to  it  on  the  same  night  in  which  Alex- 
ander was  born.  This  is  one  of  the  coincidences  of  history,  on  which 
the  ancient  world  was  fond  of  dwelling :  and  it  enables  us,  with  more 
distinctness,  to  pursue  the  annals  of  "  Diana  of  the  Ephesians."  The 
temple  was  rebuilt  with  new  and  more  sumptuous  magnificence.  The 
ladies  of  Ephesus  contributed  their  jewelry  to  the  expense  of  the  resto- 
ration. The  national  pride  in  the  sanctuary  was  so  great,  that,  when 
Alexander  ofiered  the  spoils  of  his  eastern  campaign  if  he  might  inscribe 
his  name  on  the  building,  the  honor  was  declined.  The  Ephesians 
never  ceased  to  embellish  the  shrine  of  their  goddess,  continually  adding 
new  decorations  and  subsidiary  buildings,  with  statues  and  pictures  by 
the  most  famous  artists.  Tliis  was  the  temple  that  kindled  the  enthusi- 
asm of  St.  Paul's  opponents  (Acts  xix.),  and  was  still  the  rallying-point 

small  but  full  stream,  and  with  many  luxuri-  '  The  first    architect  was   Theodorus    of 

ant  meanders."  —  Chandler.  Samos.     He  was  succeeded  by  Chersiphon  of 

1  Ayasaluk,   which  is  a  round    hill    like  Gnossus,  then  by  his  son  Metagenes.    The 

Prion,  but  smaller.     Its  name  is  said  to  be  a  building  was  completed  by   Demetrius    and 

corruption  of   6  oytof   QeoXoyog,   "  the    holy  Pseonius. 

Theologian."     Sup.  89.  *  See  above. 

'^  Pliny  says  that  it  was   built  in  marshy  *  Timothens. 
ground,  lest  it  should   be  injured  by  earth- 
quakes. 


CHAP.  XVI.  TEMPLE  OF  DIANA.  465 

of  Heathenism  in  the  days  of  St.  John  and  Polycarp.  In  the  second 
century  we  read  that  it  was  united  to  the  city  hy  a  long  colonnade.  But 
soon  afterwards  it  was  plundered  and  laid  waste  hy  the  Goths,  who  came 
from  beyond  the  Danube  in  the  reign  of  Gallienus.^  It  sank  entirely 
into  decay  in  the  age  when  Christianity  was  overspreading  the  Empire  ; 
aiid  its  remains  are  to  be  sought  for  in  mediaeval  buildings,  in  the  col- 
umns of  green  jasper  which  support  the  dome  of  St.  Sophia,  or  even  in 
the  naves  of  Italian  cathedrals.^ 

Thus  the  Temple  of  Diana  of  Ephesus  saw  all  the  changes  of  Asia 
Minor,  from  Croesus  to  Constantino.  Though  nothing  now  remains  on  the 
spot  to  show  us  wliat  or  even  where  it  was,  there  is  enough  in  its  written 
memorials  to  give  us  some  notion  of  its  appearance  and  splendor.  The 
reader  will  bear  in  mind  the  characteristic  style  which  was  assumed  by 
Greek  architecture,  and  which  has  suggested  many  of  the  images  of  the 
New  Testament.^  It  was  quite  dififerent  from  the  lofty  and  ascending 
form  of  those  buildings  which  have  since  arisen  in  all  parts  of  Christian 
Europe,  and  essentially  consisted  in  horizontal  entablatures  resting  on 
vertical  columns.  In  another  respect,  also,  the  temples  of  the  ancients 
may  be  contrasted  with  our  churches  and  cathedrals.  They  were  not 
roofed  over  for  the  reception  of  a  large  company  of  worshippers,  but 
were  in  fact  colonnades*  erected  as  subsidiary  decorations  round  the  cell 
which  contained  the  idol,  and  were,  through  a  great  part  of  their  space, 
open  to  the  sky.  The  colonnades  of  the  Ephesian  Diana  really  consti- 
tuted an  epoch  in  the  history  of  Art,  for  in  them  was  first  matured  that 
graceful  Ionic  style,  the  feminine  beauty  of  which  was  more  suited  to  the 
genius  of  the  Asiatic  Greek,  than  the  sterner  and  plainer  Doric,  in 
which  the  Parthenon  and  Propylaea  of  Athens  were  built.  The  scale  on 
which  the  Temple  was  erected  was  magnificently  extensive.  It  was  425 
feet  in  length  and  220  in  breadth,  and  the  columns  were  60  feet  high. 
The  number  of  columns  was  127,  each  of  them  the  gift  of  a  king  ;  and 
36  of  them  were  enriched  with  ornament  and  color.  The  folding-doors 
were  of  cyprus-wood  ;  the  part  which  was  not  open  to  the  sky  was  roofed 
over  with  cedar ;  and  the  staircase  was  formed  of  the  wood  of  one  single 
vine  from  the  island  of  Cyprus.  The  value  and  fame  of  the  Temple 
were  enhanced  by  its  being  the  treasury  where  a  large  portion  of  the 
wealth  of  Western  Asia  was  stored  up.*    It  is  probable  that  there  was  no 

^  Arundell's  Seven  Churches,  p.  46.  court  of  St.  Ambrogio  at  Milan,  which  ia  a 

2  Ibid.  p.  47.  colonnade  west  of  the  Church,  itself  enclosing 

^  See,  for  instance,  Gal.  ii.  9,  Rev.  iii.  12,  a  large  oblong  space  not  roofed  over. 

•Iso  1  Tim.  iii.  15;  comparing  what  has  been  ^  A  German  writer  says  that  the  temple  of 

■aid  above,  p.  195.  the  Ephesian  Diana  was  what  the   Bank   of 

*  A  friend  suggests  one  parallel  in  Chris-  England  is  in  the  modem  world, 
tian  architecture,  viz.  the  Atrium,  or  western 
30 


466  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  x\i 

religious  building  in  the  world  in  whicli  was  concentrated  a  greater 
amount  of  admiration,  enthusiasm,  and  superstition. 

If  the  Temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus  was  magnificent,  the  image  enshrined 
within  the  sumptuous  enclosure  was  primitive  and  rude.  We  usually  con- 
ceive of  this  goddess,  when  represented  in  art,  as  the  tall  huntress,  eager 
in  pursuit,  like  the  statue  in  the  Louvre.  Such  was  not  the  form  of  the 
Ephesian  Diana,  though  she  was  identified  by  the  Greeks  with  their  own 
mountain-goddess,  whose  figure  we  often  see  represented  on  the  coins  of 
this  city.^  "What  amount  of  fusion  took  place,  in  the  case  of  this  worship, 
between  Greek  and  Oriental  notions,  we  need  not  inquire.  The  image 
may  have  been  intended  to  represent  Diana  in  one  of  her  customary 
characters,  as  the  deity  of  fountains  ;2  but  it  reminds  us  rather  of  the 
idols  of  the  far  East,  and  of  the  religions  which  love  to  represent  the 
life  of  all  animated  beings  as  fed  and  supported  by  the  many  breasts  of 
nature.'  The  figure  which  assumed  this  emblematic  form  above  was 
terminated  below  in  a  shapeless  block.  The  material  was  wood.  A  bar 
of  metal  was  in  each  hand.  The  dress  was  covered  with  mystic  devices, 
and  the  small  shrine,  where  it  stood  within  the  temple,  was  concealed  by 
a  curtain  in  front.  Yet,  rude  as  the  image  was,  it  was  the  object  of  the 
utmost  veneration.  Like  the  Palladium  of  Troy  —  like  the  most  ancient 
Minerva  of  the  Athenian  Acropolis,*  —  like  the  Paphian  Yenus*  or 
Cybele  of  Pessinus,®  to  which  allusion  has  been  made,  —  like  the  Ceres 
in  Sicily  mentioned  by  Cicero/ — it  was  believed  to  have  "fallen  down 
from  the  sky"  (Acts  xix.  35).  Thus  it  was  the  object  of  the  greater 
veneration  from  the  contrast  of  its  primitive  simplicity  with  the  mod- 
ern and  earthly  splendor  which  surrounded  it ;  and  it  was  the  model 
on  which  the  images  of  Diana  were  formed  for  worship  in  other 
cities. 

One  of  the  idolatrous  customs  of  the  ancient  world  was  the  use  of 
portable  images  or  shrines,  which  were  little  models  of  the  more  cele- 
brated objects  of  devotion.    They  were  carried  in  processions,  on  journeys 

1  Hence  she  is  frequently  represented  as  coin  at  the  end  of  Ch.  XIV.  gives  a  general 

the  Greek  Diana  on  coins  of  Ephesus.     Some  notion  of  the  form  of  the  image, 

of  these  are  given  in  the  larger  editions.  *  See  above  m  the  description  of  Athens, 

"^  This  is  the  opinion  of  Guhl,  whose  elab-  p.  309. 

orate  work  on  ancient  Ephesus  is  referred  to  ^  See  the  description  of  Paphos  above,  p. 

several  times  in  the  larger  editions.  140. 

3  The  form  of  the  image  is  described  by  ®  See  Herodian,  as  referred   to  above,   p. 

Jerome  :   "  Scribcbat  Paulus  ad  Ephesios  Dia-  235. 

nam    colentes,    non    banc    venatriccm,    quae  7  Cic.  in  Terr.  v.  187.     To  this  list  we  may 

arcura   tenet  atque  succincta  est,   sed    ilUm  add,  without  any  misrepresentation,  the  house 

vmltimammiam,   quam   Graeci   no^v/mcrnjv  vo-  of  our  Lady  of  Loretto.     See   the  Quarterly 

Qixnt."  —  Prooem.  ad  Eph.    Representations  in  Review  for  September,  1853,  and   the    Chris 

ancient    sculpture    are   very   frequent.      The  tian  Remembrancer  for  April,  1855. 


CHAP.  XVI.  WOKSHIP  OF  DIAXA.  467 

and  military  expeditions,^  and  sometimes  set  up  as  household  gods  in 
private  dwellings.  Pliny  says  that  this  was  the  case  with  the  Temple  of 
the  Cnidian  Venus ;  and  other  Heathen  writers  make  allusion  to  the 
"  shrines  "  of  the  E])hesian  Diana,  which  are  mentioned  in  the  Acts  (xix. 
21).  The  material  might  be  wood,  or  gold,  or  "silver."  The  latter 
material  was  that  which  employed  the  hands  of  the  workmen  of  Demetrius. 
From  the  expressions  used  by  St.  Luke,  it  is  evident  that  an  extensive  and 
lucrative  trade  grew  up  at  Ephesus,  from  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
these  shrines.  Few  of  those  who  came  to  Ephesus  would  willingly  go  away 
without  a  memorial  of  the  goddess,  and  a  model  of  her  temple ;  ^  and, 
from  the  wide  circulation  of  these  works  of  art  over  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean,  and  far  into  the  interior,  it  might  be  said,  with  little 
exaggeration,  that  her  worship  was  recognized  by  the  "  whole  world"' 
(Acts  xix.  27). 

The  ceremonies  of  the  actual  worship  at  Ephesus  were  conducted  by 
the  members  of  a  twofold  hierarchy.  And  here  again  we  see  the  traces 
of  Oriental  rather  than  Greek  influences.  The  Megabyzi,  the  priests 
of  Diana,  were  eunuchs  from  the  interior,  under  one  at  their  head,  who 
bore  the  title  of  high  priest,  and  ranked  among  the  leading  and  most 
influential  personages  of  the  city.  Along  with  these  priests  were  asso- 
ciated a  swarm  of  virgin  priestesses,  consecrated,  under  the  name  of 
Melissoe,  to  the  service  *  of  the  deity,  and  divided  into  three  classes,  and 
serving,  like  the  priests,  under  one  head.  And  with  the  priests  and 
priestesses  would  be  associated  (as  in  all  the  great  temples  of  antiquity) 
a  great  number  of  slaves,  who  attended  to  the  various  duties  connected 
with  the  worship,  down  to  the  care  of  sweeping  and  cleaning  the  Temple. 
This  last  phrase  leads  us  to  notice  an  expression  used  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  concerning  the  connection  of  Ephesus  with  the  Temple  of 
Diana.  The  term  "  iVgocoros,"  ov  ^'-  Temple-sweeper^''  (vewxoQog,  xix.  35), 
originally  an  expression  of  humility,  and  applied  to  the  lowest  menials 
engaged  in  the  care  of  the  sacred  edifice,'  became  afterwards  a  title  of 
the  highest  honor,  and  was  eagerly  appropriated  by  the  most  famous 

1  AVe  may  compare  Cicero's  words  of  the  Inscriptions   might   be  quoted   to    the    same 

Roman  legionary  eagle,  Cat.  i.  9.  effect. 

'■^  We  cannot  be  sure,  in  this  case,  whether  *  These  priestesses  belonged  to  the  class  of 

by  the  word  used   here  is   meant   the  whole  "  sacred  slaves."     This  class  of  devotees  was 

temple,  or  the  small  shrine  which  contained  common  in  the  great  temples  of  the  Greeks, 

the  image.     Perhaps  its   form  is  that  repre-  Different  opinions  have  been  expressed  on  the 

seated  on  the  first  coin  engraved  in  Mr.  Aker-  character  of  those  at  Ephesus  :  but,  knowing 

roan's  paper  in  the  Numismatic  Chronicle.  what  we  do  of  Heathenism,  it  is  difficult  to 

^  We  find    the    image    of   the    Ephesian  have  a  favorable  view  of  them. 
Diana  on  the  coins  of   a  great  number  of  °  The  term  properly  denotes  "  sweeper  of 

other  cities   and   communities,  e.  g.  Hierapo-  the  temple,"  and  is  nearly  synonymous  with  th« 

lis,  Mytilene,  Perga,  Samos,   Marseilles,   &c.  Latin  "  sedituus,"  or  the  French  "  sa.-jristan.*' 


468  THE  LIFE  ANJD   EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUIi.  chai'.  xvi. 

cities.'  This  was  the  case  with  Ephesus  in  reference  to  her  national 
goddess.  The  city  was  personified  as  Diana's  devotee.  Tlie  title  "iVeo- 
coros  "  was  boastfully  exhibited  on  the  current  coins.^  Even  the  free 
people  of  Ephesus  were  sometimes  named  "  Neocoros.''^  ^  Thus,  the  town- 
clerk  could  with  good  reason  begin  his  speech  by  the  question,  —  "  What 
man  is  there  that  knows  not  that  the  city  of  the  Ephesians  is  neocoros 
of  the  great  goddess  Diana,  and  of  the  image  which  came  down  from 
heaven  ? " 

The  Temple  and  the  Temple-services  remained  under  the  Romans  as 
they  had  been  since  the  period  of  Alexander.  If  any  change  had  taken 
place,  greater  honor  was  paid  to  the  goddess,  and  richer  magnificence 
added  to  her  sanctuary,  in  proportion  to  the  wider  extent  to  wliich  her 
fame  had  been  spread.  Asia  was  always  a  favored  province,*  and  Ephe- 
sus must  be  classed  among  those  cities  of  the  Greeks,  to  wliich  the 
conquerors  were  willing  to  pay  distinguished  respect.''  Her  liberties  and 
her  municipal  constitution  were  left  untouched,  when  the  province  was 
governed  by  an  officer  from  Rome.  To  the  general  remarks  which  have 
been  made  before  in  reference  to  Thessalonica,®  concerning  the  position 
of  free  or  autonomous  cities  under  the  Empire,  something  more  may  be 
added  here,  inasmuch  as  certain  political  characters  of  Ephesus  appear 
on  tlio  scene  which  is  described  in  tlie  sacred  narrative. 

We  have  said,  in  the  passage  above  alluded  to,  that  free  cities  under 
the  Empire  had  frequently  their  senate  and  assembly.  There  is  abun- 
dant proof  that  this  was  the  case  at  Ephesus.  Its  old  constitution  was 
democratic,  as  we  should  expect  in  a  city  of  the  lonians,  and  as  we  are 
distinctly  told  by  Xenophon :  and  this  constitution  continued  to  subsist 
under  the  Romans.  The  senate,  of  which  Josephus  speaks,^  still  met  in 
the  Senate-house,  which  is  noticed  by  another  writer,*  and  the  position  of 
which  was  probably  in  the  Agora  below  the  Theatre.'    We  have  still 

1  Primarily  the  term  was  applicable  to  per-  which  is  mentioned  below,  p.  471,  n.  2.    There 

sons,  but  afterwards  it  was  applied  to  communi-  the  Town-Clerk  is  called  Munatius,  and  he  is 

ties,  and  more  especially  in  the  Roman  period.  also  Asiarch.     It  is  worth  while   to  observe 

A  city  might  be  Neocoros  with  respect  to  several  that  these  are  all  Roman  names, 
divinities,  and  frequently  the  title  had  regard  *  The  circumstances  under  which  this  prov- 

to  the  defiled  emperor.  ince  came  under  the  Roman  power  were  such 

^  See,  for  instance,  that  engraved  at  the  as  to  provoke  no  hostility.     See  pp.  206,  207. 
end  of  this  chapter.     A  great  number  of  these  '  See  p.  288. 

coins  are  described  in  Mr.  Akerman's  paper,  ^  See  pp.  288-291,  and  compare  p.  253. 

in  theiVum.  Chr.  ''  Ant.   xiv.   10,  12,  also  2,  5,  and  xvi.  6, 

^  On  the  opposite  page  an   inscription   is  4,  7. 
(^ven  containing  the  words  Neocoros,  Proconsul,  '  Ach.  Tat.  viii. 

and  Town-Clerk.     The  Proconsul  is  Peduciua  '  See  the  allusion  to  the  Agora  above,  p. 

Priscinus,  the  Town-Clerk  is  Tiberius  Clau-  463. 
•iius  Italicus.     The  other  inscription  is   that 


CHAP.  XVI.  GOVERNMENT   OF   EPllESUS.  4G9 

more  frequent  notices  of  the  demus  or  people,  and  its  assembly}  Where- 
ever  its  customary  place  of  meeting  might  be  when  legally  and  regularly 
convoked  (^Iwof^ci)  t-AxXriaia,  Acts  xix.  39),  the  theatre'^  would  be  an  obvious 
place  of  meeting,  in  the  case  of  a  tumultuary  gathering,  like  that  which 
will  presently  be  brought  before  our  notice.  ' 

Again,  like  other  free  cities,  Ephesus  had  its  magistrates,  as  Thessa- 
lonica  had  its  politarchs  (pp.  289  and  290),  and  Athens  its  archons. 
Among  those  which  our  sources  of  information  bring  before  us  aro 
several  with  the  same  titles  and  functions  as  in  Athens.'  One  of  these 
was  that  officer  who  is  described  as  "  town-clerk "  in  the  authorized 
version  of  the  Bible  (j'QafifiazEvg,  Acts  xix.  35).  Witliout  being  able  to 
determine  his  exact  duties,  or  to  decide  whether  another  term,  such  as 
"  Chancellor,"  or  "  Recorder,"  would  better  describe  them  to  us,*  we  may 
assert,  from  the  parallel  case  of  Athens,*^  and  from  the  Ephesian  records 
themselves,  that  he  was  a  magistrate  of  great  authority,  in  a  high  and 
very  public  position.  He  had  to  do  with  state-papers ;  he  was  keeper  of 
the  archives ;  he  read  what  was  of  public  moment  before  the  senate  and 
assembly ;  he  was  present  when  money  was  deposited  in  the  Temple  : 
and  when  letters  were  sent  to  the  people  of  Ephesus,  they  were  officially 
addressed  to  him.  Thus,  we  can  readily  account  for  his  name  appearing 
so  often  on  the  coins "  of  Ephesus.  He  seems  sometimes  to  have  given 
the  name  to  the  year,  like  the  archons  at  Athens,  or  the  consuls  at  Rome. 
Hence  no  magistrate  was  more  before  the  public  at  Ephesus.  His  very 
aspect  was  familiar  to  all  the  citizens ;  and  no  one  was  so  likely  to  be 
able  to  calm  and  disperse  an  angry  and  excited  multitude.  (See  Acts 
xix.  35-41.) 

If  we  turn  now  from  the  city  to  the  province  of  which  it  was  the 
metropolis,  we  are  under  no  perplexity  as  to  its  relation  to  the  imperial 
government.  From  coins  and  from  inscriptions,'  from  secular  writers 
and  Scripture  itself  (Acts  xix.  38),  we  learn  that  Asia  was  a,  proconsular 
province.^  We  shall  not  stay  to  consider  the  question  which  has  been 
raised  concerning  the  usage  of  the  plural  in  this  passage  of  the  Acts ;  for 


1  In  Josephus  xiv.,  xvi.  (as  above),  the  sen-  *  In  Luther's  Bible  the  term  "  Canzler"  is 

ate  and  assembly  are  combined.      We  find  ased. 

drifiog    in    inscriptions,    and    on    coins,    also  ^  There  were  several  ypa/ifiarelc  at  Athens 

iKKlriaia.      The  senate  is   sometimes    ^ov"^,  Some  of  them  were  state-officers  of  high  im 

sometimes  yepovaia.  poriance. 

-  For  illustrations  of   the  habit  of  Greek  «  The  first  coin  described  in  Mr.  Akermau's 

assemblies  to  meet  in  theatres,  we  may  refer  to  paper  exhibits  to  us  the  same  man  as  upxiep,vi 

what  Tacitus  says  of  Vespasian  at  Antioch,  and  -ypa/ifiarevg. 
Hist.  ii.  80 ;  also  to  Joseph.  Wars,  vii.  3.  f  See,  for  instance,  the  coin  p.  477,  and  the 

*  For  instance,  besides  the  archons,  strategi,  inscription  opposite, 
gymnasiarchs,  &c.  «  See  a  previous  account  of  this  province. 


470  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xtj. 

it  is  not  necossarily  implied  that  more  tbau  one  proconsul  was  in  Ephesus 
at  tliC  time.^  But  anotlier  subject  connected  with  the  provincial  arrange- 
ments requires  a  few  words  of  explanation.  The  Roman  citizens  in  a 
province  were,  in  all  legal  matters,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  procon- 
sul ;  and  for  the  •convenient  administration  of  justice,  the  whole  country 
was  divided  into  districts,  each  of  which  had  its  own  assize  town  (/orwm 
or  conventus)?  The  proconsul,  at  stated  seasons,  made  a  circuit  through 
these  districts,  attended  by  bis  interpreter  (for  all  legal  business  in  the 
Empire  was  conducted  in  Latin),'  and  those  who  had  subjects  of  litigation, 
or  other  cases  requiring  the  observance  6f  legal  forms,  brought  them 
before  him  or  the  judges  whom  he  might  appoint.  Tlius  Pliny,  after  tlie 
true  Roman  spirit,  in  his  geographical  description  of  the  Empire,  is 
always  in  the  habit  of  mentioning  the  assize-towns,  and  the  extent  of  the 
shires  which  surrounded  them.  In  the  province  of  Asia  he  takes  especial 
notice  of  Sardis,  Sn^yrna,  and  Ephesus,  and  enumerates  the  various 
towns  which  brought  their  causes  to  be  tried  at  these  cities.  The  official, 
visit  of  the  proconsul  to  Ephesus  was  necessarily  among  the  most  impor- 
tant ;  and  the  town-clerk,  in  referring  to  the  presence  of  the  proconsuls, 
could  remind  his  fellow-citizens  in  the  same  breath  that  it  was  the  very 
time  of  the  assizes  (^dyoQaloi  ayovrai,  Acts  xix.  38)  .* 

We  have  no  information  as  to  the  time  of  the  year^  at  which  the 
Ephesian  assizes  were  held.  If  the  meeting  took  place  in  spring,  they 
might  then  be  coincident  with  the  great  gathering  which  took  place  at 
the  celebration  of  the  national  games.  It  seems  that  the  ancient  festival 
of  the  United  lonians  had  merged  into  that  which  was  held  in  honor  of 
the  Ephesian  Diana.®    The  whole  montli  of  May  was  consecrated  to  the 

J  "  There  are  deputies  (proconsuls)."  It  is  assume  that  the  assizes  were  taking  place  at 
enough  to  suppose  that  we  have  here  simply  this  particular  time.  See  the  note  of  Gabon 
the  generic  plural,  as  in  Matt.  ii.  20.  In  the  Wordsworth,  who  gives  the  substance  of  the 
Syriac  version  the  word  is  in  the  singular.  whole  passage  thus  :  "  Assize-days  or  court- 
Some  suppose  that  this  was  the  time  when  the  days  come  round,  and  Proconsuls  attend,  be- 
proconsulship  was  (so  to  speak)  in  commission  fore  whom  the  cause  may  be  tried."  The 
under  Celer  and  ^lius,  as  mentioned  by  Taci-  phrase  uyopaiovg  [ijfitpagl  uyeiv  is  equivalent  to 
tus  (Attn.  xiii.  1).  A  more  probable  conjee-  Csesar'a  conventus  agere,  and  Cicero's  forum 
tnre  is  that  some  of  the  governors  of  the  agere.  We  find  the  same  Greek  phrase  in  Strabo. 
neighboring  provinces,  such  as  Achaia,  Gilicia,  ^  We  find  Gaesar  in  Gaul  holding  the  con- 
Cyprus,  Bithynia,  Pamphylia,  might  be  pres-  ventus  in  winter ;  but  this  was  probably  be- 
ent  at  the  public  games.  The  governors  of  cause  he  was  occupied  with  military  proceed- 
neighboring  provinces  were  in  frequent  com-  ings  in  the  summer,  and  need  not  be  regarde«l 
munication  with  each  other.     See  p.  423.  as  a  precedent  for  other  provinces. 

2  Conventus  was  used  both  for  the   assize-  •*  What  the  festival   of  Delos  was  for  th«) 

town  and  the  district  to  which  its  jurisdiction  islands,   the  Panionian  festival  was  for    the 

extended.     It  was  also   used   to  denote   the  mainland.     But  Ephesus  seems  ultimately  to 

actual  meeting  for  the  assizes.  have  absorbed  and  concentrated  this  cclebra- 

■  See  pp.  404  and  423.  tion.     These    games   were    called   Artemisia, 

*  We  are  not,  however,  absolutely  forced  to  Ephesia,  and  CEcumenica. 


CHAP.  XVI.  THE  ASIAPwCHS.  471 

glory  of  the  goddess  ;  and  the  month  itself  received  from  her  the  name 
of  Artemision.  The  Artemisian  festival  was  not  simply  an  Ephesian 
ceremony,  but  was  fostered  by  the  sympathy  and  enthusiasm  of  all  the 
surrounding  neighborhood.  As  the  Temple  of  Diana  was  called  "  the 
Temple  of  Asia,"  so  this  gathering  was  called  "the  common  meeting  of 
Asia."  ^  From  the  towns  on  the  coast  and  in  the  interior,  the  lonians 
came  up  with  their  wives  and  children  to  witness  the  gymnastic  and 
musical  contests,  and  to  enjoy  the  various  amusements,  which  made  the 
days  and  nights  of  May  one  long  scene  of  revelry.  To  preside  over  these 
games,  to  provide  the  necessary  expenses,  and  to  see  that  due  order  was 
maintained,  annual  officers  were  appointed  by  election  from  the  whole 
province.  About  the  time  of  the  vernal  equinox,  each  of  the  principal 
towns  within  the  district  called  Asia  chose  one  of  its  wealthiest  citizens, 
and,  from  the  whole  number  thus  returned,  ten  were  finally  selected  to 
discharge  the  duty  of  Asiarchs?  We  find  similar  titles  in  use  in  the 
neighboring  provinces,  and  read,  in  books  or  on  inscriptions  and  coins, 
of  Bithj/niarchs,  Cralatarchs,  Lyciarchs,  and  Syriarchs.  But  the  games 
of  Asia  and  Ephesus  were  pre-eminently  famous  ;  and  those  who  held 
there  the  office  of  "  Presidents  of  the  Games  "  were  men  of  high  distinc- 
tion and  extensive  influence.  Receiving  no  emolument  from  their  office, 
but  being  required  rather  to  expend  large  sums  for  the  amusement  of 
the  people  and  their  own  credit,^  they  were  necessarily  persons  of  wealth. 
Men  of  consular  rank  were  often  willing  to  receive  the  appointment,  and 
it  was  lield  to  enhance  the  honor  of  any  other  magistracies  with  which 
tliey  might  be  invested.  They  held  for  the  time  a  kind  of  sacerdotal 
position  ;  and  when,  robed  in  mantles  of  purple  and  crowned  with  gar- 
lands, they  assumed  the  duty  of  regulating  the  great  gymnastic  contests, 
and  controlling  the  tumultuary  crowd  in  the  theatre,  they  might  literally 
be  called  the  "  Chief  of  Asia  "  (Acts  xix.  31). 

These  notices  of  the  topography  and  history  of  Ephesus,  of  its  religious 
institutions,  and  political  condition  under  the  Empire,  may  serve  to  clear 
the  way  for  the  narrative  which  we  must  now  pursue.     We  resume  the  his- 


1  We  find  this  expressed  on  coins.  In  in-  in  previous  years  and  retained  the  title,  like 
scriptions  the  temple  appears  as  "  the  temple  the  High  Priest  at  Jerusalem.  Among  the 
of  Asia."  Ephesian   inscriptions   one  is  given   opposite 

2  'Xaiapxcu,  Acts  xix.,  translated  "Chief  p.  469,  containing  the  words  J.siarcA  and  7b^CT^ 
of  Asia  "  in  the  A.  V.  From  what  is  said  in  Clerk.  "  Twice  Asiarch  "  appears  on  a  coin  of 
Eusebius  (H.  E.  iv.  15)  of  one  Asiarch  pre-  Hypressa,  represented  in  Ak.  Num.  III.  p.  51. 
siding  at  the  martyrdom  of  Polycarp,  it  has  ^  Compare  the  case  of  those  who  dis- 
been  needlessly  supposed  that  in  this  passage  charged  the  state-services  or  liturgies  at  Athens 
of  the  Acts  we  are  to  consider  all  but  one  to  Such  was  often  the  position  of  the  Roman 
have  been  assessors  of  the  chief  Asiarch,  or  sediles  :  and  the  same  may  le  said  of  the  county 
elsrt  those  to  be  meant  who  had  held  the  office  sherifis  in  England. 


472  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST,   PAUL.  chap.  xvi. 

tory  at  the  twenty-second  verse  of  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  the  Acts,  where 
we  are  told  of  a  continued  stay '  in  Asia  after  the  burning  of  the  books  of 
the  magicians.^  St.  Paul  was  indeed  looking  forward  to  a  journey 
through  Macedonia  and  Achaia,  and  ultimately  to  Jerusalem  and  Rome 
(v.  21)  ;  and  in  anticipation  of  his  departure  he  had  sent  two  of  his  com- 
panions into  Macedonia  before  him  (v.  22).  The  events  which  had  pre- 
viously occurred  have  already  shown  us  the  great  effects  which  his 
preaching  had  produced  both  among  the  Jews  and  Gentiles.'  And  those 
which  follow  show  us  still  more  clearly  how  wide  a  "  door  "  *  had  been 
thrown  open  to  the  progress  of  the  gospel.  The  idolatrous  practices  of 
Ephesus  were  so  far  endangered,  that  the  interests  of  one  of  the  preva- 
lent trades  of  the  place  were  seriously  affected  ;  and  meanwhile  St. 
Paul's  character  had  risen  so  high,  as  to  obtain  influence  over  some  of 
the  wealthiest  and  most  powerful  personages  in  the  province.  The  scene 
which  follows  is  entirely  connected  with  the  religious  observances  of  the 
city  of  Diana.  The  Jews*  fall  into  the  background.  Both  the  danger 
and  safety  of  the  Apostle  originate  with  the  Gentiles. 

It  seems  to  have  been  the  season  of  spring  when  the  occurrences  took 
place  which  are  related  by  St.  Luke  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  chap- 
ter.^ We  have  already  seen  that  he  purposed  to  stay  at  Ephesus  "  till 
Pentecost ;" ''  and  it  has  been  stated  that  May  was  the  "  month  of  Diana," 
in  which  the  great  religious  gathering  took  place  to  celebrate  the  games.* 
If  this  also  was  the  season  of  the  provincial  assize  (which,  as  we  have 
seen,  is  by  no  means  improbable),  the  city  would  be  crowded  with  various 
classes  of  people.  Doubtless  those  who  employed  themselves  in  making 
the  portable  shrines  of  Diana  expected  to  drive  a  brisk  trade  at  such  a 
time  ;  and  when  they  found  that  the  sale  of  these  objects  of  superstition 
was  seriously  diminished,  and  that  the  preaching  of  St.  Paul  was  the 
cause  of  their  merchandise  being  depreciated,  "  no  small  tumult  arose 
concerning  that  way  "  in  which  the  new  teacher  was  leading  his  discii)lcs 
(v.  2o).  A  certain  Demetrius,  a  master-manufacturer  in  the  craft,  sum- 
moned together  his  workmen,  along  with  other  artisans  who  were  occu- 
pied in  trades  of  the  same  kind  —  (among  whom  we  may  perhaps  reckon 
"  Alexander  the  coppersmith  "  (2  Tim.  iv.  14),  against  whom  the  Apostlo 
warned  Timothy  at  a  later  period),  —  and  addressed  to  them  an  inflam- 
matory speech.     It  is  evident  that  St.  Paul,  though  he  had  made  no  open 


1  "He  himself  staid  in  Asia  for  •  sea-  dress  at  Miletus  (xx.  19),  St.  Paul  speak* 

■on."  especially  of  the  temptations  which  befell  him 

*  Related  above,  Acts  xix.  18-20.  by  the  "  li/wg-in-ymtof  the  Jews." 
»  See  Ch.  XIV.                *  1  Cor.  xvi.  9.  «  vv.  21-41. 

*  Yet  it  seems  that  the  Jews  never  ceased  "  See  the  end  of  the  preceding  chapter. 
firom  their  secret  machinations.     In   the  ad-  *  See  above. 


CHAP.  XVI.  DEMETEIUS   AKD  THE   SILVERSinTHS.  473 

and  cahiranioQS  attack  on  the  divinities  of  the  place,  as  was  admitted 
below  (^v.  37),  had  said  something  like  what  he  had  said  at  Athens,  that 
we  ought  not  to  suppose  that  the  deity  is  "  like  gold  or  silver  carved  with 
the  art  and  device  of  man  "  (Acts  xvii.  29),  and  that  "  they  are  no  gods 
that  are  made  with  hands  "  (v.  26).  Such  expressions,  added  to  the  fail- 
ure in  the  profits  of  those  who  were  listening,  gave  sufficient  materials  for 
an  adroit  and  persuasive  speech.  Demetrius  appealed  first  to  the  interest 
of  his  hearers,^  and  then  to  their  fanaticism.^  He  told  them  that  their 
gains  were  in  danger  of  being  lost — and,  besides  this,  that  "  the  temple 
of  the  great  goddess  Diana  "  (to  which  we  can  imagine  him  pointing  as 
he  spoke)  ^  was  in  danger  of  being  despised,  and  that  the  honor  of  their 
national  divinity  was  in  jeopardy,  whom  not  only  "  all  Asia,"  *  but  "  all 
the  civilized  world,"  *  had  hitherto  held  in  the  highest  veneration.  Such 
a  speech  could  not  be  lost,  when  thrown  like  lire  on  such  inflammable 
materials.  The  infuriated  feeling  of  the  crowd  of  assembled  artisans 
broke  out  at  once  into  a  cry  in  honor  of  the  divine  patron  of  their  city 
and  their  craft,  —  "  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians."* 

The  excitement  among  this  important  and  influential  class  of  opera- 
tives was  not  long  in  spreading  through  the  whole  city.^  The  infection 
seized  upon  the  crowds  of  citizens  and  strangers ;  and  a  general  rush  was 
made  to  the  theatre,  the  most  obvious  place  of  assembly.^  On  their  way, 
they  seem  to  have  been  foiled  in  the  attempt  to  lay  hold  of  the  person  of 
Paul,^  though  they  hurried  with  them  into  the  theatre  two  of  the 
companions  of  his  travels,  Caius  and  Aristarchus,  whose  home  was  in 
Macedonia.*"  A  sense  of  the  danger  of  his  companions,  and  a  fearless 
zeal  for  the  truth,  urged  St.  Paul,  so  soon  as  this  intelligence  reached 
him,  to  hasten  to  the  theatre  and  present  himself  before  the  people  ;  but 

1  See  Yv.  25,  26.  '  v.  29. 

2  See  V.  27.  *  See  anove,  p.  463. 

*  See  what  is  said  above  on  the  position  of  *  Something  of  the  same  kind  seems  to 
the  Temple.  It  would  probably  be  visible  have  happened  as  at  Thessalonica  (Acts  xvii. 
from  the  neighborhood  of  the  Agora,  where  5,  6),  when  the  Jews  sought  in  vain  for  Paul 
we  may  suppose  Demetrius  to  have  harangued  and  Silas  in  the  house  of  Jason,  and  therefore 
the  workmen.  dragged  the  host  and  some  of  the  other  Chris- 

*  v.  27.  Compare  w.  10  and  26;  also  1  tians  before  the  magistrates.  Perhaps  the 
Cor.  xvi.  19.     Seep.  413.  house  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla  may  have  been 

^  "  The  world,"  v.  27.     Compare  the  town-  a  Christian  home  to  the  Apostle  at  Ephesus, 

clerk's  words  below,  v.  35.  like  Jason's  house  at  Thessalonica.     See  Acts 

^  In  an  inscription  which  contains  the  words  xviii.  18,  26,  with  1  Cor.  xvi.  19;   and  com- 

ypa/ifiarevg  and  uvdvnarof,  we  find  special  men-  pare  Rom.  xvi.  3,  4,  where  they  are  said  to 

tion  of  "the  great  goddess  Diana  before  the  citi/,"  have  "laid  down  their  necks"  for  St.  Paul's 

and  extracts   might  be    given    from   ancient  life. 

authors  to  the  same  effect.     In  illustration  of  i''  The  Greek  word  is  the  same  in  Acts  xix. 

this  latter  phrase,  compare  what  has  been  said  29,  and  2   Cor.  viii.  19.      See  what  la  said 

of  the  r.ystrian  Jupiter,  p.  168.  above  of  these  comp.nnions  of  St.  Paul,  p.  404 


474  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  caaj-.xvi. 

the  Christian  disciples  used  all  their  efforts  to  restrain  him.  Perhaps 
their  anxious  solicitude  might  have  heen  unavailing  ^  on  this  occasion,  as 
it  was  on  one  occasion  afterwards,^  had  not  other  influential  friends  in- 
terposed to  preserve  his  safety.  And  now  was  seen  the  advantage  which 
is  secured  to  a  righteous  cause  by  the  upright  character  and  unflinching 
zeal  of  its  leading  champion.  Some  of  the  Asiarchs,^  whether  converted 
to  Christianity  or  not,  had  a  friendly  feeling  towards  the  Apostle ;  and 
well  knowing  the  passions  of  an  Ephesian  mob  when  excited  at  one  of 
the  festivals  of  Asia,  they  sent  an  urgent  message  to  him  to  prevent  him 
from  venturing  into  the  scene  of  disorder  and  danger.*  Thus  he  reluc- 
tantly consented  to  remain  in  privacy,  while  the  mob  crowded  violently 
into  the  theatre,  filling  the  stone  seats,  tier  above  tier,  and  rending  the 
air  with  their  confused  and  fanatical  cries.^ 

It  was  indeed  a  scene  of  confusion  ;  and  never  perhaps  was  the  char- 
acter of  a  mob  more  simply  and  graphically  expressed,  than  when  it  is 
said,  that "  the  majority  knew  not  why  they  were  come  together"  (v.  82). 
At  length  an  attempt  was  made  to  bring  the  expression  of  some  articulate 
words  before  the  assembly.  This  attempt  came  from  the  Jews,  who  seem 
to  have  been  afraid  lest  they  should  be  implicated  in  the  odium  which 
had  fallen  on  the  Christians.  By  no  means  unwilling  to  injure  the  Apos- 
tle's cause,  they  were  yet  anxious  to  clear  themselves,  and  therefore  they 
"  put  Alexander  forward  "  to  make  an  apologetic  speech  ®  to  the  multi- 
tude. If  this  man  was  really,  as  we  have  suggested,  "  Alexander  the 
coppersmith,"  he  might  naturally  be   expected  to  have  influence  with 

1  The  imperfect  (v.  30)  simply  expresses  *  "  Some  cried  one  thing  and   some  an- 

the  attempt.  ^  See  Acts  xxi.  13.  other,"  v.  32.     An  allusion  has  been   made 

8  For  the  oflBce  of  the  Asiarchs,  see  above,       (p.  118)  to  the  peculiar  form  of  Greek  theatres. 


p.  471. 


in  the  account  of  Herod's  death  at  Caesarea. 


31.  The  ganger  in  which  St.  Paul  From  the  elevated  position  of  the  theatre  at 
was  really  placed,  as  well  as  other  points  in  Ephesus,  we  may  imagine  that  many  of  the 
the  sacred  narrative,  is  illustrated  by  the  ac-  seats  must  have  commanded  an  extensive  view 
count  of  Polycaqj's  martyrdom.  "  The  pro-  of  the  city  and  the  plain,  including  the  Tern- 
consul,  observing  Polycarp  filled  with  confi-  pie  of  Diana. 

dence  and  joy,  and  his  countenance  brightened  **  Our  view  of  the  purpose  for  which  Alex- 

with  grace,  was  astonished,  and  sent  the  her-  ander  was    put    forward    will    depend    upon 

aid  to  proclaim,  in  the  middle  of  the  stadium,  whether  we  consider  him  to  have  been  a  Jew, 

"  Polycai-p  confesses  that  he  is  a  Christian.  or  a  Christian,  or  a  renegade  from  Christianity. 

When  this  was  declared  by  the  herald,  all  the  It  is  most  natural  to  suppose  that  he  was  a 

multitude,   Gentiles    and    Jews,   dwelling    at  Jew,  that  the  Jews  were  alarmed  by  the  tu- 

Srayma,   cried  out,  '  This  is  that  teacher  of  mult,  and  anxious  to  clear    themselves  from 

Asia,  the  father  of  the  Christians,  the  destroyer  blame,  and  to  show  they  had  nothing  to  do 

of  our  gods;  he  that  teaches  multitudes  not  to  with  St.  Paul.    As  a  Jew,  Alexander  would 

sacrifice,  not  to  worship.'     Saying  this,  they  be  recognized  as  an  enemy  to  idolatry,  and 

cried  out,  and  asked  Philip  the  Asiarch  to  let  naturally  the  crowd  would  not  hear  him. 
a  lion  loose  upon  Polycarp."     Eoseb.  H.  E. 
iv.  15. 


THAP.  XVI.  SPEECH  OF  THE  TOWN-CLERK.  475 

Demetrius  and  his  fellow-craftsmen.  But  when  he  stood  up  and  "  raised 
his  hand  "  ^  to  invite  silence,  he  was  recognized  immediately  by  the  mul- 
titude as  a  Jew.  It  was  no  time  for  making  distinctions  between  Jews 
and  Christians  ;  and  one  simultaneous  cry  arose  from  every  mouth, 
"  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians ; "  and  this  cry  continued  for  two 
hours. 

The  excitement  of  an  angry  multitude  wears  out  after  a  time,  and  a 
period  of  re-action  comes,  when  they  are  disposed  to  listen  to  words  of 
counsel  and  reproof.  And,  whether  we  consider  the  oflficial  position  of 
the  "  Town-clerk,"  or  the  character  of  the  man  as  indicated  by  his 
speech,  we  may  confidently  say  that  no  one  in  the  city  was  so  well  suited 
to  appease  this  Ephesian  mob.  The  speech  is  a  pattern  of  candid  argu- 
ment and  judicious  tact.  He  first  allays  the  fanatical  passions  of  his 
listeners  by  this  simple  appeal -."^  "Is  it  not  known  everywhere  that 
this  city  of  the  Ephesians  is  Neocoros  of  the  great  goddess  Diana  and  of 
the  image  that  came  down  from  the  sky?"  The  contradiction  of  a  few 
insignificant  strangers  covild  not  affect  what  was  notorious  in  all  the 
world.  Then  he  bids  them  remember  that  Paul  and  his  companions  had 
not  been  guilty  of  approaching  or  profaning  the  temple,^  or  of  outraging 
the  feelings  of  the  Ephesians  by  calumnious  expressions  against  the  god- 
dess.* And  tlien  he  turns  from  the  general  subject  to  the  case  of  Deme- 
trius, and  points  out  that  the  remedy  for  any  injustice  was  amply 
provided  by  the  assizes  which  were  then  going  on,  —  or  by  an  appeal  to 
the  proconsul.  And  reserving  the  most  efficacious  argument  to  the  last, 
he  reminded  them  that  such  an  uproar  exposed  the  city  of  Ephesus  to 
the  displeasure  of  the  Romans :  for,  however  great  were  the  liberties 
allowed  to  an  ancient  and  loyal  city,  it  was  well  known  to  the  whole 
population,  that  a  tumultuous  meeting  which  endangered  the  public 
peace  would  never  be  tolerated.  So,  having  rapidly  brought  his  argu- 
ments to  a  climax,  he  tranquillized  the  whole  multitude,  and  pronounced 
the  technical  words  which  declared  the  assembly  dispersed.  (Acts  xix. 
41.)  The  stone  seats  were  gradually  emptied.  The  uproar  ceased  (ib. 
XX.  1),  and  the  rioters  separated  to  their  various  occupations  and  amuse- 
ments. 

Thus  God  used  the  eloquence  of  a  Greek  magistrate  to  protect  His 
servant,  as  before  He  had  used  the  right  of  Roman  citizenship  (p.  268), 

1  The  phrase  is  not  quite    identical  with  '  The  rendering  in  the  Authorized  Version, 
that  used  of  St.  Paul  (Acts  xiii.  16,  xxi.  40),  "robbers  of  churches,"  is  unfortunate.     Wic- 
and  of  St.  Peter  (Acts  xii.   17).     See  the  re-  lif  has,  more  correctly,  "  sacrilegious." 
marks  already  made  on  the  former  passage.                 *  "  Blasphemers  of  your  goddess." 

2  For  the  Neocorate  of   Ephesus   and  its 
notoriety,  see  above,  pp.  467,  468. 


476  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.xti. 

and  the  calm  justice  of  a  Roman  governor  (p.  365).  And,  as  in  the 
cases  of  Philippi  and  Corinth,^  the  narrative  of  St.  Paul's  sojourn 
at  Ephesus  concludes  with  the  notice  of  a  deliberate  and  affectionate 
farewell.  The  danger  was  now  over.  With  gratitude  to  that  Heavenly 
Master  who  had  watched  over  his  life  and  his  works,  and  with  a 
recognition  of  that  love  of  his  fellow-Christians,  and  that  favor  of  the 
"  Chief  of  Asia,"  which  had  been  the  instruments  of  his  safety,  he 
gathered  together  the  disciples  (Acts  xx.  1),  and  in  one  last  affectionate 
meeting  —  most  probably  in  the  school  of  Tyrannus  —  he  gave  them  his 
farewell  salutations,  and  commended  them  to  the  grace  of  God,  and 
parted  from  them  with  tears. 

This  is  the  last  authentic  account  which  we  possess,  —  if  we  except 
the  meeting  at  Miletus  (Acts  xx.),  —  of  any  personal  connection  of  St. 
Paul  with  Ephesus ;  for  although  we  think  it  may  be  inferred  from  the 
Pastoral  Epistles  that  he  visited  the  metropolis  of  Asia  again  at  a  later 
period,  yet  we  know  nothing  of  the  circumstances  of  the  visit,  and  even 
its  occurrence  has  been  disputed.  The  other  historical  associations  of 
Christianity  with  this  city  are  connected  with  a  different  Apostle  and  a 
later  period  of  the  Church.  Legend  has  been  busy  on  this  scene  of 
apostolic  preaching  and  suffering.  Without  attempting  to  unravel  what 
is  said  concerning  others  who  have  lived  and  died  at  Ephesus,^  we  are 
allowed  to  believe  that  the  robber-haunts '  in  the  mountains  around  have 
witnessed  some  passages  in  the  life  of  St.  John,  that  he  spent  the  last 
year  of  the  first  century  in  this  "  metropolis  of  the  Asiatic  Churches,"  * 
and  thai?  his  body  rests  among  the  sepulchres  of  Mount  Prion.  Here  we 
may  believe  that  the  Gospel  and  Epistles  were  written,  which  teach  us 
that  "  love  "  is  greater  than  "  faith  and  hope  "  (1  Cor.  xiii.  13)  ;  and 
here,  —  though  the  "  candlestick  "  is  removed,  according  to  the  prophetic 
word  (Rev.  ii.  5),  —  a  monument  yet  survives,  in  the  hill  strewn  with 
the  ruins   of   many   centuries,*  of   him  who   was    called  "  John   the 

1  Acts  xvi.  40,  xTiii.  18.  /  the  meaning  of  the  term  "Theologian,"  or 

2  It  is  said  that  Timothy  died  at  Ephesus,  "  Divine,"  as  applied  to  St.  John,  see  Stan- 
and   was   buried,   like   St.  John,   on    Mount      ley's  Sermons,  p.  271. 

Prion.    It  has  been  thought  better  to  leave  in 

reverent  silence  all  that  has  been  traditionally  Note.  —  (Sec  the  coin  on  p.  477.)  —  From 

said  concerning  the  Mother  of   our  blessed  Ak.  Num.  III.  p.  55.     This  coin  is  peculiarly 

Lord.  interesting  for  many  reasons.     It  has  a  rep- 

8  Euseb.  H.  E.  iii.  23,  which   should   be  resentation  of  the   temple,   and   the  portrait 

coraparcd  with  2  Cor.  xi.  26.     See  p.  145.  and  name  of  Nero,  who  was  now  reigning; 

*  Stanley's  Sermons,  ^.,  on  the  Apostolic  and  it  exhibits  the  words  veuKopof  (Acts 
Age, -p.  250.  See  the  whole  sermon,  and  the  xix.)  and  avdviraroi  (ib.).  The  name  of  the 
<^s«ay  which  follows  it.  Proconsul  is  Aviola.     It  is  far  f  t)ra  impossibl** 

*  Ayasaluk.     See  above,  p.  464,  n.  1.     For  that  he  might  hold  that  office  while  St.  Paul 


CHAP.  XVI. 


COIX  OF  EPHESUS. 


477 


Theologian,"  because  he  emphatically  wrote  of  the    "  Divinity  of    our 
Lord." 


Ooin  of  BpheBiu.i 


was  at  Ephesas  (i.  e.  from  the  autamn  of  54 
to  the  spring  of  57).  We  learn  from  Seneca, 
Tacitus,  and  Saetonlns,  that  a  member  of  the 


same  family  was  consul  in  the  year  54,  when 
Claudius  died,  and  Nero  became  emperor. 
'  See  last  note  of  p.  i76. 


CHAPTER    XVn. 


St.  Paul  at  Troas.  —  He  passes  over  to  Macedonia.  —  Causes  of  his  Dejection.  —  He  meet* 
Titus  at  Philippi.  —  Writes  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  —  Collection  for  the  Poor 
Christians  in  Judsea.  —  Liberality  of  the  Macedonians.  —  Titus.  —  Journey  by  lUyricum  to 
Greece. 

AFTER  his  mention  of  the  affectionate  parting  between  St.  Paul  and 
the  Christians  of  Ephesus,  St.  Luke  tells  us  very  little  of  the  Apos- 
tle's proceedings  during  a  period  of  nine  or  ten  months  ;  —  that  is,  from 
the  early  summer  of  the  year  a.  d.  57,  to  the  spring  of  a.  d.  58.^  All 
the  information  which  we  find  in  the  Acts  concerning  this  period  is  com- 
prised in  the  following  words :  — "  He  departed  to  go  into  Macedonia,  and 
tvhen  he  had  gone  oveTV  those  parts,  and  had  given  them  much  exhortation,  he 
came  into  Greece,  and  there  abode  three  months. ^^  "^  Were  it  not  for  the 
information  supplied  by  the  Epistles,  this  is  all  we  should  have  known  of 
a  period  which  was,  intellectually  at  least,  the  most  active  and  influential 
of  St.  Paul's  career.  These  letters,  however,  supply  us  with  many  addi- 
tional incidents  belonging  to  this  epoch  of  his  life ;  and,  what  is  more 
important,  they  give  us  a  picture  drawn  by  his  own  hand  of  his  state  of 
mind  during  an  anxious  and  critical  season  ;  they  bring  him  before  us  in 
his  weakness  and  in  his  strength,  in  his  sorrow  and  in  his  joy  ;  they 
show  the  causes  of  his  dejection  and  the  source  of  his  consolation. 

In  the  first  place,  we  thus  learn  what  we  should,  a  priori,  have  expected, 
—  that  he  visited  Alexandria  Troas  on  his  way  from  Ephesus  to  Macedonia. 
In  all  probability  he  travelled  from  the  one  city  to  the  other  by  sea,  as 
we  know  he  did''  on  his  return  in  the  following  year.  Indeed,  in  coun- 
tries in  such  a  stage  of  civilization,  the  safest  and  most  expeditious  route 
from  one  point  of  the  coast  to  another  is  generally  by  water  rather  than 
by  land  ;  *  for  the  "  perils  in  the  sea,"  though  greater  in  those  times  than 

1  The  date  of  the  year  is  according  to  the  »  Except  the  small  space  from  Troas  to 

calculations  of  Wieseler,  of  which  we  shall  Assos  by  land,  Acts  xx.  13,  14. 
say  more  when  we  come  to  the  period  upon  *  At  the  same  time,  it  should  be  remembered 

which  they  are  founded.     The  season  at  which  that  this  was  the  most  populous  part  of  one  of 

he  left  Ephesus  is  ascertained  by  St.  Paul's  the   most    peaceful   provinces,   and   that  one 

own  words  (1  Cor.  xvi.  8)  compared  \vith  Acts  of  the  great  roads  passed  by  Smyrna  and  Per- 

XX.  1.     The  time  of  his  leaving  Corinth  on  gamus  between  Ephesus  and  Troas.     A   de- 

his  return  appears  from  Acts  xx.  6.  scription  of  the  country  will  be  found  in  Pel- 

*  Acts  XX.  1-3.  lows's  Asia  Minor,  ch.  i.  and  ii. 
478 


CHAP.  XVII. 


ST.  PAUL   AT  TEOAS.  479 


ill  ours,  yet  did  not  so  frequently  impede  the  voyager  as  the  "  perils  of 
rivers  "  and  "  perils  of  robbers  "  which  beset  the  traveller  by  land. 

TVe  are  not  informed  who  were  St.  Paul's  companions  in  this  journey ; 
but  as  we  find  that  Tychicus  and  Trophimus  (both  Ephesians)  were  with 
him  at  Corinth  (Acts  xx.  4)  during  the  same  apostolic  progress,  and 
returned  thence  in  his  company,  it  seems  probable  that  they  accompanied 
liim  at  his  departure.  We  find  both  of  them  remaining  faithful  to  him 
through  all  the  calamities  which  followed ;  both  exerting  themselves  in 
his  service,  and  executing  his  orders  to  the  last ;  both  mentioned  as  his 
friends  and  followers,  almost  with  his  dying  breath.^ 

In  such  company,  St.  Paul  came  to  Alexandria  Troas.  We  have  already 
described  the  position  and  character  of  this  city,  whence  the  Apostle  of 
the  Gentiles  had  set  forth  when  first  he  left  Asia  to  fulfil  his  mission,— 
the  conversion  of  Europe.  At  that  time,  his  visit  seems  to  have  been 
very  short,  and  no  results  of  it  are  recorded  ;  but  now  he  remained  for 
a  considerable  time  ;  he  had  meant  to  stay  long  enough  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion of  a  Church  (see  2  Cor.  ii.  12),  and  would  have  remained  still  long- 
er than  he  did,  had  it  not  been  for  the  non-arrival  of  Titus,  whom  he  had 
sent  to  Corinth  from  Ephesus  either  with  or  soon  after  the  First  Epistle. 
The  object  of  his  mission  ^  was  connected  with  the  great  collection  now 
going  on  for  the  Hebrew  Christians  at  Jerusalem,  but  he  was  also 
enjoined  to  enforce  the  admonitions  of  St.  Paul  upon  the  Church  of  Cor- 
inth, and  endeavor  to  defeat  the  efibrts  of  their  seducers ;  and  then  lo 
return  with  a  report  of  their  conduct,  and  especially  of  the  effect  upon 
them  of  the  recent  Epistle.  Titus  was  desired  to  come  tlirough  Macedonia, 
and  to  rejoin  St.  Paul  (probably)  at  Troas,  where  the  latter  had  intend- 
ed to  arrive  shortly  after  Pentecost ;  but  now  that  he  was  forced  to  leave 
Ephesus  prematurely,  he  had  resolved  to  wait  for  Titus  at  Troas,  expect- 
ing, however,  his  speedy  arrival.  In  this  expectation  he  was  disappointed  ; 
week  after  week  passed,  but  Titus  came  not.  The  tidings  which  St.  Paul 
expected  by  him  were  of  the  deepest  interest ;  it  was  to  be  hoped  that  he 
would  bring  news  of  the  triumph  of  good  over  evil  at  Corinth :  yet  it 
might  be  otherwise  ;  the  Corinthians  might  have  forsaken  the  faith  of 
their  first  teacher,  and  rejected  his  messenger.  While  waiting  in  this 
imcertainty,  St.  Paul  appears  to  have  suiBfered  all  the  sickness  of  hope 
deferred.     "  My  spirit  had  no  rest,  becavise  I  found  not  Titus  my  bro- 

1  In  the  2(1  Epistle  to  Timothy.     For  Ty-  carried  aiiother  letter  to  the  Coriathians ;  if  so, 

chicus,  see  Act«  xy.  4 ;  Eph.  vl.  21 ;  Col.  iv.  it  may  be  referred  to  in  2  Cor.  ii.  3,  and  2  Cor. 

7  ;   2  Tim.  iv.  12  :   Tit.  iii.  12.     For  Trophi-  viii.  8  ;  passages  which  some  have  thought  too 

mus,  see  Ac*p  xx.  4,  Acts  xxi.  29  ;   2  Tim.  strong  for  the  supposition  that  they  only  refer 

i     20.  to  the  First  Epistle. 

3  It  is  not  impossible  that  Titus  may  have 


480  THE   LIFE   AiSD   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xvn. 

ther."  ^  Novertheless,  his  personal  anxiety  did  not  prevent  his  laboring 
earnestly  and  successfully  in  his  Master's  service.  He  "  published  the 
Glad-tidings  of  Christ""^  there  as  in  other  places,  probably  preaching  at 
usual,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  Jews  in  the  Synagogue.  He  mot  with 
a  ready  hearing ;  "  a  door  was  opened  to  him  in  the  Lord." '  And  thus 
was  laid  tlie  foundation  of  a  Church  which  rapidly  increased,  and  which 
we  shall  find  him  revisiting  not  long  afterwards.  At  present,  indeed,  he 
was  compelled  to  leave  it  prematurely  ;  for  the  necessity  of  meeting 
Titus,  and  learning  the  state  of  things  at  Corinth,  urged  him  forward. 
He  sailed,  therefore,  once  more  from  Troas  to  Macedonia  (a  voyage 
already  described  *  in  our  account  of  his  former  journey),  and,  landing 
at  Neapolis,  proceeded  immediately  to  Philippi.* 

We  might  have  supposed  that  the  warmth  of  affection  with  which  he 
was  doubtless  welcomed  by  his  converts  here  would  have  soothed  the 
spirit  of  the  Apostle,  and  restored  his  serenity.  For,  of  all  his  converts, 
the  Philippians  seem  to  have  been  the  most  free  from  fault,  and  the  most 
attached  to  himself.  In  the  Epistle  which  he  wrote  to  them,  we  find  no 
censure,  and  much  praise ;  and  so  zealous  was  their  love  for  St.  Paul, 
that  they  alone  (of  all  the  Churches  which  he  founded)  forced  him  from 
the  very  beginning  to  accept  their  contributions  for  his  support.  Twice, 
while  he  was  at  Thessalonica,^  immediately  after  their  own  conversion, 
they  had  sent  relief  to  him.  Again  they  did  the  same  while  he  was  at 
Corinth,''  working  for  his  daily  bread  in  the  manufactory  of  Aquila. 
And  we  shall  find  them  afterwards  cheering  his  Roman  prison  by  similar 
proofs  of  their  loving  remembrance.*  We  might  suppose  froin  this  that 
they  were  a  wealthy  Church  ;  yet  such  a  supposition  is  c&r.tradicted  by 
the  words  of  St.  Paul,  who  tells  us  that  "  in  the  heavy  trial  which  had 
proved  their  steadfastness,  the  fulness  of  their  joy  Lad  overflowed  out 
of  the  depth  of  their  poverty,  in  the  richness  of  their  Ijberality." '     In  fact, 

1  2  Cor.  ii.  13.  '^  2  Cor.  ii.  12.  (2  Cor.  xi.  9y  we  find  "Macedonia"  used  as 

*  2  Cor.  ii.  12.  *  See  Ch.  IX.  equivaltnit  to  Phil'ppi  (see  note  7,  below).   W* 

s  Philippi  (of  which  Neapolis  was  the  port)  concladc,  therefore,  that  the  ancient  tradition 

was    the    first  city  of   Macedonia  which  he  (embodied  in  the  subscription  of  2  Cor.),  ac- 

would  reach  from   Troas.     See  pp.  248-251.  corainjr  to  which  the   Second  Epistle  to  the 

The    importance  of    the    Philippian    Church  Lorinthians  was  written  from  Philippi,  is  cor- 

would,  of  course,  cause  St.  Paul  to  halt  the^e  rect. 

for  some  time,  especially  as  his  object  waa  lo  '^  Phil.  iv.  16.     And  see  below,  p.  512. 

make  a  general  collection  for  the  poor  Cnris-  7  2  Cor.  xi.  9.     The  Macedonian  contribu 

tians  of  Jerusalem.     Hence  the  scene  of  St.  tions  there  mentioned  must  have   been   from 

Paul's  prief  and  anxiety  (recordeii,  2  Cor.  vii.  Philippi,  because  Philippi  was  the  only  Church 

5,  as  occurring  when  he  came  into  Macedonia)  which  at  that  time  contributed  to  St  Paul's 

must  have  been  Philippi ;  and  the  same  place  support  (Phil.  iv.  15). 
seems  (from  the  next  verse)  to  have  witnessed  *  Phil.  iv.  16. 

his  consolation  by  the  coming  of  Titus.     So  '2  Cor.  viii.  2. 


CHAP.xvn.  HIS  RECEPTION  IN  MACEDONIA.  481 

the  J  had  been  exposed  to  very  severe  persecution  from  the  first.  "  Unto 
them  it  was  given,"  so  St.  Paul  reminds  them  afterwards,  —  "in  the 
behalf  of  Christ,  not  only  to  believe  on  Him,  but  also  to  suffer  for  His 
sake."  ^  Perhaps,  already  their  leading  members  had  been  prosecuted 
under  the  Roman  law  "^  upon  the  charge  which  proved  so  fatal  in  after 
times,  —  of  propagating  a  "  new  and  illegal  religion  "  (religio  nova  ei 
illicita)  ;  or,  if  this  had  not  yet  occurred,  still  it  is  obvious  how  severe 
must  have  been  the  loss  inflicted  by  the  alienation  of  friends  and  connec- 
tions ;  and  this  would  be  especially  the  case  with  the  Jewish  converts, 
such  as  Lydia,'  who  were  probably  the  only  wealthy  members  of  the 
community,  and  whose  sources  of  wealth  were  derived  from  the  com- 
mercial relations  which  bound  together  the  scattered  Jews  throughout 
the  Empire.  What  they  gave,  therefore,  was  not  out  of  their  abundance, 
but  out  of  their  penury ;  they  did  not  grasp  tenaciously  at  the  wealth 
which  was  slipping  from  their  hands,  but  they  seemed  eager  to  get  rid 
of  what  still  remained.  They  "  remembered  the  words  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  how  He  said,  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive."  St. 
Paul  might  have  addressed  them  in  the  words  spoken  to  some  who 
were  like  minded  with  them :  —  "Ye  liad  compassion  of  me  in  my  *  bonds, 
and  took  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  your  goods,  knowing  that  ye  have  in 
heaven  a  better  and  an  enduring  substance." 

Such  were  the  zealous  and  loving  friends  who  now  embraced  their 
father  in  the  faith  ;  yet  the  warmth  of  their  welcome,  did  not  dispel  the 
gloom  which  hung  over  his  spirit ;  although  amongst  them '  he  found 
Timotheus  also,  his  "  beloved  son  in  the  Lord,"  the  most  endeared  to 
him  of  all  his  converts  and  companions.  The  whole  tone  of  the  Second 
Epistle  to  Corinth  shows  the  depression  under  which  he  was  laboring  ; 
and  he  expressly  tells  the  Corinthians  that  this  state  of  feeling  lasted,  not 
only  at  Troas,  but  also  after  he  reached  Macedonia.     "  When  first  1 

^  Phil.  i.  29.  had  been  despatched  on  some  commission  into 

*  It  must  be  remembered  that  Philippi  was  Macedonia  shortly  before  Easter,  and  St.  Paul 
a  Colonia.  had  then  expected  (but  thought  it  doubtful) 

8  Lydia  had  been  a  Jewish  prosdyte  before  that  he  would  reach  Corinth  and  return  thence 

her  conversion.     [We  cannot  assume  that  she  to  Ephesus ;  and  that  he  would  reach  it  after 

was  a  permanent  resident  at  Philippi.      See  the  reception  at  Corinth  of  the  First  Epistle  to 

Acts  xvi.  14.  —  H.]  the  Corinthians  (1  Cor.  xvi.  10,  11).     This, 

*  Or  "  on  those  in  bonds,"  if  we  adopt  the  however,  Timotheus  seems  not  to  have  done ; 
reading  of  the  best  MSS.  See  note  on  Heb.  for  it  was  Titus,  not  Timotheus,  who  brought 
X.  34.  to  St.  Paul  the  first  tidings  of  the  reception  of 

^  This  we  infer  because  Timotheus  was  with  the  First  Epistle  at  Corinth  (2  Cor.  vii.  6-11 ). 

him  when  he  began  to  write  the  Second  Epistle  Also,  had  Timotheus  reached  Corinth,  he  would 

to  Corinth  (2  Cor.  i.  1),  which  (for  the  reasons  have  been  mentioned  2  Cor.  xii.  IS.     Hence  it 

mentioned  in  p.  480,  n.  5)  we  believe  to  have  would  appear  that  Timotheus  must  have  been 

been   written   at   Philippi.      Now  Timotheus  retained  in  Macedonia. 
81 


482  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  cilvp.xvu 

came  into  Macedonia,"  he  says,  "  my  flesh  had  no  rest ;  without  wero 
fightings,  within  were  fears."  And  this  had  continued  until  "  God, 
who  comforts  them  that  are  cast  down,  comforted  me  by  the  coming  of 
Titus." 

It  has  been  sometimes  supposed  that  this  dejection  was  occasioned  by 
an  increase  of  the  chronic  malady  under  which  St.  Paul  suffered ;  ^  and 
it  seems  not  unlikely  that  this  cause  may  have  contributed  to  tlie  result. 
He  speaks  much,  in  the  Epistle  written  at  this  time  from  Macedonia,  of 
the  frailty  of  his  bodily  health  (2  Cor.  iv.  7  to  2  Cor.  v.  10,  and  also 
2  Cor.  xii.  7-9,  and  see  note  on  2  Cor.  i.  8)  ;  and,  in  a  very  affecting  pas- 
sage, he  describes  the  earnestness  with  which  he  had  besought  his  Lord 
to  take  from  him  this  "  thorn  in  the  flesh,"  —  this  disease  wliich  contin- 
ually impeded  his  efforts,  and  shackled  his  energy.  We  can  imagine  how 
severe  a  trial,  to  a  man  of  his  ardent  temper,  such  a  malady  must  have 
been.  Yet  this  alone  would  scarcely  account  for  his  continued  depres- 
sion, especially  after  the  assurance  he  had  received,  that  the  grace  of 
Christ  was  sufficient  for  him,  —  that  the  vessel  of  clay  ^  was  not  too  fra- 
gile for  the  Master's  work,  —  that  the  weakness  of  his  body  would  but 
the  more  manifest  tlie  strength  of  G-od's  Spirit.*  The  real  weight  which 
pressed  upon  him  was  the  "  care  of  all  the  Churches  ;  "  the  real  cause 
of  his  grief  was  tlie  danger  which  now  threatened  the  souls  of  his  con- 
verts, not  in  Corinth  only,  or  in  Galatia,  but  everywhere  throughout  the 
Empire.  We  have  already  described  the  nature  of  this  danger,  and 
seen  its  magnitude :  we  hare  seen  how  critical  was  the  period  through 
which  the  Christian  Church  was  now  passing.*  The  true  question 
(which  St.  Paul  was  enlightened  to  comprehend)  was  no  less  than  this  ; 
—  whether  the  Catholic  Church  should  be  dwarfed  into  a  Jewish  sect ; 
whether  the  religion  of  spirit  and  of  truth  should  be  supplanted  by  the 
worship  of  letter  and  of  form.  The  struggle  at  Corinth,  the  result  of 
which  he  was  now  anxiously  awaiting,  was  only  one  out  of  many  similar 
struggles  between  Judaism  *  and  Christianity.  These  were  the  "  fight- 
ings without "  which  filled  him  with  "  fears  within ;  "  these  were  the 
agitations  which  "  gave  his  flesh  no  rest,"  and  "  troubled  him  on  every 
side."* 

1  We  need  not  notice  the  hypothesis  that  St.  ^  That  the  great  opponents  of  St.  Paul  at 

Paul's  long-continued  dejection  was  caused  by  Ck)rinth  were  Judaizing  emissaries,  we  have  en- 

the  danger  which  he  incurred  on  the  day  of  the  deavored  to  prove  below ;  at  the  same  time  a 

tumult  in  the  theatre  at  Ephesus  ;  a  supposition  complication  was  given  to  the  struggle  at  Cor- 

most  unworthy  of  the  character  of  him  who  inth  by  the  existence  of  another  element  of 

sustained  such  innumerable  perils  of  a  more  error  in  the  free-thinking  party,  whose  theo- 

deadly  character  with  unshrinking  fortitude.  retie  defence  of  their  practical  immorality  -w 

'■*  See  2  Cor.  iv.  7.  have  already  noticed. 

•  2  Cor.  xii.  7-9.  *  Pp.  384-389.  «  2  Cor.  vii.  5. 


cnAP.xvn.  OPPONENTS  OF  ST.    PAUL.  483 

At  length  the  long-expected  Titus  arrived  at  Philippi,  and  relieved  the 
anxiety  of  his  master  by  better  tidings  than  he  had  hoped  to  hear.^  The 
majority  of  the  Corinthian  Church  had  submitted  to  the  injunctions  of 
St.  Paul,  and  testified  the  deepest  repentance  for  the  sins  into  which  they 
had  fallen.  They  had  passed  sentence  of  excommunication  upon  the 
incestuous  person,  and  they  had  readily  contributed  towards  the  collec- 
tion for  the  poor  Christians  of  Palestine.  But  there  was  still  a  minority, 
whose  opposition  seems  to  have  been  rather  imbittered  than  humbled  by 
the  submission  which  the  great  body  of  the  Church  had  thus  yielded. 
They  proclaimed,  in  a  louder  and  more  contemptuous  tone  than  ever, 
their  accusations  against  the  Apostle.  They  charged  him  with  craft  in 
his  designs,  and  with  selfish  and  mercenary  motives ;  —  a  charge  which 
they  probably  maintained  by  insinuating  that  he  was  personally  interested 
in  the  great  collection  which  he  was  raising.  We  have  seen  ^  what 
scrupulous  care  St.  Paul  took  to  keep  his  integrity  in  this  matter  above 
every  shade  of  suspicion  ;  and  we  shall  find  still  further  proof  of  this  as 
we  proceed.  Meanwhile  it  is  obvious  how  singularly  inconsistent  this 
accusation  was,  in  the  mouths  of  those  who  eagerly  maintained  that  Paul 
could  be  no  true  Apostle,  because  he  did  not  demand  support  from  the 
Churches  which  he  founded.  The  same  opponents  accused  him  likewise 
of  egregious  vanity,  and  of  cowardly  weakness ;  they  declared  tliat  he 
was  continually  threatening  without  striking,  and  promising  without  per- 
forming ;  always  on  his  way  to  Corinth,  but  never  venturing  to  come  ; 
and  that  he  was  as  vacillating  in  his  teaching  as  in  his  practice ;  refusing 
circumcision  to  Titus,  yet  circumcising  Timothy ;  a  Jew  among  the  Jews, 
and  a  Gentile  among  the  Gentiles. 

It  is  an  important  question,  to  which  of  the  divisions  of  the  Corinthian 
Church  these  obstinate  opponents  of  St.  Paul  belonged.  From  the 
notices  of  them  given  by  St.  Paul  himself,  it  seems  certain  that  they 
were  Judaizers  (see  2  Cor.  xi.  22);  and  still  further,  that  they  were  of 
the  Christine  section  of  that  party  (see  2  Cor.  xi.  7).  It  also  appears  that 
they  were  headed  by  an  emissary  from  Palestine  (2  Cor.  xi.  4),  who  had 
broiight  letters  of  commendation  from  some  members  of  the  Church  at 

1  "Wieseler  is  of  opinion  that  before  the  com-  to  topics  which,  in  the  earlier  portion  of  the 

ing  of  Titus  St.  Paul  had  already  resolved  to  Epistle,  he  appeared  to  have  dismissed ;   and 

Bend  another  letter  to  the  Corinthians,  perhaps  from   the   manner  in  which    the   arrival   of 

by  those  two  brefliren  who  travelled  with  Titus  Titus  is  mentioned  at  2  Cor.  vii.  4-7.      On 

Boon   after,  bearing  the  Second  Epistle ;  and  this  hypothesis  some  other  person  from  Cor- 

that  he  wrote  as  far  as  the  2d  verse  of  the  7th  inth  must  have  brought  intelligence  of  the  first 

chapter  of  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthi-  impression  produced  on  the  Corinthians  by  the 

ans  before  the  appearance  of  Titus.     He  infers  Epistle  which  had  just  reached   them  ;   and 

this  from  the  change  of  tone  which  takes  place  Titus  conveyed   the   further  tidings  of  their 

at  this  point,  and  from  St.  Paul's  returning  subsequent  conduct.  *  1  Cor.  xvi  S. 


484  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xvii. 

Jerusalem,'  and  who  boasted  of  his  pure  Hebrew  descent,  and  his  especial 
connection  with  Christ  himself.^  St.  Paul  calls  him  a  false  apostle,  a 
minister  of  Satan  disguised  as  a  minister  of  righteousness,  and  hints  that 
he  was  actuated  by  corrupt  motives.  He  seems  to  have  behaved  at 
Corinth  with  extreme  arrogance,  and  to  have  succeeded,  by  his  overbear- 
ing conduct,  in  impressing  his  partisans  with  a  conviction  of  his  impor- 
tance, and  of  the  truth  of  his  pretensions.^  They  contrasted  his  confident 
bearing  with  the  timidity  and  self-distrust  which  had  been  shown  by  St. 
Paul.*  And  they  even  extolled  his  personal  advantages  over  those  of 
their  first  teacher ;  comparing  his  rhetoric  with  Paul's  inartificial  speech, 
his  commanding  appearance  with  the  insignificance  of  Paul's  "  bodily 
presence." ^ 

Titus,  having  delivered  to  St.  Paul  this  mixed  intelligence  of  the  state 
of  Corinth,  was  immediately  directed  to  return  thither  (in  company  with 
two  deputies  specially  elected  to  take  charge  of  their  contribution  by  the 
Macedonian  Churches),*  in  order  to  continue  the  business  of  the  collec- 
tion. St.  Paul  made  him  the  bearer  of  another  letter,  which  is  addressed 
(still  more  distinctly  than  the  First  Epistle),  not  to  Corinth  only,  but  to 
all  the  Churches  in  the  whole  province  of  Achaia,  including  Athens  and 
Cenchrea,  and  perhaps  also  Sicyon,  Argos,  Megara,  Patras,  and  other 
neighboring  towns ;  all  of  which  probably  shared  more  or  less  in  the 
agitation  which  so  powerfully  aflected  the  Christian  community  at 
Corinth.  The  twofold  character '  of  this  Epistle  is  easily  explained  by 
the  existence  of  the  majority  and  minority  which  we  have  described  in 
the  Corinthian  Church.  Towards  the  former  the  Epistle  overflows  with 
love ;  towards  the  latter  it  abounds  with  warning  and  menace.  The 
purpose  of  the  Apostle  was  to  encourage  and  tranquillize  the  great  body 
of  the  Church ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  he  was  constrained  to  maintain 
his  authority  against  those  who  persisted  in  despising  the  commands  of 
Christ  delivered  by  his  mouth.  It  was  needful,  also,  that  he  should 
notice  their  false  accusations;  and  that  (undeterred  by  the  charge  of 
vanity  which  they  brought)  ^  he  should  vindicate  his  apostolic  character 

1  See  2  Cor.  iii.  1 .  It  may  safely  be  assumed  often  said)  that  the  portion  before  chap.  x.  is 
that  Jerusalem  was  the  headquarters  of  the  addressed  to  the  obedient  section  of  the  Church, 
Judaizing  party,  from  whence  their  emissaries  and  that  after  chap.  x.  to  the  disobedient.  Po- 
were  despatched.  Compare  Gal.  ii.  12;  Acts  lemical  passages  occur  throughout  the  earlier 
XT.  1,  and  xxi.  20.  portion  also;  see  i.  15-17,  ii.  17,  iii.  1,  v.  12, 

2  See  2  Cor.  xi.  22.  &c. 

'  See  2  Cor.  xi.  18-20,  and  the  note  there.  ^  It  is  a  curious  fact,  and  marks  the  per- 

*  1  Cor.  ii.  3.  aonal  character  of  this  Epistle,  that  the  verb 

*  2  Cor.  X.  10,  16.  for  "boast"  and  its  derivatives  occur  twenty- 
'  See  notes  on  2  Cor.  viii.  18,  22.  nine  times  in  it,  and  only  twenty-six  times  in 
''  This  twofold  character  pervades  the  whoU  all   the  other  Epistles  of   St.   Paul   put  to 

Fpiitle ;    it  is   incorrect  to  say  (as  has  been       gether. 


CHAP.  xvn.  SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE   CORINTHIANS.  485 

by  a  statement  of  facts,  and  a  threat  of  punishment  to  be  inflicted  on  the 
contumacious.     With  these  objects,  he  wrote  as  follows  :  — 

SECOND   EPISTLE  TO  THE   CORINTHIANS.^  LI 

saiutaticm.  PAUL,  an  Apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the  will  of  God,  and 

Timotheus  the  Brother,  TO  THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  WHICH  IS  IN 
CORINTH,  AND  TO  ALL  THE  SAINTS  THROUGHOUT  THE 
WHOLE  PROVINCE  OP  ACHAIA. 

Grace  be  unto  you  and  peace,  from  God  our  Father,  and  from  our     2 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Thanksciying       Thauks  be  to  God  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the     8 

for  his  deliv-  ' 

^atdan°g™r    father  of  compassiou,  and  the  God  of  all  comfort,  who  con-     4 
lar  Asia.         solcs  me  ^  in  all  my  tribulation,  thereby  enabling  me  to  com- 
fort those  who  are  in  any  affliction,  with  the  same  comfort  wherewith  I 
am  myself  comforted  by  God.     For  as  the  sufferings  of  Christ^  have     5 
come  upon  me  above  measure,  so  by  Christ  also  my  consolation  is  above 
measure  multiplied.     But  if,  on  the  one  hand,  I  am  afflicted,  it  is  for     6 
your  consolation  and  salvation  (which  works  in  you  a  firm  endurance  of 
the  same  sufferings  which  I  also  suffer  ;  *  so  that  my  hope  is  steadfast  on 
your  behalf)  ;  and  if,  on  the  other  hand,  I  am  comforted,  it  is  for  your 
consolation,'  because  I  know  that  as  you  partake  of  my  sufferings,  so  you     7 

1  St.  Paul  has  given  us  the  following  par-  (5.)  Some  of  the  other  topics  mentioned  in 

ticulars  to  determine  the  date  of  this  Epis-  1    Cor.  are  again  referred  to,  especially  the 

tie  :  —  punishment  of  the  incestuous  offender,  in  such 

(1.)  He  had  been  exposed  to  great  danger  a  manner  as  to  show  that  no  long  interval  had 

in  Proconsular  Asia,  t.  e.  at  Ephesus  (2  Cor.  elapsed  since  the  first  Epistle. 
i.  8).     This  had  happened  Acts  xix.  23-41.  2  p^r  ^jjg  translation  here,  see  the  reasons 

(2.)  He  had  come   thence    to   Troas,  and  given  in  the  note  on  1  Thess.  i.  2.     It  is  evi- 

( after  some  stay  there)    had  passed   over  to  dent  here  that  St.  Paul  considers  himself  alone 

Macedonia.     This  was  the  route  he  took.  Acts  the  writer,  since  Timotheus  was  not  with  him 

XX.  1 .  during  the  danger  in  Asia ;  and,  moreover,  he 

(3.)  He  was   in  Macedonia  at  the  time  of  uses    "I"   frequently,    interchangeably  with 

writing  (2  Cor.  ix.  2,  the  verb  is  in  the  present  "we"  (see  verse  23) ;    and  when  he  includes 

tense),  and  intended  (2  Cor.  xiii.  1)  shortly  to  others  in  the  "we  "  he  specifies  it,  as  in  verse 

visit   Corinth.     This  was  the  course  of  his  19.     See,  also,  other  proofs  in  the  note  on  vi. 

journey.  Acts  xx.  2.  11. 

(4.)  The  same  collection  is  going  on  which  8  Compare  Col.  i.  24. 

is  mentioned  in  I  Cor.  (see  2  Cor.  viii.  6,  and  *  This  is  the  order  given  by  the  MS.  au- 

2  Cor.  ix.  2 ) ;  and  which  was  completed  during  thorities. 

his  three  months'  visit  to  Corinth  (Kom.  xv.  ^  Here  we  follow  Griesbach's  text,  on  the 

26),  and  taken  up  to  Jerusalem  immediately  authority  of  the  Alexandrian  and  other  MSS., 

after,  Acts  xxiv.  17.  and  on  grounds  of  context. 


486  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap .  xvn 

L  8   partake  also  of  my  comfort.     For  I  would  have  you  know,  brethren,  con- 
cerning the  tribulation  which  befell  me  in  the  province  of  Asia,^  that  I 
was  exceedingly  pressed  down  by  it  beyond  my  strength  to  bear,  so  as  to 
9   despair  even  of  life.     Nay,  by  my  own  self  I  was  already  doomed  to 

10  death  ;  that  I  might  rely  no  more  upon  myself,  but  upon  God  who^  raises 
tne  dead  to  life ;  who  delivered  me  from  a  death  so  grievous,  and  does 
yet  deliver  me ;  in  whom  I  have  hope  that  He  will  still  deliver  me  for 

11  the  time  to  come ;  you  also  helping  me  by  your  supplications  for  me,  that 
thanksgivings  may  from  many  tongues  be  offered  up  on  my  behalf,  for 
the  blessing  gained  to  me  by  many  prayers.'^ 

12  For  this  is  my  boast,  the  testimony  of  my  conscience,  that  I  seif-defence 
have  dealt  with  the  world,  and  above  all  with  you,  in  godly  sfrion  of*^*"** 

double-deal- 
honesty  and  singleness  of  mind,^  not  in  the  strength  of  carnal  i°8- 

18   wisdom,  but  in  the  strength  of  God's  grace.     For  I  write  nothing  else  to 

you  but  what  you  read  openly,*  yea,  and  what  you  acknowledge  inwardly, 
14  and  I  hope  that  even  to  the  end  you  will  acknowledge,®  as  some  of  you^ 

have  already  acknowledged,  that  I  am  your  boast,  even  as  you  are  mine, 

in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus."' 
16       And  in  this  confidence  it  was  my  wish  to  come  first*  to  Reason  for 

you,  that  [afterwards]  you  might  have  a  second  benefit ;  and  min?  o^f^w**" 

visit  to 

16   to  go  by  you  into  Macedonia,  and  back  again  from  Macedonia  corinth. 

1  It  has  been  questioned  whether  St.  Paul  ^  Literally,  that  from  many  persons  the  gift 
here  refers  to  the  Ephesian  tumult  of  Acts  given  to  me  by  means  of  many  may  have  thanks 
xix. ;  and  it  is  urged  that  he  was  not  then  in  returned  for  it  on  my  behalf. 
danger  of  his  life.  But  had  he  been  found  by  ^  St.  Paul  here  alludes  to  his  opponents, 
the  mob  during  the  period  of  their  excitement,  who  accused  him  of  dishonesty  and  inconsis- 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  he  would  have  tency  in  his  words  and  deeds.  From  what 
been  torn  to  pieces,  or  perhaps  thrown  to  wild  follows,  it  seems  that  he  had  been  suspected 
beasts  in  the  Arena ;  and  it  seems  improbable  of  writing  privately  to  some  individuals  in 
that  within  so  short  a  iMjriod  he  should  again  the  church,  in  a  different  strain  from  that  of 
have  been  exposed  to  peril  of  his  life  in  the  his  public  letters  to  them, 
same  place,  and  that  nothing  should  have  been  *  The  word  properly  means  you  read  aloud, 
said  of  it  in  the  Acts.  Some  commentators  viz.  when  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  were  pub- 
have  held  (and  the  view  has  been  ably  advo-  licly  read  to  the  congregation.  Compare  I 
cated  by  Dean  Alford)  that  St.  Paul  refers  to  Thess.  v.  27. 

a   dangerous   attack  of   illness.      With    this  ^  There  is   a  play  upon   the  words   here, 

opinion  we  so  far  agree  that  we  believe  St.  which  it  is  difficult  in  English  to  imitate. 

Paul  to  have  been  suffering  from  bodily  illness  *  Compare  chap.  ii.  5,  and  Rom.  xi.  25 

when  he  wrote  this  Epistle.     See  the  prelimi-  "^  t.  e.  the  day  when   the  Lord  Jesns  will 

nary  remarks  above.    St.  Paul's  statement  here  come  again. 

that  ho  was  "  self-doomed  to  death  "  certainly  *  t.  e.  before  visiting  Macedonia.    Seep.  418 

looks  very  like  a  reference  to  a  very  dangerous  note. 
illness,  in  which  he  had  despaired  of  recovery. 


CHAP.  xvn. 


SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE   CORINTHIANS. 


487 


to  you,  and  by  you  to  be  forwarded  on  my  way  to  Judaea.    Am  I  accused,  i.  17 
then,  of  forming  this  purpose  in  levity  and  caprice  ?  or  is  my  purpose  car- 
nal, to  please  all,  by  saying  at  once  both  yea  and  nay  V     Yet  as  God   18 
is  faithful,  my  words  to  you  are'^  no  [deceitful]  mixture  of  yea  and  nay. 
For  when  the  Son  of  God,  Jesus  Christ,  was  proclaimed  among  you  by   19 
us  (by  me,  I  say,  and  Silvanus,  and  Timotheus),  in  Him  was  found  no 
wavering  between  yea  and  nay,  but  in  Him  was  yea  alone ;  for  all  the  20 
promises  of  God  have  in  Him  the  yea  [which  seals  their  truth] ;  where- 
fore also  through  Him  the  Amen  [which  acknowledges  their  fulfilment] 
is  uttered  to  the  praise  of  God  by  our  voice.^     But  God  is  He  who  keeps  21 
both  us  and  you  steadfast  to  His  anointed,  and  we  also  are  anointed  *  by 
Him.     And  He  has  set  His  seal  upon  us,  and  has  given  us  the  Spirit  to  22 
dwell  in  our  hearts,  as  the  earnest®  of  His  promises.     But  for  my^  own  23 
part,  I  call  God  to  witness,  as  my  soul  shall  answer  for  it,  that  I  gave  up 
my  purpose  "^  of  visiting  Corinth  because  I  wished  to  spare  you.     I  speak  24 
not*  as  though  your  faith  was  enslaved  to  my  authority,  but  because  I 
desire  to  help  your  joy  ;^  for  your  faith  is  steadfast.     But  I  determined  ^"  ii.  1 
not  again  "  to  visit  you  in  grief ;  for  if  I  cause  you  grief,  who  is  there  to     2 
cause  me  joy,  but  those  whom  I  liave  grieved  ?     And  for  this  very  reason     8 


1  This  translation  (the  literal  English  being, 
do  I  purpose  my  purposes  carnally,  that  both  yea, 
yea,  and  nay,  nay,  may  be  [found]  with  me?)  ap- 
pears tc  give  the  full  force,  as  much  as  that  of 
Chrysostom  :  "  or  must  I  hold  to  the  purposes 
which  I  have  formed  from  fieshly  fear,  lest  I  be 
accused  of  changing  my  yea  into  nay  ?  "  which  is 
advocated  by  Winer,  but  which  does  not  agree 
with  the  context. 

'^  We  follow  here  Lachmann,  Tischendorf, 
hnd  the  best  MSS. 

^  In  the  present  edition  we  have  adopted 
Lachraann's  reading.  The  Amen  was  that  in 
which  the  whole  congregation  joined  at  the 
close  of  the  thanksgiving,  as  described  in  1 
Cor.  xiv.  16.  It  should  also  be  remembered 
(as  Canon  Stanley  observes),  that  it  is  the 
Hebrew  of  "yea." 

*  The  commentators  do  not  seem  to  have 
remarked  here  the  verbal  connection.  [This 
has  been  noticed  by  Prof.  Stanley,  since  the 
above  was  first  published.]  The  anointing 
spoken  of  as  bestowed  on  the  Apostles  was  that 
grace  by  which  they  were  qualified  for  their 
oflSce.      The  "  we  "  and  "  us  "  in  verses  20, 


21,  and  22,  include  Silvanus  and  Timothena, 
as  is  expressly  stated  verse  19. 

^  Literally,  the  earnest  money,  i.  e.  a  small  sum 
which  was  paid  in  advance,  as  the  ratification 
of  a  bargain  ;  a  custom  which  still  prevails  in 
many  countries.  The  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  this  life  is  said  by  St.  Paul  to  be  the  earnest 
of  their  future  inheritance  ;  he  repeats  the  ex- 
pression 2  Cor.  V.  5,  and  Eph.  i.  14,  and 
expresses  the  same  thing  under  a  diflferent  meta- 
phor Rom.  viii.  23. 

^  Thv  '  I "  here  is  emphatic. 

^  Thf  A.  V.  "  not  yet "  is  a  mistake  for 
"  no  longer." 

^  St.  Paul  adds  this  sentence  to  soften  what 
might  seem  the  magisterial  tone  of  the  preced- 
ing, in  which  he  had  implied  his  power  to 
punish  the  Corinthians. 

^  i.  e.  I  desire  not  to  cause  you  sorrow,  but 
to  promote  your  joy. 

I''  This  can  scarcely  mean  for  my  own  sake 
as  Billroth  and  others  propose  to  translate  it 

^1  This  alludes  to  the  intermediate  yisit 
which  St.  Paul  paid  to  Corinth.  See  p.  418, 
note. 


488  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OP  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xyn 

I  wrote  ^  to  you  instead  of  coming,  that  I  might  not  receive  grief  from 
those  who  ought  to  give  me  joy ;  and  I  confide  in  you  all  that  my  joy  is 
a.  4  yours.  For  I  wrote  to  you  out  of  much  affliction  and  anguish  of  heart, 
with  many  tears  ;  not  to  pain  you,  but  that  you  might  know  the  abun- 
dance of  my  love. 
6       As  concerns  him^  who  has  caused  the  pain,  it  is  not  me  that  Pardon  of 

the  incestuout 

he  has  pained,  but  some  of  you  ; '  [some,  I  say,]  that  I  may  person. 

6  not  press  too  harshly  upon  all.     For  the  offender  *  himself^  this  punish- 
ment, which  has  been  inflicted  on  him  by  the  sentence  of  the  majority,' 

7  is  sufficient  without  increasing  it.     On  the  contrary,  you  ought  rather  to 
forgive  and  comfort  him,  lest  he  should  be  overwhelmed  by  the  excess  of 

8  his  sorrow.     Wherefore  I  beseech  you  fully  to  restore  him  to  your  love. 

9  For  the  very  end  which  I  sought  when  I  wrote  before  was  to  test  you  in 
this  matter,  and  learn  whether  you  would  be  obedient  in  all  things.     But 

10  whomsoever  you  forgive,  I  forgive  also;  for  whatever^  I  have  forgiven, 

11  I  have  forgiven  on  your  account  in  the  sight'  of  Christ,  that  v,g^  may  not 
be  overreached  by  Satan  ;  for  we  are  not  ignorant  of  his  device. 

12  When  I  had  come  to  Troas  to  publish  the  Glad-tidings  of  pause  of  his 

leaving  Troas. 

13  Christ,  and  a  door  was  opened  to  me  in  the  Lord,  I  had  no  rest 

in  my  spirit  because  I  found  not  Titus  my  brother  ;  so  that  I  pai  ted  from 

14  them,^  and  came  from  thence  into  Macedonia.  But  thanks  be  to  (rod,  who 
leads  me  on  from  place  to  place  in  the  train  of  his  triumph,  to  celebrate 
his  victory  over  the  enemies  of  Christ;^**  and  by  me   sends   forth  the 

1  i.  e.  the  First  Ep.  Cor.  xxii.  22,  and  1  Cor.  v.  5.     It  is  not  Mequately 

'  Literally,  "  if  any  man  has  caused  pain;  "  represented  by  the  English  "such  a  mnn." 

a  milder  expression,  which  would  not  in  Eng-  ^  Not  "many"  (A.  V.) ;   but  the  najority. 

lish  bear  so  definite  a  meaning  as  it  does  in  See,  for  the  punishment,  1  Cor.  v.  4. 

the  Greek.  e  The  best  MSS.  have  the  neuter,  not  the 

"  Such  is   the  meaning  according  to   the  masculine, 

punctuation  we  adopt.    For  the  sense  of  one  ''  Compare  Proverbs  viii.  30  (LXX.>      The 

phrase,   see  chap.   i.    14,   and   Rom.   xi.   25.  expression   is  used    somewhat   differertly   in 

With  rojard  to  the  sentiment,  St.  Paul  intends  iv.  6. 

to  say  that  not  all  the  Corinthian  Church  had  *  The  we  of  this  verse  appears  to  in'^lude 

been  included  in  his  former  censure,  but  only  the  readers,  judging  from  the  change  of  per- 

tkat  part  of  it  which  had  supported  the  offend-  son   before   and    after.     They  would    all    be 

er;  and  therefore  the  pain  which  the  oflfcnder  "overreached  by  Satan"  if  he  robbed  them  of 

had   drawn   down   on    the   Church  was    not  a  brother. 

inflicted  on    the  whole   Church,  but  only  on  ^  Namely,  from  the  Christians  of  Troas. 

that  erring  part  of  it.  i"  The  verb  here  used  (which  is  mistrans- 

*  The  expression  is  used  elsewhere  for  a  lated  in  A.  V.)  means  to  lead  a  man  a$  captive 

definite  offending  individual.     Compare  Acts  in  a  triumphal  procession ;  the  full  phrase  meaiu 


CHAP  xvn. 


SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CORINTHIAKS. 


489 


knofledge  of  Him,  a  steam  of  fragrant  incense,  throughout  the  world. 
For  Christ's  is  the  fragrance '  which  I  offer  up  to  God,  whether  among  ii.15 
those  in  the  way  of  salvation,^  or  among  those  in  the  way  of  perdition  ; 
hut  to  these  it  is  an  odor  of  death,  to  those  of  life.^  16 

^  ^  ^  And  [if  some  among  you  deny  my  sufRciency]  who,  then,   17 

In XThl     is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?     Tor  I   seek   not   profit  (like 
his^^oToiic    most)  *  by  setting  the  word  of  God  to  sale,'  but  I  speak  from 

office,  and  its 

gicrycon-       a  siuglc  hcart,  from  the  command  of  God,  as  in  God's  pres- 

trastea  witn  a  i  j  r 

Mosaic  dis-     ence,  and  in  fellowship  with  Christ.     Will  you  say  that  I  am  iii.  1 

again  beginning  to  commend  myself  ?     Or  think  you  that  I 
need  letters  of  commendation   (like  some  other  men)  either  to  you,  or 
from  you  ?     Nay,  ye  are  yourselves  my  letter  of  commendation,  a  letter     2 
written  on  ^  my  heart,  known  and  read ''  by  all  men  ;  a  letter  *  coming     3 
manifestly  from  Christ,  and  committed  to  my  charge ;  written  not  with 
ink,  but  with  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God ;  not  upon   tablets  of  stone,® 
but  upon  the  fleshly  tablets  of  the  heart.     But  through  Christ  have  I     4 
this  confidence  ^'^  before  God  ;  not  thinking  myself  sufficient  to  gain  wis-     5 
dom  by  my  own  reasonings,"  as  if  it  came  from  myself,  but  drawing  my 
sufficiency  from  God.     For  He  it  is  who  has  made  me  suffice  for  the     6 


to  lead  captive  in  a  triumph  over  the  enemies  of 
Christ.  The  metaphor  is  taken  from  the  tri- 
amphal  procession  of  a  victorious  general. 
God  is  celebrating  His  triumph  over  His  ene- 
mies ;  St;.  Paul  (who  had  been  so  great  an  op- 
ponent of  the  Gospel)  is  a  captive  following  in 
the  train  of  the  triumphal  procession,  yet  (at 
the  same  time,  by  a  characteristic  change  of 
metaphor)  an  incense-bearer,  scattering  in- 
cense (which  was  always  done  on  these  occa- 
sions) as  the  procession  moves  on.  Some  of 
the  conquered  enemies  were  put  to  death 
when  the  procession  reached  the  Capitol;  to 
them  the  smell  of  the  incense  was  "  an  odor  of 
death  unto  death ; "  to  the  rest  who  were 
spared,  "  an  odor  of  life  unto  life."  The  meta- 
phor appears  to  have  been  a  favorite  one  with 
St.  Paul ;  it  occurs  again  Col.  ii.  15. 

1  Literally,  Christ's  fragrance  am  I,  unto  God. 

^  Not  "who  are  saved"  (A.  V.).  See  note 
on  1  Cor.  i.  18. 

^  Literally,  10  these  it  is  an  odor  of  death,  end- 
inq  in  death ;  to  those  an  odor  of  life,  ending  in 
Hfe. 


*  The  mistranslation  "  many  "  (A.V.)  ma- 
terially alters  the  sense.  He  evidently  alludes 
to  his  antagonists  at  Corinth ;  see  p.  483,  and 
xL  13. 

*  Literally,  to  sell  by  retail,  including  a  notion 
of  fraud  in  the  selling.  Compare  the  similar 
imputations  against  his  Judaizing  adversaries 
in  1  Thess.  ii.  3. 

®  It  is  possible  that  in  using  the  plural  here 
St.  Paul  meant  to  include  Timotheus ;  yet  as 
this  supposition  does  not  agree  well  with  the 
context,  it  seems  better  to  suppose  it  used 
merely  to  suit  the  plural  form  of  the  pro- 
noun. 

■^  The  paronomasia  cannot  well  be  here  imi- 
tated in  English.     Compare  i.  14. 

^  Literally,  being  manifestly  shoum  to  be  a  letter 
of  Christ  conveyed  by  my  ministration. 

^  Like  the  law  of  Moses. 
1°  Viz.  of  his  suflSciency.     Compare  ii.  16; 
iii.  5,  6. 
^  Literally,  to  reach  any  conclusion  by  my  own 


490  THE   LIPB  AXD   EPISTLES  OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap,  xvji 

ministration  of  a  new  covenant,  a  covenant  not  of  letter,  but  of  spirit ; 
ui.  7  for  the  letter  kills,^  but  the  spirit  makes  the  dead  to  live.  Yet  if  a 
glory  was  shed  upon  the  ministration  of  the  law  of  death  (a  law  written 
in  letters,  and  graven  upon  stones)  ^  so  that  the  sons  of  Israel  could  not 
fix  their  eyes  on  the  face  of  Moses,  for  the  glory  of  his  countenance, 

8  although  its  brightness  was  soon  to  fade  ;  ^  how  far  more  glorious  must 

9  the  ministration  of  the  spirit  be  !     For  if  the  ministration  of  doom  had 
glory,  far  more  must  the  ministration  of  righteousness  abound  in  glory.* 

10  Yea,  that  which  then  was  glorious  has  no  glory  now,  because  of  ^  the  sur- 

11  passing  glory  wherewith  it  is  compared.  For  if  a  glory  shone  upon  that 
which  was  doomed  to  pass  away,  much  more  doth  glory  rest®  upon  that 

12  which  remains  forever.     Therefore,  having  this  hope,  I  speak  and  act 

13  without  disguise  ;  and  not  like  Moses,  who  spread  a  veil  over  his  face, 
that  ^  the  sons  of  Israel  might  not  see  the  end  of  that  fading  brightness. 

14  But  their  minds  were  blinded  ;  yea,  to  this  day,  when  they  read  in  their 
synagogues  ^  the  ancient  covenant,  the  same  veil  rests  thereon,  nor  ^  can 

15  they  see  beyond  it  that  the  law  is  done  away  in  Christ ;  but  even  now, 
when  Moses  is  read  in  their  hearing,  a  veil^"   lies  upon  their  heart. 

6,17  But  when  their  heart  turns  to  the  Lord,  the  veil  is  rent  away."  Now 
the  Lord  is  the  Spirit ;  and  where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  abides,  there 

18  bondage  gives  place  to  freedom ;  and  we  all,  while  with  face  unveiled 
we  behold  in  a  mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are  ourselves  transformed 


1  For  the  meaning,  compare  Rom.  vii.  9-  *  In  their  synagoffues  is  implied  in  the  term 
11.  used  here.     Compare  Acts  xv.  21. 

2  Literally,  if  the  ministration  of  death  in  let-  *  We  take  the  phrase  absolutely  ;  literally, 
ters,  graven  upon  stones,  was  horn  in  glory.  it  being  not  unveiled  [i.  e.  not  revealed  to  them]  tluU 

8  See  note  on  1  Cor.  ii.  6.  it  [the  ancient  covenant]  is  done  awaij  in  Christ. 

*  The  whole  of  this  contrast  between  the  "  Done  away  "  is  predicated,  not  of  the  veil,  but 

glory  of  the  new  and   the  old  dispensations  of  the  old  covenant.     Compare  the  preceding 

appears   to  confirm   the  hypothesis  that   St.  verse  and  verses  7  and  11 . 

Paul's  chief  anta<,ronists  at  Corinth  were  of  the  i"  Perhaps  there  may  be  here  an  allusion  to 

Judaizing  party.  the  Tallith,  which  (if  we  may  assume  this  prac- 

6  Literally, "/or  that  which  has  been  glorified  in  tice  to  be  as  old  as  the  apostolic  age)  was  worn 

this  partiadar  has  not  been  glorified,  because  of  the  in  the  synagogue  by  every  worshipper,  and  was 

glory  which  surpasses  it.  literally  a  veil  hanging  down  over  the  breast. 

«  "Restupon— Shine  upon."  The  preposi-  See  p.  154,  and  compare  the  note  on  1  Cor, 

tions  in  the  original  give  this  contrast.  xi.  4. 

T  See  Exod.  xxxiv.  3,5.      St.  Paul  here  (as  "  Alluding  to  Exod.  xxxiv.  34,  where  it  is 

usual)  blends  the  allegorical  with  the  historical  said,  "  When  Moses  went  in  before  the  Lord, 

view  of  the  passage  referred  to  in  the  Old  Tea-  he  rent   away  the  veil."     The  most  natural 

tament.  subject  of  the  verb  "  turn  "  is  "  heart." 


IV, 


CHAP.  xvn.  SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE   CORINTHIANS.  49] 

continually  ^  into  the  same  likeness  ;  and  the  glory  which  shines  upon 
us  ^  is  reflected  by  us,  even  as  it  proceeds  from  the  Lord,  the  Spirit. 

Therefore  having  this  ministration/  I  discharge  it  with  no  faint-hearted     1 
fears,  remembering  the  mercy  which  I  *  received.     I  have  renounced  tlie     2 
secret  dealings  of  shame,  I  walk  not  in  the  paths  of  cunning,  I'  adulter- 
ate not  the  word  of  God ;  but  openly  setting  forth  the  truth,  as  in  the 
sight  of  God,  I  commend  myself  to  the  conscience  of  all  men.     But  if    S 
thero  be  still  a  veil  ^  which  hides  my  Glad-tidings  from  some  who  hear 
me,  it  is  among  those  ^  who  are  in  the  way  of  perdition  ;  whose  unbeliev-    4 
ing  minds  the  God  of  this  world  *  has  blinded,  and  shut  out  the  glorious 
light  of  the  Glad-tidings  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God.     For  1  pro-     6 
claim  not  myself,  but  Christ  Jesus  as  Lord  and  Master,^  and  myself  your 
bondsman  for  the  sake  of  Jesus.     For  God,  who  called  forth  light  out  of    6 
darkness,  has  caused  His  light  to  shine  in  my  heart,  that  [upon  others 
also]  might  shine  forth  the  knowledge  of  His  glory  manifested  in  the  face 
of  Jesus  Christ.^'' 
In  sickness  But  tlils  trcasuro  is  lodged  in  a  body  of  fragile  clay,"  that  so     7 

and  in  danger  °  J  o  j  i 

i!/fro.n  tifr     ^li®  surpassing  might  [which  accomplishes  the  work]  should  be 
christ,**and      God's,  and  not  my  own.     I  am  hard  pressed,  yet  not  crushed  ;     8 

the  hope  of 

eternal  life,  perplcxcd,  yet  uot  despairing  ;  persecuted,  yet  not  forsaken  ;  9 
struck  down,  yet  not  destroyed.^^  In  my  body  I  bear  about  continually  10 
the  dying  of  Jesus,^^  that  in  my  body  the  life  also  of  Jesus  might  be 

1  The  tense  is  present.  *  See  note  on  1  Cor.  i.  20. 

2  "From  glory'    indicates   the  origin  of  ®  "Lord  "is  the  correlative  of  "slave  "here; 
this  transformation,  viz.  the glort^ shining  on  us;       compare  Eph.  vi.  5. 

"  To  glorj',"  the  effect ;  viz.  the  reflection  of  ^^  For  the  meaning  of  "  shine  forth,"  com- 

that  ghry  by  us.     For  the  metaphor,  compare  pare  verse  4. 

1  Cor.  xiii.  12,  and  note.     We  observe  in  both  ^^  The  whole  of  this  passage,   from   this 

passages  that  even  the  representation  of  divine  point  to  chap.  v.  10,  shows  (as  we  have  before 

truth  given  us  by  Christianity  is  only  a  re-  observed)  that  St.  Paul  was   suffering  from 

flection  of  the  reality.  bodily  illness  when  he  wrote.     See  also  chap. 

3  Viz.   "  the  ministration  of   the  Spirit."  xii.  7-9. 

(iii.  8.)  ^^  Observe  the  force  of  the  present  tense  of 

*  Viz.  in  his  conversion  from  a  state  of  Jew-  all  these  participles,  implying  that  the  state  of 

ish  unbelief.  things  described  was  constantly  going  on. 

^  St.  Paul  plainly  intimates  here   (as  he  ^^  "Lord  "is  not  found  in  the  best  MSS 

openly  states  xi.  17)  that  some  othei  leachers  The  word  translated  "dying"  here  (as  Prof, 

were  liable  to  these  charges.     See  also  ii.  17,  Stanley  obser\-es)  is  properly  the  deadness  of  a 

and  the  note  corpse ;  as  though  St.  Paul  would  say,  "  my  body 

**  In  the  participle  used  here,  there  is  a  refer-  is  no  better  than  a  corpse ;  yet  a  corpse  which 

euce  to  the  preceding  word  "  veil."  shares  the  life-giving  power  of  Christ's  reiurree- 

"  Compare  ii.  15,16.  tion." 


492  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xvu. 

ir.ll  shown  forth.     For  I,  in  the  midst  of  life,  am  daily  given  over  to  death  for 
the  sake  of  Jesus,  that  in  my  dying  flesh  the  life  whereby  Jesus  con- 
quered death  ^  might  show  forth  its  power. 
12       So,  then,  death  working  in  me  works  life  ^  in  you.     Yet  having  the 
T3   same  spirit  of  faith  whereof  it  is  written  **  J  belief,   atltr  tfjcrrfjorc 
I'*  bib  d   Sfitak/'  ^  I  also  believe,  and  therefore  speak.     For  I  know  that 
He  who  raised  the  Lord  Jesus  from  the  dead  shall  raise  me  also  by 

15  Jesus,  and  shall  call  me  into  His  presence  together  with  you  ;  for  all 
[my  sufferings]  are  on  your  behalf,  that  the  mercy  which  has  abounded 
above  them  all  might  call  forth  your  thankfulness ;  that  so  the  fulness 
of  praise  might  be  poured  forth  to  God,  not  by  myself  alone,  but  multi- 

16  plied  by  many  voices.*     Wherefore  I  faint  not ;  but  though  my  outward 

17  man  decays,  yet  my  inward  man  is  renewed  from  day  to  day.  For  my 
light  afflictions,  which  last  but  for  a  moment,  work  for  me  a  weight  of 

18  glory,  immeasurable  and  eternal.  Meanwhile  I  look  not  to  things  seen, 
but  to  things  unseen :  for  the  things  that  are  seen  pass  away  ;  but  the 

V  1    things  that   are  unseen  endure  forever.     Yea,  I  know  that  if  the  tent  * 
which  is  my  earthly  house  be  destroyed,  I  have  a  mansion  built  by  God,  a 

2  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal,  in  the  heavens.     And  herein  I  groan 
with  earnest  longings,  desiring  to  cover*  my  earthly  raiment  with  the 

3  robes  of  my  heavenly  mansion.     (If,  indeed,  I  shall  be  found  '^  still  clad  in 

1  Literally,  the  life,  as  weO.  as  the  death,  of  ing  mansion ;  the  vile  body  of  flesh  and  blood,  to 
Jems.  the  spiritual  body  of  the  glorified  saint. 

2  Literally,  while  death  toorks  in  me,lifeuwrks  ^  There  is  much  force  in  "  clothe  upon  "  as 
in  you.     I.  e.   the   mortal   peril  to  which  St.  distinguished  from  "  clothe." 

Paul  exposed  himself  was  the  instrument  of  '  Literally,  "  If  indeed  I  shall  be  found  clad, 

bringing  spiritual  life  to  his  converts.  and  not  stripped  of  my  clothing ; "  i.  e.  "  If,  at 

8  Ps.  cxvi.  10  (LXX.).  the  Lord's  coming,  I  shall  be  found  still  living 

*  The  literal  translation  would  be,  that  the  in  the  flesh."     We  know  from  other  passages 

favor   which    has  abounded   might,  through   the  that  it  was  a  matter  of  uncertainty  with  St. 

thanksgiving  of  the  greater  number,  overflow  to  Paul  whether  he  should  survive  to  behold  the 

the  praise  of  God.     This  takes  the  preposition  second  coming  of  Christ  or  not.     Compare 

as  governing  "  thanksgiving"  and  the  verb  as  1  Thess.  iv.  15,  and  1  Cor.  xv.  51.     So,  in  the 

intransitive ;  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  next  verse,  he  expresses  his  desire  that  his 

this  verb  is  used  twenty-six  times  by  St.  Paul,  fleshly  body  should    be    transformed  into   a 

and  only  three  times  transitively.      If,  how-  spiritual   body,   without   being  "unclad"   by 

ever,  we  make  it  transitive  here,  the  sense  will  death.      The   metaphor  of    "nakedness"  as 

be,  vii'iht  by  means  of  the  greater  number  cause  combined  with  "  tent  "  scorns  snjrgestcd  by  the 

the  Ihanksrjimng  to  ovrrflow,  Sfc. ;  which  does  oriental  practice  of  striking  the  tent  very  early 

not  materially  alter  the  sense.     Compare  the  in  the  morning,  often  before  the  travellc-s  are 

similar  sentiment  at  chap.  i.  11.  dressed.     So  we  read  in  M'Cheync's  account 

5  The  shifting  tent  is  here  opposed  to  endur-  of  his  journey  through  the  desert,  "  WliOii 


CHAP.  xvn.  SECOND  EPISTLE  TO   THE   COHINTHIAJSTS.  493 

my  fleshly  garment.)     For  we  who  are  dwelling  in  the  tent  groan  and  v.  4 
are  burdened ;  not  desiring  to  put  off  our  [earthly]  clothing,  but  to  put 
over  it  [our  heavenly]  raiment,  that  this  our  dying  nature  might  be  swal- 
lowed up  by  life.     And  He  who  has  prepared  me  for  this  very  end  is  God,     5 
who  has  given  me  the  Spirit  as  the  earnest  of  my  hope.     Therefore,  I  am     0 
ever  of  good  courage,  knowing  that  while  my  home  is  in  the  body,  1  am 
in  banishment  from  the  Lord  ;  (for  I  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight).     Yea, 7,  8 
my  heart  fails  me  not,  but  I  would  gladly  suffer  banishment  from  the 
body,  and  have  my  home  with  Christ.^    Therefore  I  strive  earnestly  that,     9 
whether  in  banishment  or  at  home,  I  may  be  pleasing  in  His  sight.     For   10 
we  must  all  be  made  manifest  ^  without  disguise  before  the  judgment-seat 
of  Christ,  that  each  may  receive  according  to  that  which  he  has  done  in 
the  body,  either  good  or  evil. 

nJssTprings        Knowing  therefore  the  fearfulness  of  the  Lord's  judgment,  11 
of  his  respon-  though  I  scck  to  wiu  men,'  yet  my  uprightness  is  manifest  in 

sibility  to 

Christ,  whose  ^hc  sight  of  God  ;  and  I  hope  also  that  it  is  manifested  by  the 
b^unfon  *"    witness  of  your  consciences.     I  write  not  thus  to  repeat  my  12 

with  whom 

hia  whole        qwu  commcndation,*  but  that  I  may  furnish  you  with  a  ground 

uature  has  '  j  j  o 

chauged         of  boastiug  ou  my  behalf,  that  you  may  have  an  answer  for 
those  whose  boasting  is  in  the  outward  matters  of  sight,  not  in  the  inward 
possessions  of  the  heart.     For  if  I  be  mad,*  it  is  for  God's  cause  ;   if  13 
sober,  it  is  for  yours.     For  the  love  of  Christ  constrains  me,  because  I   14 
thus  have  judged,®  that  if  one  died  for  all,  then  all  died  [in  Him]  ; '  and   15 
that  He  died  for  all,  that  the  living  might  live  no  longer  to  themselves, 
but  to  Him,  who,  for  their  sakes,  died  and  rose  again.^ 

morning  began  to  dawn,  our  tents  were  taken  ing  to  win  men,"  and  "  trying  to  please  men." 

down.     Often  we  have  found  ourselves  shelter-  See  Gal.  i.  10,  and  the  note, 
less   before    being  fully   dressed."      (Life  of  *  This  alludes  to  the  accusation  of  vanity 

M'Cheijne,  p.  92.)     It  should  be  observed  that  brought  against  him  by  his  antagonists  ;  com- 

the  original  denotes  simply  £??-essec?,  clad,  the  an-  pare  iii.  1. 

ti thesis  to  naked.    Prof.  Stanley's  translation,  *  i.  e.  if  I  exalt  myself  (his  opponents  called 

"  in  the  hope  that  after  having  put  on  our  him  beside  himself  with  vanity^,  it  is  for  God's 

heavenly  garment  we  shall  be  found  not  naked,  cause;  if  I  humble  myself,  it  is  for  your  sakes. 
but  clothed,"  involves  a  paralogism,  being  tan-  ^  Or  perhaps   "/  thus  judged,  viz.  at  the 

tamount   to  say^ig,  "  in  the  hope  that  after  time  of  my  conversion ; "   if  we  suppose  th*i 

having  clothed  ourselves  we  shall  be  found  to  aorist  used  in  its  strict  sense, 
have  clothed  ourselves."  "  The  original  cannot  mean  all  were  dead 

^  Literally,  the  Lord.  (A.Y.),hutall  died.   The  death  of  all  for  whom 

■^  The  translation  in  the  Authorized  Ver-  He  died,  was  virtiially  involved  in  His  death, 
sion  is  incorrect.  *  The  best  commentary  on  the  14th  and 

*  He  was  accused  by  the  Judaizers  of  "  try-  15th  verses  is  Gal.  ii.  20. 


494  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL  chap.  xvn. 

V.  16     I  ^  therefore,  from  henceforth,  view  no  man  carnally ;  yea,  though  once 

17  my  view  of  Christ  was  carnal,'^  yet  now  it  is  no  longer  carnal.     Whoso- 
ever, then,  is  in  Christ,  is  a  new  creation ;  his  old  being  has  passed  away, 

18  and  behold,  all  has  become  new.     But  all  comes  from  God,  for  He  it  is 
who  reconciled  me  to  Himself  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  charged  me  with  the 

19  ministry  of  reconciliation;  for^  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world 
to  Himself,  reckoning  their  sins   no   more   against   them,  and   having 

20  ordained  me  to  speak  the  word  of  reconciliation.     Therefore  I  am  an 
ambassador  for  Christ,  as  though  God  exhorted  you  by  my  voice  ;  in 

21  Christ's  stead  I  beseech  you,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God.     For  Him  who 
knew  no  sin  God  struck  with  the  doom  of  sin  *  on  our  behalf ;  that  we 

vi- 1  might  be  changed  into  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Christ.     Moreover,  as 
working*  together  with  Him,  I  also  exhort  you,  that  the  grace  which  you 

2  have  received  from  God  be  not  in  vain.     For  He  saith  :  **  Jf  Ijaij^  l^tuxh 

i)^n  xtx  aix  ataplabk  lime,  aiii)  hx  llje  ban  of  salhalmix  Ijabe  |  sur- 

COXtii  ihtt."^    Behold,  now  is  the  acceptable  time;  behold,  now  is  the 
day  of  salvation. 

3  For  I  take  heed  to  give  no  cause  of  stumbling,  lest  blame  J/'SS- 

4  should  be  cast  on  the  ministration  wherein  I  serve;  but  in  all  which  he  had 

dischfirged 

things  I  commend  myself^  as  one  who  ministers  to  God's  ser-  ^"pea/to^the 
vice ;  in  steadfast  endurance,  in  afflictions,  in  necessities,  in  hircouvens. 

5  straitness  of  distress,  in  stripes,  in  imprisonments,  in  tumults,  in  labors, 

6  in  sleepless  watchings,  in  hunger  and  thirst ;  in  purity,  in  knowledge,  in 
long-suffering,  in  kindness,  in   [the  gifts  of]   the  Holy  Spirit,  in  love 

7  unfeigned  ;  speaking  the  word  of  truth,  working  with  the  power  of  God, 
fighting  with  the  weapons  of  righteousness,  both   for  attack  and   for 

^  The  pronoun  is  emphatic.  *  The  word  "  sin  "  is  used,  for  the  sake  of 
3  We  agree  with  Billroth,  Neander,  and  De  parallelism  with  the  "  righteousness  "  which  fol- 
Wette,  that  this  cannot  refer  to  any  actual  lows.  God  made  Christ  "  Sin  "  that  we  might 
knowledge  which  St.  Paul  had  of  our  Lord  be  made  "  Righteousness." 
when  upon  earth  ;  it  would  probably  have  ^  See  note  on  1  Cor.  iii.  9.  /  ^Iso  exhort  re- 
been  "  Jesus  "  had  that  been  meant ;  moreover,  fers  to  the  preceding,  as  thongh  God  exhorted 
the  preceding  phrase  does  not  refer  to  personal  you.  "  Is.  xlix.  8  (LXX.). 
knowifdye,  but  to  a  carnal  estimate.  For  other  "  An  allusion  apparently  to  the  "commend 
reasons  against  such  an  interpretation,  see  myself"  and  the  "  commendatory  letters  'of 
p.  C2.  St.  Paul's  vkw  of  Christ  was  carnal  iii.  1 ;  as  though  he  said,  /  commend  myself,  not 
when  he  looked  (like  other  Jews)  foraMessitdi  by  word,  but  by  deed.  [Tlie  stress  is  not  on 
who  should  be  an  earthly  conqueror.  "  myself"  here,  as  in  the  former  case.  The 
«  "  To  wit  that,"  "  because  that,"  pleonastic.  order  of  the  word  shows  this.  —  H.] 


CHAP.  xva.  SECOND   EPISTLE   TO  THE   CORINTHIANS.  495 

vi 
defence ;    through  good  report   and   evil,  through   honor  and   through     8 

infamy ;  counted  as  a  deceiver,  yet  being  true  ;  as  unknown  [by  men] ,     9 
yet  acknowledged  ^  [by  God]  ;  as  ever  dying,  yet  behold  I  live  ;  as  chas- 
tened by  suffering,  yet  not  destroyed ;  as  sorrowful,  yet  ever  filled  with   10 
joy  ;  as  poor,  yet  making  many  rich ;  as  having  nothing,  yet  possessing 
all  things. 

Corinthians,  my'^  mouth  has  opened  itself  to  you  freely,  —  my  heart   n 
is  enlarged  towards  you.     You  find  no  narrowness  in  my  love,  but  the   12 
narrowness  is  in  your  own.     I  pray  you  therefore  in  return  for  my  afiec-   13 
tion  (I  speak  as  to  my  children),  let  your  hearts  be  opened  in  like 
manner. 
Exhortation        Ccasc  to  yokc  yourselves  unequally  in   ill-matched  inter-  14. 

to  the  Auti-  ^  ^  -x  j  x-x 

party  r"t^ie     coursc  with  unbelicvers ;  for  what  fellowship  has  righteousness 
Bhun  all  fei-     with  unrightcousness  ?  what  communion  has  light  with  dark-   15 

lowship  with 

heathen  vice,   jjggg  ?  what  coucord  has  Christ  with  Belial  ?  what  partnership 
has  a  believer  with  an  unbeliever?  what  agreement  has  the  temple  of  16 
God  with  idols  ?     For  ye  are  yourselves  a  temple  of  the  living  God,  as 

God  said :  **  J  toil!  bto^II  xix  tijtm,  aiib  toalli  iit  tijtm,  an^  Jf  toill  ht 
tijcir  d^otr,  an!Cr  Ibcn  sljall  ht  mg  people."^    Wiierefore,  "Cflme  i7 
flul  front  among  lljcm  ^nH  ht  ^t  separate,  sarll;  l^ejortr,  anir  louclj 
not  tljc  nndeait  tijing,  anb  J  toill  xtmht  gon-"*    And  "J  fajill  ht  18 
unto  gon  a  fatljer,  antr  gon  shall  ht  mn  sons  anb  baugfjt^rs,  saxt^ 

the  '^Orb  ^lmicj;!jtn." *     Havhig  therefore  these  promises,  my  beloved,-^  1 
let  us  cleanse  ourselves  from  every  defilement,  either  of  flesh  or  spirit, 
and  perfect  our  holiness,  in  the  fear  of  God 

at^theTidhfgs       *  ^^^^  ^®  ^  favorable  hearing.     I  have  wronged  no  man,  I     2 
by  Ti^u3"from  havc  ruiucd  ^  no  man,  I  have  defrauded  no  man  ;  I  say  not     3 

Corinth, 

1  For  the  meaning,  see  1  Cor.  xiii.  12.  and  Jer.  xxxi.  9,  and  xxxii.  38,  contain  the  sub- 

"  Observe,  as  a  confirmation  of  previous  re-  stance  of  it     St.  Paul,  as  usual,  quotes  from 

marks  as  to  St.  Paul's  use  of  the  singular  and  memory. 

plural  pronouns,  verses  11,13;  also  vii.  2,  3,  4.  ^  It  is  not  impossible  that  the  preceding  part 

"  Levit.  xxvi.  11,  12  (according  to  LXX.,  of  the  Epistle  may  have  been  written,  as  TVicse- 

with  slight  variations).  ler  supposes,  before  the  coming  of  Titus.     See 

*  Isaiah  lii.  11  (according  to  LXX.,  with  al-  above,  p.  483,  n.  1.  But  the  opening  words  of 
terations) ;  the  words  "  I  will  receive  you  "  not  this  section  are  obviously  connected  with  verses 
being  either  in  the  LXX.  or  the  Hebrew  there,  12,  13,  of  the  preceding  chapter.  The  section 
though  found  in  Ezek.  xx.  34.  from  vi.  14  to  vii.  1  is  entirely  unconnected  with 

*  This  passage  is  not  to  be  found  exactly  in  what  precedes  and  follows  it. 

tne  Old  Testament,  although  2  Sam.  vii.  14,  ''  St.  Paul  appears  frequently  to  use  the 


496  THE  LIFE  AITD  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  ivu 

this  to  condemn  you  [as  though  I  had  myself  been  wronged  by  you] ,  for 
"    I  have  said  before  that  I  have  you  in  my  heart,  to  live  and  die  with  you. 

4  Great  is  my  freedom  towards  you,  great  is  my  boasting  of  you  ;  I  am 
filled  with  the  comfort  which  you  have  caused  me  ;  I  have  more  than  an 

5  overweight  of  joy  for  all  the  affliction  which  has  befallen  me.  When 
first  I  came  into  Macedonia  my  flesh  had  no  rest,  but  I  was  troubled  on 

6  every  side ;  without  were  fightings,  within  were  fears.  But  God,  who 
comforts  them  that  are  cast  down,  comforted  me  by  the  coming  of  Titus ; 

7  and  not  by  his  coming  only,  but  by  the  comfort  which  he  felt  on  your 
account,  and  the  tidings  which  he  brought  of  your  longing  for  my  love, 
your  mourning  for  my  reproof,  your  zeal  for  my  cause  ;  so  that  my  sor- 

8  row  has  been  turned  into  joy.  For  though  I  grieved  you  in  my  letter,^ 
I  do  not  regret  it ;  but  though  I  did  regret  it  (for  I  see  that  grief  was 

9  caused  you  by  that  letter,  though  but  for  a  season) ,  I  now  rejoice ;  not 
because  you  were  grieved,  but  because  your  grief  led  you  to  repent- 
ance ;  ^  for  the  grief  I  caused  you  was  a  godly  sorrow ;  so  that  I  might 

10  nowise  harm  you  [even  when  I  grieved  you] .  For  the  work  of  godly 
sorrow  is  repentance  not  to  be  repented  of,  leading  to  salvation  ;  but  the 

11  work  of  worldly  sorrow  is  death.  Consider  what  was  wrought  among 
yourselves  when  you  were  grieved  with  a  godly  sorrow  ;  what  earnest- 
ness it  wrought  in  you,  yea,  what  eagerness  to  clear  yourselves  from 
blame,  what  indignation,^  what  fear,*  what  longing,^  what  zeal,®  what 
punishment  of  wrong.     You  have   cleared   yourselves   altogether  from 

12  every  stain  of  guilt  in  this  matter.     Know,  therefore,  that  although  I 

original  word  in  this  sense  (compare  1    Cor.  same  tense  has  to  serve  the  purpose  both  of 

iii.  17),  and  not  in  the  ordinary  meaning  of  aorist  and  perfect.     See  note  on  Rom.  v.  5. 

corrupt.    We  may  remark  here,  that  there  is  no  [See  note  on  Gal.  ii.  10.     Tliis  grammatical 

need  to  suppose  these  aorists  used  aoristically  question  is  discussed  in  the  Cambridqe  Journal 

(as  they  would  be  in  classical  Greek),  since  St.  of  Classical  and  Sacred  PMloloqy.  —  h.] 

Paul  constantly  used  the  aorist  for  the  perfect.  ^  Viz.  1  Cor.,  unless  we  adopt  the  hypothesis 

Even  those  commentators  who  are  most  anx-  that  another  letter  had  been  written  in  the  in- 

iou3  to  force  upon  the  Hellenistic  of  the  New  terval,  according  to  the  view  mentioned  p.  479, 

Testament  the  nice  observance  of  this  classical  n.  2. 

distinction,  are  obliged  sometimes  to  give  up  ^  The    text    of   the   whole    passage,   here 

their  consistency  and  translate  the  aorist  as  per-  adopted,  is  the  same  as  that  of  Prof.  Stanley, 

feet.     In  fact,  the  aorist  is  continually  joined  but  punctuated  differently. 

with  "now"  {e.g.  Matt.  xxvi.  65 ;  John  xiii.  ^  Indignation  against  the  offfender. 

31;  Rom.  xi.  31  ;  Eph.  iii.  5),  which  is  of  course  *  Fear  of  the  wrath  of  God. 

decisive.     It  is  not  wonderful  that  there  should  ^  Longing  for  restoration  to  St.  Paul's  ap- 

be  this   ambiguity  in  the  Hellenistic  use  of  proval  and  love. 

Greek  tenses,  considering   that  in   Latin   the  ®  Zeal  on  behalf  of  right,  and  against  wrong. 


CHAP.  xvn.  SECOND   EPISTLE   TO  THE   COELNTHIA^fS.  497 

wrote  to  [rebuke]  you,  it  was  not  so  much  to  punish  the  wrong-doer,  nor 

to  avenge  him  ^  who  sufifered  the  wrong,  but  that  my  earnest  zeal  for  you 

in  the  sight  of  God  might  be  manifest  to  yourselves.^ 

vu. 
This,  therefore,  is  the  ground  of  my  comfort;  but^  besides  my  conso-   18 

lation  on  your  account,  I  was  beyond  measure  rejoiced  by  the  joy  of 

Titus,  because  his  spirit  has  been  refreshed  by  you  all.     For  whatever   14 

V)oast  of  you  I  may  have  made  to  him,  I  have  not  been  put  to  shame. 

But  as  all  I  ever  said  to  you  was  spoken  in  truth,  so  also  my  boasting  of 

you  to  Titus  has  been  proved  a  truth.     And  his  heart  is  more  than  ever   15 

drawn  towards  you,  while  he  calls  to  mind  the  obedience  of  you  all,  and 

the  fear  and  trembling  *  wherewith  you  received  him.     I  rejoice  that  in   16 

all  things  you  give  me  ground  for  courage.' 

Explanations       ^  dcsirc,  brethren,  to  make  known  to  you  the  manifestation  viill 

eouctrnhie'"^  of  God's  gracc,  which  has  been  given  in  ^  the  churches  of  Mace- 

the  collection 

for  the  poor     douia.     For  in  the  heavy  trial  which  has  proved  their  stead-     2 

Christians  in  •'  *^ 

jerusaiem.s     fastucss,  tlic  fulucss  of  their  joy  has  overflowed,  out  of  the 
depth  of  their  poverty,  in  the  richness  of  their  liberality.'     They  have     S 
given  (I  bear  them  witness)  not  only  according  to  their  means,  but  beyond 
their  means,  and  that  of  their  own  free  will ;  for  they  besought  me  with     4 
much  entreaty  that  they  might  bear  their  part  ^  in  the  grace  of  ministering 
to  the  saints.    And  far  beyond  my  hope,  they  gave  their  very  selves  to  the     fi 
Lord  first,  and  to  me  also,  by  the  will  of  God.     So  that  I  have  desired     f 
Titus  [to  revisit  you] ,  that  as  he  caused  you  to  begin  this  work  before,  so 
he  may  lead  you  to  finish  it,  that  this  grace  may  not  be  wanting®  in  you ;     !I 


'■  Viz.  the  father  of  the  offender.     We  need  *  The  great  importance  attached  by  St.  Paul 

not  be  perplexed  at  his  wife's  forming  another  to  this  collection,  as  manifested  in  the  present 

connection  during  his  lifetime,  when  we  con-  section  of  this  Epistle,  may  be  explained  not 

sider  the  great  laxity  of  the  law  of  divorce  merely  by  his  desire  to  fulfil  his  share  of  the 

among  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  agreement  mentioned.  Gal.  ii.  10,  but  also  by 

2  If   we  adopt   the  other  reading   (which  his  hope  that  such  a  practical  proof  of  his  lore 

transposes  "you"  and  "us  "),  it  will  give  the  would  reconcile   the  Judaizing   Christians  at 

sense,  that  ijour  zeal  for  me  mi(jM  he  vianlfested  to  Jerusalem  to  himself  and  his  Gentile  converts. 

yourselves;   which   might  be   perhaps  another  See  the  conclusion  of  our  preceding  chapter, 
(though  an  obscure)  way  of  saying,  in  order  to  ^  The  original  here  cannot  mean  "  bestowed 

bring  out  your  zeal  for  me,  so  that  you  might  all  on  "  (A.  V.). 
perceive  hoiv  the  majority  felt  for  me.  "^  See  note  on  2  Cor.  ix.  11. 

*  The  reading  of  the  best  MSS.  gives  this  ^  The  omission  here  is  required  by  the  beat 
order.  MSS. 

*  For  the  meaning  of  this  phrase,  see  1  Cor.  '  Literally,  thia  grace  as  well  as  other  graces. 
ii.  3 

82 


498  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xth. 

but  that,  as  you  abound  in  all  gifts,  in  faith  and  utterance,  and  knowl- 
...  edge,  and  earnest  zeal,  and  in  the  love  which  Joins '  your  hearts  with 
8    mine,  so  you  may  abound  in  this  grace  also.     I  say  not  this  by  way  of 

command ;  but  by  the  zeal  of  others  I  would  prove  the  reality  of  your 
9  love.     For  you  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  how,  though 

He  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  He  became  poor,  that  you,  by  His  poverty, 

10  might  be  made  rich.  And  I  give  you  my  advice  in  this  matter  ;  for  \t 
becomes  you  to  do  thus,  inasmuch  as  you  began  not  only  the  contribution, 
but  the  purpose  of  making  it,  before  others,^  in  the  year  which  is  passed 

11  Now,  therefore,  fulfil  your  purpose  by  your  deeds,  that  as  you  then 
showed  your  readiness  of  will,  so  now  you  may  finish  the  work,  according 

12  to  your  means.     For  if  there  be  a  willing  mind,  the '  gift  is  acceptable 

13  when  measured  by  the  giver's  power,  and  needs  not  to  go  beyond.  Nor 
[is  this  collection  made]  that  others  may  be  eased,  and  you  distressed,  but 

14  to  make  your  burdens  equal,  that  as  now  your  abundance  supplies  their 
need,  your  own  need  may  [at  another  time]  be  relieved  in  equal  measure 

15  l)y  their  abundance,  as  it  is  written,  — ''  ^t  lljat  gatljtutr  mur^  Ijab 

16  naihmQ  obtx ;  anb  \it  tijal  Qut^im^  Mih  Ijatr  no  hch,"  *    But 

thanks  be  to  God,  by  whose  gift  the  heart  of  Titus  has  the  same  zeal  as 

17  my  own  on  your  behalf;  for  he  not  only  has  consented  to  my  desire,  but 
is  himself  very  zealous  in  the  matter,  and  departs  ^  to  you  of  his  own 

18  accord.  And  I  have  sent  as  his  companion  the  brother  who  is  with  him, 
whose  praise  in  pubUshing  the  Glad-tidings  ^  is  spread  throughout  all  the 

19  churches  ;  who  has  moreover  been  chosen  by  the  churches  [of  Macedo- 
nia] to  accompany  me  in  my  journey  (when  I  bear  this  gift,  which  I  have 

1  If  we  follow  the  Received  Text,  this  is,  lit-  the  act  is  looked  upon,  according  to  the  classi 
erally,  the  love  which  springs  from  you  and  dwells      cal  idiom,  from  the  position  of  the  reader. 

in  me ;  if  with  Lachmann's  text  we  transpose  ^  The  word  here  cannot  refer,  as  some  ha\  » 

the  pronouns,  it  will  be,  the  love  which  I  have  imagined,  to  a  ttfritten  Gospel;  it  is  of  constai.t 

awakened  in  ipur  limrts.     [Lachmann's  second  occurrence  in  the  New  Testament  (occurring 

edition  returns  to  the  Received  Text.  —  h.]  sixty  times  in  St.  Paul's  writings,  and  sixteen 

2  "Began  before;"  viz.  before  the  Macedo-  times  in  the  other  books),  but  never  once  in 
nian  churches.  The  meaning  is  that  the  Co-  the  supposed  sense.  Who  the  deputy  here 
rinthians  had  been  the  first  not  only  to  make  mentioned  was  we  have  no  means  of  ascertain- 
the  collection,  but  to  propose  it.  ing.     Probably,  however,  he  was  either  Luke 

8  Literally,  it  is  acceptable  according  to  that  (Acts  xx.  6),  or  one  of  those,  not  Macedonians 

2vhich  it  possesses,  not  that  which  it  ])ossessesnot.  (ix.  4),  mentioned  Acts  xx.  4;  and  possibly 

*  Exodus  xvi.  18,  quoted  according  to  LXX.  may  have  been  Trophimus.     See  Acts  xxi.  29. 

The  subject  is  the  gathering  of  the  manna.  We  may  notice  the  coincidence  between   the 

6  The  tense  in  the  original  is  past,  because  phrase  here  and  in  Acts  xix.  29. 


OHAP.xvn.  SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE   COKINTHIANS.  499 

undertaken  to  administer)  ;  that  the  Lord  might  be  glorified,  and  that  ^  I    ... 
might   undertake   the  task  with  more  good  will.      For  I  guard  mjself  20 
against  all  suspicion  which  might  be  cast  upon  me  in  my  administration 
of  this  bounty  with  which  I  am  charged  ;  being  *'  nr0ljlb£ltt  of  000^   21 

nport "  not  only  ''  m  tfjc  sijg^t  of  %  '%axts"  but  also  **  m  tfjx  srcjbt 

of  XiUuJ*  '^     The  brother  *  whom  I  have  sent  likewise  with  them  is  one   22 
whom  I  have  put  to  the  proof  in  many  trials,  and  found  always  zealous 
in  the  work,  but  who  is  now  yet  more  zealous  from  the  full  trust  which 
he  has  m  you.     Concerning  Titus,  then  (on  the  one  hand),  he  is  partner  23 
of  my  lot,  and  fellow-laborer  with  me  for  your  good  ;  concerning  our 
brethren  (on  the  other  hand),  they  are  ambassadors  of  the  churches  — 
a  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  Christ.     Show  them,  therefore,  the  proof  24 
of  your  love,  and  justify  my  boasting  on  your  behalf,  in  the  sight  of  the 
churches.*     For  of  your  ministration  to  the  saints  [at  Jerusalem]  it  is  ix.  1 
needless  that  I  should  write  to  you ;  since  I  know  the  forwardness  of  your     2 
mind,  and  boast  of  it  to  the  Macedonians  on  your  behalf,  saying  that 
Achaia  has  been  ready  ever  since  last  year  ;  and  the  knowledge  of  your 
zeal  has  roused  the  most  of  them.     But  I  have  sent  the  brethren,*  lest     3 
my  report  of  you  in  this  matter  should  be  turned  into  an  empty  boast ; 
that  you  may  be  truly  ready,  as  I  declared  you  to  be.     Lest,  perchance,     4 
the  Macedonians  who  may  come  with  me  to  visit  you  should  find  you  not 
yet  ready,  and  so  shame  should  fall  upon  me  (for  I  will  not  say  upon  you) 
in  this  ground  of  my  boasting.®     Therefore,  I  thought  it  needful  to  desire     S 
these  brethren  to  visit  you  before  my  coming,  and  to  arrange  beforehand 
the  completion  of  this  bounty  which  you  before  promised  to  have  in 


1  The  reading  of  the  best  MSS.  gives  the  *  "  To  them  "  is  contrasted  with  "  to  the 

sense  as  follows,  —  to  promote  my  willingness  of  saints  "  in  the  following  verse  ;  the  connection 

mind,  i.  e.  to  render  me  more  willing  to  undertake  being,  Show  kindness  to  the  deputies ;  for  as  to 

the  administration  of  the  alms,  which  St.  Paul  the  collection,  I  need  not  ask  you  to  show  zeal 

would  have  been  unwilling  to  do  without  coad-  for  that,  Sfc.     The  "  and  "  in  the  last  clause  is 

jutors  elected  by  the  contributors,  lest  he  should  omitted  by  all  the  best  MSS. 
incur  unworthy  suspicions.  ^  Viz.  Titus  and  the  other  two. 

-  The  quotation  is  from  Prov.  iii.  4  (LXX.),  ^  Literally  the  word  means,  the  groundtvork 

cited  also  Rom.  xii.  17.  on  which  some  superstructure  is  founded.     His 

^  There  is  even  less  to  guide  us  in  our  con-  appeal  to  the  Macedonians  was  grounded  on 

jectures  as  to  the  person  here  indicated  than  this  readiness  of  the  Corinthians.      If  (with 

in   the  case  of   the   other  deputy  mentioned  the  best  MSS.)  we  omit  "  of  my  boasting," 

above.     Here,  also,  the  emissary  was  elected  the  meaning  will  be  unaltered.     Compare  xL 

by  some  of  the  Churches  who  had  contributed  to  1 7,  and  note  on  Heb.  ui.  14. 
the  collection.    He  may  have  been  either  Luke, 
Gains,  Tych'.cus,  or  Trophimus  (Acts  xx.  4). 


500  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  coat.  x\ij 

.     readiness;  so  it  be  really  given  by  your  bounty,  not  wrung  fi  om  your 

6  covetousness.     But  remember,  he  ^  who  sows  sparingly  shall  reap  sparing- 

7  ly ;  and  he  who  sows  bountifully  shall  reap  bountifully.  Let  each  do 
according  to  the  free  choice  of  his  heart ;  not  grudgingly,  or  of  necessity  ; 

8  for  *'  ^0i>  ktrttlj  a  rlj^trful  gifa^r."^  And  God  is  able  to  give  you  an 
overflowing  measure  of  all  good  gifts,  that  all  your  wants  of  every  kind 
may  be  supplied  at  all  times,  and  you  may  give  of  your  abundance  to 

9  every  good  work.     As  it  is  written,—  '*  ^Ij^  0ODb  mait  Ijallj  BCU.tkxtti 

abroad,  ^«  Ijallj  Qxbm  ia  il^t  poor;  Ijis  rigbtcousit^ss  xmxnimi^ 

10  foxthtX.'*^  And  He  who  furnisheth  *' Bttii  io  llj^  SOiXTCr,  aittr  hxtui 
for  t(jC  footr  of  maa/'  *  will  furnish'  you  with  plenteous  store  of  seed, 

11  and  bless  your  righteousness  with  fruits  of  increase  ;  being  enriched  with 
all  good  things,  that  you  may  give  ungrudgingly ;  ®  causing  thanksgivings 

12  to  God  from '  those  to  whom  I  bear  your  gifts.  For  the  ministration  of 
this  service  not  only  fills  up  the  measure  of  the  necessities  of  the  saints, 

18  but  also  overflows  beyond  it,  in  many  thanks  to  God  ;  while  they  ^  praise 
God  for  the  proof  thus  given  of  the  obedience  wherewith  you  have  con- 
sented to  the  Glad-tidings  of  Christ,  and  for  the  single-mindedness  of  your 

14  liberality  both  to  them,  and  to  all.  Moreover,  in  their  prayers  for  you 
they  express  the  earnest  longings  of  their  love  towards  you,  caused  by  the 

15  surpassing  grace  of  God  manifested  in  you.  Thanks  be  to  God  for  His 
unspeakable  gift ! 

X.  1  Now  I,  Paul,  myself  exhort  you  by  the  meekness  and  ^^omf char- 
gentleness  of  Christ — (I,  who  am  mean,  forsooth,  and  lowly  serwc^swith 

^  The  same  expression  occurs  Gal.  tI.  7.  '  In  the  best  MSS.  the  verbs  in  this  verse 

*  Prov.  xxii.  8  (according  to  LXX.,  with      are  future,  not  optative. 

alight  variation).  ^  The  word  here  properly  denoting  singlc- 

8  Ps.  cxii.  9  (LXX.).     The  subject  of  the  ness  means,  when  applied  to  the  mind,  a  dis- 

verb  "  scattered  "  in  the  psalm  is  "  the  good  position   free   from   arrieres-pens^es,   either  of 

man"    (in   the  fifth   verse),  which  St.  Paul  duplicity,   selfishness,   or  grudging;    thus   it 

leaves  to  be  supplied  by  the  memory  of  his  might  naturally  acquire  the  meaning  of  liberal- 

readers.     To  represent  the  quotation  accurate-  ity,  which  it  has  in  the  eighth  and  ninth  chap- 

ly  to  an  P^nglish  reader,  it  is  necessary  to  insert  ters   in   this  Epistle,   and  perhaps    in  Rbra. 

this  word,   otherwise    it  would    seem    as    if  xii.  8. 
"  God  "  were  the  subject  of  the  verb.  ''  Literally,  that  you  may  gioe  with  liberality; 

*  These  words  are  an  exact  quotation  from  which  works  thanksgiving  to  God  by  my  instiV' 
Isaiah  Iv.  10  (LXX.).     Ignorance  of  this  fact  mentality. 

has  caused  an  inaccuracy  in  A.  V.     The  literal  ^  Literally,  they,  by  the  proof  of  this  viini*- 

translation  of  the  remainder  of  the  verse  is,  —       tration,  praising  God,  i.  e.  being  caused  to  praite 
"  Furnish  and  make  plenteous  your  seed,   and       God/or  the  obedience,  &c. 
increase  the  fruits  springing  from  your  righieoua- 
nes.i." 


CHAP.  iTU.  SECi^XD   EPISTLE   TO   THE   COEIXTHIANS.  501 

i-a.^se'teachers  ^^  outward  presencG,'  while  I  am  among  you,  yet  treat  you 
ciaTedhim.      boldly  wlicii  I  am  absent)  —  I  beseech  you  (I  say),  that  you  x.  2 
will  not  force  me  to  show,  when  I  am  present,  the  bold  confidence  in  my 
power,  wherewith  I  reckon  to  deal  with  some  who  reckon  '^  me  by  the 
standard  of  the  flesh.     For,  though  living  in  the  flesh,  my  warfare  is     3 
not  waged  according  to  the  flesh.     For  the  weapons  which  I  wield  aro     4 
not  of  fleshly  weakness,  but  mighty  in  the  strength  of  God  to  overthrow 
the  strongholds  of  the  adversaries.     Thereby  can  I  overthrow  the  reason-     6 
ings  of  the  disputer,  and  pull  down  all  lofty  bulwarks  that  raise  them- 
selves against  tlie  knowledge  of  God,  and  bring  every  rebellious  thought 
into  captivity  and  subjection  to  Christ.      And  when  the  obedience  of    6 
your '  church  shall  be  complete,  I  am  ready  to  punish  all  who  maj  be 
disobedient.* 

Do  you  look  at  matters  of  outward  advantage  ?     If  there  be  any  among     7 
you  who  confidently  assumes  that  he  belongs  [above  the  rest]  to  Christ '^ 
let  him  reckon  anew  by  his  own  reason,®  that  if  he  belong  to  Christ,  so 
do  I  no  less.     For  although  I  were  to  boast  somewhat  highly  concerning     8 
the  authority  which  the  Lord  has  given  me  (not  to  cast  you  down,  but  to 
build  you  up),  my  words  would  not  be  shamed  by  the  truth.     I  say  tliis,     9 
lest  you  should  imagine  that  I  am  writing  empty  threats.     "  For  his   10 
letters,"  says  one,'  "  are  weighty  and  powerful,  but  his  bodily  presence  is 

1  The  phraseology  is  similar  here,  and  in  r.  sary  from  the  Judaizers  of  Palestine,  who  is 
13  and  X.  7.     Compare  also  x.  10.  especially  referred  to  in  this  chapter. 

2  Literally,  who  reckon  me  as  walhing  accord-  *  In  the  former  edition  this  phrase  was 
ing  to  the  flesh.  The  verses  which  follow  ex-  translated  consider.  Dr.  Alford  has  expressed 
plain  the  meaning  of  the  expression.  an  opinion   that   this   translation   is   "  surely 

^  "  Your."     Compare  ii.  5.     He  means  that  inadmissible,"  and  that  it  "  entirely  omits  of 

the  disobedient  minority  would  be  chastised.  himself."    Yet  it  is  in  fact  equivalent  to  his 

*  [We  should  notice  in  verses  3-6  the  com-  own  translation,  "  let  him  reckon  out  of  hi* 

pleteness  of  the  military  allegory.     The  image  own  mind,"  (for  what  is  considering  but  reck- 

is  that  of  a  campaign  against  rebels;    rock-  oning  out  of  one's  own  mind?)     Nevertheless  it 

forts  (such  as  those  on  St.  Paul's  o^vn  Cilician  must  be  admitted  that  the  former  translation 

coast)  must  be  cast  down  :  and  when  the  gen-  did  not  give  suiBcient  emphasis  to  "  of  himself." 

eral  obedience  of  the  country  is  secured,  those  ^  Literally,  "says  he; "  but  it  is  occasion- 

who  are   still   rebellious  must  be  summarily  ally  used   impersonally  for  "  they  say ; "  yet 

punished.      We  should  observe  too   the  new  as,  in  that  sense,  the  plural  would  be  more 

turn  given  to  one  phrase  (not  casting  down,  but  naturally  used,  the  use  of  "  says  he"  and  of 

buiUiing  up)  in  verse  8,  and  even  in  xiii.  10.  "such  a  man,"  in  the  next  verse,  seems  to  point 

See  also  xii.  19.  —  h.]  to  a  single  individual  at  the  head  of  St.  Paul's 

^  The  party  who  said  "I  of  Christ."     (1  opponents.    See  last  note  and  p.  484,  and  com- 

Cor.   i.  12.)     See   Ch.  XIIL      As  we   have  pare  the  use  of  "  such  a  man  "  for  the  single 

remarked  above,  p.  484,  this  party  at  Corinth  incestuous  person  (2  Cor.  ii.  7),  and  for  St 

seems  to  have  been  formed  and  led  by  an  emis-  Paul  himself  (2  Cor.  xii.  2). 


502  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xvn. 

X  11  weak,  and  his  speech  contemptible."     Let  such   a  man  assure  himself 
that  the  words  which  I  write  while  absent  I  will  bear  out  by  my  deeds 

12  when  present.^  For  I  venture  not  to  number  or  compare  myself  with 
certain  of  the  self-commenders ;  nay,  they,  measuring  themselves  by 
themselves,  and  comparing   themselves  with   themselves,  are  guilty  of 

13  folly .^  But  I,  for  my  part,  will  not  let  my  boasting  carry  me  beyond 
measure,  but  will  confine  it  within  that  measure  given  me  by  God,  who 

14  made  my  line  reach  even  to  you.  For  I  stretch  not  myself  beyond  due 
bounds  (as  though  I  reached  you  not)  ;  for  I  have  already  come  as  far 

15  even  as  CoHnth  ^  to  publish  the  Glad-tidings  of  Christ.  I  am  not  boast- 
ing beyond  measure,  in  the  labors  of  others ;  *  but  I  hope  that  as  your 
faith   goes   on   increasing  among*  yourselves,  I   shall  be   still   further 

16  honored  within  my  appointed  limits,  by  bearing  the  Glad-tidings  to  the 
countries  beyond  you  ;  not  by  boasting  of  work  made  ready  to  my  hand 

17  within  another  man's  limit.      Meantime,  *'  '^z  iljat  Il0ast^tlj,  Iti  ^m 

18  iroast  xrr;  iht  ^Or!tr/'^  For  a  man  is  proved  worthy,  not  when  he  com- 
mends himself,  but  when  he  is  commended  by  the  Lord. 

xi.  1      Would   that  ye  could  bear  with  me  a  little  in  my  folly !     Yea,  ye 

2  already  bear  with  me.  For  I  love  you  with  a  godly  jealousy,  because  I 
betrothed  you  to  one  only  husband,  even  to  Christ,  that  I  might  present 

3  you  unto  Him  in  virgin  purity  ;  but  I  fear  lest,  as  Eve  was  beguiled  by  the 
craftiness  of  the  serpent,  so  your  imaginations  should  be  corrupted,  and 
you  should  be  seduced  from  your  single-minded  faithfulness  to  Christ. 

4  For  if  he  that  comes  among  you  is  preaching  another  Jesus,  whom  I 
preached  not,  or  if  you  are  receiving  [from  him]  another  Spirit,  which 
you  received  not  before,  or  a  new  Glad-tidings,  which  you  accepted  not 

6  before,  you  would  do  well  to  bear  with  me ;'  for  I  reckon  myself  no  whit 

1  Literally,  Let  such  a  man  reckon,  that  such      apparently  been  cansed  by  the  difficulty  of  the 
as  I  am  in  word  by  letters  while  absent,  such  will       Hellenistic  form. 

/  be  also  in  deed  when  present."  *  "  You." 

2  The  Greek  word   here   is   a  Hellenistic  *  This  was  the  conduct  of  St  Paul's  Jadar 
form  of  the  3d  pi.  ind.  present,  and  occurs       izing  antagonists. 

Mat.  xiii.  13.     Hence  we  need  not  take  it  here  ^  Instead  of  "  by  you  "  we   translate  "  in 

for  the  dative  plural.     If  the  latter  view  were  you,"  and  connect  it  with  "  increased." 
correct,  the  translation  would  be,  "  but  I  meas-  "^  Quoted,  according  to  the  sense,  from  Jer. 

ure  myself  by  my  own  standard,  and  compare  ix.  24  (LXX.) ;  "  in  the  Lord"  bemg  substi- 

myself  with  myself  alone,  unwise  as  I  am."  tuted  for  a  longer  phrase.     Quoted  also  1  Cor. 

But  this  translation  presents  several  difficul-  i.  31. 

ties,  both  in  itself,  and  considered  in  reference  '^  Lachmann    (with    the    Vatican     Manu- 

to   the    context.      Lachmann's    reading    hag  script)   has   the  verb  in   the  present,   which 


CHAP.  xvn. 


SECOND  EPISTLE  TO   THE  COKINTHIANS. 


503 


XL 

behind  your  super-eminent  Apostles.^     Yea,  though  I  be  unskilled  in  the     6 
arts  of  speech,  yet  I  am  not  wanting  in  the  gift  of  "^  knowledge  ;  but  I 
have  manifested  ^  it  towards  you  in  all  things,  and  amongst  all  men.     Or     7 
is  it  a  sin  [which  must  rob  me  of  the  name  of  Apostle],*  that  I  proclaimed 
to  you,  without  fee  or  reward,  the  Glad-tidings  of   God,  and  abased* 
myself  that  you  might  be  exalted  ?     Other  churches  I  spoiled,  and  took     8 
their  wages  to  do  you  service.     And  when  I  was  with  you,  though  I  was     9 
in  want,  I  pressed  not  upon  any  of  you ;  for  the  brethren,*  when  they 
came  from  Macedonia,  supplied  my  needs ;    and  I  kept  and  will  keep 
myself  altogether  from  casting  a  burden  upon  you.      As  the  truth  of  10 
Christ  is  in  me,  no  deed  of  mine  shall  rob  me  ^  of  this  boasting  in  the 
region  of  Achaia.     And  why  ?     Because  I  love  you  not  ?     God  knows   11 
my  love.     But  what  I  do  I  will  continue  to  do,  that  I  may  cut  off  all   12 
ground  from  those  who  wish  to  find  some  ground  of  slander ;  and  let 
them  show  the  same  cause  for  their  boasting  as  I  for  mine.^     For  men   13 
like  these  are  false  Apostles,  deceitful  workmen,  clothing  themselves  in 
the   garb  of   Christ's  Apostles.     And  no  wonder ;  for  even  Satan  can   14 
transform  himself  into  an  angel  of  light.     It  is  not  strange,  then,  if  his   15 
servants  disguise  themselves  as  servants  of  righteousness  ;  but  their  end 
shall  be  according  to  their  works. 


makes  the  coincidence  with  v.  1  more  exact ; 
but  if  we  keep  the  aorist,  it  may  bear  the  sense 
here  given  it,  on  the  same  principle  on  which 
erat  is  often  used  for  esset,  and  y«eraf  for /uisset. 
We  understand  "  bear  with  »«e  "  (not  "bear 
with  hitn,"  with  most  commentators),  because 
this  agrees  better  with  the  context  (the  prepo- 
sition "for  "  following),  and  with  the  first  verse 
of  the  chapter. 

1  This  phrase  (which  occurs  only  in  this 
Epistle)  is  ironical,  as  is  evident  from  the 
epithet  "the  super- apostolic  Apostles."  He 
refers  to  the  Judaizing  emissaries  from  Pales- 
tine who  had  arrived  at  Corinth. 

2  The  gift  of  "  Gnosis  "  was  a  deep  insight 
into  spiritual  truth.  See  Ch.  XIII.  p.  372, 
note. 

^  This  is  according  to  the  reading,  sup- 
ported by  the  preponderating  weight  of  MS. 
authority. 

*  See  p.  381. 

^  i.  e.  by  working  with  his  hands  for  his 
daily  bread.  See  p.  337.  In  all  probability 
( judging  from  what  wc  know  of  other  manu- 


factories in  those  times)  his  fellow-workmen  in 
Aquila's  tent-manufactory  were  slaves.  Com- 
pare Phil.  iv.  12,  "I  know  how  to  be  abased." 

^  Probably  Timotheus  and  Silvanus,  who 
may  have  brought  the  contribution  sent  by 
the  Philippians.  The  A.  V,  "  which  came  " 
is  incorrect. 

■^  According  to  the  true  reading  here  the 
literal  English  would  be,  "  this  boasting  shall  not 
be  stopped  for  me." 

*  The  literal  English  of  this  difficult  pas- 
sage is,  "  that  they,  in  the  ground  of  their  boasting, 
may  be  found  even  as  I."  De  Wette  refers 
"  wherein  they  glory  "  to  the  Apostolic  Office. 
We  take  it  more  generally.  A  more  obvious 
way  would  be  to  take  the  phrase  (with  Chrys- 
ostom  and  the  older  interpreters)  to  mean 
their  abstaining  from  receiving  maintenance ; 
bmt  we  know  that  the  false  teachers  at  Corinth 
did  not  do  this  (compare  v.  20  below),  but, 
on  the  contrary,  boasted  of  their  privilege, 
and  alleged  that  St.  Paul,  by  not  claiming  it, 
showed  his  consciousness  that  he  was  not 
truly  sent  by  Christ.    See  1  Cor.  ix. 


504  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xvii. 

xi. 

16  I  entreat  you  all  once  more '  not  to  count  me  for  a  fool ;  or,  if  you 

think  me  such,  yet  bear  with  me  in  my  folly,  that  I,  too,  may  boast  a 

17  little  of  myself.  But,  in  so  doing,  I  speak  not  in  the  spirit  of  the  Lord, 
but,  as  it  were,  in  folly,  while  we  stand  upon  this  ground  ^  of  boasting ; 

18  for,  since  many  are  boasting  in  the  spirit  of  the  flesh,  I  will  boast  like- 

19  wise.     And  I  know  that  you  bear  kindly  with  fools  as  beseems  the  wise.' 

20  Nay,  you  bear  with  men  though  they  enslave  you,  though  they  devour 
you,  though  they  entrap  you,  though  they  exalt  themselves  over  you, 

21  though  they  smite  you  on  the  face,  to  degrade  you.*  I  say  that  I  was 
weak  ;  *  and  yet,  if  any  have  ground  of  boldness,  I  too  (I  speak  in  folly) 

22  have  ground  to  be  as  bold  as  they.     Are  they  Hebrews  ?  so  am  I.     Are 

23  they  sons  of  Israel  ?  so  am  I.  Are  they  the  seed  of  Abraham  ?  so  am  I. 
Are  they  servants  of  Christ  ?  (I  speak  as  though  I  were  beside  myself) 
such,  far  more,  am  I.     In  labors  more  abundant,  in  stripes  above  measure, 

24  in  prisons  more  frequent,  in  deaths  oft.     (Five  times  I  received  from 

25  Jews  the  forty  stripes  save  one ;  tlirice  I  was  scourged  with  the  Roman 
rods  ;  once  I  was  stoned  ;  thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck  ;  ^  a  night  and  a  day 

26  have  I  spent  in  the  open  "^  sea.)  In  journeyings  often  ;  in  perils  of  rivers, 
in  perils  of  robbers ;  in  perils  from  my  countrymen,  in  perils  from  the 
heathen ;  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in  the 

27  sea  ;  in  perils  among  false  brethren.  In  toil  and  weariness,  often  in  sleep- 
less watchings ;  in  hunger  and  thirst,  often  without  bread  to  eat ;  in  cold 

28  and  nakedness.     And  besides  all  the  rest,^  there  is  the  crowd  ®  which 

29  presses  upon  me  daily,  and  the  care  of  all  the  churches.    Who  is  weak,^° 

1  Literally,  "  /  say  once  more,  let  none  count  Lystra.     What  a  life  of  incessant  adventure 

me,"  &c.  and  peril  is  here  disclosed  to  us  !    And  when 

^  See  note  on  2  Cor.  ix.  4.  we  remember  that  he  who  endured  and  dared 

'  This  is   ironical.     So  "ye  are  wise  "  in  all  this  was  a  man  constantly  suffering  from 

1  Cor.  iv.  10.  infirm  health  (see  2  Cor.  iv.  7-12,  and  2  Cor. 

*  Literally,  en  <Ae  wuy  of  de^adation.     The  xii.   7-10,  and    Gal.  iv.   13,  14),  such   heroic 

punctuation  we  adopt  gives  a    simpler  and  self-devotion  seems  almost  superhuman. 
more  natural  sense  than  that  adopted  in  the  ''  Probably  in  a  small  boat  (or  perhaps  on 

first  edition ;  and  it  also  better  suits  the  use  a  plank),  escaping  from  one  of  the  wrecks. 
of  the  pleonastic  phrase  here  and  in  2  Cor.  v.  ®  Not  "  those  things  that  are  without "  as  in 

19  and  2  Thess.  ii.  2.  A.  V. 

^  This  refers  to  the   acknowledgmenvj   he  ^  For  this  meaning  of  the  word  compare 

has  previously  made  of  weakness  in  outward  Acts  xxiv.  12.     If  we  adopt  another  reading, 

advantages,  e.  g.  at  xi.  6  and  x.  1.  which  has  the  greater  weight  of  existing  MSS. 

®  The  five  Jewish  scourgings,  two  of  the  in  its  favor,  but  patristic  authority  against  it, 

three  Roman  beatings  with  rods  (one  being  the  meaning  will   be    nearly   the    same ;  se« 

at  Philippi),  and  the  three  shipwrecks,  are  all  Canon  Stanley's  note, 
unrecorded  in  the  Acts.     The  stoning  was  at  i<^  For  the  way  in  which  St.  Paul  shared 


Cl^Kl     XTTI. 


SECOND   EPISTLE  TO   THE   CORIlSrTHIANS. 


505 


but  I  share  his  weakness  ?     Wlio  is  caused  to  fall,  but  I  burn  with  indisr- 

xi. 
nation  ?     If  I  must  needs  boast,  I  will  boast  of  my  weakness      God,  who  30,31 

is  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  He  who  is  blessed  forever,  knows 

that  I  lie  not.^ 

In  Damascus,  the  governor  under  Aretas,^  the  king,  kept  watch  over   32 
the  city  with  a  garrison,  purposing  to  apprehend  me  ;  and  I  was  let  down   33 
by  the  wall,  through  a  window,  in  a  basket,  and  thus  [not  by  my  strength, 
but  by  my  weakness]  I  escaped  his  hands.     It  is  not  for  me,  then,  to  xii.  1 
boast. ' 

But  I  will  come  also  to  visions  and  revelations  of  the  Lord.     I  know  * 
a  man  who  was  caught  up  fourteen  years  ago  (whether  in  the  body  or     2 
out  ol  tlie  body  I  cannot  tell ;  God  knoweth),  caught  up,  I  say,  in  the 
power  of  Christ,'  even  to  the  third  heaven.     And  I  know  that  such  a  man     3 
t  wliether  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body  I  cannot  tell ;  God  knoweth) 
was  caught  up  into  Paradise,®  and  heard  unspeakable  words,  which  it  is     4 
not  lawful  for  man  to  utter.     Of  such  a  man  I  will  boast ;  but  of  myself     5 
I  will  not  boast,  save  in  the  tokens  of  my  weakness.     If  I  should  choose     (5 
to  boast,  I  should  not  be  guilty  of  empty  vanity,  for  I  should  speak  the 
trutli  ;  Imt  I  forbear  to  speak,  that  I  may  not  cause  any  man  to  think  of 


the  weakness  of  the  "weaker  brethren,"  see 
p.  390,  ami  the  passages  there  referred  to. 

1  This  sulemn  oath,  affirming  his  veracity, 
probably  refers  to  the  preceding  statements  of 
his  labors  am]  dangers.  Compare  Gal.  i.  20. 
If,  however,  wc  should  suppose  that  the  next 
two  verses  were  originally  intended  to  be  the 
i)eginning  ol  a  narrative  of  all  his  sufferings 
from  the  beginning,  then  we  might  refer  the 
asseveration  to  such  intended  narrative. 

^  For  the  historical  questions  connected 
with  this  incident,  see  p.  93.  [A  note  on  the 
word  Ethnarcb  will  be  found  on  p.  100.  —  h.] 

>*  We  f  e'er  the  reading  of  the  Textus 
Receptus  "■  nicl.  is  also  adopted  by  Chrysostom 
and  by  T-'-'-he*  dorf)  to  that  of  the  Vatican 
Manuscrijit,  adopted  by  Lachraann.  On  the 
other  hand,  for  what  follows  we  take  Lach- 
mann's  reading,  on  the  authority  of  the  Co- 
dex Vaticanus,  instead  of  the  Textus  Receptus. 
The  whole  passage  is  most  perplexing,  from 
the  obscurity  of  its  connection  with  what  pre- 
cedes and  what  follows.  Why  did  St.  Paul 
mention  his  escape  fi'om  Damascus  in  so  much 
detail  f     Was  it  merely  as  an  event  ignomin- 


ious to  himself?  This  seems  the  best  view, 
but  it  is  far  from  satisfactory.  There  is  some- 
thing most  disappointing  in  his  beginning  thiis 
to  relate  in  detail  the  first  in  that  series  of 
wonderful  escapes  of  which  he  had  just  before 
given  a  rapid  sketch,  and  then  suddenly  and 
abruptly  breaking  off;  leaving  our  curiosity 
roused  and  yet  ungratified.  We  cannot  agree 
with  De  Wette  in  considering  the  Damascene 
escape  to  be  introduced  as  the  climax  of  all 
the  other  perils  mentioned,  nor  in  referring  to 
it  the  solemn  attestation  of  v.  31. 

*  The  mistranslation  of  the  verb  in  A.  V. 
{knew  for  know)  very  seriouly  affijcts  the  sense  : 
nor  is  there  any  thing  in  the  Greek  correspond 
ing  to  "  about." 

*  We  take  "  in  Christ "  with  "  caught  up," 
which  would  have  came  immediately  after  the 
date,  had  it  not  been  intercepted  by  the  paren- 
thetic clause.  To  translate  "  a  Christian  man  " 
(as  some  commentators  have  done)  is  hardly 
justified  by  such  analogies  as  "  they  that  are 
in  Christ." 

*>  Compare  Luke  xxiii.  43,  To-day  shalt 
thou  be  vpith  me  in  Paradise,  and  Rev.  ii.  7. 


506  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xvu, 

"    me  more  highly  than  when  he  sees  my  deeds  or  hears  my  teaching.^ 

7  And  lest,  through  the  exceeding  greatness  of  these  revelations,  I  should 
be  lifted  up  with  pride,  there  was  given  me  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,^  a  mes- 

8  senger  of  Satan,  to  buffet  me,  to  keep  down  my  pride.     And  thrice  I 

9  besought  the  Lord  ^  concerning  it,  that  it  might  depart  from  me.  But 
He  hath  said  to  me,  "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  ;  for  my  strength  is 
mighty  *  in  weakness."  Most  gladly,  therefore,  will  I  boast  rather  in  my 
weakness  than  in  my  strength,  that  the  strength  of  Christ  may  rest  upon 

10  me,  and  dwell  in  me.*  Therefore  I  rejoice  in  signs  of  weakness,  in  out- 
rage, in  necessities,  in  persecutions,  in  straitness  of  distress,  endured  for 
Christ ;  for  when  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong.® 

11  I  have  been  guilty  of  folly,  but  you  forced  me  to  it ;  fori  ought  myself 
to  have  been  commended  by  you :  for  I  came  no  whit  behind  your  super- 

12  eminent  "^  Apostles,  though  I  be  of  no  account.  The  marks,  at  least,  of 
an  Apostle  were  seen  in  the  deeds  which  I  wrought  among  you,  in  signs, 
and  wonders,  and  miracles,  with  steadfast  endurance  of   persecution.* 

13  Wherein  had  you  the  disadvantage  of  other  churches,  unless,  indeed,  that 
I  did  not  burden  you  with  my  own  maintenance  ?  forgive  me  this  wrong. 

14  Behold  I  am  now  for  the  third  time  ®  preparing  to  visit  you,  and  I  purpose 
to  cast  no  burden  upon  you  ;  for  I  seek  not  your  substance,  but  yourselves. 
Since  children  should  not  lay  up  wealth  for  parents,  but  parents  for  chil- 

16  dren.  Nay,  rather,  most  gladly  will  I  spend,  yea,  and  myself  be  spent, 
for  your  souls,  though  the  more  abundantly  I  love  you,  the  less  I  be 
loved. 

16  But  though  it  be  granted  that  I  did  not  burden  you  myself,  yet  per- 

17  chance  this  was  my  cunning,  whereby  I  entrapped  your  simplicity.  Did 
I  defraud  you  of  your  wealth  by  some  of  the  messengers  whom  I  sent  to 

^  He  alludes  to  the  low  opinion  expressed  ^  The  full  meaning  is,  to  come  to  a  place  for 

by  his  adversaries  at  Corinth  of  his  personal  the  purpose  of  fixing  ones  tent  there.     Compare 

qualifications  and  teaching;  compare  x.  10.  (with  the  whole  verse)  iv.  7. 

2  The  original  is  perhaps  not  adequately  rep-  ^  i.  e.  the  more  he  was  depressed  by  snfler- 

resented  by  the  word  tho7-n,  although  the  thorns  ing  and  persecution,  the  more  was  he  enabled 

of  the  East  are  far  more  formidable  than  those  to  achieve  by  the  aid  of  Christ.     See  a  very 

of  England.     Stake  is  probably  a  more  accu-  striking  sermon  of  A.  Monod  (in  liis  Discours 

rate  translation.     See  Prof.  Stanley's  note  on  sur  St.  Paul)  on  this  text. 
the   passage.     A    painful    bodily    infirmity    is  ''  See  note  on  xi.  .5. 

meant.     See  Gal.  iv.  13,  14,  and  p.  236.  '  The  word  here  (in  St.  Paul's  language) 

^  That  is,  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  appears  by  means  steadfastness  under  persecution.     Some 

•  Christ "  in  the  next  verse.  of  the  persecutions  referred  to  are  recorded  in 

*  Has  its  full  develojment.  Acts  xviii.  '  See  note  on  xiii.  1 . 


CHAP.xvn.  SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COKINTHIANS.  507 

you  ?     I  desired  Titus  to  visit  you,  and  with  him  I  sent  the  brother,  his   18 
fellow-traveller.     Did  Titus  defraud  you  ?     Did  we  not  act  in  the  same 
spirit  ?     Did  we  not  walk  in  the  same  steps  ? 
He  warns  the       Do  you  again  imagine  that  it  is  before  you  I  defend  myself?   19 

factious  and       ^-.  ■,      r.  /-^tt  i  /^ 

immoral  mi-    jNay,  beforo  God  I  speak,  m  Christ ;  but  all,  beloved,  for  your 

noiity  that  he  ^  '  y  J 

TainedT'    ^akes,  that  you  may  be  built  up.     For  I  fear  lest  perchance  20 
if  they  persist  wheu  I  comc  I  should  find  you  not  such  as  I  could  wish,  and 

in  their  tlis- 

obedieuce.  i\jq^  jqu  ^igQ  ghould  find  me  other  than  you  desire.  I  fear  to 
find  you  full  of  strife,  jealousies,  passions,  intrigues,^  slanderings,  back- 
bitings,  vaunting,  sedition.  I  fear  lest,  when  I  come,  my  God  will  again  21 
humble  me  '^  by  your  faults,  and  I  shall  mourn  over  many  among  those 
who  have  sinned  before,^  and  who  have  not  repented  of  the  uncleanness, 
and  fornication,  and  wantonness  which  they  committed. 

I  ]iow  come  to  you  for  the  third  time.*     "  #ut  0f  tfjt  mout^  of  ItoOxiii.l 

or  il^xn  toitmss^s  sljall  ^ir^rg  toorb  ht  tonfinmij/'*    I  have  warned    2 

you  formerly,  and  I  now  forewarn  you,  as  when  '^  I  was  present  the 
second  time,  so  now,  while  I  am  absent,  saying  to  those  who  had  sinned 
before  [my  last  visit],  and  to  all  the  rest  of  the  ofienders,  —  "  If  I  come 
again  I  will  not  spare."  ^  Thus  you  shall  have  the  proof  you  seek  of  8 
tl  •  5  power  of  Christ,  who  speaks  in  me  ;  for  He  shows  no  weakness  towards 
you,  but  works  mightily  among  you.  For  although  He  died  upon  the  i 
cross  through  the  weakness  of  the  flesh ,^  yet  now  He  lives  through  the 
power  of  God.     And  so  I,  too,  share  the  weakness  of  His  body ;  ^  yet  I 


1  For  tht  word  here,  see  note  on  Bom.  ii.  8.  upon  due  evidence."     Or  else  (perhaps),  "  I 

^  Literally,  humble  me  in  respect  of  you.     See  shall  now  assuredly  fulfil  my  threats." 

on  this  verse  p.  418,  note.  *"  This  passage,  in  which  the  word  for  "I 

^  Sinned    "before:"  viz.   before  my  last  write"   is  omitted  by  the  best  MSS.,   seems 

visit.  conclusive  for  the  intermediate  journey.  What 

*  "  This  third  time  I  am  coming  to  you."  would  be  the  meaning  of  saying,  "I  forewarn 

This  could  scarcely  mean  merely,  "  I  am  for  you  as  if  I  were  present  the  second  time,  now 

the  third  time  preparing  to  visit  you,"  although  also  while  I  am  absent "  1   which  is  the  trans- 

2  Cor.  xii.  14  might  imply  no  more  than  that.  lation  that  we  must  adopt  if  we  deny  the  in- 

See  p.  418,  note.     Prof.  Stanley  (who  ignores  termediate   visit.     Also  the  "they  who   had 

the  intermediate  visit)  can  only  get  over  this  sinned  before  "  contrasted  with  the  "  all  the 

argument  by  supposing  that  St.  Paul  is  here  rest "  (v.  2),  seems  inexplicable  except  on  this 

"  reckoning  his  Second  Epistle  as  virtually  a  hypothesis. 

second  visit."     (Stanley's  Corinthians,  yol.  ii.  ">  The  conjunction  here  (as  frequently)  is 

265.)  equivalent  to  a  mark  of  quotation. 

^  Dent.  xix.  15  (from  LXX.  nearly  verba-  ^  The  woid  here  properly  means  weahiess 

tim),  meaning,  "  I  will  judge  not  without  ex-  of  the  body. 

amination,  nor  will  I  abstain  from  punishing  ^  This  is  another  reference  to  the  dispara- 


508 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XVXk. 


...  shall  share  also  the  power  of  God,  whereby  He  lives,  when  ^  I  come  to 

5  deal  with  you.  Examiue^  [not  me,  but]  yourselves,  whether  you  are 
truly  in  the  faith ;  put  yourselves  to  the  proof  [concerning  Christ's 
presence  with  you  which  ye  seek  in  me] .  Know  ye  not  of  your  own 
selves,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  dwelling  in  you  ?  unless,  perchance,  when 

6  thus  proved,  you  fail  to  abide  the  proof.'     But  I   hope  you  will  find 

7  that  I,  for  my  part,  abide  the  proof.*  Yet  I  pray  to  God  that  you 
may  do  no  evil ; '  desiring  not  that  my  own  power  may  be  clearly 
proved,  but   that  you   may  do   right,  although  I  should  seem  unable 

8  to  abide  the  proof ;  for  I  have  no  power  against  the  truth,  but  only  for 

9  the  truth's  defence.  I  rejoice,  I  say,  when  I  am  powerless  [against  you] , 
and  you  are  strong ;  yea,  the  very  end  of  my  prayers  is  your  perfect 

10  reformation.  Therefore  I  write  this  to  you  while  absent,  that,  when 
present,  I  may  not  deal  harshly  with  you  in  the  strength  of  that  authority 
which  the  Lord  has  given  me,  not  to  cast  down,^  but  to  build  up. 

11  Finally,  brethren,  farewell.     Reform  what  is  amiss  in  your-  conclusion, 
selves,'  exhort  one  another,  be  of  one  mind,  live  in  peace  ;  so  shall  the 

12  God  of  love  and  peace  be  with  you.     Salute  one  another  with  the  kiss  of 

13  holiness.^     All  the  saints  here  salute  you. 

14  The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  •  the  love  of  God,  Autograph 

benediction. 

and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  be  with  you  all.^ 


ging  reflections  (see  x.  10)  cast  upon  him  by 
his  Corinthian  opponents.  He  says  virtually, 
"  You  say  that  I  am  weak  in  bodily  presence, 
and  contemptible  in  personal  accomplishments ; 
so  also  Christ  was  weak  in  the  flesh,  and  suf- 
fered a  shameful  death  upon  the  cross ;  yet  He 
triumphed  over  His  adversaries,  and  now  shows 
His  victorious  power;  and  so  shall  I  do,  in  the 
same  strength."  The  sentiment  is  the  same  as 
in  iv.  10. 

1  "  Towards  you."  The  literal  English  of 
the  above  passage  is  as  follows :  For  if  He 
xcas  crucified  t/iroitcjh  loeakness,  yet  He  lives 
through  the  power  of  God ;  for  I  also  am  weak 
in  Him,  but  I  shall  live  with  Him,  through  the 
power  of  God  towards  you . 

2  "Proof"  and  "prove"  would  give  the 
verbal  connection  between  v.  3  and  v.  5. 

^  The  Greek  means,  to  fail  when  tested ;  this 
was  the  original  meaning  of  the  English  to  be 
reprobate  (A.  V.).      Observe  here,  again,  the 


reference  to  the  context  (see  preceding  note). 
A  paronomasia  on  the  same  words  occurs 
Rom.  i.  28. 

*  Viz.  the  proof  that  Christ's  power  is  with  me. 
6  This  may  be  translated  (as  it  is  by  Grotius 

and  Billroth,  and  was  in  our  former  edition), 
"that  I  may  not  harm  you  ;  "  for  the  verb  used 
here  sometimes  takes  a  double  accusative  in 
N.  T. ;  e.  g.  Matt,  xxvii.  22.  Yet  this  con- 
struction so  seldom  occurs,  that  it  seem>^  better 
to  adopt  the  more  obvious  meaning,  although 
it  docs  not  so  clearly  suit  the  context. 

••  Compare  x.  8.  [And  see  note  on  x.  6. 
This  is  the  last  echo  of  the  military  allegory  ; 
but  with  the  threatening  turned  into  encour- 
agement. —  H.] 

■^  The  substantive  corresponding  to  this 
verb  is  found  in  verse  9 ;  and  see  1  Cor.  i.  10. 

*  See  note  on  I  Thess.  v.  25. 

9  The  "  Amen "  is  not  found  in  the  be«l 
MSS. 


CHAP.  xvn.  CONTRIBUTIONS  FOE  THE  POOR  IN  JTJDJEA.  509 

In  this  letter  we  find  a  considerable  space  devoted  to  subjects  con- 
nected with  a  collection  now  in  progress  for  the  poor  Christians  in 
Judaea.'  It  is  not  the  first  time  that  we  hare  seen  St.  Paul  actively 
exerting  himself  in  such  a  project.'^  Nor  is  it  the  first  time  that  this  par- 
ticular contribution  has  been  brought  before  our  notice.  At  Ephesus,  in 
the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  St.  Paul  gave  special  directions  as  to 
the  method  in  which  it  should  be  laid  up  in  store  (1  Cor.  xvi.  1-4). 
Even  before  this  period  similar  instructions  had  been  given  to  the 
Churches  of  Galatia  (ib.  1).  And  the  whole  project  was  in  fact  the  ful- 
filment of  a  promise  made  at  a  still  earlier  period,  that,  in  the  course  of 
his  preaching  among  the  Gentiles,  the  poor  in  Judaea  should  be  remem- 
bered (Gal.  ii.  10). 

The  collection  was  going  on  simultaneously  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia ; 
and  the  same  letter  gives  us  information  concerning  the  manner  in  which 
it  was  conducted  in  both  places.  The  directions  given  to  the  Corinthians 
were  doubtless  similar  to  those  under  which  the  contribution  was  made 
at  Thessalonica  and  Philippi.  Moreover,  direct  information  is  inciden- 
tally given  of  what  was  actually  done  in  Macedonia ;  and  thus  we  are 
furnished  with  materials  for  depicting  to  ourselves  a  passage  in  the 
Apostle's  life  which  is  not  described  by  St.  Luke.  There  is  much 
instruction  to  be  gathered  from  the  method  and  principles  according  to 
whicli  these  funds  were  collected  by  St.  Paul  and  his  associates,  as  well 
as  from  the  conduct  of  those  who  contributed  for  their  distant  and  suf- 
fering brethren. 

Both  from  this  passage  of  Scripture  and  from  others  we  are  fully  made 
aware  of  St.  Paul's  motives  for  urging  this  benevolent  work.  Besides 
his  promise  made  long  ago  at  Jerusalem,  that,  in  his  preaching  among  the 
Gentiles,  the  poor  Jewish  Christians  should  be  remembered,'  the  poverty 
of  the  residents  in  Judaea  would  be  a  strong  reason  for  his  activity  in 
collecting  funds  for  their  relief  among  the  wealthier  communities  who 
were  now  united  with  tliem  in  the  same  faith  and  hope.*  But  there  was 
a  far  higher  motive,  which  lay  at  the  root  of  the  Apostle's  anxious  and 
energetic  zeal  in  this  cause.  It  is  that  which  is  dwelt  on  in  the  closing 
verses  of  the  ninth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  which  has  just  been  read,^  and 
is  again  alluded  to  in  words  less  sanguine  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.® 
A  serious  schism  existed  between  the  Gentile  and  Hebrew  Christians," 

1  Thv  whole  of  the  eighth  and  ninth  chap-  ence  to  the  early  jealousy  between  tho  Chris- 

ters.  tiang  of   Aramaic    and    Hellenistic    descent, 

^  See  the  atoount  of  the  mission  of  Bama-  p.  61. 
has  and  Saul  to  Jerusalem  in  the  time  of  the  ^  2  Cor.  ix.  12-15. 

famine,  Ch.  IV.  ^  Rom.  xv.  30-31. 

^  Gal.  ii.  10,  above  quoted.     Seep.  195.  "^  See  the  remarks  on  this  subject  in  Ch. 

*  See  the  remarks  on  this  subject,  in  refer-  VII. 


510  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chxb.xyu. 

which,  though  partially  closed  from  time  to  time,  seemed  in  danger  of 
growing  continually  wider  under  the  mischievous  influence  of  the  Juda- 
izers.  The  great  labor  of  St.  Paul's  life  at  this  time  was  directed  to 
the  healing  of  this  division.  He  felt  that  if  the  Gentiles  had  been  made 
partakers  of  the  spiritual  blessings  of  the  Jews,  their  duty  was  to  contrib- 
ute to  them  in  earthly  blessings  (Rom.  xv.  27),  and  that  nothing  would 
be  more  likely  to  allay  the  prejudices  of  the  Jewish  party  than  charitable 
gifts  freely  contributed  by  the  Heathen  converts.^  According  as  cheerful 
or  discouraging  thoughts  predominated  in  his  mind,  —  and  to  such  alter- 
nations of  feeling  even  an  apostle  was  liable,  —  he  hoped  that "  the  minis 
tration  of  that  service  would  not  only  fill  up  the  measure  of  the  necessities 
of  Christ's  people  "  in  Judaea,  but  would  "  overflow  "  in  thanksgivings 
and  prayers  on  their  part  for  those  whose  hearts  had  been  opened  to  bless 
them  (2  Cor.  ix.  12-15),  or  he  feared  that  this  charity  might  be  rejected, 
and  he  entreated  the  prayers  of  others,  "  that  he  might  be  delivered 
from  the  disobedient  in  Judaea,  and  that  the  service  which  he  had  under- 
taken for  Jerusalem  might  be  favorably  received  by  Christ's  people" 
(Rom.  XV.  30,  31). 

Influenced  by  these  motives,  he  spared  no  pains  in  promoting  the 
work ;  but  every  step  was  conducted  with  the  utmost  prudence  and  deli- 
cacy of  feeling.  He  was  well  aware  of  the  calumnies  with  which  his 
enemies  were  ever  ready  to  assail  his  character ;  and,  therefore,  he  took 
the  most  careful  precautions  against  the  possibility  of  being  accused  of 
mercenary  motives.  At  an  early  stage  of  the  collection,  we  find  him 
writing  to  the  Corinthians,  to  suggest  that  "  whomsoever  they  should 
judge  fitted  for  the  trust  should  be  sent  to  carry  their  benevolence  to 
Jerusalem  "  (1  Cor.  xvi.  3)  ;  and  again  he  alludes  to  the  delegates  com- 
missioned with  Titus,  as  "  guarding  himself  against  all  suspicion  which 
might  be  cast  on  him  in  his  administration  of  the  bounty  with  which  he 
was  charged,"  and  as  being  "  careful  to  do  all  things  in  a  seemly  manner, 
not  only  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  but  also  in  the  sight  of  men  "  (2  Cor. 
viii.  20,  21).  This  regard  to  what  was  seemly  appears  most  strikingly  in 
his  mode  of  bringing  the  subject  before  those  to  whom  he  wrote  and 
spoke.  He  lays  no  constraint  upon  them.  They  are  to  give  "  not  grudg- 
ingly or  of  necessity,"  but  each  "  according  to  the  free  choice  of  his  heart ; 
for  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver"  (2  Cor.  ix.  7).  "  If  there  is  a  willing 
mind,  the  gift  is  acceptable  when  measured  by  the  giver's  power,  and 
needs  not  to  go  beyond"  (2  Cor.  viii.  12).  He  spoke  rather  as  giving 
"  advice"  (viii.  10)  than  a  "  command  ;"'^  and  he  sought  to  prove  the  re- 

^  See  p.  120.  sake  he  rather  besought  him,"  r.  9.     See  th« 

■■'  Compare  his  language  to  Philemon,  whom       Introduction. 
ha  "  might  hare  commanded,"  but  "  for  love's 


CHAP.  xvn.  LIBEEALITY  OF  THE  MACEDONIANS.  511 

ality  of  his  converts'  love  by  reminding  them  of  the  zeal  of  others  (viii.  8). 
In  writing  to  the  Corinthians,  he  delicately  contrasts  their  wealth  with 
the  poverty  of  the  Macedonians.  In  speaking  to  the  Macedonians  them- 
selves, such  a  mode  of  appeal  was  less  natural,  for  they  were  poorer  and 
more  generous.  Yet  them  also  he  endeavored  to  rouse  to  a  generous 
rivalry,  by  telling  them  of  the  zeal  of  Achaia  (viii.  24,  ix.  2).  To  them 
also  he  would  doubtless  say  that  "  he  who  sows  sparingly  shall  reap  spar- 
ingly, and  he  who  sows  bountifully  shall  reap  bountifully"  (ix.  6),  while 
he  would  gently  remind  them  that  God  was  ever  able  to  give  them  an 
overflowing  measure  of  all  good  gifts,  supplying  all  their  wants,  and  en- 
abling them  to  be  bountiful '  to  others  (ib.  8).  And  that  one  overpower- 
ing argument  could  never  be  forgotten,  —  the  example  of  Christ,  and 
the  debt  of  love  we  owe  to  Him,  —  "  You  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  how,  though  He  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  Ho  became  poor, 
that  you,  by  His  poverty,  might  be  made  rich  "  (viii.  9).  Nor  ought  we, 
when  speaking  of  the  instruction  to  be  gathered  from  this  charitable  un- 
dertaking, to  leave  unnoticed  the  calmness  and  deliberation  of  the  method 
which  he  recommends  of  laying  aside,  week  by  week,^  what  is  devoted 
to  God  (1  Cor.  xvi.  2),  —  a  practice  equally  remote  from  the  excite- 
ment of  popular  appeals,  and  the  mere  impulse  of  instinctive  benevo- 
lence. 

The  Macedonian  Christians  responded  nobly  to  the  appeal  which  was 
made  to  them  by  St.  Paul.  The  zeal  of  their  brethren  in  Achaia  "  roused 
the  most  of  them  to  follow  it"  (2  Cor.  ix.  2).  God's  grace  was  abun- 
dantly "  manifested  in  the  Churches  "^  on  the  north  of  the  ^gean  (ib. 
viii.  1).  Their  conduct  in  this  matter,  as  described  to  us  by  the  Apostle's 
pen,  rises  to  the  point  of  the  highest  praise.  It  was  a  time,  not  of  pros- 
perity, but  of  great  affliction,  to  the  Macedonian  Churches ;  nor  were  they 
wealthy  communities  like  the  Church  of  Corinth ;  yet,  "  in  their  heavy 
trial,  the  fulness  of  their  joy  overflowed  out  of  the  depth  of  their  poverty 
in  the  riches  of  their  liberality  "  (ib.  viii.  2).  Their  contribution  was  no 
niggardly  gift,  wrung  from  their  covetousness  (viii.  5)  ;  but  they  gave 
honestly  "  according  to  their  means  "  (ib.  3),  and  not  only  so,  but  even 
"beyond  their  means"  (ib.)  ;  nor  did  they  give  grudgingly,  under  the 
pressure  of  the  Apostle's  urgency,  but  "  of  their  own  free  will,  beseeching 
him  with  much  entreaty  that  they  might  bear  their  part  in  the  grace  of 
ministering  to  Christ's  people  "  (ib.  3,  4).     And  this  liberality  arose  from 

^  Compare  what  was  said  at  Miletus,  Acts  remarks  in  the  Horce  Paulince  on  2  Cor.     The 

XX.  35  ;  also  Eph.  iv.  28.  same  plan  had  been  recommended  in  Galatia, 

2  From  2  Cor.  viii.  10,  ix.  2,  it  would  seem  and  probably  in  Macedonia, 
that  the  plan  recommended  in  1  Cor.  xvi.  2  ^  See  p.  497,  n.  6. 

had    been    carried    into   effect.     See   Paley's 


512  THE   LlFli:  AJSID  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PATIL.  oua».  xvu 

that  which  is  the  basis  of  all  true  Christian  charity.    "  They  gave  there 
selves  first  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  will  of  God  "  (ib.  5). 

The  Macedonian  contribution,  if  not  complete,  was  in  a  state  of  much 
forwardness,*  when  St.  Paul  wrote  to  Corinth.  He  speaks  of  liberal  funds 
as  being  already  pressed  upon  his  acceptance  (2  Cor.  viii.  4),  and  the 
delegates  who  were  to  accompany  him  to  Jerusalem  had  already  been 
chosen  (2  Cor.  viii.  19,  23).  We  do  not  know  how  many  of  the  Churches 
of  iVlacedonia  took  part  in  this  collection,'^  but  we  cannot  doubt  that 
that  of  Philippi  held  a  conspicuous  place  in  so  benevolent  a  work.  In  the 
case  of  the  Philippian  Church,  this  bounty  was  only  a  continuation  of  the 
benevolence  they  had  begun  before,  and  an  earnest  of  that  which  glad- 
dened the  Apostle's  heart  in  his  imprisonment  at  Rome.  "  In  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Gospel "  they  and  tliey  only  had  sent  once  and  again  ^  to 
relieve  his  wants,  both  at  Thessalonica  and  at  Corinth  (Philip,  iv.  15, 
16)  ;  and  "  at  the  last "  their  care  of  their  friend  and  teacher  "  flourished 
again"  (ib.  10),  and  they  sent  their  gifts  to  him  at  Rome,  as  now  they 
sent  to  their  unknown  brethren  at  Jerusalem.  The  Philippians  are  in 
the  Epistles  what  that  poor  woman  is  in  the  Gospels,  who  placed  two 
mites  in  the  treasury.  They,  gave  much,  because  they  gave  of  their 
poverty ;  and  wherever  the  Gospel  is  preached  throughout  the  whole 
world,  there  shall  this  liberality  be  told  for  a  memorial  of  them. 

If  the  principles  enunciated  by  the  Apostle  in  reference  to  the  collec- 
tion command  our  devout  attention,  and  if  the  example  of  the  Macedonian 
Christians  is  held  out  to  the  imitation  of  all  future  ages  of  the  Church, 
the  conduct  of  those  who  took  an  active  part  in  the  management  of  the 
business  should  not  be  unnoticed.  Of  two  of  these  the  names  are 
unknown  to  us,*  though  their  characters  are  described.  One  was  a 
brother,  "  whose  praise  in  publishing  the  Gospel  was  spread  throughout 
the  Churches,"  and  who  had  been  chosen  by  the  Church  of  Macedonia  to 
accompany  St.  Paul  with  the  charitable  fund  to  Jerusalem  (2  Cor.  viii. 
18,  19).  The  other  was  one  "  who  had  been  put  to  the  proof  in  many 
trials,  and  always  found  zealous  in  the  work  "  (ib.  22).  But  concerning 
Titus,  the  third  companion  of  these  brethren,  "  the  partner  of  St.  Paul's 

1  The  aorist  in  2  Cor.  viii.  2  docs  not  no-  communication  among  them  was  easy  along 
cessarily  imply  that  the  collection  was  closed  ;  the  Via  Egnatia ;  as  when  the  first  contribn- 
and  the  present  in  ix.  2  rather  implies  the  tions  were  sent  from  Philippi  to  St.  Paul  at 
contrary.  Thessalonica.     See  p.  284. 

2  In  2  Cor.  xi.  9  we  find  Philippi  used  as  »  See  above,  p.  480.  For  the  account  of  this 
equivalent  to  Macedonia  (pp.480,  481),  and  so  relief  being  sent  to  St.  Paul,  see  p.  284;  and 
it  may  be  here.  But  it  is  not  absolutely  cer-  p.  338,  n.  4,  in  reference  to  Phil.  ir.  10,  and 
tain  (ibid.)    that   the   Second   E])istle   to  the  2  Cor.  xi.  9. 

Corinthians  was  written    at  Philippi.      The  *  See  the  notes  on  2  Cor.  viii. 

Churches  in  Macedonia  were  only  few,  and 


CHAP,  xvu,  TITUS.  513 

lot,  and  his  fellow-laborer  for  the  good  of  the  Church,"  we  have  fuller 
information  ;  and  this  seems  to  be  the  right  place  to  make  a  more  par- 
ticular allusion  to  him,  for  he  was  nearly  concerned  in  all  the  steps  of 
the  collection  now  in  progress. 

Titus  does  not,  like  Timothy,  appear  at  intervals  through  all  the  pas- 
sages of  the  Apostle's  life.  He  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Acts  at  all,  and 
this  is  the  only  place  where  he  comes  conspicuously  forward  in  the 
Epistles  ;  ^  and  all  that  is  said  of  him  is  connected  with  the  business  of 
the  collection.^  Thus  we  have  a  detaclied  portion  of  his  biography,  which 
is  at  once  a  thread  that  guides  us  through  the  main  facts  of  the  contribu- 
tion for  the  Judaean  Christians,  and  a  source  whence  we  can  draw  some 
knowledge  of  the  character  of  that  disciple,  to  whom  St.  Paul  addressed 
one  of  his  pastoral  Epistles.  At  an  early  stage  of  the  proceedings  he 
seems  to  have  been  sent,  —  soon  after  the  First  Epistle  was  despatched 
from  Ephesus  to  Corinth  (or  perhaps  as  its  bearer),  —  not  simply  to 
enforce  the  Apostle's  general  injunctions,  but'  to  labor  also  in  forward- 
ing the  collection  (2  Cor.  xii.  18).  Whilst  he  was  at  Corinth,  we  find 
that  he  took  an  active  and  zealous  part  at  the  outset  of  the  good  work 
(ib.  viii.  6).  And  now  that  he  had  come  to  Macedonia,  and  brought  the 
Apostle  good  news  from  Achaia,  he  was  exhorted  to  return,  that  he  might 
finish  what  was  so  well  begun,  taking  with  him  (as  we  have  seen)  the 
Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  and  accompanied  by  the  two  deputies 
who  have  just  been  mentioned.  It  was  a  task  which  he  was  by  no  means 
unwilling  to  undertake.  God  "  put  into  his  heart  the  same  zeal  "  which 
Paul  himself  had ;  he  not  only  consented  to  the  Apostle's  desire,  but  was 
"  himself  very  zealous  in  the  matter,  and  went  of  his  own  accord "  (2 
Cor.  viii.  16,  17).  If  we  put  together  these  notices,  scanty  as  they  are, 
of  the  conduct  of  Titus,  they  set  before  us  a  character  which  seems  to 
claim  our  admiration  for  a  remarkable  union  of  enthusiasm,  integrity, 
and  discretion. 

After  the  departure  of  Titus,  St.  Paul  still  continued  to  prosecute  the 
labors  of  an  evangelist  in  the  regions  to  the  north  of  Greece.  He  was 
unwilling  as  yet  to  visit  the  Corinthian  Church,  the-  disaffected  members 
'  f  which  still  caused  him  so  much  anxiety,  —  and  he  would  doubtless 
gladly  employ  this  period  of  delay  to  accomplish  any  plans  he  might  have 

1  See  p.  187,  n.  12.  It  ia  observed  there  of  St  Paul's  life.  This  question  will  be  dis- 
that  the  only  epistles  in  which  he  is  mentioned      cussed  afterwards. 

are  Gal.,  2  Cor.,  and  2  Tim.     See  also  p.  460,  ^  gee  above,  p.  479.    The  fact  that  the  mis- 

h.  6.  sion  of  Titus  had  something  to  do  with  the 

2  The  prominent  appearance  of  Titus  in  collection,  might  be  inferred  from  2  Cor.  xii. 
this  part  of  the  history  has  been  made  an  18:  "  Did  Titus  defraud  you?"  We  do  not 
argument  for  placing  the  Epistle  to  Titus,  as  know  who  the  "  brother  "  was  that  was  sent 
Wieseler  and  others  have  done,  about  this  part  with  him  on  that  occasion  from  Epbssos. 

83 


514  THE  LITE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xvn. 

formed  and  left  incomplete  on  his  former  visit  to  Macedonia.  On  that 
occasion  he  had  been  persecuted  in  Philippi,^  and  had  been  forced  to 
make  a  precipitate  retreat  from  Thessalonica  ;  ^  and  from  Beroea  his 
course  had  been  similarly  urged  to  Athens  and  Corinth.^  Now  he  was 
able  to  embrace  a  wider  circumference  in  his  Apostolic  progress.  Taking 
Jerusalem  as  his  centre,*  he  had  been  perpetually  enlarging  the  circle  of 
his  travels.  In  his  first  missionary  journey  he  had  preached  in  the 
southern  parts  of  Asia  Minor  and  the  northern  parts  of  Syria :  in  his 
second  journey,  he  had  visited  the  Macedonian  towns  which  lay  near  the 
shores  of  the  J3gean :  and  now  on  his  third  progress  he  would  seem  to 
have  penetrated  into  the  mountains  of  the  interior,  or  even  beyond  them 
to  the  shores  of  the  Adriatic,  and  "  fully  preached  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
round  about  unto  Illyricum  "  (Rom.  xv.  19). 

We  here  encounter  a  subject  on  which  some  difference  of  opinion  must 
unavoidably  exist.  If  we  wish  to  lay  down  the  exact  route  of  the 
Apostle,  we  must  first  ascertain  the  meaning  of  the  term  "  Illyricum  " 
as  used  by  St.  Paul  in  writing  to  the  Romans :  and  if  we  find  this  im- 
possible, we  must  be  content  to  leave  this  part  of  the  Apostle's  travels  in 
some  degree  of  vagueness;  more  especially  as  the  preposition  ("  unto," 
fit'xpi)  employed  in  the  passage  is  evidently  indeterminate. 

The  political  import  of  the  word  "  Illyricum  "  will  be  seen  by  referring 
to  what  has  been  written  on  the  province  of  Macedonia  ®  in  an  earlier 
chapter.  It  has  been  there  stated  that  the  former  province  was  contigu- 
ous to  the  north-western  frontier  of  the  latter.  It  must  be  observed, 
however,  that  a  distinction  was  anciently  drawn  between  Greek  Illyricum, 
a  district  on  tlie  south,  which  was  incorporated  by  the  Romans  with 
Macedonia,  and  formed  the  coast-line  of  that  province  where  it  touched 
the  Adriatic,®  —  and  Barbarous,  or  Roman  Illyricum,  which  extended 
towards  the  head  of  that  gulf,  and  was  under  tlie  administration  of  a 
separate  governor.  This  is  "  one  of  those  ill-fated  portions  of  the  earth, 
which,  though  placed  in  immediate  contact  with  civilization,  have 
remained  perpetually  barbarian."  "^  For  a  time  it  was  in  close  connec- 
tion, politically  and  afterwards  ecclesiastically,  with  the  capitals  both  of 
the  Eastern  and  Western  empires  :  but  subsequently  it  relapsed  almost 
into  its  former  rude  condition,  and  "  to  this  hour  it  is  devoid  of  illustrious 
names   and  noble  associations."  *     Until   the   time   of  Augustus,   the 


1  P.  257.  6  p,  272,  &c.     See  our  map  of  St.  Paul's 

■^  P.  286.  third  missionary  journey. 
'  P.  295.  ^  For  the  seaboard  of  Macedonia  on  the 

*  Notice  the  phrase,  "  from  Jerusalem,  and  Adriatic,  see  pp.  273,  274. 

in  a  circle,"  &c.   Rom.  xv.  19 ;   and   see  the  "  Arnold's  Rome,  vol.  i.  p.  495. 

Horue  Paulina;.  "  Ibid. 


CHAP.  XVU. 


ILLYEICUM.  515 


Romans  were  only  in  possession  of  a  narrow  portion  along  the  coast, 
which  had  heen  torn  during  the  wars  of  the  Republic  from  the  piratic 
inhabitants.^  But  under  the  first  Emperor  a  large  region,  extending  far 
inland  towards  the  valleys  of  the  Save  and  the  Drave,  was  formed  into  a 
province,  and  contained  some  strong  links  of  the  chain  of  military  posts, 
which  was  extended  along  the  frontier  of  the  Danube.'^  At  lirst  it  was 
placed  under  the  Senate :  but  it  was  soon  found  to  require  the  presence 
of  large  masses  of  soldiers  :  the  Emperor  took  it  into  his  own  hands,  and 
inscriptions  are  still  extant  on  which  we  can  read  the  records  of  its 
occupation  by  the  seventh  and  eleventh  legions.*  Dabnatia,  which  is 
also  mentioned  by  St.  Paul  (2  Tim.  iv.  10),  was  a  district  in  the  southern 
part  of  this  province  ;  and  after  the  final  reduction  of  the  Dalmatian 
tribes,  the  province  was  more  frequently  called  by  this  name  than  by  that 
of  Illyricum.'*  The  limits  of  this  political  jurisdiction  (to  speak  in 
general  terms)  may  be  said  to  have  included  Bosnia,  and  the  modern* 
Dalmatia,  Avith  parts  of  Croatia  and  Albania. 

But  the  term  Illyricum  was  by  no  means  always,  or  even  generally, 
used  in  a  strictly  poUtical  sense.  The  extent  of  country  included  in  the 
expression  was  various  at  various  times.  The  lUyrians  were  loosely 
spoken  of  by  the  earlier  Greek  writers  as  the  tribes  which  wandered  on 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  Adriatic.  The  Illyricum  which  engaged  the 
arms  of  Rome  under  the  Republic  was  only  a  narrow  strip  of  that  shore 
with  the  adjacent  islands.  But  in  the  Imperial  times  it  came  to  be  used 
of  a  vast  and  vague  extent  of  country  lying  to  the  south  of  the  Danube, 
to  the  east  of  Italy,  and  to  the  west  of  Macedonia.^  So  it  is  used  by 
Strabo  in  the  reign  of  Augustus,  and  similarly  by  Tacitus  in  his  account 
of  the  civil  wars  which  preceded  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  ;  "^  and  the  same 
phraseology  continues  to  be  applied  to  this  region,  till  the  third  century 
of  the  Christian  era.  We  need  not  enter  into  the  geographical  changes 
which  depended  on  the  new  division  of  the  empire  under  Constantine,  or 
into  the  fresh  significance  which,  in  a  later  age,  was  given  to  the  ancient 
names,  when  the  rivalry  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdictions  led  to  the  schism 

1  It  extended  from  the  river  Drilon  to  tne  *  Dalmatia  is  a  name  unknown  to  the 
I  strian  peninsula.  earlier  Greek  writers. 

2  One  of  the  most  important  of  these  mili-  ^  The  modern  name  of  Elvria  has  again 
tary  posts  was  Siscia,  in  the  Pannonian  coun-  contracted  to  a  district  of  no  ^rcat  extent  in 
try,  on  the  Save.     The  line  was  continued  by  the  northern  part  of  the  ancient  jirovince. 
Augustus  through  Moesia,  though  the  reduc-  ^  See  Gibbon's  first  chapter. 

tion  of  that  region  to  a  province  was  later.  ">  Tac.  Hist.  i.  2,  76,  &c.,  where  under  the 

Six  legions  protected  the  frontier  of  the  Dan-  term  Illyricum  are  included  Dalmatia,  Panno- 

ube.  nia,  and  Moesia  :  and  this,  it  must  be  remem- 

3  Josephus  alludes  to  these  legions.  War,  bered,  is  strictly  contemporaneous  with  the 
ii.  16.   His  language  on  geographical  subjects  is  apostle. 

always  important  as  an  illustration  of  the  Acts. 


516  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xvu 

of  Eastern  and  Western  Christendom.^  We  have  said  enough  to  show 
that  it  is  not  possible  to  assume  that  the  Illyricum  of  St.  Paul  was  a 
definite  district,  ruled  as  a  province  by  a  governor  from  Rome. 

It  seems  by  far  the  most  probable  that  the  terms  "  Illyricum "  and 
"  Dalmatia"  are  both  used  by  St.  Paul  in  a  vague  and  general  sense :  as 
we  have  before  had  occasion  to  remark  in  reference  to  Asia  Minor,  where 
many  geographical  expressions,  such  as  "  Mysia,"  "  Galatia,"  and 
"  Phrygia,"  were  variously  used,  popularly  and  politically.'^  It  is  indeed 
quite  possible  that  St.  Paul,  not  deeming  it  right  as  yet  to  visit  Corinth, 
may  have  pushed  on  by  the  Via  Egnatia,^  from  Philippi  and  Thessalonica, 
across  the  central  mountains  which  turn  the  streams  eastward  and  west- 
ward, to  Dyrrhachium,  the  landing-place  of  those  who  had  come  by  the 
Appian  Road  from  Rome  to  Brundusium.*  Then,  though  still  in  the 
province  of  Macedonia,  he  would  be  in  the  district  called  Greek  Illyri- 
cum: '  and  he  would  be  on  a  line  of  easy  communication  with  Nicopolis^ 
on  the  south,  where,  on  a  later  occasion,  he  proposed  to  winter  (Tit.  iii. 
12) ;  and  he  could  easily  penetrate  northwards  into  Roman  or  Barbarous 
Illyricum,  where  was  that  district  of  Dalmatia,'  which  was  afterwards 
visited  by  his  companion  Titus,  whom,  in  the  present  instance,  he  had 
despatched  to  Corinth.  But  we  must  admit  that  the  expression  in  the 
Romans  might  have  been  legitimately  ^  used,  if  he  never  passed  beyond 
the  limits  of  Macedonia,  and  even  if  his  Apostolic  labors  were  entirely  to 
the  eastward  of  the  mountains,  in  the  country  watered  by  the  Strymon 
and  the  Axius.^ 

Whether  he  travelled  widely  and  rapidly  in  the  regions  to  the  north  of 
Greece,  or  confined  his  exertions  to  the  neighborhood  of  those  churches 
which  he  had  previously  founded,  —  the  time  soon  came  when  he  deter- 
mined to  revisit  that  Church,  which  had  caused  him  so  much  affliction 
not  unmixed  with  joy.  During  the  course  of  his  stay  at  Ephesus,  and  in 
all  parts  of  his  subsequent  journey  in  Troas  and  Macedonia,  his  heart 
had  been  continually  at  Corinth.     He  had  been  in  frequent  communica- 

^  A  geographical  account  of  Illyricum  in  '  Nicopolis  was  in  Epirus,  which,  it  will  be 

its  later  ecclesiastical  sense,  and  of  the  dioceses  remembered  (see  above  under  Macedonia),  waa 

which  were  the  subjects  of  the  rival  claims  of  in  the  province  of  Achaia. 
Rome  and  Constantinople,  will   be   found  in  '  See  above,  p.  515.     It  is  indeed  possible 

Nealc's  History  of  the  Eastern  Church.  that  the  word  Dalmatia  in  this  Epistle  may  be 

2  See  pp.  204,  237.  used  for  the  jyrovince  (of  Illyricum  or  Dalma- 

'  Seetheaccountof  theViaEgnatia,  p.  274.  tia),  and  not  a  subordinate  district  of  what 

*  It  has  been  said  above  (p.  274)  that  when  was  called  Llyricum  in  the  wider  sense. 
St.  Paul  was  on  the  Roman  way  at  Philippi  ^  The  preposition   need    not    denote   any 

he  was  really  on  the  road  which  led  to  Rome.  thing  more  than   that  St.  Paul  came  to  th« 

The  ordinary  fenj  was  from  Dyrrhachium  to  frontier. 

Bmndusium.  '  See  what  has  been  said  of  these  rivers  in 

^  Sae  above,  p.  514  comparing  pp.  272, 273.  Ch  IX 


CHAP,  xvn. 


JOUEKEY   SOUTHWARD   TO   CORINTH. 


517 


tion  with  his  inconsistent  and  rebellious  converts.  Three  letters '  had 
been  written  to  entreat  or  to  threaten  them.  Besides  his  own  personal 
visit  "^  when  the  troubles  were  beginning,  he  had  sent  several  messengers, 
who  were  authorized  to  speak  in  his  name.  Moreover,  there  was  now  a 
special  subject  in  which  his  interest  and  a£fections  were  engaged,  the  con- 
tribution for  the  poor  in  Judaja,  which  he  wished  to  "  seal  "  to  those  for 
whom  it  was  destined  (Rom.  xv.  28)  before  undertaking  his  journey  to 
the  West. 

Of  the  time  and  the  route  of  this  southward  journey  we  can  only  say 
that  the  most  probable  calculation  leads  us  to  suppose  that  he  was  travel- 
ling with  his  companions  toward  Corinth  at  the  approach  of  winter; 
and  this  makes  it  likely  that  he  went  by  land  rather  than  by  sea.*  A 
good  road  to  the  south  had  long  been  formed  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Beroea,^  connecting  the  chief  towns  of  Macedonia  witli  those  of  Achaia. 
Opportunities  would  not  be  wanting  for  preaching  the  Gospel  at  every 
stage  in  his  progress  ;  and  perhaps  we  may  infer  from  his  own  expression 
in  writing  to  the  Romans  (xv.  23), — "I  have  no  more  place  in  those 
parts,"  —  either  that  churches  were  formed  in  every  chief  city  between 
Thessalonica  and  Corinth,  or  that  the  Glad-tidings  had  been  unsuccess- 
fully proclaimed  in  Thessaly  and  Boeotia,  as  on  the  former  journey  they 
had  found  but  little  credence  among  the  philosophers  and  triflers  of 
Athens.® 


'  The  question  of  the  lost  letter  has  been 
discussed  in  Ch.  XV.  p.  421. 

2  See  again,  on  this  intermediate  visit,  the 
beginning  of  Ch.  XV. 

3  For  the  project  of  this  westward  jonmey, 
gee  the  end  of  Ch.  XV.  above. 

*  See  Acts  xxvii.  9. 

'  The  roads  through  Ditim  have  been  al- 
luded to  p.  296 ;  and  compare  p.  292,  n.  7. 


^  Athens  is  never  mentioned  again  after 
Acts  xviii.  1,  1  Thess.  iii.  1.  We  do  not 
know  that  it  was  ever  revisited  by  the  Apos- 
tle, and  in  the  second  century  we  find  that 
Christianity  was  almost  extinct  there.  See 
p.  331.  At  the  same  time,  nothing  would  be 
more  easy  than  to  visit  Athens,  with  other 
"  Churches  of  Achaia,"  during  his  residene* 
•t  Corinth.    See  p.  338,  n.  5 ;  and  p.  484 


Coin  of  MaoedonU. 


CHAPTER    XVm. 

8t.  Paul's  Ketnm  to  Corinth.  —  Contrast  with  his  First  Visit.  —  Bad  News  from  Ghdatia.  — 

He  writes  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians. 

IT  was  probably  already  winter  when  St.  Paul  once  more  beheld  in 
the  distance  the  lofty  citadel  of  Corinth  towering  above  the  isthmus 
which  it  commands.  The  gloomy  season  must  have  harmonized  with  his 
feelings  as  he  approached.  The  clouds  which,  at  the  close  of  autumn, 
so  oft(;n  hang  round  the  summit  of  the  Acro-Corinthus,  and  cast  their 
shadow  upon  the  city  below,  might  have  seemed  to  typify  the  mists  of 
vice  and  error  which  darkened  the  minds  even  of  its  Christian  citizens. 
Their  father  in  the  faith  knew  that,  for  some  of  them  at  least,  he  had 
labored  in  vain.  He  was  returning  to  converts  who  had  cast  off  the 
morality  of  the  Gospel ;  to  friends  who  had  forgotten  his  love ;  to  ene  • 
mies  who  disputed  his  divine  commission.  It  is  true,  the  majority  of  the 
Corinthian  Church  had  repented  of  their  worst  sins,  and  submitted  to  his 
Apostolic  commands.  Yet  what  was  forgiven  could  not  entirely  be  for- 
gotten ;  even  towards  the  penitent  he  could  not  feel  all  the  confidence  of 
earlier  affection  ;  and  there  was  still  left  an  obstinate  minority,  who  would 
not  give  up  their  habits  of  impurity,  and  who,  when  he  spoke  to  them  of 
righteousness  and  judgment  to  come,  replied  either  by  openly  defending 
their  sins,  or  by  denying  his  authority  and  impugning  his  orthodoxy. 

He  now  came  prepared  to  put  down  this  opposition  by  the  most  decisive 
measures ;  resolved  to  cast  out  of  the  Church  these  antagonists  of  truth 
and  goodness,  by  the  plenitude  of  his  Apostolic  power.  Thus  he  warned 
them  a  few  months  before  (as  he  had  threatened  when  present  on  an 
earlier  occasion),  "  when  I  come  again,  I  will  not  spare  "  (2  Cor.  xiii.  2). 
He  declared  his  determination  to  punish  the  disobedient  (2  Cor.  x.  6).  He 
•'  boasted"  of  the  authority  wliich  Christ  had  given  him  (2  Cor.  x.  8). 
He  besought  them  not  to  compel  him  to  use  the  weapons  intrusted  to  him 
(2  Cor.  X.  2),  weapons  not  of  fleshly  weakness,  but  endowed  with  the 
might  of  God  (2  Cor.  x.  4).  He  pledged  himself  to  execute  by  his 
deeds,  when  present,  all  he  had  threatened  by  his  words  when  absent  (2 
Cor.  X.  11). 

As  we  think  of  him,  with  these  purposes  of  severity  in  his  mind,  ap- 
sis 


CHAP.  xvm.  FEELINGS   ON  APPROACHING   COEINTH  510 

proaching  the  walls  of  Corinth,  we  are  irresistibly  reminded  of  the  event- 
ful close  of  a  former  journey,  when  Saul,  "  breathing  out  threatenings 
and  slaughter  against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,"  drew  nigh  to  Damas- 
cus. How  strongly  does  this  accidental  resemblance  bring  out  the  essen- 
tial contrast  between  the  weapons  and  the  spirit  of  Saul  and  Paul !  Then 
he  wielded  the  sword  of  the  secular  power  —  he  travelled  as  the  proud 
representative  of  the  Sanhedrin  —  the  minister  of  human  cruelty  and 
injustice :  he  was  the  Jewish  Inquisitor,  the  exterminator  of  heretics, 
seeking  for  victims  to  imprison  or  to  stone.  Now  he  is  meek  and  lowly ,^ 
travelling  in  the  humblest  guise  of  poverty,  with  no  outward  marks  of 
pre-eminence  or  power ;  he  has  no  jailers  at  his  command  to  bind  his 
captives,  no  executioners  to  carry  out  his  sentence.  All  he  can  do  is  to 
exclude  those  who  disobey  him  from  a  society  of  poor  and  ignorant  out- 
casts, who  are  the  objects  of  contempt  to  all  the  mighty,  and  wise,  and 
noble,  among  their  countrymen.  His  adversaries  despise  his  apparent  in- 
significance ;  they  know  that  he  has  no  outward  means  of  enforcing  his 
will ;  they  see  that  his  bodily  presence  is  weak  ;  they  think  his  speech 
contemptible.  Yet  he  is  not  so  powerless  as  he  seems.  Though  now  he 
wields  no  carnal  weapons,  his  arms  are  not  weaker,  but  stronger,  than 
they  were  of  old.  He  cannot  bind  the  bodies  of  men,  but  he  can  bind 
their  souls.  Truth  and  love  are  on  his  side  ;  the  Spirit  of  God  bears 
witness  with  the  spirits  of  men  on  his  behalf.  His  weapons  are  "  mighty 
to  overthrow  the  strongholds  of  the  adversaries  ;  "  "  thereby  "  he  could 
"  overthrow  the  reasonings  of  the  disputer,  and  pull  down  the  lofty  bul- 
warks which  raise  themselves  against  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  bring 
every  rebellious  thought  into  captivity  and  subjection  to  Christ."  ^ 

Nor  is  there  less  difference  in  the  spirit  of  his  warfare  than  in  the 
character  of  his  weapons.  Then  he  "  breathed  out  threatenings  and 
slaughter ; "  he  "  made  havoc  of  the  Church  ;  "  he  "  haled  men  and  women 
into  prison  ; "  he  "  compelled  them  to  blaspheme."  When  their  sentence 
was  doubtful,  he  gave  his  vote  for  their  destruction  ;  ^  he  was  "  exceedingly 
mad  against  them."  Then  his  heart  was  filled  with  pride  and  hate,  un- 
charitableness  and  self-will.  But  now  his  proud  and  passionate  nature  is 
transformed  by  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  he  is  crucified  with  Christ ;  the  fervid 
impetuosity  of  his  character  is  tempered  by  meekness  and  gentleness  ;  his 
very  denunciations  and  threats  of  punishment  are  full  of  love  ;  he  grieves 
over  his  contumacious  opponents ;  the  thought  of  their  pain  fills  him  with 
sadness.  "For  if  I  cause  you  grief,  who  is  there  to  cause  me  joy?"* 
He  implores  them,  even  at  the  eleventh  hour,  to  save  him  from  the  neces- 


1  See  2  Cor.  x.  1.  »  Acts  xxri.  10. 

2  2  Cor.  X.  4,  5.  *  2  Cor.  U.  2. 


520  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUI  chap.  xvm. 

sity  of  dealing  harshly  with  them ;  he  had  rather  leave  his  authority 
doubtful,  and  still  remain  liable  to  the  sneers  of  his  adversaries,  than 
establish  it  by  their  punishment  (2  Cor.  xiii.  7-9).  He  will  condescend 
to  the  weakest  prejudices  rather  than  cast  a  stumbling-block  in  a  brother's 
path  ;  he  is  ready  to  become  "  all  things  to  all  men,"  that  he  may  "  by 
all  means  save  some." 

Yet  all  that  was  good  and  noble  in  the  character  of  Saul  remains  in 
Paul,  purified  from  its  old  alloy.  The  same  zeal  for  God  burns  in  his 
heart,  though  it  is  no  longer  misguided  by  ignorance  or  warped  by  party- 
spirit.  The  same  firm  resolve  is  seen  in  carrying  out  his  principles  to 
their  consequences,  though  he  shows  it  not  in  persecuting,  but  in  suffering. 
The  same  restless  energy,  which  carried  him  from  Jerusalem  to  Damas- 
cus that  he  might  extirpate  heresy,  now  urges  him  from  one  end  of  the 
world  to  the  other ,^  that  he  may  bear  the  tidings  of  salvation. 

The  painful  anticipations  which  saddened  his  return  to  Corinth  were 
not,  however,  altogether  unrelieved  by  happier  thoughts.  As  he  ap- 
proached the  well-known  gates,  in  the  midst  of  that  band  of  faithful 
friends  who  accompanied  him  from  Macedonia,  his  memory  could  not  but 
revert  to  the  time  when  first  he  entered  the  same  city,  a  friendless  and 
lonely  ^  stranger.  He  could  not  but  recall  the  feelings  of  extreme  depres- 
sion with  which  he  first  began  his  missionary  work  at  Corinth,  after  his 
unsuccessful  visit  to  Athens.  The  very  firmness  and  bold  confidence 
which  now  animated  him  —  the  assurance  which  he  felt  of  victory  over 
the  opponents  of  truth  —  must  have  reminded  him  by  contrast  of  the 
anxiety  and  self-distrust'  which  weighed  him  down  at  his  first  intercourse 
with  the  Corinthians,  and  which  needed  a  miraculous  vision*  for  its 
removal.  How  could  he  allow  discouragement  to  overcome  his  spirit, 
when  he  remembered  the  fruits  borne  by  labors  which  had  begun  in  so 
much  sadness  and  timidity  ?  It  was  surely  something  that  hundreds  of 
believers  now  called  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  who,  when  he  first 
came  among  them,  had  worshipped  nothing  but  the  deification  of  their 
own  lusts.  Painful  no  doubt  it  was  to  find  that  their  conversion  had 
beeii  so  incomplete ;  that  the  pollutions  of  heathenism  still  defiled  those  who 
had  once  washed  away  the  stains  *  of  sin  :  yet  the  majority  of  the  Church 
had  repented  of  their  offences ;  the  number  who  obstinately  persisted  in  sin 
was  but  small ;  and  if  many  of  the  adult  converts  were  so  tied  and  bound 

1  He  was  at  this  very  time  intending  to  go  ^  He  was  left  at  Athens  alone  (1  Thess.  iii. 

first  to  Jerusalem,  thence  to  Rome,  and  thence  1),  and  so  remained  till  Timotheus  and  Silax 

to  Spain  ;  that  is,  to  travel  from  the  Eastern  rejoined  him  at  Corinth, 
to  the  Western   extremities   of  the  civilized  *  See  1  Cor.  ii.  1-3. 

world.     See  Rom.  xv.  28.     Compare  the  con-  *  Acts  xviii.  9. 

rlusion  of  Ch.  X\1L  6  i  Cor.  vi.  11. 


onAP.xvm.  BAD  NEWS  TEOM -GALATIA.  521 

by  the  chains  of  habit,  that  their  complete  deliverance  could  scarce  be 
hoped  for,  yet  at  least  their  children  might  be  brought  up  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  Moreover,  there  were  some,  even  in  this 
erring  church,  on  whom  St.  Paul  could  think  with  unmiugled  satisfaction; 
some  who  walked  in  the  Spirit,  and  did  not  fulfil  the  lust  of  the  flesh  ; 
who  were  created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  with  whom  old  things  had 
passed  away,  and  all  things  had  become  new ;  who  dwelt  in  Christ,  and 
Christ  in  them.  Such  were  Erastus  the  treasurer,  and  Stephanas,  the 
first-fruits  of  Achaia ;  such  were  Fortunatus  and  Achaicus,  who  had  lately 
travelled  to  Ephesus  on  the  errand  of  their  brethren ;  such  was  Gaius,^ 
who  was  even  now  preparing  to  welcome  beneath  his  hospitable  roof  the 
Apostle  who  had  thrown  open  to  himself  the  door  of  entrance  into  the 
Church  of  Christ.  When  St.  Paul  thought  of  "  them  that  were  such," 
and  of  the  many  others  "  who  worked  with  them  and  labored,"  -  as  he 
threaded  the  crowded  streets  on  his  way  to  the  house  of  Gains,  doubtless 
lie  "  thanked  God  and  took  courage." 

But  a  painful  surprise  awaited  him  on  his  arrival.  He  found  that  intel- 
hgence  had  reached  Corinth  from  Ephesus,  by  the  direct  route,  of  a  more 
recent  date  than  any  which  he  had  lately  received ;  and  the  tidings 
brought  by  this  channel  concerning  the  state  of  the  Galatian  churches 
excited  both  his  astonishment  and  his  indignation.^  His  converts  there, 
whom  he  seems  to  have  regarded  with  peculiar  affection,  and  whose  love 
and  zeal  for  himself  had  formerly  been  so  conspicuous,  were  rapidly  for- 
saking his  teaching,  and  falling  an  easy  prey  to  the  arts  of  Judaizing 
missionaries  from  Palestine.  We  have  seen  the  vigor  and  success  with 
which  the  Judaizing  party  at  Jerusalem  were  at  this  period  pursuing  their 
new  tactics,  by  carrying  the  war  into  the  territory  of  their  great  opponent, 
and  endeavoring  to  counterwork  him  in  the  very  centre  of  his  influence, 
in  the  bosom  of  those  Gentile  Churches  which  he  had  so  lately  founded. 
We  know  how  great  was  the  difficulty  with  which  he  had  defeated  (if 
iudeed  they  were  yet  defeated)  the  agents  of  this  restless  party  at  Cor- 
inth ;  and  now,  on  his  reaching  that  city  to  crusli  the  last  remains  of 
their  opposition,  he  heard  that  they  had  been  working  the  same  mischief 
in  Galatia,  where  he  had  least  expected  it.  There,  as  in  most  of  the 
early  Christian  communities,  a  portion  of  the  Church  had  been  Jews  by 
birth  ;  and  this  body  would  afibrd  a  natural  fulcrum  for  the  efforts  of  the 


1  It  would  be  more  correct  to  write  this  ^  This  is  oa  the  assumption  thai  the  Epistle 

name  Caius  ;  but  as  the  name  under  its  Greek  to   the  Galatians  was  written  soon  after  St. 

form  of  Gaius  has  become  naturalized  in  the  Paul's  arrival  at  Corinth  on  the  present  occa- 

English  language  as  a  synonyme  of  Christian  sion.     For  the  reasons  in  favor  of  this  hypothe- 

hospitality,  it  seems  undesirable  to  alter  it.  sis,  see  the  note  upon  the  date  of  the  Epistle 

*  1  Cor  xvi.  16.  below. 


522  THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  cuap.  x^aji. 

Judaizing  teachers  ;  yet  we  cannot  suppose  that  the  number  of  Jews  resi- 
dent in  this  inland  district  could  have  been  very  large. ^  And  St.  Paul 
in  addressing  the  Galatians,  although  he  assumes  that  there  were  some 
among  them  familiar  with  the  Mosaic  Law,  yet  evidently  implies  that  the 
majority  were  converts  from  heathenism.'^  It  is  remarkable,  therefore, 
that  the  Judaizing  emissaries  should  so  soon  have  gained  so  great  a  hold 
over  a  church  consisting  mainly  of  Gentile  Christians ;  and  the  fact  that 
they  did  so  proves  not  only  their  indefatigable  activity,  but  also  their 
skill  in  the  arts  of  conciliation  and  persuasion.  It  must  be  remembered, 
however,  that  they  were  by  no  means  scrupulous  as  to  the  means  which 
they  employed  to  effect  their  objects.  At  any  cost  of  falsehood  and 
detraction,  they  resolved  to  loosen  the  hold  of  St.  Paul  upon  the  affection 
and  respect  of  his  converts.  Thus  to  the  Galatians  they  accused  him  of 
a  want  of  uprightness  in  observing  the  Law  himself  whilst  among  the 
Jews,  yet  persuading  the  Gentiles  to  renounce  it ;  *  they  argued  that  his 
motive  was  to  keep  his  converts  in  a  subordinate  state,  excluded  from  the 
privileges  of  a  full  covenant  with  God,  which  was  enjoyed  by  the  circum- 
cised alone  ;  *  they  declared  that  he  was  an  interested  flatterer,^  "  becom- 
ing all  things  to  all  men,"  that  he  might  make  a  party  for  himself;  and 
above  all,  they  insisted  that  he  falsely  represented  himself  as  an  apostle  of 
Christ,  for  that  he  had  not,  like  the  Twelve,  been  a  follower  of  Jesus 
when  He  was  on  earth,  and  had  not  received  His  commission  ;  that,  on  the 
contrary,  he  was  only  a  teacher  sent  out  by  the  authority  of  the  Twelve, 
whose  teaching  was  only  to  be  received  so  far  as  it  agreed  with  theirs,  and 
was  sanctioned  by  them  ;  whereas  his  doctrine  (they  alleged)  was  now  in 
opposition  to  that  of  Peter  and  James,  and  the  other  "  Pillars  "  of  the 
Cluirch.^  By  such  representations  they  succeeded,  to  a  great  extent,  in 
alienating  the  Galatian  Christians  from  their  father  in  the  faith ;  already 
many  of  the  recent  converts  submitted  to  circumcision,'^  and  embraced 
the  party  of  their  new  teachers  with  the  same  zeal  which  they  had  for- 
merly shown  for  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles ;  ^  and  the  rest  of  the  Church 
was  thrown  into  a  state  of  agitation  and  division. 

On  receiving  the  first  intelligence  of  these  occurrences,  St.  Paul 
hastened  to  check  the  evil  before  it  should  have  become  irremediable, 
fle  wrote  to  the  Galatians  an  Epistle  which  begins  with  an  abruptness  and 
severity  showing  his  sense  of  the  urgency  of  the  occasion  and  the  great- 
ness of  the  danger.     It  is  also  frequently  characterized  by  a  tone  of  sad- 

1  On  the  probable  character  of  the  Jewish  *  Ibid.  i.  10. 

population  of  Galatia,  see  p.  212.  ®  See  the  whole  of  the  first  two  chapters  of 

2  See  Gal.  ir.  8.  the  Epistle. 

8  Gal.  V.  11.  7  Gal.  vi.  13. 

*  Gal.  iv.  16,  compared  with  ii.  17.  *  Gal.  iv.  14,  15. 


CHAP.  xvin. 


EPISTLE  TO  THE   GAT.ATIANS 


523 


ness,  such  as  would  naturally  be  felt  by  a  man  of  such  war  iq  affections 
when  he  heard  that  those  whom  he  loved  were  forsaking  his  cause,  and 
believing  the  calumnies  of  his  enemies.  In  this  letter  his  principal 
object  is  to  show  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Judaizers  did  in  fact  destroy  the 
very  essence  of  Christianity,  and  reduced  it  from  an  inward  and  spiritual 
life  to  an  outward  and  ceremonial  system  ;  but  in  order  to  remove  the  seeds 
of  alienation  and  distrust  which  had  been  designedly  planted  in  the  minds 
of  his  converts,  he  begins  by  fully  contradicting  tlie  falsehoods  which  had 
been  propagated  against  liimself  by  his  opponents,  and  especiallj''  by  vin- 
dicating his  title  to  the  Apostolic  office  as  received  directly  from  Christ, 
and  exercised  independently  of  the  other  Apostles.  Such  were  the  cir- 
cumstances and  such  the  objects  which  led  him  to  write  the  following 
Epistle :  - 

EPISTLE   TO   THE   GALATIANS » 

hiffndep^e'nd-        PAUL,  an  Apostlc,  sent  not  from  men  nor  by  man,  but  by  i.  1 
lutho^rity°  "    Jesus  Christ,  and  God  the  Father,  who  raised  Him  from  the 


1  The  date  of  this  Epistle  cannot  be  so 
clearly  demonstrated  as  that  of  most  of  the 
others;  but  we  conclude  that  it  was  written  at 
the  time  assumed  in  the  text  on  the  following 
grounds : — 

1st.  It  was  not  written  till  after  St.  Paul's 
second  visit  to  the   Galatians.     This  is   proved 

(A)  by  his  speaking  of  their  conversion  as 
having  occurred  at  his  Jjrst  visit  (iv.  13) ;  im- 
plying that  he  had  paid  them  a  second  visit. 

(B)  (iv.  16)  :  "  Am  I  now  become  your  enemy 
by  speaking  truth  among  you  1 "  implies  that 
there  had  been  a  second  visit  in  which  he  had 
offended  them,  contrasted  with  the  first  when 
he  was  so  welcome. 

2(lly.  It  is  maintained  by  many  eminent 
authorities  that  it  was  written  soon  after  his 
sev.oiid  visit.  This  St.  Paul  (they  argue)  ex- 
pressly says ;  he  marvels  that  the  Galatians 
are  so  soon  (i.  6)  forsaking  his  teaching.  The 
question  is  (according  to  these  writers),  within 
what  interval  of  time  would  it  have  been  pos- 
sible for  him  to  use  this  word  "  soon  "  1  Now 
this  depends  on  the  length  of  their  previous 
Christian  life ;  for  instance,  had  St.  Paul 
known  them  as  Christians  for  twenty  years, 
and  then  after  an  absence  of  four  years  heard 
of  iheir  pervcrsifl  n,  he  might  have  said  their 
abandonment  of  the  truth  was  marvellously 
noon   after  their  possession  of  it ;  but  if  they 


had  been  only  converted  to  Christianity  for 
three  years  before  his  second  visit  (as  was 
really  the  case),  and  he  had  heard  of  their  per- 
version not  till  four  yean*  after  his  second 
visit,  he  could  scarcely,  in  that  case,  speak  of 
their  perversion  as  having  occurred  soon  after 
they  had  been  in  the  right  path,  in  reference 
to  the  whole  time  they  had  been  Christians. 
He  says  virtually,  "  You  are  wrong  now :  you 
were  right  a  short  time  ago."  The  natural  im- 
pression conveyed  by  this  language  (consider- 
ing that  the  time  of  their  previous  steadfast- 
ness in  the  true  faith  was  only  three  y(!ar9 
altogether)  would  certainly  be,  that  St.  1  'aul 
must  have  heard  of  their  perversion  within 
about  a  year  from  the  time  of  his  visit.  At 
that  time  he  was  resident  at  Ephesus,  where 
he  would  most  naturally  and  easily  leceive 
tidings  from  Galatia.  Hence  they  consider 
the  Epistle  to  have  been  written  at  Ephesus 
during  the  first  year  of  St.  Paul's  residence 
there.  But  in  answer  to  these  arguments  it 
may  be  replied,  that  St.  Paul  does  not  say 
the  Galatians  were  perverted  soon  after  his  own 
last  visit  to  them.  His  words  are,  in  fact,  "  1 
wonder  that  you  are  so  quickly  shifting  your 
ground."  The  same  word  is  used  in  2  Thess. 
ii.  2,  where  he  exhorts  the  Thessalonians  "  not 
rashly  to  let  themselves  be  shaken ;  "  where 
the  adverb  refers  not  so  much  to  the  time  aa 


524 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  xvni. 


!  2  dead ;  —  with   all   the   brethren  ^   in   mj  company :    To   the  agamet  the 

Judaizing 

Churches  of  Galatia.  u;aehcrs  and 

historical 

3       Grace  be  to  you  and  peace  from  God  our  Father,  and  our  hUcommiL 

810  n  was  not 

4.  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;    who  gave  himself  for  our  sins,  that  He  d*;"^*:*!  froo" 

°  7  ^    tliu  Other 

might  deliver  us  from  this  present  evil  world,  according  to  the  ^p°^^^®*- 

5  will  of  our  God  and  Father ;  to  whom  be  glory,  even  unto  the  ages  of 
ages.     Amen. 

6  I   marvel  that  you  are  so  soon  shifting  ^  your  ground,  and  forsaking 


to  the  manner  in  which  they  were  affected,  like 
the  English  hastily.  But  even  supposing  it,  in 
Gal.  i.  6,  to  refer  simply  to  time,  and  to  be 
translated  quickly  or  soon,  we  still  (if  we  would 
fix  the  date  from  it)  must  ask,  "  quickly  after 
what  evmt  ?  "  —  "  soon  after  what  event  ?  " 
And  it  is  more  natural  (especially  as  the  verb 
is  in  the  present  tense)  to  understand  "  soon 
after  the  entrance  of  the  Judaizing  teachers," 
than  to  understand  "  soon  after  my  last  visit." 

Hence  there  seems  nothing  in  this  adverb 
to  fix  the  date  of  the  Epistle;  nor  is  there 
any  other  external  evidence  of  a  decisive  na- 
ture supplied  by  the  Epistle.     But, 

3dly.  The  internal  evidence  that  the  Epistle 
was  written  nearly  at  the  same  time  with  that 
to  the  Romans  is  exceedingly  strong.  Exam- 
ples of  this  are  Rom.  viii.  15  compared  with 
Gal.  iv.  6,  Rom.  vii.  14-25  compared  with  Gal. 
y.  17,  Rom.  i.  17  compared  with  Gal.  iii.  11, 
and  the  argument  about  Abraham's  faith  in 
Rom.  iv.  compared  with  Gal.  iii.  But  the  com- 
parison of  single  passages  does  not  so  forcibly 
impress  on  the  mind  the  parallelism  of  the 
two  Epistles,  as  the  study  of  each  Epistle  as  a 
whole.  The  more  we  examine  them,  the 
more  we  are  struck  by  the  resemblance ;  and 
it  is  exactly  that  resemblance  which  would 
exist  between  two  Epistles  written  nearly  at 
the  same  time,  while  the  same  line  of  argu- 
ment was  occupying  the  writer's  mind,  and 
the  same  phrases  and  illustrations  were  on  his 
tongue.  This  resemblance,  too,  becomes  more 
striking  when  we  remember  the  very  different 
circumstances  which  called  forth  the  two  Epis- 
tles ;  that  to  the  Romans  being  a  deliberate 
exposition  of  St.  Paul's  theology,  addressed 
to  a  Church  with  which  he  was  personally  un- 
af(|uainted  ;  that  to  the  Galatians  being  an 
indignant  rebuke,  written  on  the  urgency  of 
the  occasion,  to  ciieck  the  perversion  of  his 
childvon  in  the  faith. 


This  internal  evidence,  therefore,  leads  us 
to  suppose  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians 
was  written  within  a  few  months  of  that  to 
the  Romans  ;  and  most  probably,  therefore, 
from  Corinth  during  the  present  visit  (al- 
though there  is  nothing  to  show  whioh  of  the 
two  was  written  the  first).  The  news  of  the 
arrival  of  the  Judaizers  in  Galatia  would 
reach  St.  Paul  from  Ephesus;  and  (consider- 
ing the  commercial  relations  between  the  two 
cities)  there  is  no  place  where  he  would  be  30 
likely  to  hear  tidings  from  Ephesus  as  at 
Corinth.  And  since,  on  his  arrival  at  the 
latter  city,  he  would  probably  find  some  intel- 
ligence from  Ephesus  waiting  for  him,  we 
have  supposed,  in  the  text,  that  the  tidings  of 
the  perversion  of  Galatia  met  him  thus  on  his 
arrival  at  Corinth. 

1  Some  of  these  "  brethren  in  St.  Paul's 
company "  are  enumerated  in  Acts  xx.  4 ; 
Sopater  of  Bercea  ;  Aristarchus  and  Secundus 
of  Thessalonica  ;  Gains  of  Dcrbe  ;  Timothe- 
ns;  and  Tychicus  and  Trophiinus  from  Pro- 
consular Asia.  The  junction  of  their  names 
with  that  of  Paul  in  the  salutation  of  this 
Epistle,  throws  light  on  the  junction  of  the 
names  of  Timotheus,  Sosthenes,  Silvanus,  &c., 
with  Paul's  in  the  salutation  at  the  head  of 
some  other  Epistles  ;  showing  us  more  clearly 
that  these  names  were  not  joined  with  that  of 
St.  Paul  as  if  they  were  joint  authors  of  the 
several  Epistles  referred  to.  This  clause  also 
confirms  the  date  we  have  assigncni  to  the 
Epistle,  since  it  suits  a  period  when  he  had  an 
unusual  number  of  travelling  companions,  iu 
consequence  of  the  collection  which  they  and 
he  were  jointly  to  bear  to  Jerusalem.  See  the 
last  chapter. 

'^  For  the  translation  of  this,  see  the  no^ 
on  the  date  of  this  Epistle,  above. 


CHAP.  xvin.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS.  5'2d 

Him  ^  who  called  jou  ^  in  the  grace  of  Christ,  for  a  new  Glad-tidings  ; 
which  is  nothing  else  ^  but  the  device  of  certain  men  who  are  troubling  i.  7 
you,  and  who  desire  to  pervert  the  Glad-tidings  of  Christ.     But  even     8 
though  I  myself,  or  an  angel  from  heaven,  should  declare  to  you  any 
other  Glad-tidings  than  that  which  I  declared,  let  him  be  accursed.     As     9 
1  have  said  before,  so  now  I  say  again,  if  any  man  is  come  to  you  with  a 
Glad-tidings  different  from  that  which  you  received  before,  let  him  be 
accursed.     Think  ye  that  man's  *  assent,  or  God's,  is  now  my  object  ?  or   10 
is  it  that  I  seek  favor  with  men  ?     Nay,  if  I  still  sought  favor  with  men, 
I  should  not  be  the  bondsman  of  Christ. 

For  I  certify  you,  brethren,  that   the  Glad-tidings  which  I  brought  you   11 
is  not  of  man's  devising.     For  I  myself  received  it  not  from  man,  nor   12 
was  it  taught  me   by  man's  teaching,  but  by  the  revelation  of  Jesus 
Christ.     For  you  have  heard  of  my  former  behavior  in  the  days  of  my  13 
Judaism,  how  I  persecuted  beyond  measure  the  Church   of   God,  and 
strove  *  to  root  it  out,  and  outran  in  Judaism  many  of  my  own  age  and   14 
nation,  being  more  exceedingly  zealous^  for  the  traditions  of  my  fathers. 
But  when  it  pleased  Him  who  set  me  apart''  from  my  mother's  womb,  and   15 
called  me  by  His  grace,  to  reveal  His  Son  in  me,  that  I  might  proclaim   16 
His  Glad-tidings  among  the  Gentiles,  I  did  not  take  counsel  with  flesh 
and  blood,  nor  yet  did  I  go  up  to  Jerusalem  to  those  who  were  Apostles   17 
before  me,  but  I  departed  immediately  into  Arabia,*  and  from  thence 
returned  to  Damascus.     Afterwards,  when  three  years  had  passed,  I  went   18 
up  to  Jerusalem,  that  I  might  know  Cephas '  and  with  him  I  remained 


1  "  Him  who  called  you."     St.  Paul  proba-  contrast  between  his  position  before  and  since 
bly  means  God.     Compare  Rom.  ix.  24.  his  conversion.     Compare  chap.  v.  11. 

2  "  In  the  grace  of  Christ."     The  preposi-  *  The  verb  is  in  the  imperfect. 

tion  here  cannot  mean  into;    Christians  are  ^  This    term    ("Zealot")    was,    perhaps, 

called  to  salvation  in  the  grace  of  Christ.  already  adopted   (as  it  was  not  long  after, 

^  The   Authorized   Version,  "which  is  not  Joseph.  War,iv.  6)  by  the  Ultra-Pharisaical 

another,"  does  not  correctly  represent  the  origi-  party.     Cf.  Acts  xxi.  20. 

nal :    the  word   translated   "another"  being  ^  Compare  Rom.  i.  1. 

not  the  same  in  the  two  verses.  *  The  immediately  belongs  to  departed,  as  if 

*  This  alludes  to  the  accusations  brought  ifwere  printed  imiiiediately  {I  conferred  not  .  .  . 

a;jainst  him.     See  above,  pp.  521,  522;  also  but)  departed.    On  the  events  mentioned  in  this 

2  Cor.  V.  11  ;  and  for  the  words,  compare  Col.  verse,  see  pp.  90,  91. 

iii.  22.     His  answer  is,  that,  had  popularity  '  Cephas,  not  Peter,  is  the  reading  of  the 

and   power  been   his   object,  he  would  have  best  MSS.  throughout  this  Epistle,  as  well  aa 

remained  a  member  of  the  Sanhedrin.     The  in  the  Epistles  to  Corinth ;  except  in  one  pas- 

adverbs  of  time  mark  the  reference   to  this  sage,  Gal.  ii.  7,  8.     St.  Peter  was  ordinarilj 


*  526  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES  OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap,  xmd 

i.  19  fifteen  days ;  ^  but  other  of  the  Apostles  saw  I  none,  save  only  James," 

20  the  brother  of  the  Lord.     (Now  in  this  which  I  write  to  you,  behold  J 

21  testify  before  God  that  I  lie  not.)     After  this  I  came  into  the  regions  of 

22  Syria  and  Cilicia ;  ^  but  I  was  still  unknown  by  face  to  the  Churches  of 

23  Christ  in  Judaea  :  tidings  only  were  brought  them  from  time  to  time,' 
saying,  "  He  who  was  once  our  persecutor  now  bears  the  Glad-tidinge 

24  of  that  Faith,  which   formerly  he   labored   to   root   out."      And   they 
glorified  God  in  me. 

ti.  1       Then  fourteen  *  years  after,  I  went  up  again  to  Jerusalem  r^^^  council 

2  with  Barnabas,  and  took  Titus  with  me  also.  At  that  time  I  **'  Jerusalem 
went  up  in  obedience  to  a  revelation,  and  I  communicated  to  the  brethren 
in  Jerusalem  ^  the  Glad-tidings  which  I  proclaim  among  the  Gentiles ; 
but  to  the  chief  brethren  I  communicated  it  privately,''  lest  perchance  my 

3  labors,  either  past  or  present,  might  be  fruitless.^  Yet  not  even  Titus, 
my  own  companion  (being  a  Greek),  was  compelled  to  be  circumcised. 

4  But  this  communication  ^  [with  the  Apostles  in  Judaea]  I  undertook  on 
account  of  the  false  brethren  who  gained  entrance  by  fraud,  for  they 
crept  in  among  us  to  spy  out  our  freedom  ^^  (which  we  possess  in  Christ 

5  Jesus)  that  they  might  enslave  us  under  their  own  yoke.  To  whom  I 
yielded  not  the  submission  they  demanded  ;  "  no,  not  for  an  hour ;  that 
the  truth  of  the  Glad-tidings  might  stand  unaltered  for  your  benefit. 

6  But  from  those  who  were  held  in  chief  reputation  —  it  matters  not  to 
me  of  what  account  they  were,  —  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons —  those 
(I  say)  who  were  the  chief  in  reputation  gave  me  no  new  instruction  ; 


known  up  to  this  period  by  the  Syro-Chaldaic  the  public  assembly  of  the   Church,  see  p. 

form  of  his  name  (the  name  actually  given  by  190. 

our  Lord),  and  not  by  its  Greek  equivalent.  "  TAtdToWy,  lest  perchance  I  should  be  running. 

It  is  remarkable  that  he  himself,  in  his  Epis-  er  had  run,  in  vain. 

ties,  uses  the  Greek  form,  perhaps  as  a  mark  "■*  Something  must  be  supplied  here  to  com- 

of  his  antagonism  to  the  Judaizers,  who  natu-  plete   the  sense  ;    we  understand  "  communi- 

rally  would  cling  to  the  Hebraic  form.  catcd  "  from  v.  2;   others   supply  "was  not 

1  See  pp.  94-96.  circumcised,"  "  but  I  refused  to  circumcise  him 

^  See  note  on  1  Cor.  ix.  5.  (which   otherwise    I  would    have    done)    on 

^  See  p.  97.  account  of  the  false  brethren,  that  I  might  not 

*  Lit.  "  They  continued  to  hear."  seem  to  yield  to  them."     Others  again  supply 

^  See  the  discussion  of  this  passage,  Ap-  "  was  circumcised,"   which  gives  an  oi)posite 

pendix  I.  sense.     The  interjirctation  here  adopted  agrees 

^  "  To    them."      Compare    the  preceding  best  with  the  narrative  in  Acts  xv. 

Terse.  '  i"  Viz.  from  the  ordinances  of  the  Mosaic 

T  On  these  private  conferences  preceding  law.        "  The  article  implies  this  meaning. 


rHAH.  XVIII.  EPISTLE   TO   THE   GALATIANS.  527 

but,  on  the  coiitrai-y,  when  they  saw  that  I  had  ^  been  charged  to  preach  ii  7 
the  Glad-tidings  to  the  uncircumcised,  as  Peter  to  the  circumcised  (for     8 
He   who   wrought   in   Peter   for   the    Apostleship   of   the    circumcision 
wrought  also  in  me  for  the  Gentiles),  and  when  they  had  learned  the     9 
grace  which  had  been  given  me, —  James,  Cephas,  and  John,  who  were 
accounted  chief  pillars,  gave  to  me  an^  Barnabas  the  right  hand  of  fellow- 
ship, purposing  that  we  should  go  to  the  Gentiles,  and  they  to  the  Jews ; 
provided  only,  that  we  should  remember  the  poor,'^  which  I  have  accord-   10 
ingly '  endeavored  to  do  with  diligence. 

But  when  Cephas  came  to  Antioch,  I  withstood  him  to  the   11 
Antvoch.         i-^^g^  because  he  had  incurred  *  reproach  ;  for  before  the  com-  12 
ing  of  certain  [brethren]  from  James,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  eating  with 
the   Gentiles ;    but  when   they  came,  he  began  to  draw  back,  and  to 
separate  himself  from  the  Gentiles,  for  fear  of  the  Jewish  brethren.     And   13 
he  was  joined  in  his  dissimulation  by  the  rest  of  the  Jews  [in  the  Church 
of  Antioch] ,  so  that  even  Barnabas  was  drawn  away  with  them  to  dis- 
semble in  like  manner.     But  when  I  saw  that  they  were  walking  in  a   14 
crooked  path,^  and  forsaking   the  truth  of  the  Glad-tidings,  I  said  to 
The  Jewish     Ccphas  bcforc  them  all,  "  If  thou,  being  born  a  Jew,  art  wont 
rcnouicxdthe  to  livc  accordiug  to  the  customs  of  the  Gentiles,  and  not  of  the 

righteousness 

of  the  law.      Jews,  liow  is  it  that  thou  constrainest  the  Gentiles  to  keep  the 
ordinances  of  the  Jews  ?     We  are  Jews  by  birth,  and  not  unhallowed   15 
Gentiles  ;  yet,^  knowing  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the   16 
Law,  but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  ourselves  also  have  put  our 
faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Christ,  and 


1  The  perfect  is  used  because  the  charge  Gal.  i.  13,  iii.  3,  iii.  27,  and  many  other  pas- 

siill  continued.  sages.     For  the  proofs  of  this  use  of  the  aorist, 

'^  Namely,   the  poor   Christians   in   Judaxi.  see  notes  on  2  Cor.  vii.  2,  and  Rom.  v.  5.] 

We  hs-vo  seen  in  the  preceding  chapters  how  For  the  phrase  translated  accordin;/!//  (to  which 

fully  St.  Paul  had  carried  out  this  part  of  his  it  is  nearly  equivalent),  compare  2  Cor.  ii.  3, 

agreement.  and  Phil.  i.  6. 

'^  The  A.  V.  here   is  probably   incorrect.  *  The  remarkable  expression   here   is   not 

The  aorist  here  seems  to  be  used  for  the  per-  equivalent  to  the  Authorized  translation,  "  he 

feet,  as  it  often  is  in  N.  T.    [Mr.  Ellicott,  in  was  to  be  blamed."    For  the  histoiy,  see  Ch. 

his  verj'  valuable  commentary  on  Galatians,  VII. 

di.sputes  this,  and  even  calls  the  above  asser-  ^  The  Greek  verb,  found  only  here,  means 

tion  "  an  oversight."     He  expresses  his  opin-  to  walk  in  a  straight  path, 

ion  that  the  aorist  is  never  used  for  the  perfect  *  We    follow    Tischendorf   and    the    best 

in  N.  T.     Yet  Mr.  Ellicott  himself  repeatedly  MSS. 
translates  the  aorist  as  perfect,  for  example  in 


528 


THE  LIFE  AKD  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CUAP.  T  nn. 


not  by  the  works  of  the  Law ;  for  by  the  works  of  the  Law    Sgall  tlO 

fi.  17  But  what  if,'^  while  seeking  to  be  justified  in  Christ,  we  have  indeed 
rcjduced'^  ourselves  also  to  the  sinful  state  of  unhallowed*  Gentiles?  Is 
Christ  then  a  minister  of  sin  ?     God  forbid !  * 

8  For  if  I  again  build  up  that  [structure  of  the  Law]  which  I  have  over- 

9  thrown,  then  I  represent  myself  as  a  transgressor.     Whereas^  I,  through 
the  operation  ^  of  the  Law,  became  dead  to  the  Law,  that  I  might  live  to 

20  God.  I  am  crucified  with  Christ ;  it  is  no  more  I  that  live,  but  Christ 
is  living  in  me ;  ^  and  my  outward  life  which  still  remains,  I  live  in  the 

21  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and  gave  himself  for  me.  I  frus- 
trate not  God's  gift  of  grace  [like  those  who  seek  righteousness  in  the 
Law]  ;  for  if  the  Law  can  make  men  righteous,  then  Christ  died  in  vain. 

iii.  1       0  foolish  Galatians,  who  has  bewitched  you  ?  ^  —  you,  be-  Appeal  to  the 

experience  of 

fore  whose  eyes  was  held  up  the  picture  ^°  of  Jesus  Christ  upon  the  Gaiatians. 

2  the  cross.     One  question  I  would  ask  you.    When  you  received  the  Spirit, 
was  it  from  the  works  of  the  Law,  or  the  preaching  "  of  Faith  ?     Are  you 

3  so  senseless  ?     Having  begun  in  the  Spirit,  would  you  now  end  in  the 

4  Flesh  ?     Have  you  received  so  many  benefits  ^'^  in  vain  —  if  indeed  it  has 

5  been  in  vain  ?     Whence,  I  say,  are  the  gifts  of  Him  who  furnishes  you 


1  Ps.  cxliii.  2  (LXX.) ;  quoted  also  more 
fully,  Rom.  iii.  20. 

2  The  construction  is  like  that  in  Rom. 
ix.  22. 

"*  Literally,  been  found  sinners  ourselves,  as 
well  as  other  men. 

*  "Unhallowed."  Compare  "unhallowed 
Gentiles  "  above. 

5  Neander  thinks  that  the  17  th  verse  also 
ought  to  be  included  in  the  speech  of  St.  Paul, 
and  much  might  be  said  in  favor  of  his  view. 
Still,  on  the  whole,  we  think  the  speech  more 
naturally  terminates  with  v.  16.  See  p.  201, 
n.  2.  The  hy'pothesis  in  v.  17  is  that  of  the 
Judaizers,  refuted  (after  St.  Paul's  manner) 
by  an  abrupt  reductio  ad  aLsurdum.  The 
Jndaizer  objects,  "  You  say  you  seek  righteous- 
ness in  Christ,  hut  infa/:t  you  reduce  yourself  to 
the  slate  of  a  Gentile  ;  you  are  farther  f-om  God, 
and  therefore  farther  from  righteousness,  tlian  you 
were  before."  To  which  St.  Paul  only  replies, 
"  On  your  hypothesis,  then,  we  must  conclude  Christ 
io  be  the  vtinister  of  sin !     God  forbid."     This 


passage  is  illustrated  by  the  similar  mode  in 
which  he  answers  the  objections  of  the  same 
party,  E,om.  iii.  3-8.  See  note  on  the  phrase 
rendered  "  God  forbid  "  below,  chap.  iii.  21. 

^  In  this  "for"  (A.  V.)  is  virtually  con- 
tained the  suppressed  clause  "  but  the  abolition 
of  the  law  does  not  make  me  a  transgressor,  for." 

'  This  thought  is  fully  expanded  in  the  7th 
of  Romans. 

•  8  It  jg  ^ith  great  regret  that  we  depart 
from  the  A.  V.  here,  not  only  because  of  its 
extreme  beauty,  but  because  it  must  be  so  dear 
to  the  devotional  feelings  of  all  good  men. 
Yet  the  words  cannot  be  translated  neveHhdess 
I  live,  yet  not  I." 

'  The  words  "  that  ye  should  net  obey  the 
truth  "  are  not  found  in  the  best  MSS.,  and 
"  among  you  "  is  also  omitted. 

w  This  is  the  literal  sense. 

"  Compare  Rom.  x.  17,  and  1  Thess.  ii.  13. 

^^  Literally,  have  you  experienced  so  many 
things  [or  such  great  things]  ?  The  context  is 
against  the  translation  of  the  verb  by  suffered. 


m 


caxp.  xvHi.  EPISTIiE  TO  THE  GALATIAJSTS.  529 

with  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit,  and  works  in  you  the  power  of  miracles  ? ' 
From  the  deeds  of  the  Law,  or  from  the  preaching  of  Faith  ? 

Faith,  and  not      ^^  likewise  **  ^hxRl^uin  Ijixtlj  fiiillj  iH  €0b,  aitrr  it  teas  1 

the  Source  of   X ttkaxitii  nxito  bm  fox  Xl^hkomttZBB," '^     Know,  therefore,     7 

righteouBuess.  '^ 

that  they  only  are  the  sons  of  Abraliam  who  are  children  of 
Faith.     And  the  Scripture,  foreseeing  that  God  through  Faith  justifies     8 
[not  the  Jews  only,  but]  the  Gentiles,  declared  beforehand  to  Abraham 
the  Glad-tidings,  saying,  ''  ^H  flj£  itatioitS  0f  tlj^  ^^Jttlks  sljall  ht 
bbssetr  ht  i\in,"^     So,  then,  they  who  are  children  of  Faith  [whether     9 
they  be  Jews  or  Gentiles]  are  blessed  with  faithful  Abraham. 

For  all  they  who  rest  upon  ■*  the  works  of  the  Law  are  under  a  curse  ;    10 

for  it  is  written,  *'  Cursco  IS  tbtx^  om  tijat  raixthttictlj  1101  m  all 
tljnx0s  toljklj  Rxt  iaxlttm  in  tl^t  booh,  oi  il^t  Jato  la  \ia  lljtm/'  ^ 

And  it  is  manifest  that  no  man  is  counted  righteous  in  God's  judgment   11 
under  the  conditions  of  the  Law  ;  for  it  is  written,  **  ^g  iuxtb  sljall  ibt 
rtgljtcOUS  ItijC."^     But  the  Law  rests  not  on  Faith,  but  declares,  *'  dje   13 

man  lljal  l^allj  )iam  lljijsc  lljiiigs  sljall  libt  lljemix."^    Christ  has  13 

redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  Law,  having  become  accursed  for  our 
sakes^  (for  it  is  written,  "  CurS£iJ  IB  tbtXB  0m  lljal  Ijaitgcllj  01t  a 
tXtZ  ")/  to  the  end  that  in  Christ  Jesus  the  blessing  of  Abraham  might  14 
come  unto  the  Gentiles ;  that  through  Faith  we  might  receive  the  prom- 
ise of  the  Spirit. 

The  Law  Brethren  —  I  speak  in  man's  language  ***  —  nevertheless,  —  a   16 

abrogatethe     mau's  covcuant,  when  ratified,  cannot  by  its  giver  be  annulled, 

prior  promise 

to  Abraham,    or  sct  asidc  by  a  later  addition.     Now  God's  promises  were   II 
made  to  Abraham  and  to  his  seed ;  the  Scripture  says  not  **  aixb^  l0  l|^g 

1  The  phrase  is  exactly  similar  in  1  Cor.  ''  Levit.  xviii.  5  (LXX.) ;  quoted  aiso 
xii.  10.  Rom.  x.  5. 

2  Gren.  XV.  6  (LXX.);  quoted  also  Kom.  ^  "A  curse  for  us."  The  sentiment  and 
iv.  3.  expression  strongly  resembles  "  sin   for  us," 

3  Gen.  xii.  3,  from  the  LXX.,  but  not  ver-  2  Cor.  v.  21 ;  which  epistle  was  very  nearly 
batim.  Compare  the  similar  quotation.  Bom.  contemporaneous  with  this,  if  the  date  of  the 
iv.  17.  Galatians  above  adopted  is  correct. 

*  Literally,  who  have  their  root  in  the  works  *  Deut.   xxi.   23.      Nearly   verbatim  from 

of  the  Law,  or,  according  to  the  Hebrew  image,  LXX. 
the  children  of  the  works  of  the  Law.  w  This   parenthetical   phrase  here,  in  St. 

^  Deut.  xxvii.  26.     Nearly  verbatim  from  Paul's  style,  seems  always  to  mean,  I  use  a 

LXX.  comparison  or    illustration   drawn  from   human 

**  Hab.  ii.  4  (LXX.) ;  quoted  also  Rom.  i.  affairs  or  human  language.     Compare  Rom.  iii. 

17,  and  Heb.  x.  38.  5,  and  1  Cor.  xv.  32. 
84 


630 


THE  LIFE  AlTD  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  xvm. 


-.     UtttiS,"  as  if  it  spoke  of  many,  but  as  of  one,  "  mxii  I0  t^U  St^b";"* 

17  and  this  seed  is  Christ.  But  this  I  say  ;  a  covenant  which  had  been  rati- 
fied before  by  God,  to  be  fulfilled  in  Christ,  the  Law  which  was  given 
four  hundred  and  thirty'^  years  afterwards  cannot  make  void,  to  the  an- 

18  nulling  of  the  promise.  For  if  the  inheritance  comes  from  the  Law,  it 
comes  no  longer  from  promise ;  whereas  God  has  given  it  to  Abraham 
freely  by  promise. 

19  To  what  end,  then,  was  the  Law  ?  it  was '  added  because  of  the  trans- 
gressions *  of  men,  till  the  Seed  should  come,  to  whom  belongs  the  prom- 
ise ;  and  it  was  enacted  by  the  ministration  of  angels  *  through  the  hands 

20  of  [Moses,^  who  was]  a  mediator  [between  God  and  the  people] .  Now 
where  "^  a  mediator  is,  there  must  be  two  parties.  But  God  is  one  [and 
there  is  no  second  party  to  His  promise]. 

21  Do  I  say,  then,  that  the  Law  contradicts  the  promises  of  God  ?  Relation  of 

Judaism  to 

that  be  far  from  me !  ®    For  had  a  Law  been  given  which  could  Christianity. 
raise  men  from  death  to  life,  then  would  righteousness  be  truly  from  -tlie 

22  Law.  But  ®  the  Scripture  (on  the  other  hand)  has  shut  up  the  whole 
world  together  under  sin,  that  from  Faith  in  Jesus  Christ  the  promise 
might  be  given  to  the  faithful. 


1  Gen.  xiii.  15  (LXX.).  The  meaning  of 
the  argument  is,  that  the  recipients  of  God's 
promises  are  not  to  be  looked  on  as  an  aggre- 
gate of  different  individuals,  or  of  different 
races,  but  are  all  one  body,  whereof  Christ  is 
the  head.     Compare  "you  are  the  seed,"  v.  29. 

2  With  regard  to  the  chronology,  see  p. 
157,  n.  2. 

3  This  is  according  to  the  reading  of  the 
best  MSS. 

*  Compare  Rom.  v.  20 :  "  The  Law  was 
added  that  sin  might  abound,"  which  must  be 
taken  with  Rora.  v.  13,  and  Rom.  vii.  13. 

6  Compare  Acts  vii.  53. 

•^  Moses  is  called  "  the  Mediator  "  by  the 
Rabbinical  writers.  See  several  passages 
quoted  by  Schocttgen  on  this  passage. 

"  St.  Paul's  argument  here  is  left  by  hira 
exceedingly  elliptical,  and  therefore  very  ob- 
scure ;  as  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  more 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  different  explana- 
rions  of  the  passage  have  been  advocated  by 
different  commentators.  The  most  natural 
moaning  appears  t-o  be  as  follows  :  "  It  is  bet- 


ter to  depend  upon  an  unconditional  promise 
of  God  than  upon  a  covenant  made  between 
God  and  man  ;  for  in  the  latter  case  the  con- 
ditions of  the  covenant  might  be  broken  by 
man  (as  they  had  been),  and  so  the  blessings 
forfeited ;  whereas  in  the  former  case,  God 
being  immutable,  the  blessings  derived  from 
His  promise  remain  steadfast  forever."  The 
passage  is  parallel  with  Rom.  iv.  13-16. 

*  The  expression  occurs  fourteen  times  in 
St.  Paul ;  viz.  three  times  in  Galatians,  ten 
times  in  Romans  (another  example  of  the  simi- 
larity between  these  Epistles),  and  once  in  1 
Corinthians.  In  one  of  these  cases  (Gal.  vi 
14)  it  is  not  interjectional ;  in  another  (1  Cor. 
vi.  15),  it  repels  a  direct  hypothesis,  "  S/iall  I 
do  {so  and  so)  f  Gal  forliid."  But  in  all  the 
other  instances  it  is  interjectional,  and  rebuts 
an  inference  deilticed  from  St.  Pdul's  doctrine 
hy  an  opponent.  So  that  the  question  which 
precedes  the  phrase  is  equivalent  to  Do  J, 
then,  infer  that  f  " 

^  The  connection  of  the  argument  is,  that 
if  the  Law  could  give  men  spiritual  life,  and 


cnAP.xvm.  EPISTLE  TO   THE   GALATIAJSTS,  531 

iil 
But  before  Faith  came  we  were  shut  up  in  prison,  in  ward  under  the  23 

Law,  in  preparation  for  the  Faith  which  should  afterwards  be  revealed. 

Thus,  even  as  the  slave  ^  who  leads  a  child  to  the  house  of  the  schoolmas-  24 

tm;  so  the  Law  has  led  us  to  [our  teacher]  Christ,  that  by  Faith  we  might 

bo  justified  ;  but  now  that  Faith  is  come,  we  are  under  the  slave's  care  no   25 

longer.     For  you  are  all  the  sons  of  God,  by  your  faith  in  Christ  Jesus  ;   26 

yea,  whosoever  among  you  have  been  baptized  unto  Christ  have  clothed  27 

yourselves  with  Christ.^      In  Him   there  is  neither  Jew   nor   Gentile,   28 

neither  slave  nor  freeman,  neither  male  nor  female  ;  for  you  all  are  one 

in  Christ  Jesus.     And  if  you  are  Christ's,  then  y»u  are  Abraham's  seed,   29 

and  heirs  of  the  blessing  by  promise. 

Now  I  say,  that  the  heir,  so  long  as  he  is  a  child,  has  no  more  freedom  iv.  1 

than  a  slave,  though  he  is  owner  of  the  whole  inheritance  ;  but  he  is  under     2 

overseers  and  stewards  until  the  time  appointed  by  his  father.     And  so     3 

we  also  [who  are  Israelites]  when  we  were  children  were  in  bondage, 

under  our  childhood's  lessons  of  outward  ordinances.^     But  when    the     4 

appointed  time  was  fully  come,  God  sent  forth  His  Son,  who  was  born  of 

a  woman,  and  born  subject  to  the  Law  ;  that  He  might  redeem  from  their     5 

slavery  the  subjects  of  the  Law,  that  we  *  might  be  adopted  as  the  sons  of 

God.     And  because  you  are  the  sons  of  God,  He  has  sent  forth  the  Spirit     6 

of  His  Son  into  your  hearts,  crying  unto  Him  *'  Jfal|^tr«"  *     Wherefore     7 

thou  [who  canst  so  pray]  art  no  more  a  slave,  but  a  son ;  and  if  a  son, 

then  an  heir  of  God  through  Christ. 

so  enable  them  to  fulfil  its  precepts,  it  would  was  born  of  a  woman,  that  all  the  sons  of  wo- 

give  them  righteousness :  but  it  does  not  pre-  men  might  by  union  with  Him  become  the 

tend  to  do  this  ;   on  the  contrary,  it  shows  the  sons  of  God. 

impotence  of  their  nature  by  the  contrast  of  *  "  Abba "  is  the  Syro-Chaldaic  word  for 

its  requirements  with  their  performance.     This  Father,  and  it  is  the  actual  word  with  which 

verse  is  parallel  with  Rom.  xi.  32.  the  Lord's  prayer  began,  as  it  was  uttered  by 

1  The   inadequate   translation  here  in  the  our  Lord  himself.     The  "  Father "  which  fol- 

Authorized  Version  has  led  to  a  misconcep-  lows  is  only  a  translation  of  "  Abba,"  inserted 

tion  of  the  metaphor.     See  note  on  1  Cor.  iv.  as  translations  of  Aramaic  words  often  are  by 

15.     Compare  also  Hor.  (Sa^.  i.  6  (81).  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament,  but  not 

'-'  The  only  other  place  where  this  expres-  used  along  with  "  Abba."     This  is  rendered 

sion  occurs  is  Rom.  xiii.  14;  another  instance  evident  by  Mark  xiv.  36,  when  we  remember 

of  resemblance  between  the  two  Epistles.  that  our  Lord  spoke  in  Syro-Chaldaic.     More-   ' 

^  The  phrase  literally  means  the  elementary  over,  had  it  been  used  vocatively  (as  in  A.  V.) 

tp^^sons  of  outward  things.     Compare  Col.  ii.  8  along  with  Abba,  the  Greek  would  have  been 

and  20.  diflferent.    Rom.  viii.  15  is  exactly  parallel  with 

*   We,  namely,  all   Christians,  whether  Jews  the  present  passage. 
•x-  Gentiles.     In  other  words,  the  Son  of  God 


532 


THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


COuW.  XVUi 


hr.  8      But  formerlj,  when  you  knew  not  God,  you  were  in  bondage   nFrtblln cJa" 


coa 

verts  not  to 


9  to  gods  that  have  no  real  being.^     Yet  now,  when  you  have  return  to  an 

©utward  and 

gained  the  knowledge  of  God,  —  or  rather,  when  God  has  ac-  ^^j"^^  '^"'■" 
knowledged  you,'^  —  how  is  it  that  you  are  turning  backwards  to  those 
childish  lessons,  weak  and  beggarly  as  they  are  ;  *  eager  to  place  yourselves 

10  once  more  in  bondage  under  their  dominion  ?     Are  you  observing  da3's,* 

11  and  months,'  and  seasons,®  and  years  V     I  am  fearful  for  you,  lest  I  have 

12  spent  my  labor  on  you  in  vain.  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  to  become  as  I 
am  [and  seek  no  more  a  place  among  the  circumcised]  ;  for  I  too  have 
become  as  you  ®  are  [and  have  cast  away  the  pride  of  my  circumcision] . 

18  You  have  never  wronged  me :  ^  on  the  contrary,  although  it  was  sickness 
(as  you  know)  which  caused  ^^  me  to  preach  the  Glad-tidings  to  you  at  my 

14  first  visit,  yet  you  neither  scorned  nor  loathed  the  bodily  infirmity  which 
was  my  trial ; "  but  you  welcomed  me  as  an  angel  of  God,  yea,  even  as 

16  Christ  Jesus.  Why,  then,  did  you  think  yourselves  so  happy  ?  (for  I  bear 
you  witness  that,  if  it  had  been  possible,  you  would  have  torn  out  your 


1  This  is  of  coarse  addressed  to  Heathen 
converts. 

2  Compare  1  Cor.  viii.  3. 

^  Literally,  the  weak  and  beggarly  rudiment' 
ary  lessons. 

*  The  Sabbath  days.  Compare  Col.  ii.  16. 
[Also  Rom.  xiv.  6.  See  notes  on  those  pas- 
sages. —  H.] 

^  The  seventh  months. 

®  The  seasons  of  the  great  Jewish  feasts. 

'  The  Sabbatical  and  Jubilee  years.  From 
this  it  has  been  supposed  that  this  Epistle  must 
have  been  written  in  a  Sabbatical  year.  But 
this  does  not  necessarily  follow,  because  the 
word  may  be  merely  inserted  to  complete  the 
sentence ;  and  of  course  those  who  observed 
the  Sabbaths,  festivals,  &c.,  would  intend  to 
observe  also  the  Sabbatical  years  when  they 
came.     The  plural  "  years  "  favors  this  view. 

"  This  is  addressed  (as  above)  to  the  Gen- 
tile converts. 

8  The  aorist  used  as  perf.  (cf.  notes  on  2 
Cor.  vii.  2,  and  Rom.  v.  5).  It  might,  how- 
ever, perhaps  be  here  rendered,  Ye  did  me  no 
wrong  [when  I Jirst  came  to  you\. 

^^  i.  e.  by  keeping  him  in  their  country 
tgajnst  his  previous  intention.  See  p.  235. 
The   literal   English  of  this  is,  You  have  in- 


jured me  in  nothing  ;  but  you  know  that  because 
of  bodily  sickness  I  preached  the  Glad-tidings 
to  you  on  the  Jirst  occasion,  and  you  neither,  ^c. 
We  are  glad  to  find  that  Dean  EUicott,  in 
his  recent  valuable  and  accurate  commentary, 
expresses  his  opinion  that  "  the  only  gram- 
matically correct  translation  is  propter  corporis 
injinnitatem."  The  contrary  view  of  Professor 
Jowett,  who  translates  "amid  infirmity,"  is 
defended  only  by  a  mistaken  parallel  from 
Phil.  i.  15.  See  Qmrterly  Review  for  Decem- 
ber, 1855,  p.  153,  note  2. 

^  This  was  probably  the  same  disease  men- 
tioned 2  Cor.  xii.  7.  It  is  very  unfortunate 
that  the  word  temptation  has  so  changed  its 
meaning  in  the  last  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  as  to  make  the  Authorized  Version  of 
this  -verse  a  great  source  of  misapprehension 
to  ignorant  readers.  Some  have  even  been  led 
to  imagine  that  St.  Paul  spoke  of  a  sinful 
habit  in  which  he  indulged,  and  to  the  do- 
minion of  which  he  was  encouraged  (2  Cor. 
xii  9)  contentedly  to  resign  himself!  We 
should  add,  that  if,  with  some  of  the  best  MSS., 
we  read  "  your,"  it  makes  no  very  material 
difference  in  the  sense;  St.  Paul's  sickness 
would  then  be  called  the  trial  of  the  Galatians. 


CHAP.  xvni.  EPISTLE  TO   THE   GALATIANS.  533 

IV, 

own  eyes  '  and  given  them  to  me.)  Am  I  then  become  your  enemy  ^  because   16 
I  tell  you  the  truth  ?     They  [who  call  me  so]  show  zeal  for  you  with  no   17 
good  intent ;  they  would  shut  you  out  from  others,  that  your  zeal  may 
be  for  them  alone.     But  it  is  good  to  be  zealous '  in  a  good  cause,  and   18 
that  at  all  times,  and  not  when  zeal  lasts  only  [like  yours]  while  I  am 
present  with  you.     My  beloved  children,  I  am  again  bearing  the  pangs  of  19 
travail  for  you,  till  Christ  be  fully  formed  within  you.     I  would  that  I  20 
were  present  with  you  now,  that  I  might  change  my  tone  ;  for  you  fill  me 
with  perplexity. 

The  allegory        TcU  mc,  je  that  dcsirG  to  be  under  the  Law,  will  you  not  21 
Sarah  teaches  hear  the  Law  ?     For  therein  it  is  written  that  Abraham  had   22 

the  same  les- 

Bontothejew.  ^^q  gQjjg .  4  qj^q  ]jj  ^]^q  boud-womau,  the  other  by  the  free. 
But  the  son  of  the  bond-woman  was  born  to  him  after  the  flesh  ;  whereas   23 
the  son  of  the  free-woman  was  born  by  virtue  of  the  promise.     Now,  all   24 
this  is  allegorical ;  for  these  two  women  are  the  two  covenants  ;  the  first 
given  from  Mount  Sinai,  whose  children  are  born  into  bondage,  which  is 
Hagar  (for  the  word  Hagar  ^  in  Arabia  signifies  Mount  Sinai)  ;  and  she   25 
answers  to  the  earthly  Jerusalem,  for®  she  is  in  bondage  with  her  children. 
But  [Sarah  ^  is  the  second  covenant  in  Christ,  and  answers  to  the  heav-   26 
enly  Jerusalem ;    for]  the  heavenly  Jerusalem   is  free  ;    which   is  the 
mother  of  us  all.®     And  so  it  is  written  *'  §£Joia,  lijOU  barren  Ij^at  27 

*  This  certainly  seems  to  confirm  the  view  *  The  word  Hagar  in  Arabic  means  "a 
of  those  who  suppose  St.  Paul's  malady  to  rock,"  and  some  authorities  tell  us  that  Monnt 
have  been  some  disease  in  the  eyes.  The  Sinai  is  so  called  by  the  Arabs.  The  lesson 
"your"  appears  emphatic,  as  if  he  would  say,  to  be  drawn  from  this  whole  passage,  as  re- 
you  would  liaise  torn  out  i/our  own  eyes  to  supply  gards  the  Christian  use  of  the  Old  Testament, 
the  lack  of  mine.  is   of  an   importance  which  can  scarcely  be 

^  The  Judaizers  accused  St.  Paul  of  desir-  over-rated, 
iug  to  keep  the  Gentile  converts  in  an  inferior  •*  All  the  best  MSS.  read  "  for"  Hagar  be- 

position,  excluded  (by  want  of  circumcision)  ing,  both  herself  and  her  children,  in  bondage, 

from  full  covenant  with  God  ;    and  called  him,  corresponds  to  the  earthly  Jerusalem :  by  which 

therelore,  their  enemy.  latter  expression  is  denoted  the  whole  system 

3  The   expression   would    more    naturally  of  the  Mosaic  law,  represented  by  its  local  cen- 

raean,  "  to  be  the  object  of  zeal,"  as  many  in-  tre,  the  H0I3'  City.     To  this  latter  is  opposed 

terpreters  take  it ;  but,  on  the  whole,  the  other  the   "city   to  come"  (Heb.  xii.   22),  where 

Interpretation  (which  is  that  of  the  older  in-  Christians  have  their  " citizenship  in  heaven" 

terpreters  and  of  Olshausen)  seems  to  suit  the  (Phil.  iii.  20). 

context  better.     Perhaps,  also,  there  may  be  7  This  clause  in  brackets  is  implied,  though 

an   allusion   here  to   the  peculiar  use  of  the  not  expressed,  by  St.  Paul,  being  necessary  for 

tvord  "  Zealot."     Compare  Gal.  i.  14.  the  completion  of  the  parallel. 

*  With  this  passage  compare  Bom.  ix.  *  The  weight  of  MS.  authority  is  rather 
?-9.  against  the  "  all  "  of  the  received  text ;  yet  it 


IV. 


534  THE  LIFE  iLND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xvin. 

hnxtsi  not ;  hxmk  fort|^  into  BlpuihxQ,  i^an  t)^ui  hnbuxhtt  not ; 
iax  llj^  b^solatu  Ijallj  mang  xaaxt  cl^il^xm  tijaii  slj£  inljulj  Ijailj  ilj^ 

28  Ijtisljait!tt."^     Now,  we,  brethren,  like  Isaac,  are  children  [born  not  nat- 

29  urally,  but]  of  God's  promise.     Yet,  as  then  the  spiritual  seed  of  Abra- 

80  ham  was  persecuted  by  his  natural  seed,  so  it  is  also  now.     Nevertheless, 
what  says  the  Scripture?     ''  Cast  Out  %  tiDnb-toomaiX  Ullti  \^tX  SOIi; 

far  tlj«  son  of  tl^t  bonb-tooman  sljall  not  k  ^cir  toillj  il^t  Bon  of 

81  iht  fl'C£-!bomart«"^     Wherefore,  brethren,  we  are  not  children  of  the 
▼.  1   bond-woman,  but  of  the  free.     Stand  fast,  then,  in  the  freedom  which 

Christ  has  given  us,  and  turn  not  back  again  to  entangle  yourselves  in 

the  yoke  of  bondage. 
2       Lo,  I  Paul  declare  unto  you,  that,  if  you  cause  yourselves  to  be  circum- 
8  cised,  Christ  will  profit  you  nothing.     I  testify  again  to  every  man  who 

submits  to  circumcision,  that  he  thereby  lays  himself  under  obligation 

4  to  fulfil  the  whole  Law.     If  you  rest  your  righteousness  on  the  Law,  you 

5  are  cut  off  from  Christ,^  you  are  fallen  from  His  gift  of  grace.  For  we, 
through  the  Spirit*  [not  through  the  Flesh],  from  Faith  [not  works],  look 

6  eagerly  for  the  hope '  of  righteousness.  For  in  Christ  Jesus  neither  cir- 
cumcision avails  any  thing,  nor  uncircumcision  ;  but  Faith,  whose  work  is 
Love. 

7  You  were  running  the  race  well :  who  has  cast  a  stumbling-  warning 

'-'  against  the 

block  in  your  way  ?  who  has  turned  you  aside  from  your  obedi-  feach(fr",^and 

8  ence  to  the  truth  ?  The  counsel  which  you  have  obeyed  ®  came  not  divisions. 

9  from  Him  who  called"^  you.     "  A  little  leaven  leavens  the  whole  lump."  • 

bears  an  emphatic  sense  if  retained,  viz.  "  ua  present  to  St.  Paul's  mind)  "  flesh  "  or  "  let- 

all,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  who  belong  to  the  ter,"  and  "  law  "  or  "  works,"  respectively. 
Israel  of  God."     Compare  Gal.  vi.  16.  ^  i.  e.  the  hope  of  eternal  happiness  promised  t» 

1  Isaiah  liv.  1  (LXX.).      Quoted  as  a  pro-  righteousness.    Compare  Rom.  viii.  24, 25,  where 

phetic  testimony  to  the  fact  that  the  spiritual  the  same  verb  is  used. 

seed  of  Abraham  should  be  more  numerous  *  There  is  a  paronomasia  here,  expressed  by 

than  his  natural  seed.  "  obedience  "  and  "  obeyed." 

*  Gen.  xxi.  10  from  LXX.,  but  not  quite  ver-  '  The  participle  used  substantively.     Com- 
batim.  pare  i.  6,  and  note. 

8  This  phrase  (meaning  literally  to  be  can-  ^  This  proverb  is  quoted  also  1  Cor.  v.  6. 

celled  from  a  thing,  i.  e.  to  have  utterly  lost  all  con-  Its  application  here  may  be,  "  Your  seducer* 

ned ion  with  it)  is  only  found  in  this  passage,  are  few,  but  yet  enough  to  corrupt  you  all;" 

and  in  Rom.  vii.  2  and  6.     Another  instance  or  it  may  be  "  circumcision  is  a  small  part  of 

of  resemblance  between  the  two  Epistles.  the  law,  but  yet  its  observance  is  sufficient  to 

*  In  the  words  "  spirit "  and  "  faith,"  a  tacit  place  you  altogether  under  the  legal  yoke." 
reference  is  made  to  their  antitheses  (constantly 


CHAP.  XTUI. 


EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 


535 


As  for  me,  I  rely  upon  you,  in  the  Lord,  that  you  will  not  be  led  astray  ;  v.  10 
but  he  that  is  troubling  you,  whosoever  he  be,  shall  bear  the  blame. 

But  if  I  myself  also  [as  they  say]  still  preach  circumcision,^  why  am  I   11 
still  persecuted  ?  for  if  I  preach  circumcision,  then  the  cross,  the  stone  at 
which  they  stumble,^  is  done  away. 

I  could  wish  that  these  agitators  who  disturb  your  quiet  would  execute   12 
upon  themselves  not  only  circumcision,  but  excision  also.' 
Exhortation         For  you,  brethren,  have  been  called  to  freedom  ;  *  only  make   13 

to  the  more  ^        7  ?  7  j 

parfy  nol  to     ^^^  J^ur  frccdom  a  vantage-ground  for  the  Flesh,  but  rather 
freedom.        cuslavc  yoursclvcs  one  to  another  by  the  bondage  of  love.     For   14 
all  the  Law  is  fulfilled  in  this  one  saying,  *'  CIjOll  sljall  lobt  tl^g  l^^isfe^-    ^^ 
box  as  tljgS^If."^    But  if  you  bite  and  devour  one  another,  take  heei 
lest  you  be  utterly  destroyed  by  one  another's  means. 

Keen^the         ^^^  ^^^s  I  say,  Walk  iu  the  Spirit,  and  you  shall  not  fulfil   16 
Flesh. ''^     ^    the   desire  of  the  Flesh  ;   for  the  desire  of  the  Flesh  fights   17 
against  the  Spirit,  and  the  desire  of  the  Spirit  fights  against  the  Flesh ; 
and  this  variance  tends  to  hinder  ^  you  from  doing  what  you  wish  to  do. 
But,  if  you  be  led  by  the  Spirit,  you  are  not  under  the  Law.''     Now  the  184 
works  of  the  Flesh  are  manifest,  which  are  such  as  these ;  fornication, 


1  This  accnsation  might  naturally  he  made 
by  St.  Paul's  opponents,  on  the  ground  of  his 
circumcising  Timothy,  and  himself  still  con- 
tinuing several  Jewish  observances.  See  Acts 
XX.  6,  and  Acts  xxi.  24.  The  first  "  still "  in 
this  verse  is  omitted  by  some  MSS.,  but  re- 
tained by  the  best. 

^  Literally,  the  stumbling-stone  of  the  cross ; 
i.  e.  the  cross  which  is  their  stumbling-stone.  Com- 
pare 1  Cor.  i.  23.  The  doctrine  of  a  crucified 
Messiah  was  a  stumbling-block  to  the  national 
pride  of  the  Jews ;  but  if  St.  Paul  would  have 
consented  to  make  Christianity  a  sect  of  Juda- 
ism (as  he  would  by  "preaching  circumcis- 
ion"), their  pride  would  have  been  satisfied. 
But  then,  if  salvation  were  made  to  depend  on 
outward  ordinances,  the  death  of  Christ  would 
be  rendered  unmeaning. 

2  Observe  the  force  of  the  "  also  "  and  of 
the  middle  voice  here ;  the  A.  V.  is  a  mistrans- 
'ation. 

*  Literally,  on  terms  of  freedom 
6  Levit.  xiK.  18  (LXX.). 


8  Not  "  so  that  you  cannot  do  "  (A.  V.),  but 
"  tending  to  prevent  you  from  doing." 

">  To  be  "  under  the  yoke  of  the  Law,"  and 
"  under  the  yoke  of  the  Flesh,"  is  in  St.  Paul's 
language  the  same  ;  because,  for  those  who  are 
under  the  Spirit's  guidance,  the  Law  is  dead 
(v.  23) ;  they  do  right,  not  from  fear  of  the 
Law's  penalties,  but  through  the  influence  of 
the  Spirit  who  dwells  within  them.  This,  at 
least,  is  the  ideal  state  of  Christians.  Com- 
pare Rom.  viii.  1-14.  St.  Paul  here,  and  else- 
where in  his  Epistles,  alludes  thus  briefly  to  im- 
portant truths,  because  his  readers  were  already 
familiar  with  them  from  his  personal  teaching. 
By  the  "  flesh  "  St.  Paul  denotes  not  merely  the 
sensual  tendency,  but  generally  that  which  is 
earthly  in  man  as  opposed  to  what  is  spiritual. 
It  should  be  observed,  that  the  17th  verse  is 
a  summary  of  the  description  of  the  struggle 
between  flesh  and  spirit  in  Rom.  vii.  7-25 ; 
and  verse  18th  is  a  summary  of  the  description 
of  the  Christian's  deliverance  from  this  struggi*. 
Rom.  viii.  1-14. 


536  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chai  xvnu. 

T.  20  impurity,  lasciviousness ;  idolatry,  witchcraft ;  ^  enmities,  strife,  jealousy, 
passionate  anger  ;  intrigues,^  divisions,  sectarian  parties  ;  envy,  murder  ; 

21  drunkenness,  revellings,  and  such  like.    Of  which  I  forewarn  you  (as  I  told 
you  also  in  times  past),  that  they  who  do  such  things  shall  not  inherit  the 

22  kingdom  of  God.     But  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suf- 

23  fering,  kindness,  goodness,  trustfulness,'  gentleness,  self-denial.     Against 
such  there  is  no  Law. 

24  But  they  who  are  Christ's  have  crucified  *  the  Flesh,  with  its  waming  to 

•'  the  more 

25  passions  and  its  lusts.     If  we  live  by  the  Spirit,  let  our  steps  part^^agalnat 

26  be  guided  by  the  Spirit.     Let  us  not  become  vainglorious,  pro-  pride. " 

vi.  1  voking  one  another  to  strife,  regarding  one  another  with  envy.  Brethren, 
—  I  speak  to  you  who  call  yourselves  the  Spiritual,^  —  even  if  any  one 
be  overtaken  in  a  fault,  do  you  correct  such  a  man  in  a  spirit  of  meekness  ; 

2  and  take  thou  heed  to  thyself,  lest  thou  also  be  tempted.     Bear  ye  one 

3  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ.     For,  if  any  man 
exalts  himself,  thinking  to  be  something  when  he  is  nothing,  he  deceives 

4  himself  with  vain  imaginations.     Rather  let  every  man  examine  his  own 
work,  and  then  his  boasting  will  concern  himself  alone,  and  not  his  neigh- 

6   bor ;  for  each  will  bear  the  load  [of  sin]  which  is  his  own,®  [instead  of 
magnifying  the  load  which  is  his  brother's] . 

6  Moreover,  let  him  who  is  receiving  instruction  in  the  Word '  Provision  to 

^  be  made  for 

give  to  his  instructor  a  share  in  all  the  good  things  which  he  ^n^^'o^fhe 

7  possesses.     Do   not  deceive  yourselves  —  God  cannot  be  de-  stro^ctors^  "^ 

8  frauded.^     Every  man  shall  reap  as  he  has  sown.     The  man  who  now 


1  The  profession  of  marjical  arts.    The  his-  as  used  for  the  perfect.     See  notes  on  2  Cor. 
tory  of  the  times  in  which  St.  Paul  lived  is  vii.  2,  and  Rom.  v.  5. 

full  of  the  crimes  committed  by  those  who  pro-  *  "  Ye  that  are  spiritual."     See  p.  391. 

fessed  such  arts.     We  have  seen  him  brought  *  The  allusion  here  is  apparently  to  iEsop's 

into  contact  with  such  persons   at   Ephesus  well-known  fable.     It  is  unfortunate,  that,  in 

already.     They  dealt  in  poisons  also,  which  the  Authorized  Version,  two  words  (v.  2)  are 

accounts  for  tlie  use  of  the  term  etymologi-  translated  by   the  same   term   hurdri,  which 

cally.  seems  to  make  St.  Paul  contradict  himself. 

2  For  this  word,  compare  Rom.  ii.  8,  and  His  meaning  is,  that  self-examination  will  pre- 
note.     Also  2  Cor.  xii.  20.  vent  us  from  comparing  ourselves  boastfully 

3  The  word  seems  to  have   this  meaning  with  our  neighbor :  we  shall  have  enough  to  do 
here;  for fai'fli  (in  its  larger  sense)  could  not  with  our  own  sins,  without  scrutinizirg  his. 
be  classed  as  one  among  a  number  of  the  con-  ''  By  the  Word  is  meant  the  doctrines  of  Chris- 
stituent  parts  of  love.     See  1  Cor.  xiii.  tianittj. 

*  Some  translate  this  aorist  "crucified  the  ^  Literally,  "  God  is  not  mocked,"  i.  e.  God 

flesh  [at  the  time  of  their  baptism  or  their  cpn-  is  not  really  deceived  by  hypocrites,  who  think 

Tersion.]  "    But  it  is  more  natural  to  take  it  to  reap  where  they  have  not  sown. 


CHAP,  xvnx- 


EPISTLE  TO   THE   GALATIANS. 


537 


Autograph 
conclusion. 


SOWS  for  his  own  Flesh  shall  reap  therefrom  a  harvest  doomed '  to  perish ; 
but  he  who  sows  for  the  Spirit  shall  from  the  Spirit  reap  the  harvest  of  life     . 

VI. 

eternal.     But  let  us  continue  in  well-doing,  and  not  be  weary :  ^  for  in     9 
due  season  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not.     Therefore,  as  we  have  oppor-   10 
tunity,^  let  us  do  good  to  all  men,  but  especially  to  our  brethren  in  the 
household  of  Faith. 

Observe  the  size  *  of  the  characters  in  which  I  write '  to  you   11 
with  my  own  hand. 
I  tell  you  that  they  who  wish  to  have  a  good  repute  in  things  pertain-  12 
ing  to  the  Flesh,  they,  and  they  alone,®  are  forcing  circumcision  upon 
you  ;    and   that   only  to  save  themselves  from  the  persecution  which ' 
Christ  bore  upon  the  cross.     For  even  they  who  circumcise  themselves  do   13 
not  keep  the  Law ;  but  they  wish  to  have  you  circumcised,  that  your 
obedience  ^  to  the  fleshly  ordinance  may  give  them  a  ground  of  boasting. 
But  as  for  me,  far  be  it  from  me  to  boast,  save  only  in  the  cross '  of  our   14 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  whereby  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto 
tlie  world.     For  in   Christ  Jesus  neither  circumcision  is  any  thing,  nor   15 


1  See  Rom.  viii.  21. 

2  Compare  2  Thess.  iii.  13,  where  the  ex- 
pression is  almost  exactly  the  same. 

"  This  opportunity  (time)  is  suggested  by  the 
preceding  .sfasow  (time);  but  the  verbal  identity 
cannot  with  advantage  be  retained  here  in 
English. 

^  Thus  we  must  understand  the  phrase, 
unless  we  suppose  (with  Tholuck)  that  "  how 
large"  is  used  for  "what  kind  of,"  as  in  the 
later  Greek  of  the  Byzantine  writers.  To  take 
"  characters  "  as  equivalent  to  "  letter  "  appears 
inadmissible.  St.  Paul  does  not  here  say  that 
lie  wrote  the  whole  Epistle  with  his  own  hand  ; 
but  this  is  the  beginning  of  his  usual  autograph 
jiostscript,  and  equivalent  to  the  "so  I  write" 
in  2  Thess.  iii.  17.  We  may  observe  as  a  fur- 
ther confirmation  of  this  view,  that  scarcely  any 
Epistle  bears  more  evident  marks  than  this 
of  having  been  written  from  dictation.  The 
writer  of  this  note  received  a  letter  from  the 
venerable  Neander  a  few  months  before  his 
death,  which  illustrated  this  point  in  a  manner 
the  more  interesting,  because  he  (Neander) 
takes  a  different  view  of  this  passage.  His  let- 
ter is  written  in  the  fair  and  flowing  hand  of 
an  amanuensis,  but  it  ends  with  a  few  irregular 


lines  in  large  and  rugged  characters,  written 
by  himself,  and  explaining  the  cause  of  his 
needing  the  services  of  an  amanuensis,  namely, 
the  weakness  of  his  eyes  (probably  the  very 
malady  of  St.  Paul).  It  was  impossible  to 
read  this  autograph  without  thinking  of  the 
present  passage,  and  obser\'ing  that  he  might 
have  expressed  himself  in  the  very  words  of 
St.  Paul :  "  Behold  !  in  what  large  characters 
I  have  written  to  thee  with  my  OAvn  hand." 
[The  words  are  given  in  uncial  characters  on 
the  next  page.  —  h.] 

^  The  past  tense,  used,  according  to  the 
classical  epistolary  style,  from  the  position  of 
the  readers. 

**  The  "  they  "  is  emphatic. 

'^  Literally,  tliat  they  may  not  be  persecuted 
with  the  cross  of  Christ.  Cf.  2  Cor.  1.  5  (the 
sufferings  of  Christ). 

^  Literally,  that  they  may  boast  in  your  flesh. 

^  To  understand  the  full  force  of  such  ex- 
pressions as  "  to  boast  in  the  cross,"  we  must 
remember  that  the  cross  (the  instrument  of 
punishment  of  the  vilest  malefactors)  was  asso- 
ciated with  all  that  was  most  odious,  contempti- 
ble, and  horrible  in  the  minds  of  that  genera- 
tion, just  as  the  word  gibbet  would  be  now. 


538  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xttu, 

vi. 

16  uncircumcision  ;  but  a  new  creation.'     And  whosoever  shall  walk  by  this 

rule,  peace  and  mercy  be  upon  them,  and  upon  all  the  Israel  of  God.^ 

17  Henceforth,  let  no  man  vex  me  ;  for  I  bear  in  my  body  the  scars ' 
which  mark  my  bondage  to  the  Lord  Jesus. 

18  Brethren,  the   grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  your  spirit 
Amen. 

lAETE  IIHAIKOIS  TMIN  TPAMMASIN  EFPA^A  TH  EMH  XEIPL* 


^  Cf.  2  Cor.  r.  17.  the  scars,  not  of  circumcision,  but  of  woundH 

^  Compare  ch.  iii.  v.  9.  suffered  for  His  sake.     Therefore  let  no  man 

*  Literally,  the  scars  of  the  wounds  made  vex  me  by  denying  that  I  am  Christ's  servant, 

upon  the  body  of  a  slave  by  the  branding-iron,  and  bear  His  commission.     Cf.  2  Cor.  xi.  23. 
by  which  he  was  marked  as  belonging  to  his  *  [The  words  used  by  St  Paul   { Gal.  vl 

master.     Observe  the  emphatic  "I:"  whatever  11),  as  they  appear  in  the  Uncial  MSS.,  e.  / 

others  may  do,  I  at  least  bear  in  my  body  the  the  Codex  Ephrami  Rescreptus  (0).  — h"] 
true  marks  which  show  that  I  belong  to  Christ ; 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

8t  Paul  at  Corinth.  —  Punishment  of  Contnmaeious  Offenders.  —  Subsequent  Character  of  the 
Corinthian  Church.  —  Completion  of  the  Collection.  —  Phoebe's  Journey  to  Rome.  —  She 
bears  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

IT  was  probably  about  the  same  time  when  St.  Paul  despatched  to 
Ephesus  the  messengers  who  bore  his  energetic  remonstrance  to  the 
Galatians,  that  he  was  called  upon  to  inflict  the  punishment  which  he  had 
threatened  upon  those  obstinate  offenders  who  still  defied  his  censures  at 
Corinth.  We  have  already  seen  that  these  were  divided  into  two  classes : 
the  larger  consisted  of  those  who  justified  their  immoral  practice  by 
Antinomian  ^  doctrine,  and,  styling  themselves  "the  Spiritual,"  considered 
ihe  outward  restrictions  of  morality  as  mere  carnal  ordinances,  from 
which  they  were  emancipated  ;  the  other  and  smaller  (but  more  obstinate 
and  violent)  class,  who  had  been  more  recently  formed  into  a  party  by 
emissaries  from  Palestine,  were  the  extreme  Judaizers,^  who  were  taught 
to  look  on  Paul  as  a  heretic,  and  to  deny  his  apostleship.  Although  the 
principles  of  these  two  parties  differed  so  widely,  yet  they  both  agreed  in 
repudiating  the  authority  of  St.  Paul ;  and,  apparently,  the  former  party 
gladly  availed  themselves  of  the  calumnies  of  the  Judaizing  propagan- 
dists, and  readily  listened  to  their  denial  of  Paul's  divine  commission  ; 
while  the  Judaizers,  on  their  part,  would  foster  any  opposition  to  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  from  whatever  quarter  it  might  arise. 

But  now  the  time  was  come  when  the  peace  and  purity  of  the  Co- 
rinthian Church  was  to  be  no  longer  destroyed  (at  least  openly)  by  either 
of  these  parties.  St.  Paul's  first  duty  was  to  silence  and  shame  his  lead- 
ing opponents  by  proving  the  reality  of  his  Apostleship,  which  they 
denied.  This  he  could  only  do  by  exhibiting  "  the  signs  of  an  Apostle," 
which  consisted,  as  he  himself  informs  us,  mainly  in  the  display  of 
miraculous  powers  (2  Cor.  xii.  12).  The  present  was  a  crisis  which 
required  such  an  appeal  to  the  direct  judgment  of  God,  who  could  alone 

1  In  applying  this  term  Antinomian  to  the       their  characteristic  (which  was  a  belief  that  the 
"  all  things   lawful  "  party  at  Corinth,  we  do       restraints  of  outward  law  were  abolished  for 
not  of  course  mean   that  all   their  opinions       Christians)   seems  more  accurately  expressed 
were  the  same  with  those  which  have  been       by  the  terra  Antinomian  than  by  any  other, 
held  by  modern  (so-called)  Antinomians.     But  ^  See  above,  Ch.  XVII. 

639 


540  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap,  iix 

decide  between  conflicting  claimants  to  a  Divine  commission.  It  was  a 
contest  like  that  between  Elijah  and  the  prophets  of  Baal.  St.  Paul  had 
already  in  his  absence  professed  his  readiness  to  stake  the  truth  of  his 
claims  on  this  issue  (2  Cor.  x.  8,  and  xiii.  3-6) ;  and  we  may  be  sure 
that  now,  when  he  was  present,  he  did  not  shrink  from  the  trial.  And, 
doubtless,  God,  who  had  sent  him  forth,  wrought  such  miracles  by  his 
agency  as  sufficed  to  convince  or  to  silence  the  gainsayers.  Perhaps  the 
Judaizing  emissaries  from  Palestine  had  already  left  Corinth  after  fulfil- 
ling their  mission  by  founding  an  anti-Pauline  party  there.  If-  they  had 
remained,  they  must  now  have  been  driven  to  retreat  in  shame  and  con- 
fusion. All  other  opposition  was  quelled  likewise,  and  the  whole  Church 
of  Corinth  were  constrained  to  confess  that  God  was  on  the  side  of  Paul. 
Now,  therefore,  that  "  their  obedience  was  complete,"  the  painful  task 
remained  of  "  punishing  all  the  disobedient"  (2  Cor.  x.  6).  It  was  not 
enough  that  those  who  had  so  often  offended  and  so  often  been  pardoned 
before  should  now  merely  profess  once  more  a  repentance  which  was  only 
the  offspring  of  fear  or  of  hypocrisy,  unless  they  were  willing  to  give 
proof  of  their  sincerity  by  renouncing  their  guilty  indulgences.  They 
had  long  infected  the  Church  by  their  immorality ;  they  were  not  merely 
evil  themselves,  but  they  were  doing  harm  to  others,  and  causing  the 
name  of  Christ  to  be  blasphemed  among  the  heathen.  It  was  necessary 
that  the  salt  which  had  lost  its  savor  should  be  cast  out,  lest  its  putres- 
cence should  spread  to  that  which  still  retained  its  purity  (2  Cor.  xii. 
21).  St.  Paul  no  longer  hesitated  to  stand  between  the  living  and  the 
dead,  that  the  plague  might  be  stayed.^  We  know,  from  his  own  descrip- 
tion (1  Cor.  V.  3-5),  the  very  form  and  manner  of  the  punishment 
inflicted.  A  solemn  assembly  of  the  Church  was  convened  ;  the  presence 
and  power  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  especially  invoked ;  the  cases  of 
the  worst  offenders  were  separately  considered,  and  those  whose  sins 
required  so  heavy  a  punishment  were  publicly  cast  out  of  the  Church, 
nnd  (in  the  awful  phraseology  of  Scripture)  delivered  over  to  Satan. 
Yet  we  must  not  suppose  that  even  in  such  extreme  cases  the  object  of  the 
sentence  was  to  consign  the  criminal  to  final  reprobation.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  purpose  of  this  excommunication  was  so  to  work  on  the 
offender's  mind  as  to  bring  him  to  sincere  repentance,  "  tliat  liis  spirit 
might  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  ^  If  it  had  this  happy 
effect,  and  if  he  manifested  true  contrition,  he  was  restored  (as  we  have 
already  seen  in  the  case  of  the  incestuous  person)^  to  the  love  of  the 
l)rcthren  and  the  communion  of  the  Church. 

1  We  here  assume  that  some  of  the  Conn-  '  1  Cor.  t.  5. 

thian  Church  remained  obstinate  in  their  of-  '  2  Cor.  ii.  &-8. 

fences,  as  St.  Paul  expected  that  they  would. 


CHAP.  XIX.  CHARACTER  OF  THE   CORINTHIAjST  CHURCH.  541 

We  should  naturally  be  glad  to  know  whether  the  pacificatiou  and 
purification  of  the  Corinthian  Church  thus  effected  was  permanent ;  or 
whether  the  evils  which  were  so  deeply  rooted  sprang  up  again  after  St. 
Paul's  departure.  On  this  point  Scripture  gives  us  no  further  informa- 
tion, nor  can  we  find  any  mention  of  this  Church  (which  has  hitherto 
occupied  so  large  a  space  in  our  narrative)  after  the  date  of  the  present 
chapter,  either  in  the  Acts  or  the  Epistles.  Such  silence  seems,  so  far 
as  it  goes,  of  favorable  augury.  And  the  subsequent  testimony  of 
Clement  (the  "  fellow-laborer  "  of  Paul,  mentioned  Phil.  iv.  3)  confirms 
this  interpretation  of  it.  He  speaks  (evidently  from  his  own  personal 
experience)  of  the  impression  produced  upon  every  stranger  who  visited 
the  Church  of  Corinth,  by  their  exemplary  conduct ;  and  specifies  particu- 
larly their  possession  of  the  virtues  most  opposite  to  tlieir  former  faults. 
Thus,  he  says  that  they  were  distinguished  for  the  ripeness  and  sound- 
ness of  their  knowledge  in  contrast  to  the  unsound  and  false  pretence  of 
knowledge  for  which  they  were  rebuked  by  St.  Paul.  Again,  he  praises 
the  pure  and  blameless  lives  of  their  women;  which  must  therefore  have 
been  greatly  changed  since  the  time  when  fornication,  wantonness,  and 
impurity  (2  Cor.  xii.  21)  were  the  characteristics  of  their  society.  But 
especially  he  commends  them  for  their  entire  freedom  from  faction  and 
party-spirit^  which  had  formerly  been  so  conspicuous  among  their  faults. 
Perhaps  the  picture  which  he  draws  of  this  golden  age  of  Corinth  may 
be  too  favorably  colored,  as  a  contrast  to  the  state  of  things  which  he 
deplored  when  he  wrote.  Yet  we  may  believe  it  substantially  true,  and 
may  therefore  hope  that  some  of  the  worst  evils  were  permanently  cor- 
rected ;  more  particularly  the  impurity  and  licentiousness  which  had 
hitherto  been  the  most  flagrant  of  their  vices.  Their  tendency  to  party- 
spirit,  however  (so  characteristic  of  the  Greek  temper),  was  not  cured; 
on  the  contrary,  it  blazed  forth  again  with  greater  fury  than  ever,  some 
years  after  the  death  of  St.  Paul.  Their  dissensions  were  the  occasion 
of  the  letter  of  Clement  already  mentioned ;  he  wrote  in  the  hope  of 
appeasing  a  violent  and  long-continued  schism  which  had  arisen  (like 
their  earlier  divisions)  from  their  being  "  puffed  up  in  the  cause  of  one 
against  another."  ^  He ,  rebukes  them  for  their  envg,  strife,  and  party- 
spirit  ;  accuses  them  of  being  devoted  to  the  cause  of  their  party-leaders 
rather  than  to  the  cause  of  God;  and  declares  that  their  divisions  were 
residing  asunder  the  body  of  Christ,  and  casting  a  stumbling-block  in  the  way 
of  many?  This  is  the  last  account  which  we  have  of  the  Corinthian 
Church  in  the  Apostolic  age  ;  so  that  the  curtain  falls  upon  a  scene  of 


1  1  Cor.  iv.  6.  from  Clement's  first  epistle,  ch.  i.,  ii.,  iii.,  lir., 

'  The   passages  in  Italics   are  quotations       xlvi.,  lir. 


542  THE  LIFE  AKD  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xix 

unchristian  strife,  too  much  like  that  upon  which  it  rose.  Yet,  though 
this  besetting  sin  was  still  unsubdued,  the  character  of  the  Church,  as  a 
whole,  was  much  improved  since  the  days  when  some  of  them  denied 
the  resurrection,  and  others  maintained  their  right  to  practise  unchastity. 

St.  Paul  continued  three  months  ^  resident  at  Corinth  ;  or,  at  least,  he 
made  that  city  his  headquarters  during  this  period.  Probably  he  made 
excursions  thence  to  Athens  and  other  neighboring  Churches,  which  (as 
we  know)  ^  he  had  established  at  his  first  visit  throughout  all  the  region 
of  Achaia,  and  which,  perhaps,  needed  his  presence,  his  exhortations, 
and  his  correction,  no  less  than  the  metropolitan  Church.  Meanwhile, 
he  was  employed  in  completing  that  great  collection  for  the  Christians  of 
Palestine,  upon  which  we  have  seen  him  so  long  engaged.  The  Chris- 
tians of  Achaia,  from  whose  comparative  wealth  much  seems  to  have 
been  expected,  had  already  prepared  their  contributions,  by  laying  aside 
something  for  the  fund  on  the  first  day  of  every  week  ; '  and,  as  this  had 
been  going  on  for  more  than  a  year,*  the  sum  laid  by  must  have  been 
considerable.  This  was  now  collected  from  the  individual  contributors, 
and  intrusted  to  certain  treasurers  elected  by  the  whole  Church,^  who 
were  to  carry  it  to  Jerusalem  in  company  with  St.  Paul. 

While  the  Apostle  was  preparing  for  this  journey,  destined  to  be  so 
eventful,  one  of  his  converts  was  also  departing  from  Corinth,  in  an 
opposite  direction,  charged  with  a  commission  which  has  immortalized 
lier  name.  This  was  Phoebe,  a  Christian  matron  resident  at  Cenchrea, 
the  eastern  port  of  Corinth.  She  was  a  widow  ^  of  consideration  and 
wealth,  who  acted  as  one  of  the  deaconesses '  of  the  Church,  and  was 
MOW  about  to  sail  to  Rome,  upon  some  private  business,  apparently  con 
uected  with  a  lawsuit  in  which  she  was  engaged.^  St.  Paul  availed  him- 
self of  this  opportunity  to  send  a  letter  by  her  hands  to  the  Roman 
Church.  His  reason  for  writing  to  them  at  this  time  was  his  intention 
of  speedily  visiting  them  on  his  way  from  Jerusalem  to  Spain.  He 
desired,  before  his  personal  intercourse  with  them  should  begin,  to  give 
them  a  proof  of  the  affectionate  interest  which  he  felt  for  them,  although 
tliey  "  had  not  seen  his  face  in  tlie  flesh."  We  must  not  suppose,  how- 
ever, that  they  were  hitherto  altogether  unknown  to  him ;  for  we  see, 
from  the  very  numerous  salutations  at  the  close  of  the  Epistle,  that  he 

1  Acts  XX.  3.  '  She  could  not  (according  to  Greek  man- 

2  See  2  Cor.  i.  1,  and  2  Cor.  xi.  10  ("  The  ners)  have  been  mentioned  as  acting  in  the  in- 
regions  of  Achaia").  Compare,  however,  the  dependent  manner  described  (Kom.  xvi.  1-2), 
remarks  at  the  end  of  Ch.  X.  and  Ch.  XVII.  either  if  her  husband  had  been  living  or  L-  she 

^  1  Cor.  xvi.  2.  had  been  unman-ied. 

*  2  Cor.  viii.  10,  and  2  Cor.  ix.  2.  "^  On  this  appellation,  however,  see  p.  379. 

^  "  Whomsoever  ye  shall  approve."     1  Cor.  n.  7  ;  also  p.  381,  n.  1. 
\-vi.  3.     (See  the  translation  of  the  verse.)  *  See  note  on  Rom.  xvi.  1. 


CHAP.xrs,  THE  ROMAIC  CHUKCH.  543 

was  already  well  acquainted  with  many  individual  Christians  at  Rome. 
Prom  the  personal  acquaintance  he  had  thus  formed,  and  the  intelligence 
he  had  received,  he  had  reason  to  entertain  a  very  high  opinion  of  the 
character  of  the  Church ;  ^  and  accordingly  he  .tells  them  (Rom.  xv. 
14-16^  that,  in  entering  so  fully  in  his  letter  upon  the  doctrines  and 
rules  of  Christianity,  he  had  done  it  not  so  much  to  teach  as  to  remind 
them ;  and  that  he  was  justified  in  assuming  the  authority  so  to  exhort 
them,  by  the  special  commission  which  Christ  had  given  him  to  the 
Gontiles. 

The  latter  expression  shows  us  that  a  considerable  proportion,  if  not 
the  majority,  of  the  Roman  Christians  were  of  Gentile  origin,^  which  is 
also  evident  from  several  other  passages  in  the  Epistle.  At  the  same 
time,  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  original  nucleus  of  the  Church  there,  as 
well  as  in  all  the  other  great  cities  of  the  Empire,  was  formed  by  converts 
(including  more  Gentile  proselytes  than  Jews)  who  had  separated  them- 
selves from  the  Jewish  synagogue.'  The  name  of  the  original  founder 
of  the  Roman  Church  has  not  been  preserved  to  us  by  history,  nor  even 
celebrated  by  tradition.  This  is  a  remarkable  fact,  when  we  consider 
how  soon  the  Church  of  Rome  attained  great  eminence  in  the  Christian 
world,  both  from  its  numbers,  and  from  the  influence  of  its  metropolitan 
rank.  Had  any  of  the  Apostles  laid  its  first  foundation,  the  fact  could 
scarcely  fail  to  have  been  recorded.  It  is  therefore  probable  that  it  was 
formed,  in  the  first  instance,  of  private  Christians  converted  in  Palestine, 
who  had  come  from  the  eastern*  parts  of  the  Empire  to  reside  at  Rome, 
or  who  had  brought  back  Christianity  with  them,  from  some  of  their 
periodical  visits  to  Jerusalem,  as  the  "  Strangers  of  Rome,"  from  the 
great  Pentecost.  Indeed,  among  the  immense  multitudes  whom  political 
and  commercial   reasons  constantly  attracted  to  the   metropolis  of  the 

^  Rom.  i.  8  :    "  Your  faith  is  spoken   of  did  not  understand  that  language,  interpreters 

throughout  the  whole  world."  were  not  wanting  in   their  own  body  who 

^  See  also  Rom.  i.  13.  could  explain  it  to   thera.     Unquestionably, 

'  This  is  evident  from  the  familiarity  with  however,  he  assumes  that  his  readers  are  fa- 

the  Old  Testament  which  St.  Paul  assumes  in  miliar  with  the  Septuagint  (Rom.  iv.  18).     It 

the  readers  of  the  Epistle   to  the   Romans ;  is  rather  remarkable  that  Tertius,  who  acted 

also  from   the   manifest  reference  to  Jewish  as  St.  Paul's  amanuensis,  was  apparently  (to 

readers  in  the  whole  argument  of  chapters  iii.  judge  from  his  name)  a  Roman  Christian  of 

and  iv.,  and  again  of  chapters  ix.,  x.,  and  xi.  the  Latin  section  of  the  Church.     It  canno., 

See,  moreover,  the  note  on  Rom.  iv.  18  below.  of  course,  be  supposed   that  all  the  Roman 

*  We  cannot,  perhaps,  infer  any  thing  as  to  Christians  were  of  Oriental  origin  and  Grecian 

the  comi)osition  of  the  Church  at  Rome,  from  speech.     Yet  it  is  certain   (as  Dean  Milman, 

the  fiict  that  St.  Paul  writes  to  them  in  Greek  in   his    "  iMtin    Christianity,"   has    lately  ob- 

Instead  of  Latin ;   because  Hellenistic  Greek  served)   that   Greek  remained  the  prevailing 

was  (as  we  have  seen,  p.  36)   his  own  native  language  in  the  Church  of  Rome  for  several 

tongue,  in   which  he  seems  always   to   have  centuries. 
written ;  and  if  any  of  the  Roman  Christianfi 


544  THE   LllE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  >Jt^ja   a^a. 

world,  there  could  not  fail  to  be  representatives  of  every  religion  v,-  irb 
had  established  itself  in  any  of  the  provinces. 

On  this  hypothesis,  the  earliest  of  the  Roman  Christians  were  Je"vr&  by 
birth,  who  resided  in  Rome,  from  some  of  the  causes  above  all  ad  3d  to. 
By  their  efforts,  others  of  their  friends  and  fellow  countrymen  (v/ho  were 
very  numerous  at  Rome)  ^  would  have  been  led  to  embrace  the  Gospel. 
But  the  Church  so  founded,  though  Jewish  in  its  origin,  was  remarkably 
free  from  the  predominance  of  Judaiziug  tendencies.  This  is  o.ident  from 
the  fact  that  so  large  a  proportion  of  it  at  this  early  period  ^dVQ  already 
of  Gentile  blood ;  and  it  appears  still  more  plainly  from  the  t[>iie  assumed 
by  St.  Paul  throughout  the  Epistle,  so  different  from  tha*:  in  which  he 
addresses  the  Galatians,  although  the  subject-matter  ia  often  nearly 
identical.  Yet,  at  the  same  time,  the  Judaizing  element,  though  not  pre- 
ponderating, was  not  entirely  absent.  We  find  that  t^ero  were  oppo- 
nents of  the  Gospel  at  Rome,  who  argued  against  it  on  tha  ground  of  the 
immoral  consequences  which  followed  (as  they  thought)  from  the  doc- 
trine of  Justification  by  Faith ;  and  even  charged  St.  Paul  himself  with 
maintaining  that  the  greater  man's  sin,  the  greater  was  God's  glory. 
(See  Rom.  iii.  8.)  Moreover,  not  all  the  Jewish  mem)>ers  of  the  Church 
could  bring  themselves  to  acknowledge  their  unciicumcised  Gentile 
brethren  as  their  equals  in  the  privileges  of  Christ'^  kingdom  (Rom.  iii. 
9  and  29,  xv.  7-11)  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  more  enlightened 
Gentile  converts  were  inclined  to  treat  the  lingering  Jewish  prejudices 
of  weak  consciences  with  scornful  contempt  (Rom.  xiv.  3).  It  was  the 
aim  of  St.  Paul  to  win  the  former  of  these  parties  to  Christian  truth,  and 
the  latter  to  Christian  love ;  and  to  remove  the  stumbling-blocks  out  of 
the  way  of  both,  by  setting  before  them  that  grand  summary  of  the 
.  doctrine  and  practice  of  Christianity  which  is  contained  in  the  follow  ing 
Epistle  :  — 

EPISTIiE   TO  THE   ROMANS.'' 

L  1       PAUL,  a  bondsman  of  Jesus  Christ,  a  called  Apostle,  set  apart  saintaaon. 
2  to   publish  the  Glad-tidings  of  God which  he  promised  of  old  by 

1  With  regard  to  the  Jews  in  Rome,  see  months'  residence  at  Corinth.  See  Acts  xix. 
the  beginning  of  Ch.  XXIV.  21. 

2  The  date  of  this  Epistle  is  very  precisely  (3.)  He  was  going  to  bear  a  collection  of 
fixed  by  the  following  statements  contained  in  alms  from  Macedonia  and  Acliaia  to  Jerusalem 
it :  —  (xv.  26  and  31 ).     This  he  did  carry  from  Cor- 

(1.)  St.  Paul  had  never  yet  been  to  Rome  inth  to  Jerusalem  at  the  close  of  this  three- 

(1.11,13,15).  months' visit.     See  Acts  xxiv.  17. 

(2.)  He  was    intending    to  go    to  Roime,  (4.)  When  he  wrote  the  Epistle,  Timotheus, 

after  first  visiting   Jerusalem    ( xv.    23-28).  Sosipater,  Gains,  and  Erastus  were  with  hira 

This  was  exactly  his  purpose  during  his  three-  (xvi.  21,  23)  ;  of  these,  the  first  three  are  ex- 


CHAP.  XIX.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  EOMANS.  545 

His  Prophets  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  concerning  His  Son  (who  was  born  i.  3 
of  the  seed  of  David  according  to  the  flesh,  but  was  marked  out'  as  the     4 
Son  of  God  with  mighty  power,  according  to   tlie  spirit  of  holiness,  by 
resurrection  from  the  dead),^  even  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord  and  Master.^ 
By  whom  I  received  grace  and  apostleship,  that  I  might  declare  His  name     5 
among  all  the  Gentiles,  and  bring  them  to  the  obedience  of  faith.    Among     6 

whom  ye  also  are  numbered,  being  called  by  Jesus  Chris* to  all     7 

God's  beloved,  called  to  be  Saints,*  who  dwell  in  Rome.* 

Grace  be  to  you,  and  peace  from  God  our  Father,  and  from  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 
Intention  of         First  I  thank  my  God  through  Jesus  Christ  for  you  all,     8 

visitinsT 

Rome  to         bccausc  the  tidings  of  your  faith  are  told  throughout  the  whole 

declare  the 

Glad-tidings,    world.     For  God  is  my  witness  (whom  I  serve  with  the  wor-     9 
ship  ^  of  my  spirit,  in  proclaiming  the  Glad-tidings  of  His  Son)  how 
unceasingly  I  make  mention  of  you  at  all  times  in  my  prayers,  beseech-   Ifl 
ing  Him  that,  if  it  be  possible,  I  might  now  at  length  have  a  way  open  to 
me,  according  to  the  will  of  God,  to  come  and  visit  you.     For  I  long  to   11 
see  you,  that  I  may  impart  to  you  some  spiritual  gift,  for  the  establish- 
ment of  your  steadfastness ;  that  I  may  share  with  you  (I  would  say)  in   12 
mutual  encouragement,  through  the  faith  both  of  you  and  me  together, 
one  with  another.     But  I  would  not  have  you  ignorant,  brethren,  that  I   13 


pressly  mentioned  in  the  Acts  as  having  been  ing  taken  place  could  not  "  define  "  oar  Lord 

with  him  at  Corinth  during  the  three-months'  to  be  the  Son  of  God. 

visit  (see  Acts  xx.  4) ;  and  the  last,  Erastus,  ^  "Lord"  seems  to  require  this  translation 

was  himself  a  Corinthian,  and  had  been  sent  here,   especially   in  connection   with  "  bonds- 

s^ortly  before  from  Ephesus  (Acts   xix.  22)  man,"  v.  1.  *  See  note  on  1  Cor.  i.  2. 

with  Timotheus  on  the  way  to  Corinth.     Com-  ^  If   this  introductory   salutation   appears 

pare  1  Cor.  xvi.  10,  11.  involved  and  parenthetical,  it  the  more  forcibly 

(5.)  Phoebe,  a  deaconess  of  the  Corinthian  recalls  to  our  mind  the  manner  in  which  it 

port    of   Cenchrea,   was    the    bearer    of   the  was  written ;  namely,  by  dictation  from   the 

Epistle  (xvi.  1)  to  Rome.  mouth  of  St.  Paul.     Of  course  an  extempo- 

1  "  Defined,"  here  equivalent,  as  Chrysos-  rary  spoken  composition  will  always  be  more 

tom  says,  to  "  marked  out."     We  may  observe  full  of   parentheses,   abrupt   transitions,   and 

that  the  notes  which  marked  Jesus  as  the  Son  broken  sentences,  than  a  treatise  composed  ia 

of  God  are   here   declared   to   be  power  and  writing  by  its  author. 

holiness.     Neither  would  have  been   sufficient  ^  The  addition  of  "  with  my  spirit  "  quali- 

without  the  other.  fies  the  verb,  which  was  generally  applied  to 

-  "  Resurrection  of  the  dead"  had  already  acts  of  outward  worship.     As  much  as  to  say, 

become  a  technical  expression,  used  as  we  use  "  My  worship  of  God  is  not  the  outward  ser- 

"  Resurrection  :  "    it   cannot   here    mean    the  vice  of  the  temple,  but  the  inward  homage   of 

general   resurrection   of   the   dead   (as    Prof.  the  spirit."     See  the  corresponding   substan- 

Jowett  supposes),  because  that  event  not  hav-  tive  similarly  qualified,  chap.  xii.  1. 
S5 


546  THE   LIFE  AKD   EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xix. 

have  often   purposed   to   come   to  you   (though   hitherto  I  have  been 

hindered),  that  I  might  have  some  fruit  among  you  also,  as  I  have 

L  14  among  the  other  Gentiles.     I  am  a  debtor  both  to  Greeks  and  Barbarians, 

15  both  to  wise  and  foolish ;  therefore,  as  far  as  in  me  lies,  I  am  ready  to 
declare  the  Glad-tidings  to  you  that  are  in  Rome,  as  well  as  to  others. 

16  For  [even  in  the  chief  city  of  the  world]  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Glad- 
tidings  of  Christ,  seeing  it  is  the  mighty  power  whereby  God  brings  salva- 
tion to  every  man  that  has  faith  therein,  to  the  Jew  first,  and  Tiji^jj,^^. 

17  also  to  the  Gentile.^     For  therein  God's  righteousness  ^  is  re-  sLtsfnthe' 

revelation  of 

vealed,  a  righteousness  which  springs  from  Faith,  and  which  a  new  and 

'  "  r         o  more  pprfect 

Faith  receives  ;  as  it  is  written,  '*  ^n  faith  shall  Ifr^  XxM-  Tor^p.^r%M- 

'-^'^  ->        0  ^  -V^        eousness),  of 

PmtCi    frfriv  *  which  faith  is 

^wui9   -i.vw<..  the  condition 

18  For  the  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from  heaven  against  all  recipient. 

°  For  by  God's 

ungodliness  and  unrighteousness  of  men,  who  keep  *  down  the  prvvious  reve- 

'->  ~  T  f  lations,  only 

truth  [which  they  know]  by  the  wickedness  wherein  they  live.^  «on  o^shXd 

1  •    1  been  revealed, 

19  Because   that  which  can  be  known®  of  God  is  manifested  in  Thus  the  law 

of  conscience 

20  their  hearts,  God  himself  having  shown  it  to  them  ;  for  His  rpveiS%o 
eternal  power  and  Godhead,  though  they  be  invisible,  vet  are  and  had  been 

^  '  O  J  y  J  violated  by 

seen  ever  since  the  world  was  made,  being  understood  by  His  testTfied'by*'' 
works,  that  they  [who  despised  Him]  might  have  no  excuse  ;  corrupt  st^te 

of  the  heathen 

21  because,  although  they  knew  God,  they  glorified  Him  not  as  ^ori^- 
God,  nor  gave  Him  thanks,  but  in  their  reasonings  they  went  astray  after 

22  vanity,  and  their  senseless  heart  was  darkened.     Calling  themselves  wise, 

23  they  were  turned  into  fools,  and  forsook  the  glory  '^  of  the  imperishable 


1  St.  Paul  uses  tho  word  for  "  Greek  "  as  tion  of  mind  called  faith.  Under  the  second 
the  singular  of  the  word  for  "  Gentiles,"  be-  aspect,  it  is  regarded  as  something  reckoned  by 
cause  the  singular  of  the  latter  is  not  used  in  the  God  to  the  account  of  man  —  an  cu-quittal  of 
sense  of  a  Gentile.     Also  the  plural  "  Greeks  "  past  offences. 

is   used  when  individual  Gentiles  are  meant;  ^^  Habakkuk  ii.  4   (LXX.).     Quoted  also 

"Gentiles"     when     Gentiles    collectiveh/    are  Gal.  iii.  II,  and  Ileb.  x.  38. 

spoken  of.  *  For  this  meaning  of  the  verb,  compare 

2  God's  righteousness.    Not  an  attribute  of  2  Thess.  ii.  6. 

God,  but  the  righteousness  which   God   con-  ^  By  living  in  wicJcedness. 

sidcrs  such ;  and  which  must,  therefore,  be  the  ^  That  which  can  be  known   by  men  a» 

perfection  of  man's  moral  nature.     This  right-  men,  without  special  supernatural  commanica- 

eousness  may  be  looked  on  under  two  aspects :  tion. 

l.in  itself  AS  a  moral  condition  of   man;  2.  '  This  is  nearly  a  quotation  from  Ps.  cvi 

in  its  comajuences,  as  involving  a  freedom  from  20  (LXX.).     The  phrase  used  there  and  here 

guilt   in   the   sight  of  God.     Under  the  first  meaning   to  forsake  one  thing  for  another;  U 

aspect,  it  is  the  possession  of  a  certain  disposi-  cliange  one  thing  against  another. 


COAT.  XIX.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS.  547 

God  for  idols  graven  in  the  likeness   of  perishable   men,  or  of  birds    . 
and  beasts,  and  creeping  tilings.      Therefore  God  also   gave   them   up   24 
to  work  uncleanness  according  to  their  hearts'  lust,  to  dishonor  their 
bodies  one  with  another  ;    seeing  they  had  bartered  the  truth  of  God   25 
for  lies,  and  reverenced  and  worshipped  the  things  made  instead  of  the 
Maker,  who  is  blessed  forever,  Amen.     For  this  cause  God  gave  tbem   26 
up   to  shameful  passions  ;    for  on  the  one  hand  their  women  changed 
the  natural  use  into  that  which  is  against  nature  ;  and  on  the  other  hand   27 
their  men,  in  like  manner,  leaving  the  natural  use  of  the  woman,  burned 
in  their  lust  one  toward  another,  men  with  men  working  abomination, 
and  receiving  in  themselves  the  due  recompense  of  their  transgression. 
And  as  they  thought  fit  to  cast  out  the  acknowledgment  of  God,  God   28 
gave  them  over  to  an  outcast^  mind,  to  do  the  things  that  are  unseemly. 
They  are  filled  with  all  unrighteousness,  fornication,  depravity,  covetous-   29 
ness,'^  maliciousness.       They  overflow  with  envy,  murder,  strife,  deceit, 
malignity.      They  are  whisperers,  backbiters,  God-haters ;  ^  outrageous,   30 
overweening,  false  boasters ;  inventors  of  wickedness ;  undutiful  to  par- 
ents ;  bereft  of  wisdom  ;  breakers  of  covenanted  faith  ;  devoid  of  natural   31 
affection  ;  ruthless,  merciless.     "Who  knowing  the  decree  of  God,*  where-  32 
by  all  that  do  such  things  are  worthy  of  death,  not  only   commit  the 
sins,  but  delight  in  their  fellowship  with  the  sinners, 
itwasaiso  Whercforc,  thou,  0  man,  whosoever  thou  art  that  iudeest  ii.  1 

violated  by  •>■>■)  j       &  '  •  ■» 

knowirdge^"    others,  art  thyself  without  excuse ;  *  fqr  in  judging  thy  neigh- 
(■•vhether         bor  thou  coudemnest  thyself,  since  thy  deeds  are   the    same 

Jews  or 

^K^,^^''"v    ^    which  in  him  thou  dost  condemn.     And  we  know  that  God     2 

philosopnera). 

fdgmeiu'''''^^'  judges  them  who  do  such  wickedness,  not^  by  their  words,  but 


1  There  is  a  play  upou  the  words  here  *  How  did  they  know  this?  By  the  law 
(cast  out  —  outcast).  A  translation  should,  if  of  conscience  (see  ii.  14),  confirmed  by  the 
possible,  retain  such  marked  characteristics  of  laws  of  nature  (i.  20). 

St.  Paul's  style.      A  paronomasia  upon   the  ^  Inexcusable  in  doing  evil  (not  in  judging) 

same  words  is  found  2  Cor.  xiii.  6,  7.  is  evidently  meant,  just  as  it  is  before  (i.  20) 

2  Pei'haps  this  may  be  here  used  for  lust,  as  by  the  same  word.  St.  Paul  does  not  here 
it  is  at  Eph.  v.  3  and  elsewhere  ;  see  the  notes  mean  that  "  censoriousness  is  inexcusable ;  " 
there,  and  also  see  Hammond,  and  Jowett,  in  but  he  says  "  thy  power  to  judge  the  imrao- 
loco.  ralities  of  others  involves  thy  own  guilt ;  for 

^  We  venture  to  consider  this  adjective  thou  also  violatest  the  laws  of  thy  con- 
active,  against  the  opinion  of  Winer,  Meyer,  ecience." 

and  De  Wette  ;  relying  first,  on  the  authority  •»  This  appears  to  be  the  meaning  of  "  ac- 

of  Suidas  ;  and  secon  dly,  on  the  context  ■cording  to  truth." 


548  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  jpt. 

ii.  3  by  their  deeds.     But  reckonest  thou,  0  thou  that  condemnest  ^v^iiHiTGod's 
such   evil-doers,  and  doest  the  like  thyself,  that  thou  shalt  HTsjiicigment 

would  depend 

4  escape  the  judgment  of  God  ?  or  does  the  rich  abundance  of  ""^.^'^V^tween 
His  kindness  and  forbearance  and  long-suffering  cause  thee  to   anVtheTat 

/^      1     1        Tx  revealed,  whe- 

despise  ^  Him  ?  and  art  thou  ignorant  that  God,  by  His  kmd-  ther  out- 

i  '^  "  wurdly  (as  to 

ness   [in  withholding   punishment],  strives   to  lead   thee   to  i|j^anuy\as 

5  repentance  ?     But  thou,  in  the  hardness  and  impenitence  of  then). 

thy  heart,  art  treasuring  up  against  thyself  a  store  of  wrath,  which  will 
be  manifested  in  ^  the  day  of  wrath,  even  the  day  when  God  will  reveal ' 

6  to  the  sight  of  men  the  righteousness  of  His  judgment.     For  He  will  pay 

7  to  all  their  due,  according  to  their  deeds  ;  to  those  who  with  steadfast 

8  endurance  in  well-doing  seek  glory  and  honor*  incorruptible.  He  will 
give  life  eternal ;  but  for  men  of  guile,*  who  are  obedient  to  unrighteous- 

9  ness,  and  disobedient  to  the  truth,  indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and 
anguish,  shall ^  fall  upon  them;  yea,  upon  every  soul  of  man  that  does 

10  the  work  of  evil,  upon  the  Jew  first,  and  also  upon  the  Gentile.     But 
glory  and  honor  and  peace  shall  be  given  to  every  man  who  does  the 

11  work  of  good,  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Gentile  ;  for  there  is  no 
respect  of  persons  with  God. 

12  For  they  who  have  sinned  without   [the  knowledge  of]  the  Law  shall 
perish  without  [the  punishment  of]  the  Law ;  and  they  who  have  sinn(  d 

13  under  the  Law  shall  be  judged  by  the  Law.^     For  not  the  hearers  ( f 
the  Law*  are  righteous  in  God's  sight,  but  the  doers  of  the  Law  shall  he 

14  counted  righteous.     For  when  the  Gentiles,  having  not  the  Law,  do  1  y 
nature  the  works  of  the  Law,  they,  though  they  have  not  the  Law,  are  a 

1  Literally,  "  is  it  the  rich  abundance  of  His       The  history  of   this  word   seems   to   bear   a 
kindness,  ^-c,  which  thou  despisest  ?  "  strong  analogy  to  that  of  our  term  job. 

2  Not  against,  but  manifested  in.  «  Observe  the  change  of  construction  here. 
'  This  means  to  disclose  to  sight  what  has       The  nouns  in  the  latter  clause  are  in  the  nom- 

been  hidden ;  the  word  reveal  does  not  by  itself  inative. 

represent  the  full  force  of  the  original  term,  "^  "We  have  remarked   elsewhere  (but   the 

although  etymologlcally  it  corresponds  with  it.  remark    may    be    repeated    with    advantage) 

*  "  Glory  and  honor  and  immortality,"  an  that  the  attempts  which  were  formerly  made 

hendiadys  for  "  immortal  glory  and  honor."  to  prove  that  v6/iog,  when  used  with  and  with- 

6  This  noun  seems  to  mean  selfish  party  in-  out  the  article  by  St.  Paul,  meant  in  the  for- 

trigiie,  conducted  in  a  mercenary  spirit,  and  more  mer  case  a  moral  law  in  general,  and   in   the 

generally,  selfsh  cunning ;  being  derived  from  latter  only  the   Mosaic   Law,  have  now  been 

a  verb  denoting  to  undertake  a  work  for  hire.  abandoned  by  the  best  interpreters.     See  note 

It  occurs  also  2  Cor.  xii.  20  ;  Phil.  i.  16,  Phil.  on  iii,  20. 

ii.  3  ;  Gal.  v.  20.     The  participle  is  used  for  ^  The  Jews  were  "  hearers  of  the  Law  "  in 

intriguing  partisans  by  Aristotle  {Polit.  v.  3).  their  synagogues,  every  Sabbath. 


CHAP.  XIX.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  EOMANS.  549 

ii. 

Law  to  themselves;  since  they  manifest  the  work  of  the  Law  written  in   15 

their  hearts ;  while   their  conscience   also   bears   its  witness,  and  their 

inward  thoughts,  answering  one  to  the  other,  accuse,  or  else  defend  them  ; 

[as  will  be  seen]  ^  in  that  day  when  God  shall  judge  the  secret  coun-  16 

sels  of  men  by  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  the    Glad-tidings  which   I 

preach. 

Nor  would  the       Bchold '^  thou  callcst  tliysclf  a  Jew,  and  restest  in  the  Law,   17 

Jews  be  *'  '  ' 

their'boast'in    ^"^  boastcst  of  God's  favor,  and  knowest  the  will  of  God,  and   18 
they 'broke  the  givcst  ^  judgmcut  upou  good  or  evil,  being  instructed  by  the 

Law ;  nor  by 

their  outward  tcachinsr  of  the  Law.     Thou  deemest  thyself  a  sruide  of  the   19 

consecration  '-'  ./  o 

t?u?ci'rcum-^    blind,  a  light  to  those  who  are  in  darkness,  an  instructor  of 

cision  is  that         i-i  c  t      ^  •  •         ^        -r  ^ 

of  the  heart,     the  Simple,  a  teaclier  oi  babes,  possessmg  in  the  Law  the  per-  20 

feet  pattern  of  knowledge  and  of  truth.     Thou  therefore  that  teachest  thy  21 
neighbor,  dost  thou  not  teach  thyself  ?  thou  that  preachest  a  man  should 

not  steal,  dost  thou  steal  ?  thou  that  sayest  a  man  should  not  commit  22 
adultery,  dost  thou  commit  adultery  ?  thou  that  abhorrest  idols,  dost  thou 

rob  *  temples  ?  thou  that  makest  thy  boast  in  the  Law,  by  breaking  the  23 

Law  dost  thou  dishonor  God  ?     Yea,  as  it  is  written,  **  Cl^rOUg^  JJ0U  X3  24 

For  circumcision  avails  if  thou  keep  the  Law  ;  but  if  thou  be  a  break-  25 
er  of  the  Law,  thy  circumcision  is  turned  into  uncircumcision.  If,  then,  26 
the  uncircumcised  Gentile  keep  the  decrees  of  the  Law,  shall  not  his 
uncircumcision  be  counted  for  circumcision  ?  And  shall  not  he,  though  27 
naturally  uncircumcised,  by  fulfilling  the  Law,  condemn  thee,  who  with 
Scripture  and  circumcision  dost  break  the  Law  ?  For  he  is  not  a  Jew  who  28 
is  one  outwardly  ;  nor  is  that  circumcision  which  is  outward  in  the  flesh ; 


^  The  clause  in  brackets  (or  some  equiva-  callest  thyself,"  &c. ;  the  apodosis  beginning 

lent)  must  be  interpolated,  to  render  the  con-  with  verse  21. 

nection  clear  to  an  English  reader.     The  verbs  *  The  verb  means  to  test  {as  a  metal  hy  fire). 

are  in  the  present,  because  the  conscientious  See  1  Peter  i.  7.     Hence  to  give  judgment  upon 

judgment  described  takes  place  in  the  present  (here).      "  Things    that    are    excellent,"    or 

time  ;  yet  they  are  connected  with  in  the  Day  rather  "  things    that    differ,"   mean    (as  ex- 

(as  if  they  had  been  in  the  future),  because  plained  by  Thcophylact),  "  what  we  ought  to 

the   manifestation    and   confirmation   of   that  do  and  what  we  ought  not  to  do."     The  same 

judgment    belongs    to    "  the    Day    of    the  phrase  occurs  Phil.   i.   10.     See   also   Rom. 

Lord."  xii.  2. 

2  If  we  follow  some  of  the  best  MSS.,  the  *  Compare  Acts  xix.  37.     [See  above,  p. 

translation  must  run  thus  •  "  But  what,  if  thou  475.  —  H.]                   *  Isaiah  lii.  5  (LXX.). 


550  THE  LIFE  AJtSTD  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL,  chap.  xli. 

29   but  he  is  a  Jew  who  is  one  inwardly,  and  circumcision  is  that  of  the 
heart,  in  the  spirit,  not  in  the  letter ;  whose  praise  comes  not  from  man,* 
but  from  God. 
iii.l       "But  if  this  be  so,  what  advantage  has  the  Jew,  and  what  Theadvan- 

2  has    been   the   profit  of  circumcision?"     Much   every  way.  ffT.'thSf*' 

1     .-,  -i  Xf   being  intrust- 

First,  because  to  their  keepmar  were  intrusted  the  oracles  oi  ed  with  tiie 

'  X       o  outward  reve- 

3  God.     For  what,  though  some  of  them  were  faithless  ^  to  the  Jf^^J^^^ju. 
trust  ?  shall  we  say '  that  their  faithlessness  destroys  the  faith-  lesJuess  to " 

this  trust  only 

4  fulness  ^  of  God  ?  That  be  far  from  us.  Yea,  be  sure  that  ^'^^^J'^'j^^f^j. 
God  is  true,  though  all  mankind  be  liars,  as  it  is  written:  noting thl' 

,  occasion  for 

6  migljttsl  ohtxcamt  to^xn  lljou  ari  jubg^ltr."^    "But if  the  r£ufu.dfrom 

righteousness   of  God  is  established  by  our  unrighteousness  fji'.ll.^eby'V';': 
[His   faithfulness   being   more  clearly  seen  by  our  faithless-  ^o°con8e-""'^ 

■-  quences  (how- 

ness] ,  must  we  not  say  that  God  is  unjust "  (I  speak  as  men  ^^^3^°''^^^^° 

6  do)«"in  sending  the  punishment?"     That  be  far  from  us;  ^^^''^^ "^s^t. 

7  for  [if  this  punishment  be  unjust]  how  shall  God  judge  the  world  ?  since  ^ 
[of  that  judgment  also  it  might  be  said],  "  If  God's  truth  has  by  the 
occasion  of  my  falsehood  more  fully  shown  itself,  to  the  greater  manifes- 

8  tation  of  His  glory,  why  am  I  still  condemned  as  a  sinner  ?  and  why  * 
should  we  not  say  "  (as  I  myself  am  slanderously  charged  with  saying) 
"  let  us  do  evil  that  good  may  come  ?  "     Of  such  men^  the  doom  is  just. 

1  The  Pharisees   and   Pharisaic  Judaizcrs  ings,   and   mtghtest    ooercome    when    Thou    art 

sought  to  gain  the  praise  of  men  by  their  out-  judged." 

ward  show  of  sanctity ;  which  is  here  contrasted  ^  For  this  phrase,  see  note  on  Gal.  iii.  15. 

with  the  inward  holiness  which  seeks  no  praise  And  compare  also  1  Cor.  xv.  32,  and  Rom. 

but  that  of  God.     The  same  contrast  occurs  vi.  19. 
in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  "^  In  this  most  difficult  passage  we  must 

-  "  Faithless  to  the  trust  "  refers  to  the  pre-  bear  in  mind  that  St.  Paul  is  constantly  refer- 

ceding  "  ititrasted."    For  the  meaning  of  the  ring  to  the  arguments  of  his  opponents,  which 

word,  compare  2  Tim.  ii.  13.  were  familiar  to  his  readers  at  Home,  but  are 

8  See  note  on  Gal.  iii.  21.  not  so   to  ourselves.     Hence  the  apparently 

*  That  is,  bliuU  we  imagine  that  God  will  abrupt  and  elliptical  character  of  the  argu- 
break  His  covenant  with  the  true  Israel,  be-  ment,   and  the  necessity  of  supplying  some- 
cause  of  the  unfaithfulness  of  the  false  Israel  1  thing  to  make  the  connection  intelligible. 
Compare  Horn.  xi.  1-5.  •*  The  ellipsis  is  supplied  by  understanding 

6  Ps.  li.  4  (LXX.).     The  whole  context  is  "  why  "  from  the  preceding  clause,  and  "  say  " 

as   follows :   "  /  acknoivledge  my  transgression,  from  the  following ;  the  complete   expression 

and  my  sin  is  ever  before  me ;  against   Thee  only  would  have  been,  "  why  should  we  not  say  ? ' 
have  I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  Thy  sight;  »  Viz.,  men   who  deduce   immoral   couse- 

thai   Thou   migldest   be  justified   in    Thy  say-  quences  from  sophistical  argumenta. 


CHAP.  xrx. 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS.  351 


^tire"je"T''       What  shall  we  say  then  [having  gifts  above  the  Gentiles]  ?    9 
moTarp"-""    have  we  the  pre-eminence  over  them  ?     No,  in  no  wise  ;  for 

eminence  over  n     i       i     t  j   m         m       '       'j.i     j.i 

thehei..heu;     we  liave  already  charaed  all,  both  Jews  and  (jentiles,  with  tlie 

thoir  Law  J  o  ■> 

them'of  sinf'^  gullt  of  sin.     And  SO  it  is  written,  "  ^htXt  IS  ItOlt^  rigj^tcous,    10 

no,  not  am ;  l^xn  is  non^  tljrtt  nntr^rstunbttlj,  tijcn  is  none  tijat  ii 
swktilj  \xfkx  (^ojir,  lljcn  nxz  nil  gone  out  of  tfje  ban,  tijen  mt  alio-  12 
gctljer  htaim  nnprofilabl^,  llj^r^  is  non«  Ij^at  tellj  gootr,  no,  not 
one.    Cfjetr  throat  is  an  opi?n  sejjulcljre,  toitlj  tfj^ir  tangne  lijen  13 
[jabe  nstti  bmit,  tlje  poison  of  asps  is  nnbcr  l^tir  lips.    Cljeir  14 
ntoutfj  is  full  of  rursing  anb  bitlernijss.    Cljtir  feet  ar^  stoift  to  15 
sjjeb  bloob.     gestnxction  antr  niisern  an  in  t^eir  patljs,  anbt^eie.i? 
toan  of  peaa  liubt  tijen  not  knoixrn.    C^eu  is  na  fear  of  ^ob  18 
before  tbx;ir  ms."^     Now  we  know  that  all  the  sayings  of  the  Law  are   19 
spoken  to   those   under  the  Law  [these  things  therefore  are  spoken  to 
the  Jews],  that   every  mouth  might  be  stopped,  and  the  whole  world 
might  be  subjected  to  the  judgment  of  God.     For^  through  the  works  20 
of  the  Law  *'  sljall  nO  fljjslj  b  justifieb  in  Jis  Sigfjt," '  because  by 
the  Law  is  wrought  [not  the  doing  of  righteousness,  but]  the  acknowl- 
edgment of  sin. 
Hence  all  But  now,   uot  by  the   Law,  but  by  another  way,*  God's  21 

men,  being 

theiSal'd^  righteousness  is  brought  to  light,  whereto  the  Law  and  the 
whi^h'^they'^    prophets    bear  witness ;    God   righteousness    (I   say)    which   22 

possessed, 

must  be  made  comos  bv  faith  lu  Jcsus  Christ,  for  all  and  upon  all,  who  have 

righteous  m  .*  '  '■  ' 

^waySr-"   faith  ;  *  for  there  is  no  difference  [between  Jew  and  Gentile], 

ent  from  that  .  •        -i    ,^  ^       •  ti 

of  the  Law;     siucc  all  havc  smned,  and  none  have  attamed  the  glorious  like-  23 

i.  e.  not  by 

cepCand'e^    ncss «   of  God.     But  they  are  justified   freely  by  His   grace   24 

1  This  whole  passage  is  quoted  (and  all  for  in  Thy  sight  shall  no  man  be  justified." 

but  verses  10  and  11  verbatim)  from  Ps.  xiv.  No  doubt  the  preceding  words  were  in   St. 

1,  2,  3   (LXX.).     Portions  of  it    also  occur  Paul's  recollection,  and  are  tacitly  referred  to, 

in  Ps.  liii.  3,  Ps.  v.  9,  Ps.  cxl.  3,   Ps.  x.  7  ;  being  very  suitable  to  his  argument. 
Isaiah  lix.  7  •  Ps.  xxxvi.  1.         .  *  Not  by  the  Law,  but  by  something  else.     See 

-  See  note  on  ii.  12.     That  the  absence  of  iii.  28,  and  iv.  6. 
the  article  makes  no  difference  is  shown  by  ^  In  order  to  render  more  clear  the  con- 
verses 28  and  29.     At  the  same  time,  it  must  nection   between   the  words  for  "fliith"  and 
be  observed  that  the  Law  is  spoken  of  as  a  "  believe,"  it  is  desirable  to  translate  the  latter 
moral,  not  as  a  ceremonial  law.  have  faith  (instead  of  bditve)  wherever  it  is 

3  Ps.  cxliii.  2,  almost  verbatim  from  LXX.  possible. 
'  Enter  not  into  judgment  with  Thy  servant ;  '^  Literally,  all  fall  short  of  the  glory  of  God. 


552 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  xrx. 


25  through  the  ransom  which  is  paid  in  Christ  Jesus.     For  him  aWeKufby 
hath  God  set  forth,  in  His  blood  to  be  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  by  christ.and  by 

receiving  a 

means  of  Faith,  thereby  to  manifest  tlie  righteousness  of  God  ;  ^I'^f^^j^^^^^ 
because  in  His  forbearance   God  had  passed  over  the  former  TiuJ'e'^fcrmce' 

r-TT'  T  °^  Christ 

26  sins  of  men  ^  in  the  times  that  are  gone  by.     [Him  (I  say)   showed  that 

"  .11-  V  ./    ^        ^J^jg  pj^i-dnu 

hath    God   set  forth]    in  this  present  time  to  manifest  His  Fro°iTao'd's°"* 
righteousness,  that  he  might  be  just,  and  [yet]  might  justify  ^  em. 

27  the  children^  of  Faith.  Where,  then,  is  the  *  boasting  [of  the  Jew]  ?  It 
has  been  *  shut  out.     By  what  law  ?  by  the  law  of  works  ?  no,  but  by 

28  the  law  of  Faith.  For  we  reckon*  that  by  Faith  a  man  is  justified,  and 
not  by'  the  works  of  the  Law;  else  God  must  be  the  God  of  the  Jews 

29  alone  ;  but  is  He  not  likewise  the  God  of  the  Gentiles  ?     Yea,  He  is  the 

30  God  of  the  Gentiles  also.  For  God  is  one  [for  all  men],  and  He  will 
justify  through  Faith  the  circumcision  of  the  Jews,  and  by  their  Faith 
will  He  justify  also  the  uncircumcision  of  the  Gentiles. 

81  Do  we,  then,  by  Faith  bring  to  nought  the  Law  ?  That  be  far  Stetty"" 
from  us !     Yea,  we  establish  the  Law.  oid  TestL- 

tnent  and  the 


We  have  "  God's  glory "  as  analogous  to 
"  Christ's  glory"  (2  Cor.  viii.  23,  or  2  Cor.  iii. 
IS).  It  may  also  mean  God's  heavenly  glory 
(Kom.  V.  2,  and  2  Thess.  ii.  14).  Meyer  and 
others  render  it  "  the  praise  which  comes  from 
God"  which  is  contrary  to  St.  Paul's  use  of 
the  phrase.  Indeed  St.  John  is  the  only 
writer  in  the  New  Testament  who  furnishes 
any  analogy  for  this  rendering  (John  xii. 
43). 

1  The  A.  V.  here  is  a  mistranslation.  Cf. 
Acts  xvii.  30,  and  the  note  on  St.  Paul's 
speech  at  Lystra,  p.  172,  n.  2. 

2  The  first  wish  of  a  translator  of  St. 
Paul's  Epistles  would  be  to  retain  the  same 
English  root  in  all  the  words  employed 
as  translations  of  the  various  derivatives 
of  i'lKaiog,  viz.  diKaioavvT},  diKOiovv,  diKOMfia, 
6iKaiuatQ,  SiKaiug,  and  ducacoKpima.  But  this  is 
impossible,  because  no  English  root  of  the 
same  meaning  has  these  derivatives  ;  for  exam- 
ple, taking  righteous  to  represent  diKatac,  we 
have  righteousness  for  diKaioavvy,  but  no  verb 
from  the  same  root  equivalent  to  iiKatovv. 
Again,  taking  just  for  6tKaioi,  we  have  justify 
for  diKacoiv,  but  no  term  for  SiKaioavvr],  which 
is  by  no  means  equivalent  to  justice,  nor  even 


to  justness,  in  many  passages  where  it  occurs. 
The  only  course  which  can  be  adopted,  there- 
fore, is  to  take  that  root  in  each  case  which 
seems  best  to  suit  the  context,  and  bring  out 
the  connection  of  the  argument. 

^  The  original  is  not  fully  represented  by 
the  A.  V.  It  means  "  him  whose  essential 
characteristic  is  faith,"  "  the  child  of  faith." 
Compare. Gal.  iii.  7,  and  Gal.  iii.  9.  The  word 
"Jesus"  is  omitted  by  some  of  the  best  MSS., 
and  is  introduced  in  others  with  variations, 
which  looks  as  if  it  had  been  originally  an  in- 
terpolation.    It  is  omitted  by  Tischendorf. 

*  The  Greek  has  the  article  before  the 
word  for  "  boasting." 

^  The  aorist  seems  used  here  (as  often)  in 
a  perfect  sense.  See  note  on  2  Cor.  vii.  2, 
and  on  Rom.  v.  5. 

^  We  have  adopted  the  reading  "for" 
instead  of  "  therefore,"  because  the  authority 
of  MSS.  and  Fathers  is  pretty  equally  divided 
between  the  two  readings,  and  it  suits  the  con- 
text better  to  make  this  clause  a  proposition 
supporting  the  preceding,  and  defended  by 
the  following,  than  to  make  it  the  conclusion 
from  the  preceding  arguments. 

">  See  note  on  verse  21. 


cH>p.  JLix.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS.  553 

Abr^him"^  What,  theii,^  can  we  say  that  our  father  Abraham  gained  by  '^     1 

ficd"  uot  by**'  the  fleshly  ordinance  ?     For  if  Abraham  was  justified  by  works,     2 

eircumpision, 

but  before       he  has  a  ffround  of  boasting.     But  be  has  no  ground  of  boast- 

circnnicision.  o  o  o 

b^Su  God's  ing  with  God  ;  for  what  says  the  Scripture  ?  **  %hxu\^Vim  fjatr     3 

promises  fore- 

cSranfaith,  f^itlj  itt  (^Q^s,  VLViH  xl  fajas  rwk0n;ej:j  uitto  fjim  for  rigfjt^ous- 

Christians  be-  ,,  ^ 

'■ig',by  T^",**   tltSS.   '     Now,  if  a  man  earn  his  pay  by  his  work,  it  is  not     4 

or  their  faith,  x     ^        w  7 

ch?id?eaoV      **  rwkoit£tJ  lo  hxxtl  "  as  a  favor,  but  it  is  paid  him  as  a  debt ; 

Abraham,  and  '^ 

heirs  of  the      ij^^t  if  hc  cams  nothing  by  his  work,  but  puts  faith  in  Him  who     5 

promises.  o      J  T  I  " 

justifies*  the  ungodly,  then  his  faith  is  *'  rwhomtr  to  Ijim  for  ric(fjhouS- 
ncSS."      In  like  manner  David  also  tells  the  blessedness  of  the  man  to     6 
whom  God  reckoneth  righteousness,  not  by  works,  but  by  another  way,* 

saying,  ''  glcssiJiT  nxt  tljco  fajljosc  miquitics  arc  forgitrcir,  antr  tuljosc    7 
sins  nxt  cabtxzb.    gkssttr  is  tin  man  acjainst  toljom  ilj^l^orb  sljall    8 

nol  riJCIlOlt  silt/'  ^     is  this  blessing,  then,  for  the  circumcised  alone  ?  or     9 
does  it  not  belong  also  to  the  uncircumcised  ?  for  we  say,  **  Ijis  faith 

iwas  rick0n£Lr  to  ^.Kraljam  for  rigljttousitcss/'  ^    How,  then,  was  it  lo 

reckoned  to  him  ?  when  he  was  circumcised,  or  uncircumcised  ?  Not  in 
circumcision,  but  in  uncircumcision.  And  he  received  circumcision  as  an  11 
outward  sign  *  of  inward  things,  a  seal  to  attest  the  righteousness  which 
belonged  to  his  Faith  while  he  was  yet  uncircumcised.  That  so  he  might 
be  father  of  all  the  faithful  who  are  uncircumcised,  that  the  righteousness 
[of  Faith]  might  be  reckoned  to  them  also  ;  —  and  father  of  circumcision  12 
to  those  ^  who  are  not  circumcised  only  in  the  flesh,  but  who  also  tread  in 
the  steps  of  that  Faith  which  our  father  Abraham  had  while  yet  uncir- 
cumcised. 

For  the  promise  ^^  to  Abraham  and  his  seed  that  he  should  inherit  the   18 

1  The  "  therefore"  here  is  very  perplexing,  ^  Qg^^  ^v.  6  (LXX.). 

as  the  argument  seems  to  require  "  for."    Nor  *  See  note  on  iii.  26. 

is  the  difficulty  removed   by  saying  dogmati-  ^  See  again  note  on  iii.  21. 

cally  that  this  passage  is  "not  a  proof  but  a  *  Ps.  xxxii.  1,  2  (LXX.), 

consequence  "  of  the  preceding.     For  it  is  un-  ''  Gen.  xv.  6  (LXX.),  repeated. 

questionably  given  by  St.  Paul  as  a  proof  that  ^  The  full  meaning  of  sign  is  an  outuxard 

the  law  is  consistent  with  his  doctrine  of  faith.  sign  of  things  nnseen. 

The  "  therefore  "  is  probably   repeated   from  '  Viz.,  the  faithful  of  Jewish  birth. 

the  preceding  "  therefore,"  just  as  "  for  "  is  ^^  "  The  land  which  thou  seest,  to  thee  will  I 

repeated  in  v.  7.  give  it,  and  to  tliij  seed  for  ever,"  Gen.  xiii.  15. 

'^  Literally,  gained  in  the  way  of  the  flesh.  St.  Paul  (according  to  his  frequent  practice  in 

The  order  of   the  Greek  forbids  us  to   join  dealing  with  the  Old  Testament)  allegorizea 

"  after  the  flesh  "  with  "  father,"  as  in  A.  V.  this  promise.      So  that,  as  Abraham  is   (al- 


554  THE   LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap  ».ix. 

iv. 

14  world  came  not  by  the  Law,  but  by  the  righteousness  of  Faith.     For,  if  this 

inheritance  belong  to  the  children  of  the  Law,  Faith  is  made  of  no  account, 

15  and  the  promise  is  brought  to  nought;  because  the  Law  brings  [not 
blessings  but]  punishment^  (for  where  there  is  no  law,  there  can  be  no 

16  law-breaking).  Therefore  the  inheritance  belongs  to  Faith,  that  it  might 
be  a  free  gift ;  that  so  the  promise  ^  [not  being  capable  of  forfeiture] 
might  stand  firm  to  all  the  seed  of  Abraham,  not  to  his  children  of  the 
Law  alone,  but  to  the  children  of  his  Faith ;  for  he  is  the  Father  of  us  all 

17  [both  Jews  and  Gentiles]  (as  it  is  written,  *'  J  ^abi  XXVAdZ  i\zt  t^t 
irdhtX  of  mitlXtr  nations  ")  ^  in  the  sight  of  God,  who  saw  his  faith, 
even  God  who  makes  the  dead  to  live,  and  calls  the  things  that  are  not  as 

18  though  they  were.  For  Abraham  had  faith  in  hope  beyond  hope,  that  he 
might  become  llj£  fallj^r  of  mang  ItatinnS  ;  *  as  it  was  said  unto  him, 

**  ^ooli  loixrarb  fjeabm,  antr  tell  i\n  stars  if  t§^0u  Ij^  able  ia  ititmber 

19  tijem  ;  ehen  S0  sljall  i\2^  Sectr  htJ'  ^  And  having  no  feebleness  in  his 
faitli,  he  regarded  not  his  own  body  which  was  already  dead  (being  about 

20  a  hundred  years  old),  nor  the  deadness  of  Sarah's  womb ;  at  the 
promise  of  God  (I  say)  he  doubted  not  faithlessly,  but  ^  was  filled  with 

21  the  strength  of  Faith,  and  gave  glory  to  God  ;  being  fully  persuaded  that 

22  what  He  has  promised.  He  is  able  also  to  perform.      Therefore   **  Mg 

23  faitlj  has  reck0netr  to  Ijim  for  rigljteonsness/*    But  these  words  were 

24  not  written  for  his  sake  only,  but  for  our  sakes  likewise  ;  for  it  will  be 
''  rerhonetr  for  rigljteonsneSS  "  to  us  also,  who  have  faith  in  Him  that 

legoiically  viewed)  the  type  of  Christian  faith,  *  Gen.  xv.  5  (LXX.).     In  such  quotations, 

he  is  also  the  heir  of  the  world,  whereof  the  a  few  words  were  sufiScient  to  recall  the  whole 

sovereignty  belongs  to  his  spiritual  children,  passage  to  Jewish  readers ;  therefore,  to  make 

by  virtue  of    their   union   with   their  Divine  them  intelligible  to  modern  readers,  it  is  some 

Head.  times  necessary  to  give  the  context.     It  should 

1  Literally,  wrath;  i.  e.  the  wrath  of  God  be  observed  that  this  quotation  alone  is  sufla- 
pnnishing  the  transgressions  of  the  Law.  cient  to  prove  that  the  majority  of  those   to 

2  This  passage  throws  light  on  Gal.  iii.  18  whom  St.  Paul  was  writing  were  familiar  with 
and  20.  It  should  be  observed  that  St.  Paul  the  Scptuagint  version ;  for  to  none  others 
restricts  "  the  seed  of  Abraham  "  to  the  inherit-  could  such  a  curtailed  citation  be  intelligible. 
ors  of  his  faith  ;  and  to  all  this  seed  (he  declares)  The  hypothesis  that  the  Roman  Christians  had 
the  promise  must  stand  firm.  originally  been  Jewish   proselytes,  of  Geutil« 

'*  Gen.  xvii.  5  (LXX.).     It  is  impossible  birth,  satisfies  this  condition.     See  the  intro- 

to  represent  in  the  English  the  full  force  of  ductory  remarks  to  this  epistle. 

the  Greek,  when  the  same  word  means  nations  "  Literally,    he    was    in-strengthened    (i.  e., 

and  Gentiles.  strengthened  inwardly)  by  faith. 

*  Gen.  xvii.  5.     See  the  previous  note. 


«nAP.  XIX.  EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS.  555 

iv. 

raised  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus  ;  who  was  given  up  to  death  for  our   25 

transgressions,  and  raised  again  to  life  for  our  justification.^ 

Through  faith       Therefore,   being  justified   by  Faith,  we   have   peace  with  v.l 

Christians  are'  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through  whom  also  we     2 

justilied;  and  '  o  7  o 

the  mkist'i?f"^   have  received  entrance  into  this  grace  ^  wherein  we   stand  ; 
bu-icrhigs!"      and  we  exult  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God.     And  not  only  so,     3 

being  tilled  i  o        ./  j         i 

with  the  eon-     but  WO  cxult  also  iu  our  suffcriugs  ;  for  we  know  that  by  suf- 

Bciousness  of  o     ?  j 

Qie'sacrili^e"    feriug  is  wrought  steadfastness,  and  steadfastness  is  the  proof    4 

of  Christ  for  i  <•        •  •  i 

them.  For  by   01   souuducss,  and  prooi   gives  rise  to  hope;    and  our  hope     5 

pnrt.^kingin  7  r  o  r     '  r 

chriitrtheT      cannot  shame  us  in  the  day  of  trial ;  because  the  love  of  God 
toGod;"ind     is  shcd  fortli  ill  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  has  been^ 

by  part  alii  ng 

chdrt^the"'     given  unto  us.     For  while  we  were  yet  helpless  [in  our  sins],     6 
are  saved.        Ghrist  at  the  appointed  time  died  for  sinners.     Now  hardly     7 
for  a  righteous  man  will  any  be  found  to  die  (although  some,  perchance, 
would  even  endure  death  for  the  good),  but  God  gives  proof  of  His  own     8 
love  to  us,  because,  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us.     Much     9 
more,  now  that  we  have  been  justified  in  His  blood,^  shall  we  be  saved 
through  Him  from  the  wrath  ^  to  come.     For  if,  when  we  were  His   10 
enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  His  Son,  much  more, 
being  already  reconciled,  shall  we  be   saved  by  sharing  in^  His  life. 
Nor  is  this  our  hope  only  for  the  time  to  come  ;  but  also  [in  our  present   11 
pulferings]  we  exult  in  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  by  whom  we 
have  now  received  reconciliation  with  God. 
For  Christ  In        This,  therefore,  is  like  the  case 'when,  through  one  man   18 

Uis  own  per-  '  '  '  O  -*■ 

1  I.  e,  that  we  might  have  an  ever-living  other  (in  the  9th  verse)  "  havinc/ been  justified," 

Saviour  as  the  object  of  our  faith,  and  might  and  an  aorist  verb  (11th  verse)  "we  have  re- 

through  that  faith  be  united  with  Him,  and  ceived,"  and  to  consent  to  the  junction  of  both 

partake  of  His  life,  and  thus  be  justified,  or  ac-  these  aorists  with  "  now,"  a  junction  which  is 

counted  righteous,  and  (for  St.  Paul  does  not,  conclusive  as  to  its  perfect  use. 
like   later   theologians,   separate   these   ideas)  *  Justified  hi  His  blood,  i.e.  by  participation 

have  the  seed  of  all  true  moral  hfe  implanted  in  His  blood;  that  is,  ieiH^r  made  partakers  of  His 

in  u.i.     Compare  V.  10.  death.      Compare  Eom.  vi.  3-8;  also  Gal.  ii. 

^  "  By  faith  "  is  omitted  in  the  best  MSS.  20. 

*  Olshausen   translates   "was   given    unto  ^  The  originalhasthearticle  before  "wrath." 

as,''  viz    on  the  day  of  Pentecost.      But  we  ^  This  "  in  "  should  be  distinguished  from 

have  elsewhere  shown  the  mistake  of  those  who  the  preceding  "  by." 

will  never  allow  St.  Paul  to  use  the  aorist  in  a  "^  Much  difficulty  has  been  caused  to  inter- 
perfect  sense.  See  note  on  2  Cor.  vii.  2.  Dr.  preters here  by  the  "as"  (which  introduces  the 
Alford,  who  objects  to  translate  one  aorist  par-  first  member  of  the  parallel)  having  no  answer 
ticiple  (iu  the  5th  verse)  "  Iiaving  been  given,"  is  ing  "so"  (nor  any  thing  equivalent  to  it)  to 
obliged  himself  inconsistently  to  translate  an-  introduce  the  second.     The  best  view  of  the 


556  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xix. 

rAdam],  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  by  sin  death  ;  and  so  son  was  the 

V.      '-  -^  repruseiitativo 

13  death  spread  to  all  mankind,  because  all  committed  sin.     For  for'sVu-ation** 
before  the  Law  was  given  [by  Moses],  there  was  sin  in  the  forcou<i"mna- 

tion.    The 

world  ;  but  sin  is  not  reckoned  against  the  sinner,  when  there  Mosaic  Law 

'  "  '  was  added  tc 

14  is  no  law  [forbidding  it]  ;    nevertheless  death  reigned  from  S^c^^h^"' 

•         r       J     1      •  ii         order  that  sin 

Adam  till  Moses,  even  over  those  whose  sni   I  not  being  the  might  be  feit 

to  be  a  trans- 
breach  of  law]    did  not  resemble  the  sin   of  Adam.     Now,  fekirowio*dged 

15  Adam  is  an  image  of  Him  that  was  to  come.     But  far  greater  thuk  tiie  gift^ 

of  spiritual 

is  the  gift  than  was  the  transgression  ;  for  if  by  the  sin  of  the  Jj^f*-;!"  ^^"^t 
one  man  [Adam]  death  came  upon  the  many,'  much   more  in  prepared"to" 

.  feel  their  need 

the  grace  of  the  one  man  Jesus  Christ  has  the  freeness  of  of  it,  so  that 


man  s  sm 


16  God's  2  bounty  overflowed  unto  the  many.    Moreover,  the  boon  SL^nof^ 
[of  God]    exceeds  the  fruit  ^  of  Adam's  sin ;  for  the  doom 

came,  out   of   one  ofiFence,  a  sentence  of   condemnation  ;  but  the  gift 

17  comes,  out  of  many  offences,  a  sentence  of  acquittal.  For  if  the  reign 
of  death  was  established  by  the  one  man  [Adam] ,  through  the  sin  of 
him  alone  ;  far  more  shall  the  reign  of  life  be  established  in  those  who 
receive  the  overflowing  fulness  of  the  free  gift  of  righteousness  by  the 

8  one  man  Jesus  Christ.  Therefore,  as  the  fruit  of  one  offence  reached  to 
all  men,  and  brought  upon  them  condemnation  [the  source  of  death]  ; 
so  likewise  the  fruit  of  one  acquittal  shall  reach  *  to  all,  and  shall  bring 

19  justification,  the  source*  of  life.  For  as,  by  the  disobedience  of  the  one, 
the  many  were  made  sinners  ;  so  by  the  obedience  of  the  one,  the  many 

20  shall  be  made  righteous.  And  the  Law  was  added,  that  sin  might 
abound ;  ^  but  where  sin  abounded,  the  gift  of   grace  has  overflowed 

passage  is  to  consider  "  as  "  as  used  elliptically  *  We  take  diKaiufia  here  in  the  same  sense 

for  [the  case  is]  as  what  follows;  in  which  sense  as  in  verse  16,  because,  first,  it  is  diflacult  to 

it  is  used  Matt.  xxv.  14,  where  it  is  similarly  suppose  the  same  word  used  in  the  very  same 

without  any  answering  "  so."      Another  view  passage  in  two  such  different  meanings  as  Recte 

is  to  suppose  the  regular  construction  lost  sight  factum,  and  Decretum  absolutorium  (which  Wahi 

of  in   the   rapidity  of  dictation  :   the   second  and  most  of  the  commentators  suppose  it  to 

member  of  the  parallel  being  virtually  supplied  be).      And,  secondly,  because  otherwise  it  is 

in  verses  15  to  20.  necessary  to  take  "one  "  differently  in  two  par- 

1  Not  "  man;/  "  (A.V.),  but  the  many,  nearly  allel  phrases  (masculine  in  the  one,  and  neuter 
equivalent  to  all.  in  the  other),  which  is  unnatural. 

2  We  take  grace  and  gift  together.     Com-  ^  Literally,  appcrtainimj  to  life. 

pare  the  same  expression  below,  in  verse  17  ;  ^  A  light  is  thrown  on  this  very  difficult 

literally,  the  free  gift  and  tlie  boon  of  God,  an      expression  by  vii.  13  ;  see  note  on  that  vers* 
hendiadys  for  the  freeness  of  God's  bounty. 

*  Literally,  the  boon  is  not  a»  \tkat  which  teas] 
wrouglU  by  one  man  who  sinned. 


CHAP.  XIX. 


EPISTLE  TO   THE  ROMANS. 


557 


beyond  [the  outbreak  of  sin]  ;  that  as  sin  has  reigned  in  death,  so  grace  21 
might  reign  through  righteousness  unto  life  eternal,  by  the  work   of 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

It  ia  a  self-con-       What  shall  wc  sslj  thcu  ?  sliall  we^  persist  in  sin  that  the  vi.  1 
perversion  of    ffift  of  grace  mav  be  more  abundant  ?     God  forbid !     We  who     2 

this  truth  to        °  °  •' 

u  tiilt  wo^"^"™  have  died  ^  to  sin,  how  can  we  any  longer  live  in  sin  ?  or  have 
fnshiiu  order  vou  forffotteu  that  all  of  us,  when  we  were  baptized  into  fel-     3 

to  call  forth        •'  o  ^ 

bif^oiior^^"  lowship  with  Christ  Jesus,  were  baptized  into  fellowship  with 

His  death  ?     With  Him,  therefore,  we  were  buried  by  the     4 
baptism  wherein  we  shared  His  death  [when  we  sank  beneath 
the  waters]  ;'  that  even   as  Christ  was   raised  up  from  the 
dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  so  we  likewise  might  walk  in 
newness  of  life.     For  if  we  have  been  grafted  *  into  the  likeness  of  His     5 
death,  so  shall  we  also  share  His  resurrection.     For  we  know  that  our      6 
old  man  was  crucified^  with  Christ,  that  the  sinful  body  [of  the  old 
man]  ®  might  be  destroyed,  that  we  might  no  longer  be  the  slaves  of  sin  ; 
(for  lie  that  is  dead  is  justified''  from  sin).     Now,  if  we  have  shared  the  7,  8 
ieath  of  Christ,  we  believe  that  we  shall  also  share  His  life  ;  knowing     9 
'hat  Christ,  being  raised  from  the  dead,  can  die  no  more  ;  death  has  no 
nore  dominion  over  Him.     For  He  died  once,  and  once  only,  unto  sin  ;    10 
Jut  He  lives  [forever]  unto  God.     Likewise  reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to   n 
)Q  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  living  unto  God  in  Christ  Jesus.^     Let  not   12 


God's  grace; 
for  spiritual 
life  (which  is 
the  grace) 
cannot  co- 
exist with 
spiritual 
death. 


^  This  was  probably  an  objection  made  by 
Judaizing  disputants  (as  it  has  been  made  by 
their  successors  in  other  ages  of  the  Church) 
against  St.  Paul's  doctrine.  They  argued  that 
if  (as  he  said)  the  sin  of  man  called  forth  so 
glorious  an  exhibition  of  the  pardoning  grace 
of  God,  the  necessary  conclusion  must  be,  that 
the  more  men  sinned  the  more  God  was  glori- 
fied. Compare  iii.  7-8,  and  verse  15  below. 
We  know,  also,  that  this  inference  was  actually 
deduced  by  the  Antinomian  party  at  Corinth 
(see  p.  392),  and  therefore  it  was  the  more 
necessary  for  St.  Paul  to  refute  it. 

2  The  A.  V.  "are  dead"  does  not  preserve 
the  reference  in  the  original  to  a  past  transac- 
tion. We  might  here  keep  the  aorist  to  its 
classical  use,  by  translating  (as  in  our  former 
edition)  tvho  died  to  sm  [when  we  became  follow- 
ers  of  Christ] ;  but  this  rendering  is  less  simple 
and  natural  than  the  other. 

^  This  clause,  which  is  here  left  elliptical. 


is  fully  expressed  in  Col.  ii.  12.  This  passage 
cannot  be  understood  unless  it  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  primitive  baptism  was  by  im- 
mersion.    See  p.  384. 

*  Literally,  have  become  partakers  of  a  vital 
union  [as  that  of  a  graft  with  the  tree  into 
which  it  is  grafted]  of  the  representation  of  his 
death  [in  baptism].  The  meaning  appears  to 
to  be,  if  we  have  shared  the  reality  of  his  death, 
whereof  we  have  undergone  the  likeness. 

^  Observe  the  mis-translation  in  the  A.V. 
"  is  crucified." 

®  With  "  body  of  sin  "  compare  "  body  of 
flesh,"  Col.  ii.  11. 

■^  7s  justified,  meaning  that  if  a  criminal 
charge  is  brought  against  a  man  who  died  be- 
fore the  perpetration  of  the  crime,  he  must  be 
acquitted,  since  he  could  not  have  committed 
the  act  charged  against  him. 

8  The  best  MSS.  omit  '  our  Lord." 


558  THE   LIFE  AMD    EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  ch-^p.  xi^. 

,    sin  therefore  reign  in  your  dying  body,  causing  you  to  obey  its  lusts ; 

13  nor  give  up  your  members  to  sin,  as  instruments  of  unrighteousness  ;  but 
give  yourselves  to  God,  as  being  restored  to  life  from  the  dead,  and  your 

14  members  to  His  service  as  instruments  of  righteousness  ;  for  sin  shall 
not  have  the  mastery  over  you,  since  you  are  not  under  the  Law,^  but 
under  grace, 

15  What  then?    shall  we  sin ^  because  we  are  riot  under  the  ^^,^rfft.eldoni 

16  Law,  but  under  grace  ?     God  forbid!     Know  ye  not  that  He  coTistl^n'*^ 

living  in  the 

to   whose   service  you  give  yourselves  is  your  real  master,  t^e'^^^^fot 
whether  sin,  whose  end  is  death,  or  obedience,  whose  end  is  itTpenaities, 

but  as  neceB- 

17  righteousness?     But  God  be  thanked  that  you,  who  were  once  sary  fruits  of 

o  •'        '  the  spiritual 

the    slaves   of   sin,   obeyed   from   your  hearts   the    teaching  SriluaL?' 

18  whereby  you  were  moulded  anew  ; '  and  when  you  were  freed  Hence  the 

•'     •'  slaves  of  sin 

from  the  slavery  of  sin,  you  became  the  bondsmen  of  righteous-  I'^^.^'^^Ji^,^^ 

19  ness.      (I  speak  the  language  of  common  life,  to  show  the  theLawrsi^?. 

they  are  still 

weakness  of  your  fleshly  nature  *  [which  must  be  in  bondage  ^'Jj^i|',t"g°^jf*" 
either  to  the  one,  or  to  the  other].)     For  as  once  you  gave  up  ^hi^^r^the 

/>  T  IT  necessary 

the  members  of  your  body  for  slaves  of  uncleanness  and  licen-  results  of  sin. 
tiousness,  to  work  the  deeds  of  license  ;  so  now  must  you  give  them  up 

20  for  slaves  of  righteousness  to  work  the  deeds  of  holiness.  For  when  you 
were  the  slaves  of  sin,  you  were  free  from  the  service  of  righteousness. 

21  What  fruit,  then,  had  you  *  in  those  times,  from  the  deeds  whereof  you 

22  are  now  ashamed  ?  yea,  the  end  of  them  is  death.  But  now,  being  freed 
from  the  bondage  of  sin,  and  enslaved  to  the  service  of  God,  your  fruit  is 

23  growth  in  holiness,®  and  its  end  is  life  eternal.  For  the  wage  of  sin  is 
death  ;  but  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life  in  Clirist  Jesus  our  Lord  and 
Master.'^ 

1  To  be  "  under  the  law,"  in  St.  Paul's  Ian-  '  It  has  been  alleged  that  "  fruit "  (in  N.  T.) 

guage,  means  to  avoid  sin  from  fear  of  penal-  always  means  "  actions ;  the  fruit  of  a  man  con- 

ties  attached  to  sin  by  the  law.     This  principle  sidered  as  a  tree ; "  and  that  it  never  means  "  the 

of  fear  is  not  strong  enough  to  keep  men  in  fruit  of  his  actions."    But  in  fact  the  metaphor 

the  path  of  duty.     Union  with  Christ  can  alone  is  used  both  ways  :  sometimes  a  man  is  consid- 

give  man  the  mastery  over  sin.  ered  as  producing  fruit ;  sometimes  as  (jathering 

-  See  note  on  first  verse  of  this  chapter.  or  sforin;]  fruit.      In   the  former  case   "  bear 

8  Literally,  the  mould  of  tearhinc]  into  which  fruit,"  in  the  latter  "have  fruit,"  is  appropri- 

i/oii  were  transmitted.    The  metaphor  is  from  the  ately  used.      Compare  Rom.  i.  13,  and  also 

castin^r  of  metals.  Rom.  xv.  28  ;  Phil.  i.  22  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  6. 

*  There  is  a  striking  resemblance  between  ^  Literally,  the  fruit  which  you  possess  tends 

this  passage  and  the  words  of  Socrates  recorded  to  produce  holiness.     In  other  words,  the  reward 

by  Xenophon  Mem.  I.  5.      For  the  apologetic  ofscrvinrj  God  is  growth  in  hoVmcfs. 

phrase  here,  compare  Rom.  iii.  5  and  Gal.  iii.  15.  ^  We  must  give  "  Lord  "  its   full  meaning 


cHAP.xtx.  EPISTLE   TO   THE   EOMAI^rS.  559 

vii. 
Aa  above  said,       [I  saj  that  jou  SLTG  not  Under  the  Law]  ;  or^  are  you  igno-     1 

Christiana  are 

LaV""forthe  ^^^^^i  hrethrcii  (for  I  speak  to  those  who  know  the  Law),  that 

tfthatt'hilui  the  dominion  of  the  Law  over  men  lasts  only  during  their  life  ? 

earthly  uature  .  •     i  t    i  t 

to  which  they  thus  the  married  woman  is  bound  by  the  Law  to  her  husband     2 

have  died  by 

cK'L'fei'th,  while  he  lives,  but  if  her  husband  be  dead,  the  law  which 

a'hnitted  to  a  bouud  her  to  him  has  lost  its  hold  upon  her ;  so  that  while  her 

better  spirit- 
ual service  by  husband  is  livino;,  if  she  be  joined  to  another  man,  she  will  be 

tneir  union  o;  «;  7 

life,  so  thauhe  couuted  an  adulteress  ;  but  if  her  husband  be  dead,  she  is  free 

sins  of  which 

the  Law  was  from  the  Law,  so  as  to  be  no  adulteress,  although  joined  to 


?omeTh"em  no  another  man.     Wherefore  you  also,  my  brethren,  were   made     4 

more. 

dead  to  the  Law  by  [union  with]  the  body  of  Christ ;  that 
you  miglit  be  married  to  another,  even  to  Him  who  was  raised  from  the 
dead  ;  that  we  might  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God.  For  when  we  were  in  6 
the  flesh,  the  sinful  passions  occasioned  by  the  Law  wrought  in  our  mem- 
bers, leading  us  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  death.  But  now  that  we  have  6 
died  [with  Christ]  ^  the  Law  wherein  we  were  formerly  held  fast  has  lost 
its  hold  upon  us :  so  that  we  are  no  longer  in  the  old  bondage  of  the 
letter,  but  in  the  new  service  of  the  spirit. 

be''en^a'^v''e^*        What  shall  wc  say  then  ?  that  the  Law  is  Sin  ?     That  be  far 
occasion  of       from  US  !     But  tlicu  I  should  not  have  known  what  sin  was, 

sin.    For 

when  its  pre-    exccpt  tlirouffh  the  Law  ;  thus  I  should  not  have  known  the 

copts  awaken  r  o  ' 

toVs°e'Me  o'/^  sin   of  covcting,  unless  the  Law  had  said  CljOtl    sbvilt  Uot 

duty,  the  sins  ^  '^ 

wSoMta    ^ob^t.^     But  when  sin  had  gained  by  the  commandment  a     8 

here.     Sin  was  our  master  (verses  16,  17)  :  it  is   both   typified   and  realized  when  he  is 

Christ  is  now  our  master.  buried  beneath  the  baptismal  waters.      But  no 

1  Or  a?-^ /yoM  (V/zjoraH/ ?  the  or  (which  is  omit-  sooner  is  he  thus  dead  with  Christ   than  he 

ted  in  A.V.)  referring  to  what  has  gone  be-  rises  with  Him ;  he  is  made  partaker  of  Christ's 

fore,  and  implying,  ifj/ou  deny  what  I  have  said,  resurrection  ;  he  is  united  to  Christ's  body ;  he 

you  must  be  ifjnorant  of,  &c. ;  or,  In  other  words,  lives  in  Christ,  and  to  Christ ;  he  is  no  longer 

you  must  aclcnoivledge  ichat  I  say,  or  be  ignorant  "in  the  flesh,"  but  "  in  the  spirit." 
of,  &c.     The  reference  here  is  to  the  assertion  ^  "phe  best  MSS.  have  the  participle  in  the 

in  verses  14  and  15  of  the  preceding  chapter,  nom.  plural.     It  is  opposed  to  "when  we  were 

that  Christians  "are  not  under  the  law."     For  in   the   flesh,"   of    the  preceding  verse.      To 

the  argument  of  the  present  passage,  see  the  make  it  clear,  this  verse  should  have  a  comma 

marginal  summary.      St.  Paul's  view  of  the  after  the  Greek  participle.     As  to  the  sense  in 

Christian  life,  throughout  the  sixth,  seventh,  which  Christians  are  "  dead,"  see  the  preced- 

and  eighth  chapters,  is  that  it  consists  of  a  ing  note. 

death  and  a  resurrection;  the  new-made  Chris-  ^  Exod.  xx.  17  (LXX.),     This  illustration 

tian  dies  to  sin,  to  the  world,  to  the  flesh,  and  appears  conclusive  against  the  view  of  Eras- 

to  the  Law ;  this  death  he  undergoes  at  his  mus  and  others  who  understood  the  following 

first  entrance  into  communion  with  Christ,  and  statement  ("without  the  Law,  sin  is  dead")  to 


560 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XIX, 


vantage-ground  [against  me],  it  wrought  in  me  all  manner  of 
9   coveting  (for  where  there   is  no  law,  sin  is  dead).      And  I 

felt  ^  that  I  was  alive  before,  when  I  knew  no  law  ;  but  when 
10   the  commandment  came,  sin  rose  to  life,  and  I  died  ;  and  the 

very  commandment  whose  end  is  life  was  found  to  me  the 
1    cause  of  death  ;  for  sin,  when  it  had  gained  a  vantage-ground 

by  the  commandment,  deceived  me  to  my  fall,  and  slew  me 

by  ^  the  sentence  of  the  Law. 

12  Wherefore  the  .T4aw  indeed  is  holy,  and  its  commandments 

13  are  holy  and  just  and  good.  Do  I  say,  then,  that  Good  became 
to  me  Death  ?  ^  Far  be  that  from  me !  But  I  say  that  sin 
wrought  this ;  that  so  it  might  be  made  manifest  as  sin,  in 
working  Death  to  me  through  [the  knowledge  of]  Good  ;  that 
sin  might  become  beyond  measure  *  sinful,  by  the  command- 
ment. 

14  For  we  know  that  the  Law  is  spiritual ;  *  but  for  me,  I  am 


Ignorance  are 
now  done  in 
spite  of  the 
resistance  of 
conscience. 
For  tlie  carnal 
nature  of  the 
natural  man 
fulfils  the  evil 
which  his 
spiritual 
nature  con- 
demns. 
Thus  a  strug- 
gle is  pro- 
duced, in 
which  the 
worse  part  in 
man  triumphs 
over  the  bet- 
ter, the  law  of 
his  flesh  over 
the  law  of  hie 
mind.     And 
man  in  him- 
self f/  innself, 
V.  25),  without 
the  help  of 
Christ's  Spirit, 
must  continue 
the  slave  of 
his  sinful 
earthly 
nature. 


carnal,®  a 


mean  that  the  Law  irritates  and  provokes  sin 
into  action,  on  the  principle  of  "  nitimur  in 
vetitura."  For  the  lust  of  concnpiscence  is 
quite  as  active  in  an  ignorant  Heathen  as  in 
an  instructed  Pharisee. 

1  For  this  meaning  of  "  live  "  see  1  Thess. 
iii.  8. 

2  Literally,  by  the  commandment ;  which  de- 
nounced death  against  its  violators.  See  note 
on  1  Cor.  XV.  56. 

^  Literally,  is  it  become  f  equivalent  to  do  I 
say  that  it  became^  If  with  several  good  MSS. 
we  replace  the  perfect  hy  the  aorist,  the  diflS- 
culty  is  removed.  We  must  supply  "  become 
death  "  again  after  "  sin." 

*  This  explains  Rom.  v.  20.  In  both  pas- 
sages, St.  Paul  states  the  object  of  the  law 
to  be  to  lay  down,  as  it  were,  a  boundary  line 
which  should  mark  the  limits  of  right  and 
wrong ;  so  that  sin,  by  transgressing  this  line, 
might  manifest  its  real  nature,  and  be  distinctly 
recognized  for  what  it  is.  The  Law  was  not 
given  to  provoke  man  to  sin  (as  some  have 
understood,  Rom.  v.  20),  but  to  stimulate 
the  conscience  into  activity. 

^  It  may  be  asked,  how  this  is  consistent 
with  many  passages  where  St.  Paul  speaks  of 
the  Law  as  a  carnal  ordinance,  and  opposes  it 
as  letter  to  spirit  1     The  answer  is,  that  here  he 


speaks  of  the  Law  under  its  moral  aspect,  as 
is  plain  from  the  whole  context. 

®  Scarcely  any  thing  in  this  Epistle  haa 
caused  more  controversy  than  the  question 
whether  St.  Paul,  in  the  following  description 
of  the  struggle  between  the  flesh  and  the 
spirit,  wherein  the  flesh  gains  the  victory, 
meant  to  describe  his  own  actual  state.  The 
best  answer  to  this  question  is  a  comparison 
between  vi.  17  and  20  (where  he  tells  the  Ro- 
man Christians  that  they  are  no  longer  tlie  slaves 
of  sin),  vii.  14  (where  he  says  lam  carxal,  a 
slave  sold  into  the  captivity  of  sin),  and  viii.  4 
(where  he  includes  himself  among  those  who 
live  not  the  life  of  the  flesh,  but  the  life  of  the 
spirit,  i.  e.  who  are  not  carnal).  It  is  surely 
clear  that  these  descriptions  cannot  be  meant 
to  belong  to  the  same  person  at  the  same  time. 
The  best  commentary  on  the  whole  passage  (vii. 
7  to  viii.  13)  is  to  be  found  in  the  condensed 
expression  of  the  same  truths  contained  in  Gal. 
V.  16-18  :    Walk  in  the  spirit,  and  ye   siiau. 

NOT  FULFIL  THE  DESIRE  OF  THE  FLESH  ;   /oT 

the  desire  of  the  flesh  fights  against  the  spirit, 
and  the  desire  of  the  spirit  fights  against  the 
flesh  ;  and  this  variance  between  the  flesh  and  the 
spirit  would  hinder  you  from  doing  that  which  your 
will  prefers ;  but  if  you  be  led  by  the  spirit,  you 
are  not  under  the  Law. 


CHAP.  XIX. 


EPISTLE  TO  THE  EOMAJSTS. 


G61 


VTl. 


slave  sold  into  the  captivity  of  sin.     What  I  do,  I  acknowledge  not ;  for  I   16 
do  not  what  I  would,  but  what  I  hate.     But  if  my  will  is  against  my   16 
deeds,  I  thereby  acknowledge  the  goodness  of  the  Law.     And  now  it  is   17 
no  more  I  myself  who  do  the  evil,  but  it  is  the  sin  which  dwells  in  me. 
For  I  know  that  in  me,  that  is,  in  my  flesh,  good  abides  not ;  for  to  will   18 
is  present  with  me,  but  to  do  the  right  is  absent ;  the  good  that  I  would,   19 
I  do  not;  but  the  evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I  do.     Now  if  my  own^   20 
will  is  against  my  deeds,  it  is  no  more  I  myself  who  do  them,  but  the  sin 
which  dwells  in  me.     I  find,  then,  this  law,  that  though  my  will  is  to  do  21 
good,  yet  evil  is  present  with  me  ;  for  I  consent  gladly  to  the  law  of  God   22 
in  my  inner  man ;   but  I  behold  another  law  in  my  members,  warring  23 
against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  making  me  captive  to  the  law  of  sin 
which  is  in  my  members.     0  wretched  man  that  I  am !  who  shall  deliver  24 
me  from  this  body  of  death  ? 

I  thank  God  [that  He  has  now  delivered  me]  through  Jesus  Christ  our  25 
Lord. 

So,  then,  in  myself,'^  though  I  am  subject  in  my  mind  to  the  law  of  God, 
yet  in  my  flesh  I  am  subject  to  the  law  of  sin 


1  The  "  I  "  in  I  will  is  emphatic. 

*  AvTog  iyo>,  I  in  myself,  i.  e.  without  the 
help  of  God.  This  expression  is  the  key  to 
the  whole  passage.  St.  Paul,  from  verse  14 
to  verse  24,  has  been  speaking  of  himself  as 
he  was  in  himself,  i.  e.  in  his  natural  state  of 
helplessness,  with  a  conscience  enlightened, 
but  a  will  enslaved  ;  the  better  self  struggling 
vainly  against  the  worse.  Every  man  must 
continue  in  this  state,  unless  he  be  redeemed 
from  it  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  Christians  are 
(so  far  as  God  is  concerned)  redeemed  already 
ffom  this  state ;  but  in  themselves,  and  so  far  as 
they  live  to  themselves,  they  are  still  in  bond- 
age. The  redemption  which  they  (potentially, 
if  not  actually)  possess  is  the  subject  of  the 
8th  chapter.  Leigh  ton  (though  his  view  of 
the  whole  passage  would  not  have  entirely 
coincided  with  that  given  above)  most  beauti- 
fully expresses  the  contrast  between  these  two 
states  (of  bondage  and  deliverance)  in  his  ser- 
mon on  Rom.  viii.  35  :  "  Is  this  he  that  so 
lately  cried  out,  0  wretched  man  that  I  am! 
wno  shall  deliver  me?  that  now  triumphs,  O 
happy  man  !  who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love 
of  Chrisi  ?  Yes,  it  is  the  same.  Pained  then 
36 


with  the  thoughts  of  that  miserable  conjunc- 
tion with  a  body  of  death,  and  so  crying  out, 
who  will  deliver  ?  Now  he  hath  found  a  de- 
liverer to  do  that  for  him,  to  whom  he  is  for- 
ever united.  So  vast  a  difference  is  there  be- 
twixt a  Christian  taken  in  himself  and  in 
Christ."  Against  the  above  view  of  verse  25, 
it  may  be  said  that  the  more  natural  and  ob- 
vious meaning  of  oiirdf  iyu  is  "  /  Paul  my- 
self" "  I  myself  who  write  this  ; "  as  has  lately 
been  urged  with  much  force  by  Dean  Alford. 
He  advocates  the  distinction  between  this  verse 
and  viii.  4,  which  is  maintained  by  Olshausen 
and  others,  who  think  the  spiritual  man  is 
described  as  "  serving  the  flesh  by  the  law  of 
sin,"  but  yet  as  "  not  walking  after  the  flesh." 
According  to  this  interpretation,  St.  Paul  here 
declares  that  he  himself  is  in  bondage  to  the  law 
of  sin,  in  his  flesh  ;  but  means  only  that  "  the 
flesh  is  still,  even  in  the  spiritual  man,  subject 
[essentially,  not  practically)  to  the  law  of  sin." 
(Alford).  We  would  not  venture  dogmati- 
cally to  pronounce  this  view  untenable :  yet 
its  advocates  must  acknowledge  that  it  is  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  reconcile  it  with  the  staverji 
of  vi.  17-20. 


562 


THE  LU^E  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XIX 


viii 
1 


Now,  therefore,  there  is  no  condemnation  to  those  who  are  But,  with  that 

help  this  Bin- 

2  in  Christ  Jesus  ;^  for  thelawof  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  ^^^\,^%'V^y„„. 

3  Jesus  ^  has  freed  me  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death.     For  God  cMstian^aiid 

ho  is  enabled 

(which  was  impossible  to  the  Law,  because  by  the  flesh  it  had  ^"/.'i^^^^^^*^^; 
no  power),  by  sending  His  own  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  iZn'xLfrJ'A^u^. 

...         1/11^  1         according  to 

4  flesh,  and  on  behalf  of  sm,  overcame  ^  sm  ni  the  flesh  ;  *  to  the  tu^.vuHfnai 

'  part.    God's 

end  that  the  decrees  of  the  Law  might  be  fulfilled  in  us,  who  ^'■"<'  '■^"^'■''" 


are  those  only 
-n  ,1  1         who  are  thus 

tor    they  who    enabled  by  the 

indweUing 


5  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.^ 

live  after  the  flesh  mind  fleshly  things  ;  but  they  who  live  after  chri^tt^ocon- 
the  Spirit  mind  spiritual  things :  and  ®  the  fleshly  mind  is  death  ;  larThiy'"' 

nature. 

6, 7  but  the  spiritual  mind  is  life  and  peace.     Because  the  fleshly 

mind  is  enmity  against  God  ;  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  nor 

8, 9  can  be ;  and  they  whose  life  is  in  the  flesh  cannot  please  God.  But  your  life 
is  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  indeed  the  Spirit  of  God  be  dwell- 
ing in  you  ;    and  if  any  man  has  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  not 

10  Christ's.  But  if  Christ  be  in  you,  though  your  body  be  dead,  because  of 
sin  [to  which  its  nature  tends],  yet  your  spirit  is  hfe,^  because  of  right- 

11  eousness  [which  dwells  within  it]  ;  yea,  if  the  Spirit  of  Him  who  raised 
Jesus  from  the  dead  be  dwelling  in  you,  He  who  raised  Christ  from  the 
dead  shall  endow  with  life  also  your  dying  bodies,  by  His  ^  Spirit  which 


'  The  clause  which  follows,  from  "  who 
walk "  to  "  Spirit,"  is  omitted  in  the  best 
MSS.,  having  (it  would  seem)  been  introduced 
by  a  clerical  error  from  verse  4. 

2  Winer  wishes  to  join  in  "  Christ  Jesus  " 
with  the  verb  "  freed,"  not  with  the  preceding 
words  ;  but  there  are  so  many  examples  of  a 
similar  construction  in  St.  Paul's  style,  that 
we  think  his  reasons  insufficient  to  justify  a 
departure  from  the  more  obvious  view. 

*  Literally,  condemned,  i.  e.  put  it  to  rebuke, 
worsted  it.     Compare  Heb.  xi.  7. 

*  "  In  the  flesh,"  that  is  to  say,  in  the  very 
seat  of  its  power. 

»  The  contrast  between  the  victory  thus 
obtained  by  the  spirit,  with  the  previous  sub- 
jection of  the  soul  to  the  flesh,  is  thus  beauti- 
fully described  by  TertuUian  :  —  "When  the 
Soul  is  wedded  to  the  Spirit,  the  Flesh  fol- 
lows—  like  the  handmaid  who  follows  her 
wedded  mistress  to  the  husband's  home  —  be- 
ing thenceforward  no  longer  the  servant  of  the 
Soul,  but  of  the  Spirit."     The  whole  passage 


forms  an  excellent  commentary  on  this  part  of 
the  Epistle.  See  a  fuller  extract  in  the  larger 
editions. 

^  Winer  sneers  at  Tholuck's  remark 
(which  the  latter  has  since  modified),  that  the 
conjun'^tion  {for,  A.  V.)  is  a  mere  transition 
particle  here  ;  but  yet  what  else  is  it.  when  it 
does  not  introduce  a  reason  for  a  preceding 
proposition  1  In  these  cases  of  successive 
clauses  each  connected  thus  with  the  preceding, 
they  all  appear  to  refer  back  to  the  first  pre- 
ceding clause,  and  therefore  all  but  the  first 
conjunction  might  be  represented  by  and. 
Just  in  the  same  way  as  bat  is  used  in  English ; 
as,  for  example,  "  But  ye  are  washed,  but  ye 
are  sanctified." 

T  The  word  here  used  is  in  St.  Paul's  writ- 
ings scarcely  represented  adequately  by  life ;  it 
generally  means  more  than  this,  viz.  life  tri- 
umphant over  death. 

*  The  MSS.  are  divided  liere.  One  resid- 
ing must  be  translated  because  of  instead  of  bv. 
This  will  make  the  clause  exactly  parallel  vrivii 


cuAP.  XIX.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  EOMANS.  563 

viii, 
dwells  within  you.     Therefore,  brethren,  we  are  debtors  bound  not  to  the   12 

Flesh,  that  we  should  live  after  the  Flesh  [but  to  the  Spirit]  ;  for  if  you   13 
live  after  the  Flesh,  you  are  doomed  to  die  ;  but  if  by  the  Spirit  you  de- 
stroy the  deeds  of  the  body,  in  their  death  ^  you  will  attain  to  life. 
H'uii  persons        ^OF  all  who  are  led  by  God's  Spirit,  and  they  alone,^  are  the   14 
wud'con-        sons  of  God.     For  you  have  not  received  a  Spirit  of  bondage,   15 

Bciousiiess  of 

to  God  "^^  '"^®  that  you  should  go  back  again  to  the  state  of  slavish  fear,^  but 
tiu-y  "an'tfci-      you  havo  reccived  a  Spirit  of  adoption  wherein  we  cry  [unto 

pate  a  future 

fcctsiat'e^^''"  God],  saying  *'Jfa%r/"^    The  Spirit  itself  bears  witness  with  16 
Nation WcTod    our  owu  Spirit,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God.     And  if  chil-  17 

■will  have  its 

full  develop-  drcu,  thcu  hclrs,  heirs  of  God,  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ; 
A.iidt\wi'^^'  that  if  now  we  share  His  sufferings,  we  should  hereafter  share 
future  perfec-    His  glory.     For  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  present   18 

lion  is  shared  <->  i 

biings'^upon'^  time  are  nothing  worth,  when  set  against  the  glory  which  shall 
dJscont^nt  at    soou  ^  bc  rcvcalcd  unto  us.     For  the  longing  of  the  creation  19 

present  iiiiper- 

jec_tion  po^'iits  looks  cagcrly  for  the  time  when  [the  glory  of]  the  sons  of  God 
fioln  !fvu.''       shall  be  revealed.     For  the  creation  was  made  subject  to  decay ,^  20 

And  this  feel-  .  -n      i  i  /.     tt-  i  •  i     • 

ingis(28, 27)    not  by  its  own  will,  but  because  of   Him  who  subjected  it 

implanted  in    , 

tb^e  sphiTo^   thereto,'  in  hope :  for  ^  the  creation  itself  also  shall  be  deliv-  21 
gestsThe^r*"^    crcd  from  its  slavery  to  death,  and  shall  gain  the  freedom  of 

pr.iycrs  and 

longings.         i\^Q  sons  of  God  when  they  are  glorified.^    For  we  know  that  22 
the  whole  creation  is  groaning  together,  and  suffering  the  pangs  of  labor, 

the  end  of  verse  10.     Tholuck  gives  an  able  St.  Paul  leaves  unsolved ;  but  he  tells  us  to 

summary  of  the  arguments  in  favor  of  the  wait  patiently  for  its  solution,  and  eneouraget 

accusative  reading.  us  to  do  so  by  his  inspired  declarations,  in  this 

^  This  translation  is  necessary  to  represent  and  other  places  (as  1  Cor.  xv.  25,  &c.),  that 

the  reference  to  death  as  expressed  in  the  pre-  the  reign  of  evil  will  not  be  eternal,  but  that 

ceding  verb  [mortify,  A.  V.).  good  will  ultimately  and  completely  triumph. 

-  Thpy  and  they  alone,  they  and  not  the  carnal  It  should  be  observed  that  Evil  is  always  rep- 

seed  of  Abraham.  resented  in  Scriptttre  as  in  its  nature  opposed 

^  Back  again.     Compare  Gal.  iv.  9.  to   God,  not  as   included  necessarily  in   His 

*  See  note  on  Gal.  iv.  6.  plan  ;  even  where  God  is  represented  as  sub- 

^    Which  is  about  to  be  revealed,  which  shall  jecting  His  creatures  to  its  temporary  domin- 

*oon  he  revealed.  ion. 

'^  The  word  used  here  (uani<^,  A.  V.)  means  *  We  agree  with  Dean  Alford   that  it  is    , 

the  transitory  nature  which  causes  all  the  ani-  better  here  not  to  render,  as  some  do,  "  in  hope 

mated  creation  so  rapidly  to  pass  away.  that ; "  for,  were  this  correct,  the  words  "  the 

''  God  is  probabl}'  meant  by  "  him  who  creation  itself"  would  not  be  so  emphatically 
subjected."  The  difficulties  which  have  been  repeated.  See  his  commentary  on  the  pas- 
felt  with  regard  to  this  expression  are  resolva-  sage. 

ble  (like  all  the  diificulties  of  Theism)  into  ^  liiter&Uy,  the  freedom  which  belongs  to  tht 

the  permission  of  evil.     This  awful  mystery  glorification  of  the  Sons  of  God. 


564 


THE  LIFE  AiTD   EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL. 


CUAP.  XIS 


▼Ml. 


23  which "  have  not  yet  brought  fortli  the  birth.  And  not  only  they,  but  our- 
selves also,  who  have  received  the  Spirit  for  the  first-fruits  ^  [of  our  inherit- 
ance] ,  even  we  ourselves  are  groaning  inwardly,  longing  for  the  adoption ' 

24  which  shall  ransom  our  body  from  its  bondage.  For  our  salvation  *  lies  in 
hope  ;  but  hope  possessed  is  not  hope,  since  a  man  cannot  hope  for  what  he 

'25   sees  in  his  possession  ;  but  if  we  hope  for  things  not  seen,  we  steadfastly ' 

26  endure  the  present,  and  long  earnestly  for  the  future.  And,  even  as®  we 
long  for  our  redemption,  so  the  Spirit  gives  help  to  our  weakness  ;  for 
we  know  not  what  we  should  pray  for  as  we  ought ;  but  the  Spirit  itself 
makes  intercession  for  us,  with  groans  [for  deliverance]  which  words  can- 

27  not  utter.  But  He  who  searches  our  hearts  knows  [though  it  be  un- 
spoken] what  is  the  desire  of  the  Spirit,'  because  He  intercedes  for  the 
saints  according  to  the  will  of  God. 


1  Literally,  continuing  to  suffer  the  pangs  of 
labor  even  until  now.  St.  Paul  here  suggests 
an  argument  as  original  as  it  is  profound. 
The  very  struggles  which  all  animated  beings 
make  against  pain  and  death  show  (he  says) 
that  pain  and  death  are  not  a  part  of  the 
proper  laws  of  their  nature,  but  rather  a 
bondage  imposed  upon  them  from  without. 
Thus  every  groan  and  tear  is  an  unconscious 
prophecy  of  liberation  from  the  power  of  evil. 
St.  Augustine  extends  the  same  argument  in 
the  Confessions  (book  xiii.)  as  follows:  — 
"  Even  in  that  miserable  restlessness  of  the 
spirits,  who  fell  away  and  discovered  their 
own  darkness  when  bared  of  the  clothing  of 
Thy  light,  dost  Thou  sufficiently  reveal  how 
noble  Thou  madest  the  reasonable  creature; 
to  which  nothing  will  suffice  to  yield  a  happy 
rest,  less  than  Thee."  See  also  De  Civ.  Dei, 
1.  22,  c.  1  :  — "  The  nature  which  enjoyed 
God  shows  that  it  was  formed  good,  even  by 
its  very  defect,  in  that  it  is  therefore  miserable 
because  it  enjoycth  not  God."  (Oxford  trans- 
lation, IJbrarij  of  Fathers.) 

^  See  note  on  1  Cor.  i.  22. 

^  Adoption  to  sonship;  by  which  a  slave 
was  emancipated,  and  made  "  no  longer  a  slave, 
but  a  son."  (Gal.  iv.  7.)  In  one  sense  St. 
Paul  taught  hat  Christians  had  already 
received  this  adoption  (compare  (Rom.  vii.  15, 
Gal.  iv.  5,  Eph.  i.  5)  ;  they  were  already  made 
the  sons  of  God  in  Christ.  (Rom.  viii.  16, 
Gal.  iii.  26.)    So,  in  a  yet  lower  sense,  the  Jews 


under  the  old  dispensation  had  the  adoption  to 
sonship;  see  ix.  4.  But  in  this  passage  he 
teaches  us  that  this  adoption  is  not  perfect 
during  the  present  life ;  there  is  still  a  higher 
sense,  in  which  it  is  future,  and  the  object  of 
earnest  longing  to  those  who  are  already  in  the 
lower  sense  the  sons  of  God. 

*  Literally,  we  were  saved,  i.  e.  at  our  con- 
version ;  for  the  context  does  not  oblige  us  to 
take  the  aorist  here  as  a  perfect.  The  exact 
translation  would  be,  "  the  salvation  whereto  we 
were  cxdled  lies  in  hope." 

*  The  verb  denotes,  we  long  earnesth/  for  the 
future ;  the  prepositional  phrase  implies,  with 
steadfast  endurance  of  the  present. 

®  After  in  like  manner,  we  must  su])ply  as 
we  long  from  the  preceding  clause ;  and  the 
object  of  long  is  our  redemption  (by  verse  23). 

■^  This  passage  is  well  explained  by  Arch- 
bishop Leighton,  in  the  following  beautiful 
words:  "  The  work  of  the  Spirit  is  in  excit- 
ing the  hciirt,  at  times  of  prayer,  to  break 
forth  in  ardent  desires  to  God,  whatsoever  the 
words  be,  wiiether  new  or  old,  yea  possibly 
without  words ;  and  then  mo^t  powerful  when 
it  words  it  least,  but  vents  in  sighs  and  groans 
that  cannot  bo  expressed.  Cur  Lord  under- 
stands the  language  of  these  perfectly,  and 
likes  it  best ;  He  knows  ana  approves  the 
meaning  of  His  own  Spirit ;  Ht  looks  not  to 
the  outward  appearance,  the  s  lell  of  word?, 
as  men  do."  Leighton's  Exposi,'ion  of  Lord'* 
Prayer. 


CHAP.  xrx.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  KOMAJS'S.  565 

VlU. 


FIcnce  in  the 
midst  of  their 
persecutions 


Moreover,  we  know  that  all  things  *  work  together  for  good   28 
cbristiaus'are  to  those  who  love  God,  who  have  been  called  according  to  His 

more  than 

for?hp'°feei     pui'pose.     For  those  whom  He  foreknew,  He  also  predestined  29 
togethe7fo*'  to  be  made  like  ^  to  the  pattern  of  His  Son,  that  many  breth- 

their  good.  •    i       i        •    •        t  xt-  i        n 

God  has  ren  might  be  lomed  to  Him,  the  first-born.     And  those  whom   30 

called  them  to  °  **  ' 

giory/and'no    Ho  predcstincd,  them  He  also  called  ;  and  whom  He  called, 
era  or  judges,  thcm  Hc  also  justlficd  ;  and  whom  He  justified,  them  He  also 

no  earthly  suf- 

pow"eHn"Sie    g^oi'ified.     What  shall  we  say,  then,  to  these  things?     If  God  31 
tLn.canlepa-  be  for  US,  who  cau  be  against  us  ?     He  that  spared  not  His  own   32 

rate  them 

from  His  love,  bou,  but  gave  Him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  He  not  with  Him 
also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?     What  accuser  can  harm  God's  chosen  ?  it  33 
is  God  who  justifies  them.'     What  judge  can  doom  us  ?     It  is  Christ  who   34 
died,  nay,  rather,  who  is  risen  from  the  dead ;  yea,  who  is  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,  who  also  makes  intercession  for  us.     Who  can  separate  us  35 
from  the  love  of  Christ  ?     Can  suffering,  or  straitness  of  distress,  or  per- 
secution, or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  the  peril  of  our  lives,  or  the  swords 
of  our  enemies?    [though  we  may  say],  as  it  is  written,   "Jfor  Cbu   36 

suk^  fot  mz  killtb  all  i\t  bag  kng ;  to^  vlxz  aaounhb  as  %\ui^  for 

flje  slau^Ijt^r."  *     Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors    37 
through  Him  that  loved  us.     For  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor   38 
life,  nor  all  the  ^  Principalities  and  Powers  of  Angels,  nor  things  present, 
nor  things  to  come,  nor  things  above,  nor  things  below,  nor  any  power  in   39 
the  whole  creation,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

1  All   things,   viz.   whether  sad  or  joyful.  tribunal8.     No  accnsers    could   harm    them, 

We  must  remember  that  this  was  written  in  because  God  acquitted  them  ;  no  judicial  con- 

the  midst  of  persecution,  and  in  the  expecta-  demnation  could  injure  them,  because   Christ 

tion  of  bonds  and  imprisonment.     See  verses  was  the  assessor  of  that  tribunal  before  which 

17,  18,  and  35,  and  Acts  xx.  23.  they  must  be  tried.     The  beauty  and  eloquence 

'^  Like  in  sufferinrf  seems  meant.     Compare  of  the  passage  (as  well  as  its  personal  refer- 

Phil.  iii.  10  :  "  The  fellowship  of  His  suffer-  ence  to  the  circumstances  of  its  writer  and  its 

ings,  being  made  conformable  to  His  death."  readers)  are  much  marred  by  placing  marks 

[Does  not  this  limit  it  too  much?     Compare  of  interrogation  after  justijies  and  died. 
2  Cor.  iii.  18  :  "  We  are  gradually  transformed  *  Ps.  xliv.  22  (LXX.). 

into  the  same  likeness."     And  see  also  1  Cor.  ^  The  expressions  principalities  and  power* 

XV.  49.  —  H.]  were  terms  applied  in  the  Jewish  theology  to 

^  St.  Paul  is  here  writing  and  thinking  of  divisions  of  the  hierarchy  of  angels,  and,  as 
his  own  case,  and  that  of  his  brethren,  liable  such,  were  familiar  to  St.  Paul's  Jewish  read- 
daily  to  be  dragged  by  their  accnsers  before  the  era.     Compare  Eph.  i.  21,  and  Col.  i.  16. 


566  THE   LIFE   AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  cuap.  xix. 


IX. 


1  I  speak  the  truth  in  Christ  —  Ca-ud  my  conscience  bears  me  The  fact  that 

^  V  ./  Godhaa 

2  witness,  with  the  Holy  Spirit's  testimony,  that  I  lie  not)  —  I  ghmuans  as 

3  have  great  heaviness,  and  unceasing  sorrow  in  my  heart ;  yea,  peopietand"^ 

rejected  the 

I  could  wish  that  I  myself  were  cast  out  from  Christ  as  an  Jews  from 

*^  their  exclu- 

accursed  thing,  for  the  sake  of  my  brethren,  my  kinsmen  ac-  feges^^Jln  ac 

4  cording  to  the  flesh ;  who  are  the  seed  of  Israel,  whom  God  His  former 

dealiugR.   For 

adopted  for  His  children,  whose  were  the  glory  of  the  Shechi-  "c^en^'d'^nta  ^f ' 
nah,  and  the  Covenants,  and  the  Lawgiving,  and  the  service  oniy'lse^'cted 

portion  of 

5  of  the  temple,  and  the  promises  of  blessing.     Whose  fathers  ^^™'^^'''"® 
were  the  Patriarchs,  and  of  whom  (as  to  His  flesh)  was  born  ^°^' 
the  Christ  who  is  over  all,  God  blessed  forever.     Amen. 

6  Yet  I  speak  not  as  if  the  promise  of  God  had  fallen  to  the  ground  ;  for 

7  noj.  all  are  Israel  who  are  of  Israel ;  nor,  because  all  are  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham, are  they  all  the  children  of  Abraham ;  but  *'  Jit  Jsaar  sljall  lIjlJ 

S  BZtii  ht  culltii"  ^  That  is,  not  the  children  of' the  flesh  of  Abraham  are 
the  sons  of  God,  but  his  children  of  the  promise  are  counted  for  his  seed. 

9  For  thus  spake  the  word  of  promise,  saying,  *'^t  Ifjtg  lim^  !i»ill  J  COXm, 
anb  ^^§S.J   sljall  l^afae  a  S01t"^  [so  that  Ishmael,  although  the 

10  son  of  Abraham,  had  no  part  in  the  promise].  And  not  only  so,  but 
[Esau  likewise  was  shut  out ;  for]  when  Rebekah  had  conceived  two 

11  sons  by  the  same  husband,  our  forefather  Isaac,  yea,  while  they  were  not 
yet  born,  and  had  done  nothing  either  good  or  bad  (that  God's  purpose 
according  to  election  might  abide,  coming  not  from  the  works  of  the ' 

12  called,  but  from  the  will  of  The  Caller),  it  was  declared  unto  her,  "  ^hz 

13  jeli^jer  S^all  SCrh^  %  ^OUn^tx;"'^  according  to  that  which  is  written, 

"  ^ncoh  I  labtH,  but  ^sau  |  j^aletr/'® 

14  What  shall  we  say,  then?  Shall  we  call  God  unjust  [be-  aotien^''"" 
cause  He  has  cast  off  the  seed  of  Abraham]?     That  be  far  reject  some '^ 

and  select  oth- 

16   from  us  !     For  to  Moses  He  saith,  ''|  fajill  ^aijs  mmg  Olt  toHiswm,"* 


1  Gen.  xxi.  12  (LXX.).     Compare  Gal.  iv.  '  Literally,  coming  not  from  works,  but  from 
22.     The  context  is,  "  Let  it  not  be  grievous  in  the  Caller. 

thy  sight,  because  of  the  lad  [Ishmael]  and  because  *  Gen.  xxv.  23  (LXX.).     The  context  ii^ 

of  thy  bond-woman  [Hagar],  for  in  Isaac  shall  "  The  two  nations  are  in  thy  womb,  and  the  ddm 

tfiy  seed  be  called."  thall  serve  the  younger." 

2  Gen.  xviii.  10,  from  LXX.,  not  verbatim,  '  Mai.  i.  2,  3  (LXX.). 
but  apparently  from  memory. 


CHAP.  XIX. 


EPISTLE  TO  THE  EOMANS. 


567 


since  it  is  as- 
eerted  in  their 
owu  Scrip- 
tures in  the 
case  of  Pha- 
raoh.   It  may 
he  objected 
that  euch  a 
view  repre- 
sents God's 
will  as  the  ar- 
hitrary  cause 
of  Jian's  ac- 
tions ;  the  an- 
swer is,  that 
the  created 
heing  cannot 
investigate 
the  causes 
which  may 
have  deter- 
mined the  will 
of  his  Creator. 


thou  that 


iz. 


tolj0m  J  toill  Ijaij^  mtxc^,  anb  <|  toil!  Ijair:e  rompassiou  . 
on  toljom  J  toill  ^ab^  rontj^assion/' ^     So,  theu,  the  16 

choice  comes  not  from  man's  will,  nor  from  man's  speed,  but 
from  God's  mercy.      And  thus  the   Scripture  says  to  Pha-  17 

raoh,  *'€bm  for  l^b  txiii  bib  |  rats^  il^tt  up,  tijal  f 
migljt  sljoto  mn  pto^r  in  llj^e,  anb  t^at  mg  namt  ntigljl 
fac  bcrlareb  throughout  all  t^e^art^."^    According  to  His  18 

will,  therefore,  He  has  mercy  on  one,  and  hardens  another. 
Thou  wilt  say  to  me,  then,^  "  Why  does  God  still  blame  us  ?   19 
for  who  can  resist  His  will  ?  "     Nay,  rather,  0  man,  who  art  20 

disputest  against  God  ?    **  S^all  tiji  t^ing  form^b  Sag  I0 


1  Exod.  xxxiii.  19  (LXX.). 

2  Exod.  ix.  16,  according  to  LXX.,  with 

two  slight  changes. 

^  "  Thou  wilt  say."  .  .  .  Here  comes  the 
great  question  —  no  longer  made  from  the 
stauding-point  of  the  Jew,  but  proceeding 
from  the  universal  feeling  of  justice.  St. 
Paul  answers  the  question  by  treating  the  sub- 
ject as  one  above  the  comprehension  of  the 
human  intellect  when  considered  in  itself  ob- 
jectively. If  it  be  once  acknowledged  that 
there  is  any  difference  between  the  character 
and  ultimate  fate  of  a  good  and  a  bad  man, 
the  intellect  is  logically  led,  step  by  step,  to 
contemplate  the  vnll  of  the  Creator  as  the 
cause  of  this  difference.  The  question  "  why 
hast  thou  made  me  thus  ?  "  will  equally  occur 
and  be  equally  perplexing  in  any  system  of 
religion,  either  natural  or  revealed.  It  is  in 
fact  a  difficulty  springing  at  once  from  the 
permitted  existence  of  evil.  Scripture  con- 
siders men  under  two  points  of  view ;  first,  as 
created  by  God ;  and  secondly,  as  free  moral 
agents  themselves.  These  two  points  of  view 
are,  to  the  intellect  of  man,  irreconcilable  ;  yet 
both  must  be  true,  since  the  reason  convinces 
us  of  the  one,  and  the  conscience  of  the  other. 
St.  Paul  here  is  considering  men  under  the 
first  of  these  aspects,  as  the  creatures  of  God, 
entirely  dependent  on  God's  will.  It  is  to  be 
observed  that  he  does  not  say  that  God's  will 
is  arbitrary,  but  rTily  that  men  are  entirely 
dependent  on  God's  will.  The  reasons  by 
which  God's  will  itself  is  determmed  are  left 


in  the  inscrutable  mystery  which  conceals 
God's  nature  from  man. 

The  objection  and  the  answer  given  to  it, 
partly  here  and  partly  chap.  iii.  6,  may  be 
stated  as  follows :  — 

Objector.  —  If  men  are  so  entirely  depend- 
ent on  God's  will,  how  can  He  with  justice 
blame  their  actions  ? 

Aijswer.  —  By  the  very  constitution  of  thy 
nature  thou  art  compelled  to  acknowledge  the 
blame-worthiness  of  certain  actions  and  the 
jusfice  of  their  punishment  (iii.  6) ;  therefore 
it  is  self-contradictory  to  say  that  a  certain 
intellectual  view  of  man's  dependence  on  Grod 
would  make  these  actions  innocent ;  thou  art 
forced  to  feel  them  guilty  whether  thou  wilt  or 
no,  and  (ix.  20)  it  is  vain  to  argue  against  the 
constitution  of  thy  nature,  or  its  Author. 

The  metaphysical  questions  relating  to  this 
subject  which  have  divided  the  Christian  world 
are  left  unsolved  by  Scripture,  which  does  not 
attempt  to  reconcile  the  apparent  inconsistency 
between  the  objective  and  subjective  views  of 
man  and  his  actions.  Hence  many  have  been 
led  to  neglect  one  side  of  the  truth  for  the  sake 
of  making  a  consistent  theory  :  thus  the  Pela- 
gians have  denied  the  dependence  of  man's 
will  on  God,  and  the  Fatalists  have  denied  the 
freedom  of  man's  moral  agency. 

We  may  further  observe  that  St.  Paul  does 
not  here  explicitly  refer  to  eternal  happiness 
or  to  its  opposite.  His  main  subject  is  the  na- 
tional rejection  of  the  Jews,  and  the  above  more 
general  topics  are  only  incidentally  introduced. 


56f 


THE  LIFE   AKD   EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


IX. 


21  ^im  t^at  forntib  ii,  W^]a  ^ast  i^ou  muht  mt  IIjms  ?"  ^   '*  Jallj  not 

t^^  T^otUx  |r0b3^r  Ofcr^r  tlj^  -clag,"  ^  to  make  out  of  the  same  lump  one  ves- 

22  sel  for  honor,  and  one  for  dishonor  ?  But  what  if  God  (though  willing  to 
show  forth  His  wrath,  and  to  make  known  His  power)  endured  with 
much  long-sufifering  vessels  of  wrath,  fitted  for  destruction   [and  cast 

23  them  not  at  once  away]  ?  And  what  if  thus  He  purposed  to  make 
known  the  riches  of  His  glory  bestowed  upon  vessels  of  mercy,  which  He 

24  had  before  prepared  for  glory  ?  And  such  are  we,  whom  He  has  called 
not  only  from  among  the  Jews,  but  from  among  the  Gentiles,  as  He  saith 

25  also  in  Hosea,  "  J  bill  rail  llj^m  nxD  p^o^k  iaijirfj  foen 
not  mg  ptopU,  RYiii  Ijcr  Mobxb  toljiclj  toas  not  kkto  ; 

26  Rxits  it  shall  tamt  ta  nass  ll;at  m  ih  glaa  tobn  it  toas  t^e^Sctton 

iJ  F  0  0      P  J  of  the  disobe- 

saib  unia  il^^m,  §^  mt  nai  mg  people,  lljtrc  sljall  tfjen  *^^°*  '^''''■ 

27  bi  rall^b  t^t  SOltS  of  tlje  libiltg  6ob/'  *     But  Esaias  cries  concerning 

Israel,  saying,  *'  CIjoucjjj  llje  itumkr  of  tljj  soHS  of  Jsrad  b^  as  l|^e 

2a  santr  of  tfje  sea  [oitlu]  llje  nmitant  ^  sljall  be  sabctr ;  for  Je  bolff 

romplcle  pis  ^echoning,  aittr  rulli^llj  it  sljort  iit  rigljt^ousness ;  gea, 

a  sljort  r^rkoniitg  toill  i\^t  i^orb  mukt  upon  tlj-e  ^artlj."  *    And  as 


Also  the  Jew- 
ish Scriptures 
**    speak  of  Uie 
calling  of  the 


1  Isaiah  xlv.  9.  Not  literally  from  either 
LXX.  or  Hebrew,  but  apparently  from  memo- 
ry out  of  LXX.  There  is  also  a  very  similar 
passage  in  Isaiah  xxix.  16,  where,  however, 
the  context  has  less  bearing  on  St.  Paul's 
subject  than  in  the  place  above  cited. 

■^  Jeremiah  xviii.  6,  not  quoted  literally,  but 
according  to  the  sense.  In  this  and  in  other 
similar  references  to  the  Old  Testament,  a 
few  words  were  sufficient  to  recall  the  whole 
passage  to  St.  Paul's  Jewish  readers  (compare 
Bom.  iv.  18);  therefore,  to  comprehend  his 
argument,  it  is  often  necessary  to  refer  to  the 
context  of  the  passage  from  which  he  quotes. 
The  passage  in  Jeremiah  referred  to  is  as  fol- 
lows :  —  IVien  I  ivent  down  to  the  potter's  house, 
and  behold  he  loroxKjlit  a  work  on  the  wheels.  And 
the  vessel  tlicU  he  made  of  clay  uxis  marred  in  the 
hands  of  the  potter :  so  he  made  it  again  another 
vessel,  as  seemed  good  to  the  potter  to  make  it.  0 
house  of  Israel,  cannot  I  do  with  you  as  this  pot- 
ter ?  saith  the  Lord.  Behold,  as  the  clay  is  in  the 
potter's  hand,  so  are  ye  in  my  hand,  O  liouse  of 
Israel.     At  what  instant  I  shall  speak  concerning 


a  nation  and  concerning  a  kingdom,  to  pluck  up 
and  to  pull  down  and  to  destroy  it ;  if  that  nation 
against  whom  I  have  pronounced  turn  from  their 
evil,  I  will  repent  of  the  evil  that  I  thought  to  do 
unto  them.  And  at  what  instant  I  shall  speak 
concerning  a  nation  and  concerning  a  kingdom,  to 
build  and  to  plant  it ;  if  it  do  evil  in  my  sight, 
that  it  obey  not  my  voice,  then  I  will  repent  of  the 
good  wherewith  I  said  I  would  beneft  them. 
Similar  passages  might  be  quoted  from  the 
Apocryphal  books  ;  and  it  might  be  said  that 
the  above-cited  passage  of  Isaiah  was  referred 
to  here.  Yet  this  from  Jeremiah  is  so  apposite 
to  St.  Paul's  argument,  that  he  probably  refers 
especially  to  it.  • 

*  Hosea  ii.  23  (LXX.  almost  verbatim). 

*  Hosea  i.  10  (LXX.). 

*  Compare  remnant,  xi.  5,  lef  a  remnant,  xi. 
4,  and  left  a  seed  remaining,  ix.  29 ;  all  refer- 
ring to  the  same  subject,  viz.  the  exclusion  of 
the  majority  of  the  Israelites  from  God'k 
favor. 

*  Isaiah  z.  22,  23  (LXX.  almost  verbatim}- 


CHAP.  XIX. 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS. 


569 


Esaias  had  said  before,  '*  ^Utl^i  tiji  ^0rb  oi  Sabaollj  j^ab  Idi  US  a  29 
seetr  rcmaming,  to^  ^ab  km  as  Sobom,  anb  Ijab  httu  mab^  likje 
uiila  (^0morra^."^ 

The  cause  of        What   shall   we   say,  then?      We   say  that   the  Gentiles,   30 
of'the'' jewt"    though  they  sought  not  after  righteousness,  have  attained  to 

was,  that  they 

FaV4  uiea  of  *    Hghteousness,  even  the  righteousness  of  Faith  ;  but  that  the  31 
as^cwSng'  house  of  Isracl,  though  they  sought  a  law  of  righteousness, 

in  outward  tot»o  ot 

works  and       have  uot  attained  thereto.     And  why  ?     Because  ^  they  sought  oi 

rites,  and  "^  J  r> 

[rue  Hgh?.^      it  not  by  Faith,  but  thought  to  gain  it  by  the  works  of  the 
manifested  to    Law ;  for  they  stumbled  against  the  stone  of  stumbling,  as  it  33 

them  in 

wasthe'^nd    is  Written,  **  g^Ijolb  d  Ia]2  iit  %xan  a  stom  of  slumblmg, 

of  the  Law 


(X.  4).    The 
Je-o 


anb  a  rork  oi  Q^mtt ;  anb  n0  man  tijal  ^allj  fait^  in 
pirn  sljall  ht  tonfnunbtb."  ^ 

Brethren,  my  heart's  desire  and  my  prayer  to  God  for  Israel  x.  1 
is,  that  they  may  be  saved  ;  for  I  bear  them  witness  that  they  2 
have  a  zeal  for  God,  yet  not  guided  by  knowledge  of  God  ;  * 


L'w  considers 
righteousness 
as  tlie  out- 
ward obedi- 
ence to  certain 
enactments 
(X.  6).    The 
Cliristian  con- 
siders riglit- 
eou.sncss  as 
proceeding 

wardfiith'of    for   because   they  knew  not  the   righteousness  of  God,  and 
whoeverhas    soug-ht   to   establish  their  own  righteousness,  therefore  they 

ihisfdilh,  *=  D  7  ^ 


iTr^Gcntue'''^    submlttcd  uot  to  tlic  righteousuess  of  God.     For  the  end  of  the 
ni'ittedlnV      Law  is  Christ,  that  all  may  attain  righteousness  who  have  faith 

Ood'a  favor. 

in  Him.     For  Moses  writes  concerning  the  rigliteousness  of  the 

Law,  saying,  "  CIji  man  lljat  Ijatlj  bom  i^tu  lljiiigs  s^all  litre  tljcr^- 

in;"^  but   the  righteousness  of  Faith  speaks  in  this  wise.     Say  not  in 
thine  heart,  "  W^p  sljall  aswnb  into  l^ZVihtVi  f  "  "  that  is,  "  Who  can 


1  Isaiah  i.  9  (LXX.). 

2  Observe  that  in  the  preceding  part  of  the 
chapter  God  is  spoken  of  as  rejecting  the  Jews 
according  to  His  own  will ;  whereas  here  a 
moral  reason  is  given  for  their  rejection.  This 
illustrates  what  wassaid  in  a  previous  note  of 
the  difference  between  the  objective  and  sub- 
jective points  of  view. 

3  Isaiah  xxviii.  16,  apparently  from  LXX., 
bHt  not  verbatim,  "stone  of  stumbling  and 
rock  of  offence "  being  interpolated,  and  not 
found  exactly  anywhere  in  Isaiah,  though  in 
viii.  14  there  are  words  nearly  similar.  Com- 
pare also  Matt.  xxi.  44. 

*  The  word  for  knowledge  here  is  very  forci- 


ble ;  and  is  the  same  which  is  used  in  1  Cor. 
xiii.  12,  Rom.  i.  28,  and  Col.  i.  10. 

6  Levit.  xviii.  5  (LXX.) ;  quoted  also  Gal. 
iii.  12. 

6  Deut.  XXX.  12.  St.  Paul  here,  though  he 
quotes  from  the  LXX.  (verse  8  is  verbatim), 
yet  slightly  alters  it,  so  as  to  adapt  it  better  to 
illustrate  his  meaning.  His  main  statement  is, 
"  the  Glad-tidings  of  salvation  is  offered,  and 
needs  only  to  be  accepted ;  "  to  this  he  transfers 
the  description  which  Moses  has  given  of  the 
Law,  viz.,  "  the  Word  is  nigh  thee,"  &c. ; 
and  the  rest  of  the  passage  of  Deuteronomy 
he  applies  in  a  higher  sense  than  that  in  which 
Moses  had  written  it  (according  to  the  true 


X 


570  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.xii 

7  bring  down  Christ  from  heaven  ?  "  nor  say,  ''  Wilp  sljall  b^Saixb  Ulia 

8  t^t   abgSS  ?"  that  is,  "  Who  can  raise  up  Christ  from  the  dead  ?"     But 

how  speaks  it  ?    *'CIjJJ  Wiox^  IB  niglj  tljc^,  £bm  m  lljg  mcutfj  anD  itt 

9  i^V  )^titxt ;  "  —  that  is,  the  Word  Faith  which  we  proclaim,  saying,  "  If 
witli  thy  mouth  thou  slialt  confess  Jesus  for  thy  lord,  and  shalt  have  faith 
in  thy  heart  that  God  raised  Him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved." 

0   For  faith  unto  righteousness  is  in  the  heart,  and  confession  unto  salvation 

11  is  from  the  mouth.     And  so  says  the  Scripture,  **  ^@  IS^lt  tljat  ^atlj 

12  faitlj  in  Jim  sfjall  ht  Canfomxtitti ;  "  ^  for  there  is  no  distinction  be- 
tween Jew  and  Gentile,  because  the  same  [Jesus]  is  Lord  over  all,  and 

13  He  gives  richly  to  all  who  call  upon  Him  ;  for  "  €B^'§.§^  9%3  ^fe^ 

sl^all  rail  itpir  iht  name  of  t^c  Jorb  sljall  ht  safaeb."  ^ 

14  How,  then,  shall  they  call  on  Him  in  whom  they  have  put  no  in  order, 

/••lo         ATI  Till  c'l'       XT'  therefore,  that 

taith  :     And  how  snail  they  put  laith  in  Him  whom  they  never  aiimaybeso 

•'   ^  •'  admitted,  the 

15  heard  ?     And  how  shall  they  hear  of  Him  if  no  man  bear  the  iTeiievemust 
tidings  ?     And  who  shall  bear  the  tidings  if  no  messengers  be  ploc^ll^ed;  ^ 

and  it  has 

sent  forth  ?  «     As  it  is  written,  ''  goto  kautlfltl  ar^  t^t  M  eSL^o  to 

0f  tijcm  lljat  kar  ^lalCr-libings  of  pare,  tijat  bear  6Iab-  ^^^^'^f^f  ^ 

16  tibials  0f  00Ob  iljiltQS  I  "  ^   Yet  some  have  not  hearkened  to  Ifpedi^y  a. 
the  Glad-tidings;  as  saith  Esaias,  "  ^orb,   tolj0  Ijatb  grbeiT  warning  of 

r   '  IX     I  I         r  •  o  »>  "i  rejection 

17  fartg  10  0Ur  trarljmig  r  So,  then,  faith  comes  by  teach-  ^^f^lj;]^^^"' 

18  ing ;  ^  and  our  teaching  comes  by  the  Word  of  God.     But  I  *"''^*" 

say,  have  they  not  heard  [the  voice  of  the  teachers]  ?     Yea,  *'  Cbrir 
Bonxii)  fjas  Qom  fartlj  mia  all  iht  eart^,  antr  ihm  kax^B  ixnia  ilit 

19  etttrs  of  tfje  bjorltr."  ^     Again  I  say,  did  not  Israel  know  [the  purpose 

Christian  mode  of  using  the  Old  Testament),  ^  Isaiah  xxviii.  16  (LXX.).     See  ix.  33. 

not  to  the  Mosaic  Law,  but  to  the  Gospel  of  ^  Joel  ii.  32  (LXX.). 

Christ.     The  passage  in  Deuteronomy  is  as  *  This  is  a  justification  of  the  mission  of 

follows :  —  "  This   commandment  which   I  com-  the  Apostles  to  the  Gentiles,  which  was  an  of 

mand  thee  this  day  is  not  hidden  from  thee,  neither  fence  to  the  Jews.     See  Acts  xxii.  22. 

IS  it  far  off.    It  is  not   in  heaven,  that  thou  *  Isaiah  lii.  7,  apparently  from  the  Hebrew, 

shouldst  say,  W7io  shall  go  up  for  us  to  heaven  and  not  LXX. 

and  briny  it  unto  tis,  that  toe  may  hear  it  and  ^  Isaiah  liii.  1  (LXX.). 

do  it  ?     Neither  is  it  beyond  the  sea,  that  thou  ^  There  is  no  English  word  which  precisely 

shouldest  say,  who  shall  go  over  the.  sea  for  us  and  represents  uKoij  in  its  subjective  as  well  as  ob- 

bring  it  unto  us,  that  we  may  hear  it  and  do  it  ?  jective  meaning.     See  note  on  1  Thess.  ii.  13. 

But  the  word  is  very  nigh  unto  thee,  in  thy  mouth  ''  Ps.  xix.  4  (LXX.).     In  the  psalm  this  ia 

and  in  thy  heart,  that  thou  mayest  do  it."  said  of  "  the  heavens,"  which  by  their  wonder 


CHAP.  XIX.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  E,OMANS.  571 

ol  God]  ?    yea,  it  is  said  first  by  Moses,  '"  J  foUl  malu  ^OXX  ji'dlom 
against  lljem  foljklj  nxt  no  i^mi^U,  against  a  ^^ntik  nation  txritlj- 
out  nnberstantiing  foill  J  make  gou  torotlj."^    But  Esalas  speaks  20 
boldly,  saying,  ''|  toas  foxtnb  of  tijem  tijat  songljt  mt  not;   d  kras 
mab£  manifest  unto  tljem  tIjat  askeb  not  ato  mt,"  ^    But  unto  21 
Israel  he  says,  ''  g,II  bag  long  ^ubt  S  spnab  fort^  mg  arms  ^  nnto 
a  trisabebicnt  antr  gainsagincj  people."  * 
The  Jews,  I  say,  then,  —  must  we*  think   that  God  has  cast  off  His  xi 

however,  are  t     o  c  no 

not  all  re-        people  ?  ®     That  be  far  from   us  ;    for  I  am  myself  also   an 

j acted;  those      i^       tr  '  j 

chris't'haJr"   Israelite,  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin. 
by  God  God  has  not  cast  off  His  people  whom  He  foreknew.     Yea,     2 

an(?onhr^the^'  ^now  yo  uot  what  is  said  in  the  Scriptures  of  Elias,  how  he 
portion  re-       intercedes  with  God  against  Israel,  saying,  **  ^Orb,  tl^ei)  ^abc     3 

killeiT  Cljg  propljtts,  anb  bigigcb  baton  Cljin^  altars,  anb 
J  onig  Ijabc  ken  Mt,  anb  tlj^g  seek  mg  lifje  also."  ^    But  what  says    4 
the  answer  of  God  to  him  ?    "  J  ^  Ijak  get  Idi  to  mgs^If  a  remnant,® 
tbm  Btbtn  tijonsanb  m^n,  Ixrljo  Ijabij  not  Ijotocb  tlje  hxu  to  §aal." 

So  likewise  at  this  present  time  there  is  a  remnant  [of  the  house  of     5 
Israel]  chosen  by  gift  of  grace.     But  if  their  choice  be  the  gift  of  grace,     6 
it  can  no  more  be  deemed  the  wage  of  works  ;  for  the  gift  that  is  earned 
is  no  gift :  or  if  it  be  gained  by  works,  it  is  no  longer  the  gift  of  grace  ; 
for  work  claims  ^'^  wages,  and  not  gifts.    What  follows  then  ?     That  which     7 

fill    phenomena    declare    the    glory  of   their  *  Is.  Ixv.  2  (LXX.). 

Creator.     There  seems  to  be  no  comparison  in  ^  The  particle  here  asks  a  question  expect- 

the  psalm  (as  some  have  thought)  between  the  ing  a  negative  answer  =  is  it  true  that  ?  must 

heavens  and  the  word  of  God.     St.  Paul   here  we  think  that?    Also  see  note  on  Gal.  iil.  21. 

quotes   the   Old  Testament   (as   he   so   often  ^  Alluding   to  Psalm  xciv.  14:  "Jehovah 

does),  not  in  i»s  primary  meaning,  but  apply-  shall  not  utterhj  rjist  out  his  people."     (LXX.) 

ing  it  in  a  higher  sense,  or  perhaps  only  as  a  No  doubt  St.  Paul's  antagonists  accused  him 

poetical  illustration.     As  to  the  assertion  of  of  "contradicting  this  prophecy, 

the  universal  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  Dean  ^  1  Kings  xix.  10.     (LXX.,  but  not  verba- 

,Alford  well  observes  that  it  is  not  made  in  a  tim.) 

geographical,  but  in  a  religious  sense.     The  Gos-  «  j  Kings  xix.  18,  more  nearly  according  to 

pel  was  now  preached  to  all  nations,  and  not  the  Hebrew  than  LXX. 

to  the  Jews  alone.  '  The  verb  corresponds  to  the  noun  in  the 

1  Deut.  xxxii.  21  (LXX.).  next  verse  and  in  ix.  27.     See  note  there. 

2  Is.  Ixv.  1  (LXX.  with  transposition).  i°  By  work  is  here  meant  work  which  earns 
8  The  metaphor  is  of  a  mother  opening  wages.     Compare  iv.  4-5.     The  latter  clause 

her  arms  to  call  back  her  child  to  her  embrace.       of  this  verse,  however,  is  omitted  by  the  best 
In  this  attitude  the  hands  are  spread  open,  and       MSS. 
hence  the  "  hands." 


572  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.xix. 

.    Israel  seeks,  Israel  has  not  won  ;  but  the  chosen  have  won  it,  and  the  rest 

8  were  blinded,  as  it  is  written,  "  ^0tr  ^allj  jgtbm  ll^^m  a  Bl^ixli  of 

slumhr,  tgcs  lljal  tljtg  s^anh  not  ^n,  aittr  tars  i)$Rt  ihtvf  sboxtltr 

9  noi  ^car,  nnta  l^b  trag."^    And  David  says,  "  'gd  lljnr  tMt  be 
mabii  a  sitart  aab  a  trap,  aittr  a  slumblmg-ljlnrk  antr  a  rtrompnst 

10  uttt0  tljtm.    f  £t  tijnr  tvt^  ht  trarbmtr  l^at  t^tg  mag  noi  Btt,  antr 
boto  botoiT  lljctr  bach  altoag."  ^ 

11  Shall  we  say,' then,  "  they  have  stumbled  to  the  end  that  ^^r  is  the 
they  miojht  fall  ? "     That  be  far  from  us ;    but  rather  their  [hi^unbeifev- 

Ing  Jews  final, 

stumbling  has  brought  salvation  to  the  Gentiles,  ''  lo*  pr0-  chide\hem 

and  their 

12  bohe  Israel  to  Jtalortsn/'     Now  if  their  stumbling  enriches  f^^^^J!^^^^^ 
the  world,  and  if  the  lessening  of  their  gain  gives  wealth  to  hnoGod^f" 

Church.    As 

the  Gentiles,  how  much  more  must  their  fulness  do  !  theGemne 

'  unbehevera 

13  For  to  you  who  are  Gentiles  I  say  that,  as  Apostle  of  the  beiLT  be'ln'^ 

y~  1  -r      ^       •  n  •     •  •/»!•  !•/>  i  T    grafted  into 

14  Gentiles,  I  gloriiy  my  ministration  for  this  end,  it  perchance  i  the  christian 

'"*'•'  '         r  Church,  which 

might  "  nrobolie  ia  ieakusg"  my  kinsmen,  and  save  some  IfrSfnautock 

1  -n        •  /»     1  ^  /»     1  •        1  •!  ^^  ^'^"^  Jewish 

15  among  them.     For  if  the  casting  of  them  out  is  the  reconcila-  church,  much 

"  more  would 

tion  of  the  world  [to  God] ,  what  must  the  gathering  of  them  beirever"°on 
in  be  but  life  from  the  dead  ?  grafted  anew 

into  that  stock 

16  Now,  if  the  first  of  the  dough  be  hallowed,'  the  whole  mass  fj;°™,''''i^'iJ* 

'  o  7  they  naa  been 

is  thereby  hallowed  ;  and  if  the  root  be  hallowed,  so  are  also  ^'■°'"'"  '*^- 

17  the  branches.     But  if  some  of  the  branches  were  broken  off,  and  thou 
being  of  the  wild  olive  stock  wast  grafted  in  amongst  them,  and  made  to 

18  share  the  root  and  richness  of  the  olive,  yet  boast  not  over  the  branches: 
but  —  if  thou  art  boastful — thou  bearest  not  the  root,  but  the  root  thee. 

19  Thou  wilt  say  then,  "  The  branches  were  broken  off  that  I  might  be 

20  grafted  in."     It  is  true, —  for  lack  of  faith  they  were  broken  off,  and  by 

21  faith  thou  standest  in  their  place :  be  not  high-minded,  but  fear ;  for  if 
God  spared  not  the  natural  branches,  take  heed  lest  He  also  spare  not 

1  This  quotation  seems  to  be  compounded  *  Deut.  xxxii.  21   (LXX.),  quoted  above, 
of  Deut.  xxix.  4,  and  Isaiah  xxix.  10  (LXX.),       ch.  x.  19. 

though  it  does  not  correspond  verbatim  with  ^  St.  Paul  alludes  to  the  heave-offering  pre- 

either.  scribed  Numbers  xv    20 :    "  Ye  shall  offer  up 

2  Ps.  Ixix.  23,  24  (LXX.  nearly  verbatim).  a  cake  of  the  Jirst  of  your  doughy  a.  heam- 
'  Literally,  I  say  then,  shall  we  conclude  that,  offering." 

Sx.    See  note  on  verse  1 . 


CHAP.  iix.  EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMAJSTS.  573 

xi. 

thee.     Behold,  therefore,  the  goodness  and  the  severity  of  God  ;  towards  22 

them  who  fell,  severity,  but  towards  thee,  goodness,  if  thou  continue 

steadfast  to  His  goodness ;  for  otherwise  thou  too  shalt  be  cut  off.     And  23 

they  also,  if  they  persist  not  in  their  faithlessness,  shall  be  grafted  in  : 

for  God  is  able  to  graft  them  in  where  they  were  before.     For  if  thou  24 

wast  cut  out  from  that  which  by  nature  was  the  wild  olive,  and  wast 

grafted  against  nature  into  the  fruitful  olive,  how  much  more  shall  these, 

the  natural  branches,  be  grafted  into  the  fruitful  stock  from  whence  they 

sprang ! 

i;.u8  God's  ^^^  ^  would  not  have  you  ignorant,  brethren,  of  this  mys-  25 

beinfnm  u)      tory,  lost  you  should  be  wise  in  your  own  conceits ;  that  blind- 
reject  any, but 
to  show  ness  has  fallen  upon  a  part  *  of  Israel  until  the  full  bodv  of 

mercy  upon  '■  '■  •' 

als^mpose"     the  Gentiles  shall  have  come  in.     And  so  all  Israel  shall  be   26 

has  been  to  44    ^      i        f  <xi'  t      ti 

ttfjeS^      ^^^^^'  ^^  ^*  ^^  written,       0?ut  of  ^lOn  sljall  COXiXt  tj)C  Qtllb-   27 

call  the  Gen-    txtx,  mxH  1{  sljall  turit  atoan  ungoblimss  from  Mucob. 

tiles  into  nis  '  to^  o  :*  ^  O 


SthfA^mi-  intr  this  xs  mn  cabtmni  toillj  Ibm." '    "Mhcn  |  sbll  28 

«ionofthe  _  ji     •  ♦  mi  ^  "' 

nn.Vit'he"'       ^^"'^^  afajag  lljfir  silts.  lu  respect  of  the  Glad-tidings, 


Jews  to  ac- 


cept Hi's  mes-    [that  it    might   be    borne    to    the  Gentiles],  they  are    God's 

nage,  that  all 

might  at  enemies  for  your  sakes  ;  but  in  respect  of  God's  choice,  thev 


length  receive 


His  mercy.  q^j.q  g  jg  bgiovcd  for  their  fathers'  sakes  :  for  no  change  of  pur-  29 
pose  can  annul  God's  gifts  and  call.  And  as  in  times  past  you  were  your-  3Q 
selves  *  disobedient  to  God,  but  have  now  received  mercy  upon  their  dis- 
obedience ;  so  in  this  present  time  they  have  been  disobedient,  that  upon  31 
your  obtaining  mercy  they  likewise  might  obtain  mercy.  For  God  has  32 
shut  up*  all  together  under  disobedience,  that  He  might  have  mercy  upon 
all.  0  depth  of  the  bounty,  and  the  wisdom  and  the  knowledge  of  God  !  33 
how  unfathomable  are  His  judgments,  and  how  unsearchable  His  paths !  34 

Yea,  "  Wilp  Ijallj  lumfon  il^t  mintr  of  tl^t  '§ot^,  or  bilp  Ijal^  hun 
gis  rouiTS^lIor  ? "  °   Or  "  M^o  ^atlj  first  Qibtn  nnia  ^ob,  lljat  Ij«  35 

1  For  the  phrase  used  here,  compare  2  Cor.       were  equivalent  to  unhdief,  which  it  is   not. 

i  \4,  2  Cor.  ii.  5,  Rom.  XV.  15.  Compare  i.  30  :    "  disobedient  to  parents."  '• 

2  Isaiah  lix.  20  (LXX.  almost  verbatim).  *  "  Shut  up."     Compare  Gal.  iii.  22. 

2  Isaiah  xxvii.  9  (LXX.  nearly  verbatim).  ^  Isaiah  xl.  13   (LXX.  nearly  verbatim). 

*   Throughout  this  passage  in  the  A.  V,,       Quoted  also  (omitting  the  middle  and  adding 
the  word  for  disobedience  is  translated  as  if  it       the  end  of  the  verse)  I  Cor.  ii.  16. 


574  THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST,   PAUL.  chap,  xi :. 

36   sl^oulb  ^it^txbt  a  Xttompmt?  "  ^     For  from  Him  is  the  beginning,  and 
by  Him  tlie  life,  and  in  Him  the  end  of  all  things. 
Unto  Him  be  glory  forever.     Amen. 

1  I  exhort  yon,  therefore,  brethren,  as  you  would  acknowledge  Exhortations 

.    .  .  _  -        to  the  content 

the  mercies  of  God,  to  offer  your  bodies  a  livmg  sacrmce,  holy  edan<i earner 

'  ''  performani;e 

and  well-pleasing  unto  God,  which  is  your  reasonable  ^  worship,  teiouging 'to' 

2  And  be  not  conformed  to  the  fashion  of  this '  world,  but  be  gifts  aud*"^^ 

callings,  and 

transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  mind,  that  by  an  unerr-  ^f  j^/^r^er** 
ing  test*  you  may  discern  the  will  of  God,  even  that  which  is  toobidi'enc'e'' 

to  the  civil 

8   good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect.     For  through  the  grace  be-  ^^^^i**^;^^};^** 
stowed  upon   me  [as   Christ's  Apostle],  I  warn   every  man  gj'ntrait"'' 
amonsr  vou  not  to  think  of  himself  more  highly  than  he  ought  love,'  as  com- 

°  •'  o      J  o         preheudingall 

to  think,  but  to  seek  a  sober  mind,  according  to  the  measure  nei^ghUr^AU 

4  of  faith  *  which  God  has  given  him.     For  as  we  have  many  should  be  per- 

formed  (xiii. 

limbs,  which  are  all  members  of  the  same  body,  though  they  ^,^;^^^ ''g^^'^" 

5  have  not  all  the  same  office ;  so  we  ourselves  are  all  *  one  body  Christy's 

6  in  Christ,  and  fellow-members  one  of  another  ;  but  we  have  ing. 

gifts  differing  according  to  the  grace  which  God  has  given  us.''     He  that 
has  the  gift  of  prophecy,  let  him  exercise  it  ^  according  to  the  proportion 

7  of  his  faith.     He  that  has  the  gift  of  ministration,  let  him  minister  ;  let 

8  the  teacher  labor  in  teaching ;    the  exhorter,  in  exhortation.     He  who 
gives,  let  him  give  in  singleness  of  mind.     He  who  rules,  let  him  rule 

9  diligently.     He  who  shows  pity,  let  him  show  it  gladly.     Let  your  love  be 

1  Job  xli.  11  (according  to  the  sense  of  the  The  expression  is  so  perplexing,  that  one  is 
Hebrew,  but  not  LXX.).  almost  tempted  to  conjecture  that  the  words 

2  Reasonable  worship,  as  contrasted  with  the  crept  into  the  text  here  by  mistake,  having 
unreasonable  worship  of  those  whose  faith  rest-  been  originally  a  marginal  explanation  of  "  the 
ed  only  on  outward  forms.     See  note  on  i.  9.  proportion  of  faith  "  just  below. 

8  See  note  on  1  Cor.  i.  20.  ^  Literally  "  the  many." 

*  See  note  on  ii.  18.  "^  The  construction  and  the  parallel  both 

5  "  Measure  of  faith  "  here  seems  (from  the  seem  to  require  a  comma  at  the  end  of  verse 

context  of  the  following  verses)  equivalent  to  5,  and  a  full  stop  in  the  middle  of  verse  6. 
"charism"  as  Chrysostom  takes  it.     The  par-  *  "We  think  it  better  to  take  these  elliptical 

ticular  talent  given  by  God  may  be  called  a  clauses  as  all   imperative   (with  the   A.  V.) 

mmsure  of  faith,  as  being  that  by  the  use  of  rather  than  to  consider  them  (with  l)e  Wette 

which  each  man's  faith  will  be  tried.     (Com-  and  others)  as  "descriptive  of  the  sphere  of 

pare,  as  to  the  verbal  expressions,  2  Cor.  x.  the  gift's  operation  "  up  to  a  certain  point, 

13.)     This  explanation  is,  perhaps,  not  very  and  then  passing  into  the  imperative.     The 

satisfactory;   but   to   understand   measure  as  participles   in  verses  9,  16,  and  17,  seem  to 

meaning  amount  is  still  less  so,  for  a  double  refute  De  "Wette's  arguments. 
fjif},  of  prophecy  did  not  imply  a  double  faith. 


CHAP.  XIX.  EPISTLE  TO   THE  EOilANS.  575 

without  feiguing.     Abhor  that  which  is  evil ;  cleave  to  that  which  is  good.     .. 
Be  kindly  affectioned  one  to  another  in  brotherly  love ;  in  honor  let  each   10 
set  his  neighbor  above  hiuiself.     Let  your  diligence  be  free  from  sloth,  let   11 
your  spirit  grow  with  zeal ;  be  true  bondsmen  of  your  Lord.     In  your   12 
hope  be  joyful ;  in  your  sufferings  be  steadfast ;  in  your  prayers  be  un- 
wearied.    Be  liberal  to  the  needs  of  the  saints.     And  show  hospitality  1 3,  i 
to   the   stranger.     Bless   your  persecutors  ;   yea,  bless,  and   curse  not.   15 
Rejoice  with  them  that  rejoice,  and  weep  with  them  that  weep.     Be  of  16 
one  mind  amongst  yourselves.     Set  not  your  heart  on  high  things,  but 
suffer  yourselves  to  be  borne  along  ^  with  the  lowly.     Be  not  wise  in  your 
own  conceits.     Repay  no  man  evil  for  evil.     **  ^e  probibtltt  of  QQOlU   17 

Xt^axt  In  il^Z  Sigljt  nf  all  mm,"  *  if  it  be  possible,  as  far  as  lies  in  18 
yourselves,  keep  peace  with  all  men.  Revenge  not  yourselves,  beloved,  19 
but  give  place  to  the  wrath  [of  God]  ;  ^  for  it  is  written,  **  Wm^tKUU  IB 

warn;  3  torll rcpag,  saillj  i^t  l^ortr.'"'  Therefore,  *'  |f  tijinc  mmxv  20 
Ijun^tr,  fwi)  Ijim ;  if  l^t  lljirsl,  Qibz  Ijim  brhxk ;  for,  iit  so  bouxcj, 

tij0U  sljalt  Ij^apf  COrIs  ai  finup01t  IjtS  ^eatr."*  Be  not  overcome  by  21 
evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good.  •.. 

Let  every  man  submit  himself  to  the  authorities  of  government ;  for  all     1 
authority  comes  from  God,  and  the  authorities  which  now  are  have  been 
set  in  their  place  by  God  :  therefore,  he  who  sets  himself  against  the  au-     2 
thority  resists    the  ordinance  of  God  ;    and  they  who  resist  will  bring 
judgment  upon  themselves.     For  the  magistrate  is  not  terrible  to  good     3 
works,®  but  to  evil.     Wilt  thou  be  fearless  of  his  authority  ?  do  what  is 
good,  and  thou  shalt  have  its  praise.     For  the  magistrate  is  God's  minis-     4 
ter  to  thee  for  good.     But  if  thou  art  an  evil  doer,  be  afraid  ;  for  not  by 
chance  does  he  bear  the  sword  [of  justice],  being  a  minister  of  God,  ap- 


1  This  is  the  literal  translation.  melting  of  metals.     It  is  obvious  that  "  thou 

2  This  is  a  quotation  nearly  verbatim  from  shalt  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his  head "   could 
Prov.  iii.  4  (LXX.).    See  note  on  2  Cor.  viii.  21.  never  have  meant  "  thou  shalt  destroy  him  ;  " 

3  Such  is  the  interpretation  of  Chrysostom,  because  to  feed  an  enemy  could  in  no  sense 
and  is  supported  by  the  ablest  modern  inter-  destroy  him. 

prcters.     For  "  wrath  "  in  this  sense,  compare  ^  We  must  remember  that  this  was  written 

Rom.  V.  9,  1  Thess.  ii.  16.  before  the  Imperial  Government  had  begun  to 

••  Deut.  xxxii.  35  (LXX.,  but  not  verba-  persecute  Christianity.     It  is  a  testimony  in 

tim)  ;  see  note  on  Heb.  x.  30.  favor  of   the  general   administration  of   the 

''  Prov.  XXV.  21  (LXX.).    There  can  be  lit-  Roman  criminal  law. 
tie  djQubt  that  the  metaphor  is  taken  from  the 


576  THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLESv  OF   ST.    PACL.  chap.  xia. 

xiii. 

5  pointed  to  do  vengeance  upon  the  guilty.     Wherefore  you  must  needs 

6  submit,  not  only  for  fear,  but  also  for  conscience'  sake  ;  for  this  also  is  the 
cause  why  you  pay  tribute,  because  the  authorities  of  government  are 

7  officers  of  God's  will,  and  this  is  the  very  end  of  their  daily  work.  Pay, 
therefore,  to  all  their  dues  ;  tribute  to  whom  tribute  is  due  ;  customs  to 

8  whom  customs ;  fear  to  whom  fear  ;  honor  to  whom  honor.  Owe  no  debt 
to  any  man,  save  the  debt  of  love  alone  ;  for  he  who  loves  his  neighbor 

9  has  fulfilled  the  law.  For  the  law  which  says,  ''  CIjOU  sljalt  not  com- 
mit atrult^rg ;  CIjow  sfjalt  ^a  na  mur^^r ;  CIjoix  sljalt  not  steal ; 
C^0u  sljalt  not  bar  fals^  toitness  ;  CIjou  s^alt  not  cabd  "  ^  (and 

whatsoever  other  commandment  there  be),  is  all  contained  in  this  one 

10  saying,  **  ^Ijou  sljalt  lofaf^  tljg  migljbor  as  tljgS^If."  ^     Love  works 
no  ill  to  his  neighbor  ;  therefore  Love  is  the  fulfilment  of  the  Law. 

11  This  do,  knowing  the  season  wherein  we  stand,  and  that  for  us  it  is  high 
time  to  awake  out  of  sleep,  for  our  salvation  is  already  nearer  than  when 

12  vve  first  believed.     The  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at  hand  ;  let  us  there- 
lore  cast  off  the  works  of  darkness,  and  let  us  put  on  the  armor  of  light. 

13  Let  us  walk  (as  in  the  light  of  day)  in  seemly  guise  ;  not  in  rioting  and 
drunkenness,  not  in  dalliance  and  wantonness,  not  in  strife  and  envying. 

14  But  clothe  yourselves  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  take  no  thought  to 
please  your  fleshly  lusts. 

1  Him  who  is  weak  in  his  faith  receive  into  your  fellowship,  uanrwho"tm 

clung  to  su- 

2  imposing  no   determinations  of   doubtful  questions.*      Some  p^rstitious 
have  faith  that  they  may  eat  all  things  :  others,  who  are  weak,*  meats  and 

3  eat  herbs  alone.     Let  not  him  who  eats  despise  him  who  ab-  be  treated 

•*  ^  with  uidul- 

stains,  nor  lot  him  who  abstains  judge  him  who  eats,  for  God  Ifor'Jfe^iu^- 

4  has  received  him    among*  His  people.     Who  art  thou,  that  shouui treat 

1  Exod.  XX.  13-17  (LXX.).  altogether.     Thus  Josephus  (Life,  §  3,  quoted 

2  Levit.  xix.  18  (LXX.).  by  Tholuck)   mentions   some  Jewish   priests 

*  Literally,  not  acting  so  as  to  make  distinc-  who,  from  such  conscientious  scruples,  ab- 
tions  [oT  determinatiouil  which  belong  to  disputa-  stained  while  prisoners  in  Rome  from  all  ani- 
lious  reasonings.  The  same  word  is  used  in  mal  food.  So  Daniel  and  his  fellow-captives 
Phil.  ii.  14.  in  Babylon  refused  the  king's  meat  and  wine, 

*  These  were  probably  Christians  of  Jew-  and  ate  pulse  alone,  that  they  might  not  defilo 
ish  birth,  who  so  feared  lest  they  should  (with-  themselves  (Dan.  i.  8-12).  The  tone  and 
out  knowing  it)  eat  meat  which  had  been  precepts  of  this  14th  chapter  of  the  Epistle 
offered  to  idols  or  was  otherwise  ceremonially  correspond  with  1  Cor.  viii. 

unclean  (which  might  easily  happen  in  such  a  ^  Literally,  received  him  unto  Himself. 

place  as  Home),  that  they  abstained  from  meat 


cii.vp.xix.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  EOMANS.  577 

each  other       mdo-est  another's  servant  ?     To  his  own  master  he  niust  stand 

with  chantv.      •'        O 


with  charity, 

ZDPl 


{rovl7on-^^      or  fall ;  but  he  shall  be  made   to  stand,  for  God  is  able  to 


Jemning  one 

another,         get  him  up.      There   are   some  who    esteem  one  day  above     » 

whether  JewB  -"^  •' 

"h)?e*'chri8t     another ;  and  again  there  are  some  who  esteem  all  days  alike  ;  * 
both'into  His    let  each  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind.     He  who  regards     * 

favor  as  their 

common         ^-^q  ^^y  regards  it  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  he  who  regards  it  not, 
disregards  it  unto  the  Lord.^    He  who  eats,  eats  unto  the  Lord,  for  he 
gives  God  thanks  ;  and  he  who  abstains,  abstains  unto  the  Lord,  and  gives 
thanks  to  God  hkewise.     For  not  unto  himself  does  any  one  of  us  either     * 
live  or  die  ;  but  whether  we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord,  or  whether  we     ^ 
die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord  ;  therefore,  living  or  dying,  we  are  the  Lord's. 
For  to  this  end  Christ  died,  and^  lived  again,  that  He  might  be  Lord  both     ^ 
of  the  dead  and  of  the  living.     But  thou,  why  judgest  thou  thy  brother  ?   1® 
Or  thou,  why  despisest  thou  thy  brother  ?  for  we  shall  all  stand  before  the  H 
judgment-seat  of  Christ.     And  so  it  is  written,  ''  ^S  J  to,  sail^  il^t 

f  0rtr,  ^b^rg  knn  sl^all  boto  ta  me,  anb  tbtx^  iaixQm  s^all  arknotol- 

tiiQt  ^0^^.  "*     So,  then,  every  one  of  us  shall  give  account  to  God  [not   1^ 
of  his  brethren,  but]  of  himself.     Let  us,  then,  judge  each  other  no  more,   1^ 
but  let  this  rather  be  your  judgment,  to  put  no  stumbling-block  or  cause 
of  falling  in  your  brother's  way.     I  know  and  am  persuaded  in  the  Lord   1^ 
.Jesus,  that  nothing  is  in  itself  unclean  ;  but  whatever  a  man  thinks  un- 
clean is  unclean  to  him.     And  if  for  meat  thou  grievest  thy  brother,  thou  15 
liast  ceased  to  walk  by  the  rule  of  love.     Destroy  not  him  with  thy  meat 
for  whom  Christ  died. 

1  say,  then,  let  not  your  good  be  evil  spoken  of.*    For  the  kingdom  of  I8,il 
God  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Soly  Spirit ;  and  he  who  lives  in  these  things  as  Christ's  bondsman  is  18 
well-pleasing  to  God,  and  cannot  be  condemned  ®  by  men.     Let  us  there-  1^ 
fore  follow  the  things  which  make  for  peace,  such  as  may  build  us  up 

^  Compare  Col.  ii.  16.    Dean  Alford  has  '  "Rose  again"  is   omitted  by  t&e   bert 

an  excellent  note  on  this  Terse.     [Here,  as  at  MSS. 

Gal.  iv.  10,  we  may  refer  to  the  additional  note  *  Isaiah  xlv.  23  (LXX.  not  accurately,  bat 

on  Col.  ii.  16.  — H.]  apparently  from  memory). 

2  This  negative  clause  is  omitted  by  the  ^  Compare  1  Cor.  x.  29. 

majority  of  MSS.,  but  is  sanctioned  by  Chrya-  ^  Literally,  is  capable  of  standing  any  test  to 

ostom  and  other  fathers,  and  retained  in  the       tohich  he  may  be  put. 

text  by  Tischendorf :  Griesbacb  and  Lachmann 

'imit  it. 

87 


578  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xix. 

•     together  into  one.     Destroy  not  thou  the  work  of  God  for  a  meal  of  meat. 

20  All  things  indeed  [in  themselves]  are  pure ;  but  to  him  that  eats  with 

21  stumbling  all  is  evil.     It  is  good  neither  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  ^  wine, 
nor  to  do  any  "^  other  thing,  whereby  thy  brother  is  made  to  stumble.* 

22  Hast  thou  faith  [that  nothing  is  unclean]  ?  keep  it  for  thine  own  comfort 

23  before  God.     Happy  is  he  who  condemns  not  himself  by  his  own  judg- 
^^    ment.*     But  he  who  doubts  is  thereby  condemned  if  he  eats,  because  he 

1  has  not  faith**  that  he  may  eat ;  and  every  faithless  deed  ®  is  sin.  And  we, 
who  are  strong,^  ought  to  bear  the  infirmities  of  the  weak,  and  not  to 

2  please  ourselves.     Let  each  of  us  please  his  neighbor  for  good  ends,  to 

3  build  him  up.  For  so  ®  Christ  pleased  not  Himself,  but  in  Him  was  ful- 
filled that  which  is  written,  '*  ^\t  r^proacljijs  of  tlj^m  ifjat  Xt^xa'3,z\t)i 

4  ^tt  itW  U^au  XCizJ'  ^  For  our  instruction  is  the  end  of  all  which  was 
written  of  old ;  that  by  steadfast  endurance,  and  by  the  counsel  of  the 

5  Scriptures,  we  may  hold  fast  our  hope.     Now  may  God,  from  whom  both 

6  counsel  and  endurance  come,  grant  you  to  be  of  one  mind  together,  ac- 
cording to  the  will  of  Christ,  that  you  may  all  [both  strong  and  weak], 
with  one  heart  and  voice,  glorify  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 

7  Christ.  Wherefore,  receive  one  another  into  fellowship,  to  the  glory  of 
God,  even  as  Christ  also  received  you.^" 

8  For  ^^  I  say  that  Jesus  Christ  came  to  be  a  minister  of  the  circumcision, 

9  to  maintain  the  truthfulness  of  God,  and  confirm  the  promises  made  to 
our  fathers ;  and  that  the  Gentiles  should  praise  God  for  His  mercy,  as  it 

is  written,  ''  Jfor  tijxs  txixist  J  toill  atknotoli^irfl^^  i\tz  KvaQn%i\z  (^tn- 

1  This  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  any  '  Literally,  he  eats  not  from  faith. 

of  the  weaker  brethren  actually  did  scruple  to  ®  Literally,  every  deed  which  sprinrjs  not  from. 

drink  wine  ;  it  may  be  put  only  hypothetically.  faith  [that  it  is  a  right  deed]  is  sin. 

But  it  is  possible  that  they  may  have  feared  to  ''  Literally,  "  We  the  strong."     St.  Paul 

taste  wine,  part  of  which  had  been  poured  in  here  addresses   the  same  party  whom  he  so 

libation  to  idols.     Daniel  (in  the  passage  above  often  exhorts  to  patience    and    forbearance; 

referred  to)  refused  wine.  those  who  called  themselves  "  the  spiritual  " 

2  It  is  strange  that  no  critic  has  hitherto  (Gal.  vi.  1,  1  Cor.  iii.  1),  and  boasted  of  their 
proposed  the  simple  emendation  of  reading  h>  "knowledge  "  (1  Cor.  viii.  1).     See  p.  390. 
instead  of  ev,  which  avoids  the  extreme  awk-  "^  The  "  even  "  of  A.  V.  is  not  in  the  origi- 
wardncss  of   the  elllyjsis  necessitated  by  the  nai.     "  For  Christ  also  "  is  the  literal  English. 
Received   Text.      Compare  John  i.  3.     The  »  Ps.  Ixix.  9  (LXX.). 

construction  of   the  last  clause  is  similar  to  i"  "You"  (not  "us")  is  the  reading  of  thef 

Uiat  in  ix.  32.  best  MSS. 

*  We  adopt  the  reading  sanctioned  by  Tis-  "  The  reading  of  the  MSS.  is  "  for,"  not 
chendorf,  which  omits  one  or  two  words.  "  but  " 

*  See  note  on  ii.  18 


CHAP.  XII.  EPISTLE  TO   THE  ROMANS.  579 

XV. 

tiles,  anb  toill  siitrj  mxta  l^g  nam^/'  ^    And  again  it  is  said,  *'  ^fijoia,  lo 
ge  (f^mlHes,  toitlj  gis  pc0pb ;  " '  and  again,  ''  ^rais^  1^^  iTnrtr,  all  ii 

ge  03mtxkB,  ailb  lautr  gxm,  all  gC  popks  ;  "^  and  again  Esaias  saith, 

*'  ^l^zxi  sljall  camt  Ifjc  r00l  of  lesst,  aixtr  [js  lljat  sljall  rise  I0  mgit  12 
ober  tlje  ^eixiilcs  :  itt  ^im  s^all  tlje  6eitltles  ^ope/"*    Now  may  the  13 

(xod  of  hope*  fill  you  with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  that  you  may 
abound  in  hope,  through  the  mighty  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
et.  Paul  gives       -^^^^  ^  ^^  persuaded,  my  brethren,  not  only  by  the  reports   14 
uo^EsboMiyto  of  others,^  but  by  my  own  judgment,  that  you  are  already  full 

tlie  Roman 

cbnstians,  as   of  gooduess,  filled  with  all  knowledge,  and  able,  of  yourselves, 
GMtfiifs^^ne  to  admonish  one  another.     Yet  I  have  written  to  you  some-   15 

intends  soon  iiti.  t  i-    i>     t  •      ■>  -%  '     t  r-        ^ 

to  visit  them     what  Doldly  m  parts  ^  [oi  this  letter] ,  to  remmd  you  [rather 
bad'airerdy*"^   tliau   to   teacli  you] ,   because   of  that   gift  of  grace   which   16 
ApostoUc  *     God    bestowed    upon    me    that  I   should   be   a  minister  of 

commission 

in  the  eastern   Jesus   Christ   to  tlic   Gentilcs,  scrving    in    the    Glad-tidings 

parts  of  the  70  o 

a^tCfleM^*""  of  God,  that   I   might   present   the   Gentiles   to    God,  as   a 

was  not  occu-  .  i  /v.      •         a  •/»  ii         i  • 

pied  by  other    pricst  prcscuts  the  offering,''  a  sacrifice  well   pleasing   unto 
f^er^'h^e^must    Him,  hallowcd  by  the  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit.     I  have   17 
^m 'to  convey  therefore  the  power  of  boasting  in  Christ  Jesus,  concerning 

the  Greek 

thither ^n*^"^    the  thiugs  of  God  ;  for  I  will  not  dare  [as  some  do]  to  glorify   13 
d^^rswhich  myself  for  the  labors  of  others,"  but  I  will  speak  only  of  the 

he  expects  to  i  i  .    ■.      z^i     .        ••  i        i  i     •  i        /-<  -i 

meet  there.      woi'ks  whicli  Christ  has  wrouglit  by  me,  to  bring  the  Gentiles 
to  obedience,  by  word  and  deed,  with  the  might  of  signs  and  wonders,   19 
the   might    of    the   Spirit   of    God ;    so  that  going   forth   from   Jeru- 
salem, and  round  about  as  far  as  ^"  Illyricum,  I  have  fulfilled  my  task  in 
bearing  the  Glad-tidings  of  Christ.     And  my  ambition  was  to  bear  it   20 

1  Ps.  xviii.  49  (LXX.).  but  that  this  is  already  expressed  in  "  some- 

2  Dent,   xxxii.  43  (LXX.).     See  note  on      what    boldly."      The  word    "brethren"    is 
ix.  25.  omitted  in  the  best  MSS. 

3  Ps.  cxvii.  1  (LXX.).  *  Literally,  "a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  unto 
*  Isaiah  xi.  10  (LXX.).  the  Gmtiles,a  priest  presenting  an  offering  in 
s  The  reference  of  this  to  the  preceding      respect  of  the  Glad-tidings  of  God,  that  the  Gen- 

.juotation  is  lost  in  A.  V.  through  the  trans-  tUes  might  be  offered  up  as  an  offering  weU  pleas- 

iation  of  the  verb  and  noun  for  "  hope"  by  ing  unto  Him."    The  same  thing  is  said  under 

''  hope  "  and  "  trust  "  respectively.  a  somewhat  different  metaphor,  2  Cor.  xi.  2. 

•5  Observe  the  force  of  the  "  I  myself  also."  ^  Compare  2  Cor.  x.  15,  the  whole  of  which 

"  For  the  meaning  here,  see  2  Cor,  i.  14,  passage  is  parallel  to  this. 

2  Cor.  ii.  5.    It  might  here  be  translated  in  some  ^^  See  the  remarks  on  this  in  Chap.  XVil 

measure  (as  Neander  proposes,  compare  v.  24),  p.  514. 


580  THE  LITE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.  PAUL.  chap  xix. 

according  to  this  rule,  [that  I  should  go] ,  not  where  the  name  of  Christ 

21  was  known  (lest  I  should  he  huilding  on  another  man's  foundation),  but 
[where  it  was  unheard]  ;  as  it  is  written,  ''  C0  lxrlj0m  ^f)t  toas  not 

spahtn  of,  llj^g  sljall  Btz ;  ait!tr  i^t  popk  tol^o  ^afa^  not  l^tnxti  sljad 
unltr^rstanltr/'^ 

22  This  is  the  cause  why  I  have  often  been  hindered  from  coming  to  you. 

23  But  now  that  I  have  no  longer  room  enough   [for  my  labors]   in  these 

24  regions,  and  have  had  a  great  desire  to  visit  you  these  many  years,  so 
soon  as  I  take  my  journey  into  Spain  I  will  come  to  you  ;  ^  for  I  hope  to 
see  you  on  my  way,  and  to  be  set  forward  on  my  journey  thither  by  you, 

25  after  I  have  in  some  measure  satisfied  my  desire  of  your  company.  But 
now  I  am  going  to  Jerusalem,  being  employed  ^  in  a  ministration  to  the 

26  saints.  For  the  provinces  of  Macedonia  and  Achaia  have  willingly 
undertaken  to  make  a  certain  contribution  for  the  poor  among  the  saints 

27  in  Jerusalem.  Willingly,  I  say,  they  have  done  this  ;  and  indeed  they 
are  their  debtors  ;  for  since  the  Gentiles  have  shared  in  the  spiritual 
goods  of  the  brethren  in  Jerusalem,  they  owe  it  in  return  to  minister  to 

28  them  in  their  earthly  goods.  When,  therefore,  I  have  finished  this  task, 
and  have  given  to  them  in  safety  the  fruit  of  this  collection,  I  will  come 

29  from  thence,  by  you,  into  Spain.     And  I  am  sure  that  when  I  come  to 

30  you,  my  coming  will  receive  the  fulness*  of  Christ's^  blessing.  But  I 
beseech  you,  brethren,  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  the  love  which 
the  Spirit  gives,  to  help  me  in  my  conflict  with  your  prayers  to  God  on 

31  my  behalf,  that  I  may  be  delivered  from  the  disobedient  in  Judaea,  and 
that  the  service  which  I  have  undertaken  for  Jerusalem  may  be  favorably 

32  received  by  the  Saints  ;  that  so  I  may  come  to  you  in  joy,  by  God's  will, 

33  '"and  may  be  refreshed  in  your  companionship.     The  God  of  peace  be  with 
.   you  all.     Amen. 

1  I  comniend  to  you  Phoebe  our  sister,  who  is'  a  ministering  ^^®°^*" 

2  servant  of  the  Church  at  Cenchrea;  that  you  may  receive  rStioM*to 

1  Isaiah  lii.  15  (LXX.).  *  Literally,  I  shall  come  in  the  fulness,  &c. 

'  This  "  I  will  come  to  you "  is  probably  *  '•  Grospel "    is   not    in    any  of  the  beet, 

an  inteqjolation,  as  it  is  omitted  by  the  best  MSS. 

MSS. ;    but  it  makes  no  difference    in    the  '  Aiokovov  (Deaconess).    See  p.  379,  a.  7 ; 

sense.  also  p.  381,  n.  1. 

'  The  present  participle,  not  (as  in  A.  V.) 
the  future. 


XVI 


CHAP.  XIX. 


EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS. 


581 


nmnerous       her  in  the  Lord,  as  the  saints  should  receive  one  another,  and 

Roman  Chris-  '  ' 

^^^^-  aid  her  in  any  business  *  wherein  she  needs  your  help  ;  for 

she  has  herself  aided  many,  and  me  also  among  the  rest. 

Greet  Priscilla  and  Aquila,^  my  fellow-laborers  in  the  work  of  Christ 
Jesus,  who,  to  save  my  life,  laid  down  their  own  necks  ;  who  are  thanked, 
not  by  me  alone,  but  by  all  the  Churches  of  the  Gentiles.  Greet  like- 
wise the  Church  which  assembles  at  their  house. 

Salute  Epaenetus  my  dearly-beloved,  who  is  the  first-fruits  of  Asia' 
unto  Christ. 

Salute  Mary,  who  labored  much  for  me. 

Salute  Andronicus  and  Junias,  my  kinsmen  and  fellow-prisoners,*  who 
are  well  known  among  the  Apostles,  and  who  were  also  in  Christ  before 
me. 

Salute  Amplias,  my  dearly-beloved  in  the  Lord. 

Salute  Urbanus,  my  fellow-workman  in  Christ's  service,  and  Stachys 
my  dearly-beloved. 


XVI 

3 


^  From  the  use  of  legal  terms  here,  it  would 
seem  that  the  business  on  which  Phoebe  was 
visiting  Rome  was  connected  with  some  trial 
at  law. 

^  The  most  ancient  MSS.  read  Prisca  for 
Priscilla  here;  the  names  being  the  same. 
Concerning  these  distinguished  Christians,  see 
p.  336.  When  and  where  they  risked  their 
lives  for  St.  Paul,  we  know  not,  but  may  con- 
jecture at  Ephesus.  We  see  here  that  they  had 
returned  to  Rome  (whence  they  had  been  driven 
by  the  edict  of  Claudius)  from  Ephesus,  where 
we  left  them  last.  It  is  curious  to  observe  the 
wife  mentioned  first,  contrary  to  ancient  usage. 
Throughout  this  chapter  we  observe  instances 
ef  courtesy  towards  women  suflBcient  to  refute 
the  calumnies  of  a  recent  infidel  writer,  who 
accuses  St.  Paul  of  speaking  and  feeling 
coarsely  in  reference  to  women ;  we  cannot  but 
add  our  astonishment  that  the  same  writer 
should  complain  that  the  standard  of  St.  Paul's 
ethics,  in  reference  to  the  sexual  relations,  is 
not  sufficiently  elevated,  while  at  the  same  time 
he  considers  the  instincts  of  the  German  race 
to  have  first  introduced  into  the  world  the  true 
morality  of  these  relations.  One  is  inclined  to 
ask  whether  the  present  facility  of  divorce  in 
Germany  is  a  legitimate  development  of  the 


Teutonic  instinct ;  and  if  so,  whether  the  law 
of  Germany,  or  the  law  of  our  Saviour  (Mark 
X.  12),  enforced  by  St.  Paul  (1  Cor.  vii.  10),  ex- 
presses the  higher  tone  of  morality,  and  tends 
the  more  to  elevate  the  female  sex. 

*  Asia,  not  Achaia,  is  the  reading  of  the 
best  MSS.  Compare  p.  349,  note  2.  The 
province  of  proconsular  Asia  is  of  course 
meant. 

*  When  were  they  St.  Paul's  fellow-pris- 
oners 1  Probably  in  some  of  those  imprison- 
ments not  recorded  in  the  Acts,  to  which  he 
alludes  2  Cor.  xi.  23.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
in  calling  them  his  "  kinsmen  "  St.  Paul  means 
that  they  were  really  related  to  him,  or  only 
that  they  were  Jews.  (Compare  Rom.  ix.  3.) 
The  latter  supposition  seems  improbable,  be- 
cause Aquila  and  Priscilla,  and  others  in  this 
chapter,  mentioned  without  the  epithet  of  kins- 
men, were  certainly  Jews ;  yet,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  seems  unlikely  that  so  many  of  St. 
Paul's  relations  as  are  here  called  "  kinsmen" 
(verses  7,  11,21)  should  be  mentioned  in  a 
single  chapter.  Perhaps  we  may  take  a  middle 
course,  and  suppose  the  epithet  to  denote  that 
the  persons  mentioned  were  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin. 


582  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.xlx, 

xvi. 

10  Salute  Apelles,  who  has  been  tried  and  found  trustworthy  in  Christ's 
work. 

Salute  those  who  are  of  the  household  of  Aristobulus.^ 

11  Salute  Herodion,  my  kinsman. 

Salute  those  of  the  household  of  Narcissus  ^  who  are  in  the  Lord's  fel- 
lowship. 

12  Salute  Tryphena  and  Tryphosa,  the  faithful  laborers  in  the   Lord's 
service. 

Salute    Persis    the    dearly-beloved,  who    has  labored  much  in  the 
Lord. 

13  Salute  Rufus,'  the  chosen  in  the  Lord  and  his  mother,  who  is  also 
mine. 

14  Salute    Asyncritus,  Phlegon,   Hermas,  Patrobas,  Hermes,  and    the 
brethren  who  are  with  them. 

15  Salute  Philologus,  and  Julia,  Nereus  and  his  sister,  and  Olympas,  and 
all  the  saints  who  are  with  them. 

16  Salute  one  another  with  the  kiss  of  holiness.* 
The  Churches  of  Christ  [in  Achaia]  salute  you. 

17  I  exhort  you,  brethren,  to  keep  your  eyes  upon  those  who  warning 

against  self- 

cause   divisions,   and   cast   stumblinsr-blocks    in   the  way   of  interested 

'  c  •'  partisans. 

others,  contrary  to   the   teaching  which  you   have  learned. 

18  Shun  them  that  are  such ;  for  the  master  whom  they  serve  is  not  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  their  own  belly  :  and  by  their  fair  speaking  and 

19  flattery  they  deceive  the  hearts  of  the  guileless.     I  say  this,  because  the 


^  This  Aristobulus  was  probably  the  great-  this  Epistle  was    written  :    the  other  w?jj  a 

grandson  of  Herod  the  Great,  mentioned  by  favorite  of  Nero's,  and  is  probably  the  peison 

Josephus  and  Tacitus,  to  whom  Nero  in  a.  d.  here  named.     Some  of  his  slaves  or  freeQmen 

55  gave  the  government  of  Lesser  Armenia.  had  become  Christians.     This   Narcissus  was 

He  had  very  likely  lived  previously  at  Rome,  put  to  death  by  Galba  (Dio.  Ixiv.  3). 

and  may  still  have  kept  up  an  establishraent  "  St.  Mark   (xv.  21)  mentions   Simoii   of 

there,  or  perhaps  had  not  yet  gone  to  his  gov-  Gyrene  as  "  the  father  of  Alexander  and  Ru- 

ernment.      See  Tae.  Ann.  xiii.  7,  and  Joseph.  fus ;  "  the  latter,  therefore,  was  a  Christian  ^ell 

Avt.  XX.  5.  known  to  those  for  whom  St.  Mark  wrote,  and 

-  There  were  two  eminent  persons  of  the  probably  is  the  same  here  mentioned,      it  is 

name  of  Narcissus  at  Rome  about  this  time ;  gratifying  to  think   that  she  whom  St.  i*aul 

one    the    well-known    favorite    of    Claudius  mentions  here  with  such   respectful   affe».tion 

(Suet.  C/a»(/.  28,  Tac.J^nn.  xii.  57,  65,  xiii.  1),  was  the  wife  of  that   Simon  who  bort  our 

who  was  put  to  death  by  Nero,  a.  d.  54,  soon  Saviour's  cross. 

after  the  death  of  Claudius,  and  therefore  before  *  See  note  on  1  Thess.  v.  26 


CHAP.  XIX. 


EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS. 


>S3 


tidings  of  your  obedience  have  been  told  throughout  the  world.     On  your 
own  behalf,  therefore,  I  rejoice  :  but  I  wish  you  not  only  to  be  simple  in 
respect  of  evil,  but  to  be  wise  for  good.     And  the  God  of  peace  shall  20 
bruise  Satan  under  your  feet  speedily. 

The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you. 
Salutations  Timothcus,  my  fellow-laborer,  and  Lucius,  and  Jason,^  and  21 

from  Chi-is- 

corfnth  to       Sosipatcr,^  my  kinsmen,  salute  you. 

Eome**  I)  Tertius,  who  have  written  this  letter,  salute  you  in  the   22 

Lord. 

Gaius,^  who  is  the  host,  not  of  me  alone,  but  also  of  the  whole  Church,  23 
salutes  you. 

Erastus,*  the  treasurer  of  the  city,  and  the  brother  Quartus,  salute 


you. 

Autograph 
conclusion. 


24 


The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  all. 
Now  I  commend  you  ^  unto  Him  who  is  able  to  keep  you  steadfast,  25 

according  to  my  Glad-tidings,  and  the  preaching  ®  of  Jesus  Christ 

whereby  is  unveiled  the  mystery  which  was  kept  secret  in  eternal  times ' 
of  old,  but  has  now  been  brought  to  light,  and  made  known  to  all  the  26 
Gentiles  by  the  Scriptures  of  the  Prophets,  by  command  of  the  eternal 
God ;   that   the  Gentiles  might  be  led  to  the  obedience   of  faith 


^  Jason  is  mentioned  as  a  Thessalonian, 
Acts  xvii.  5;  he  had  probably  accompanied 
St.  Paul  from  Thessalonica  to  Corinth. 

^  Sosipater  is  mentioned  as  leaving  Corinth 
with  St.  Paul,  soon  after  this  epistle  was  writ- 
ten (Acts  XX.  4). 

^  This  Gaius  (or  Caius)  is  no  doubt  the 
same  mentioned  (1  Cor.  i.  14)  as  baptized  at 
Corinth  by  St.  Paul  with  his  own  hands.  In 
Acts  XX.  4  we  find  "  Gaius  of  Derbe  "  leaving 
Corinth  with  St.  Paul,  soon  after  Ae  writing 
of  this  Epistle,  but  this  may  perhaps  have  been 
a  different  person ;  although  this  is  not  certain, 
considering  how  the  Jews  migrated  from  one 
place  to  another,  of  which  Aquila  and  Priscilla 
are  an  obvious  example. 

*  Erastus  is  again  mentioned  (as  stopping 
at  Corinth)  in  2  Tim.  iv.  20.  Probably  the 
same  Erastus  who  went  with  Timotheus  from 
Ephesus  to  Macedonia,  on  the  way  towards 
Corinth  (Acts  xix.  22). 

^  If  we  retain  the  "  to  whom  "  in  verse  27 


(with  the  great  majority  of  MSS.)  we  must 
supply  "  I  commend  "  or  something  equivalent 
here,  or  else  leave  the  whole  passage  anaco- 
luthical.  Examples  of  a  similar  commendation 
to  God  at  the  conclusion  of  a  letter  or  speech 
are  frequent  in  St.  Paul.  Compare  1  Thess. 
V.  23,  2  Thess.  ii.  16,  and  especially  the  con 
elusion  of  the  speech  (so  nearly  contempora 
neous  with  this  Epistle)  at  Miletus,  Acts  xx. 
32.  The  complicated  and  involved  construc- 
tion reminds  us  of  the  Salutation  commencing 
this  Epistle,  and  of  Eph.  i. 

^  Literally,  proclamation. 

''  Meaning,  probably,  the  times  of  the  Ancient 
Dispensation.  Compare  the  use  of  the  same 
expression,  Tit.  i.  2.  There  is  no  inconsis- 
tency in  saying  that  this  mystery  was  "  kept 
secret"  under  the  Old  Dispensation,  and  yet 
confirmed  by  the  Prophetical  Scriptures ;  for 
it  was  hidden  /»-orn  the  Gentiles  altogether,  and 
the  prophetical  intimations  of  it  were  not  un- 
derstood by  the  Jews. 


58-1 


THE  LITE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUT.. 


xn. 


27   unto  flim,  the  only  wise  God/  I  commend  you  through  Jesus  Christ ; 
to  whom  be  glory  forever.     Amen.' 


Corinthian  coin  reprcientlng  Cenchrea.' 


1  If  we  were  (on  the  aathority  of  the  Codex 
Vaticanus)  to  omit  the  "to  whom"  in  this 
passage,  the  last  three  verses  would  become  a 
continuous  doxology.  The  translators  of  the 
A.  V.  have  tacitly  omitted  this  "  to  whom," 
although  professing  to  follow  the  Textus  Re- 
ceptus. 

2  Some  MSS.  insert  the  verses  25,  26,  27, 
after  xiv.  23,  instead  of  in  this  place ;  but  the 
greater  weight  of  MS.  authority  is  in  favor  of 
their  present  position.  A  good  refutation  of 
the  objections  which  have  been  made  against 
the  authenticity  of  the  last  two  chapters  is 
given  by  De  Wette  and  Neander ;  but,  above 
all,  by  Paley's  Horcs  Paulince,  inasmuch  as 
these  very  chapters  furnish  four  or  five  of  the 
most  striking  undesigned  coincidences  there 
mentioned. 

>  Little  has  been  said  as  yet  concerning 


Cenchrea,  and  some  interest  is  given  to  the  place 
both  by  the  mention  of  its  Church  in  the  pre- 
ceding Epistle  (Rom.  xvi.  1),  and  by  the  de- 
parture of  St.  Paul  from  that  port  at  the  close 
of  his  first  visit  to  Achaia  ( Acts  xviii.  18).  We 
have  seen  (p.  360)  that  it  was  seventy  stadia, 
or  nearly  nine  miles  distant  from  Corinth,  ami 
(p.  367)  that  its  position  is  still  pointed  out  by 
the  modern  Kikries,  where  some  remains  of  the 
ancient  town  are  visible.  The  road  is  described 
by  Pausanias  as  leading  from  Corinth  through 
an  avenue  of  pine-trees,  and  past  many  tombs, 
among  which  two  of  the  most  conspicuous 
were  those  of  the  cynic  Diogenes  and  the  prof- 
ligate Thais.  The  coin  here  engraved  is  that 
to  which  allusion  was  made  p.  367,  n.  5.  It  is 
a  colonial  coin  of  Antoninus  Pius,  and  repre- 
sents the  harbor  of  Cenchrea  exactly  as  it  is 
described  by  Pausanias. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

Isthmian  Games.  —  Route  through  Macedonia.  —  Voyage  from  Philippi.  —  Sunday  at  Troaa 
—  Assos.  —  Voyage  by  Mitylene  and  Trogyllium  to  Miletus.  —  Speech  to  the  Ephedan 
P  -esbyters.  —  Voyage  by  Cos  and  Rhodes  to  Patara.  —  Thence  to  Phoenicia.  —  Christians  at 
Tyre.  —  Ptolemais.  —  Events  at  Cffisarea.  —  Arrival  at  Jerusalem. 

IN  the  Epistles  which  have  been  already  set  before  the  reader  in  the 
course  of  this  biography,  and  again  in  some  of  those  which  are  to 
succeed,  St,  Paul  makes  frequent  allusion  to  a  topic  which  engrossed  the 
interest,  and  called  forth  the  utmost  energies,  of  the  Greeks.  The 
periodical  games  were  to  them  rather  a  passion  than  an  amusement : 
and  the  Apostle  often  uses  language  drawn  from  these  celebrations, 
when  he  wishes  to  enforce  the  zeal  and  the  patience  with  which  a 
Christian  ought  to  strain  after  his  heavenly  reward.  The  imagery  he 
employs  is  sometimes  varied.  In  one  instance,  when  he  describes  the 
struggle  of  the  '.pirit  with  the  flesh,  he  seeks  his  illustration  in  the 
violent  contest  of  the  boxers  (1  Cor.  ix.  26).  In  another,  when  he 
would  give  a  strong  representation  of  the  perils  he  had  encountered  at 
Ephesus,  he  speaks  as  one  who  had  contended  in  that  ferocious  sport 
which  the  Romans  had  introduced  among  the  Greeks,  the  fighting  of 
gladiators  with  wild  beasts  (ib.  xv.  32).  But,  usually,  his  reference  is 
to  the  foot-race  in  the  stadium,  which,  as  it  was  the  most  ancient,  con- 
tinued to  be  the  most  esteemed,  among  the  purely  Greek  athletic 
contests.^  If  we  compare  the  various  passages  where  this  language  is 
used,  we  find  the  whole  scene  in  the  stadium  brought  vividly  before 
us,  —  the  AeraZcZ  ^  who  summons  the  contending  runners,  —  the  course, 
which  rapidly  diminishes  in  front  of  them  as  their  footsteps  advance  to 
the  goal,^  —  the  Judge*  who  holds  out  the  prize  at  the  end  of  the  course, 

1  The  victory  in  the  stadium  at  Olympia  ^  "Having    heralded."      1    Cor.    ix.    27. 

was  used  in  the  foiinula  for  reckoning  Olym-  Plato  says  that  the  herald  summoned  the  can- 

piads.      The  stadium  was  the  Greek  unit  for  didates  for  the  foot-race  first  into  the  stadium, 

the  measurement  of  distance.     With  St.  Paul's  ^  "Forgetting  the  things  that  are  behind, 

frequent  reference  to  it  in  the  epistles,  1  Cor.  and  striving  after  the  things  that  are  before." 

ix.  24,  Rom.  ix,  16,  Gal.  ii.  2,  v.  7,  Phil.  ii.  16,  Phil.   iii.  14.     For  the  Course,  see  Phil.  ii.  16, 

2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8,  should  be  compared  two  pas-  and  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  besides  Acts  xx.  24,  which  is 

sa^ijes  in  the  Acts,  xx.  24,  where  he  speaks  of  particularly  noticed  below,  p.  602,  n.  3. 

himself  and  xiii.  25,  where  he  speaks  of  John  *  2  Tim.  iv.  8. 

the  Baptist.  686 


686 


THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL. 


—  the  2^^i^^  itself,  a  chaplet  of  fading  leaves,  which  is  compared  with 
the  strongest  emphasis  of  contrast  to  the  unfading  glory  with  which  the 
faithful  Christian  will  be  crowned,^  —  Wiq  joy  and  exultation  of  the  victor, 
which  the  Apostle  applies  to  his  own  case,  when  he  speaks  of  his  converts 
as  his  "joy  and  crown,"  the  token  of  his  victory  and  the  subject  of  his 
boasting.'^  And  under  the  same  image  he  sets  forth  the  heavenly  prize, 
after  which  his  converts  themselves  should  struggle  with  strenuous  and 
unswerving  zeal, — with  no  hesitating  step  (1  Cor.  ix.  26),  —  pressing 
forward,  and  never  looking  back  (Phil.  iii.  13,  14),  —  even  to  the  disre- 
gard of  life  itself  (Acts  xx.  24).  And  the  metaphor  extends  itself 
beyond  the  mere  struggle  in  the  arena,  to  the  preparations  which  were 
necessary  to  success,  —  to  that  severe  and  continued  training^  which, 
being  so  great  for  so  small  a  reward,  was  a  fit  image  of  that  "  training 
unto  godliness,"  which  has  the  promise  not  only  of  this  life,  but  of  that 
which  is  to  come,  —  to  the  strict  regulations  *  which  presided  over  all  the 
details,  both  of  the  contest  and  the  preliminary  discipline,  and  are  used 
to  warn  the  careless  Christian  of  the  peril  of  an  undisciplined  life,  —  to 
the  careful  diet,^  which  admonishes  us  that,  if  we  would  so  run  that  we 
may  obtain,  we  must  be  "  temperate  in  all  things."  ^ 

This  imagery  would  be  naturally  and  familiarly  suggested  to  St.  Paul 
by  the  scenes  which  he  witnessed  in  every  part  of  his  travels.  At  his 
own  native  place  on  the  banks  of  the  Cyduus,''  in  every  city  throughout 
Asia  Minor ,^  and  more  especially  at  Ephesus,  the  stadium,  and  the  train- 


1  See  1  Cor.  ix.  24,  Phil.  iii.  14.  It  was  a 
chaplet  of  green  leaves,  "  a  fading  crown." 
1  Cor.  ix.  25.  (Cf.  2  Tim.  ii.  5,  iv.  8;  also 
1  Pet.  V.  4.)  The  leaves  varied  with  the  locality 
where  the  games  were  celebrated.  At  the 
Isthmus  they  were  those  of  the  indigenous 
pine.  For  a  time,  parsley  was  substituted  for 
them  ;  but  in  the  Apostle's  day  the  pine-leaves 
were  used  again. 

2  Phil.  iv.  1.  1  Thess.  ii.  19.  This  subject 
illustrates  the  frequent  use  of  the  word  "  boast " 
by  St.  Paul. 

^  1  Tim.  iv.  7,8.  The  Gymnasium  or  train- 
imj-ground  was  an  important  feature  of  every 
Greek  city.  The  word  is  not  found  in  the 
New  Testament,  but  we  find  it  in  1  Mace.  i.  14 
and  2  Mace.  iv.  9,  where  allusion  is  made  to 
places  of  Greek  amusement  built  at  Jerusa- 
lem. 

*  "  Except  a  man  strive  lawfully."  2  Tim. 
ii.  5.  The  following  were  among  the  regula- 
tions of  the  athletic  contests.  Every  candidate 
was  required  to  be  of  pure  Hellenic  descent. 


He  was  disqualified  by  certain  moral  and  po- 
litical offences.  He  was  obliged  to  take  an 
oath  that  he  had  been  ten  months  in  training, 
and  that  he  would  violate  none  of  the  regula- 
tions. Bribery  was  punished  by  a  fine.  The 
candidate  was  obliged  to  practise  again  in  tha 
gymnasium  immediately  before  the  games, 
under  the  direction  of  judges  or  umpires,  who 
were  themselves  required  to  be  instructed  for 
ten  months  in  the  details  of  the  games. 

^  The  physician  Galen  gives  an  account  of 
this  prescribed  diet.  See  Hor.  A.  P.  414. 
Tertullian  describes  the  self-restraint  of  the 
Athletes. 

^  In  the  larger  editions  is  an  energetic  pas- 
sage on  this  subject  from  St.  Chrysostom,  who 
was  very  familiar  with  all  that  related  to  pub- 
lic amusements,  both  at  Antioch  and  Constan- 
tinople. 

^  It  is  worth  observing,  that  the  only  in- 
scription from  Tarsus  published  by  Boeckh 
relates  to  the  restoration  of  the  stadium. 

*  Nothing  is  more   remarkable   than    the 


CHAP.  XX.  ISTHMIAJST  GAMES.  587 

iug  for  the  stadium,'  were  among  the  chief  subjects  of  intex-est  to  the 
whole  population.  Even  in  Palestine,  and  at  Jerusalem  itself,  these 
busy  amusem(^nts  were  well  known  .^  But  Greece  was  the  very  home 
from  which  these  institutions  drew  their  origin  ;  and  the  Isthmus  of 
Corinth  was  one  of  four  sanctuaries,  where  the  most  celebrated  games 
were  periodically  held.  Now  that  we  have  reached  the  point  where  St. 
Paul  is  about  to  leave  this  city  for  the  last  time,  we  are  naturally  led  to 
make  this  allusion  :  and  an  interesting  question  suggests  itself  here,  viz., 
whether  the  Apostle  was  ever  himself  present  during  the  Isthmian  games. 
It  might  be  argued  a  priori  that  this  is  highly  probable ;  for  great 
numbers  came  at  these  seasons  from  all  parts  of  the  Mediterranean  to 
witness  or  take  part  in  the  contests  ;  and  the  very  fact  that  amusement 
and  ambition  brought  some,  makes  it  certain  that  gain  attracted  many 
others ;  thus  it  is  likely  that  the  Apostle,  just  as  he  desired  to  be  at 
Jerusalem  during  the  Hebrew  festivals,  so  would  gladly  preach  the 
Gospel  at  a  time  when  so  vast  a  concourse  met  at  the  Isthmus,  —  whence, 
as  from  a  centre,  it  might  be  carried  to  every  shore  with  the  dispersion 
of  the  strangers.  But,  further,  it  will  be  remembered,  that,  on  his  first 
visit,  St.  Paul  spent  two  years  at  Corinth  ;  and  though  tlierc  is  some 
difficulty  in  determining  the  times  at  which  the  games  were  celebrated, 
yet  it  seems  almost  certain  that  they  recurred  every  second  year,  at  the 
end  of  spring,  or  the  beginning  of  summer.'  Thus  it  may  be  con- 
fidently concluded  that  he  was  there  at  one  of  the  festivals.  As  regards 
the  voyage  undertaken  from  Ephesus  (p.  418),  the  time  devoted  to  it 
was  short ;  yet  that  time  may  have  coincided  with  the  festive  season  ; 
and  it  is  far  from  inconceivable  that  he  may  have  sailed  across  the  .^^gean 
in  the  spring,  with  some  company  of  Greeks  who  were  proceeding  to 
the  Isthmian  meeting.  On  the  present  occasion  he  spent  only  three  of 
the  winter  months  in  Achaia,  and  it  is  hardly  possible  that  he  could 
have  been  present  during  the  games.  It  is  most  likely  that  there  were 
no  crowds  among  the  pine-trees  *  at  the  Isthmus,  and  that  the  stadium  at 

number  and  magnitude  of   the  theatres   and  Olympian  and  Pythian  games  took  place  every 

stadia  in  the  ruins  of  the  great  cities  of  Asia  fourth  year,  the  Nemean  and  Isthmian  every 

Minor.     A  vast  number,  too,  of  the  inscrip-  second  ;  the  latter  in  the  third  and  first  year  of 

tions  relate  to  the  public  amusements.     It  is  each  Olympiad.     The  festival  was  held  in  the 

evident,   as   a   traveller   remarks,   that    these  year  53  a.  d.,  which  is  the  first  of  an  Olympiad  ; 

amusements  must  have  been  one  of  the  chief  and  (as  we  have  seen)  there  is  good  reason  for 

employments  of  the  population.  believing  that  the  Apostle  came  to  Corinth  in 

1  See  above,  p.  586,  n.  3.  the  autumn  of  52,  and  left  it  in  the  spring  of 

^  See  the  reference  to  Herod's  theatre  and  54. 
amphitheatre,  p.  2.     Hence  the  significance  of  *  This  pine  (ttcvk^)  still  retains  its  ancient 
such  a  passage  as  Hob.  xii.  1,  2,  to  the  Hebrew  name.      See  Sibthorpe's  Flora  Grceca,  as  re- 
Christians  of  Palestine.  ferred  to  by  Canon  Stanley  in  his  Introd.  to 

'  Of  the  four  great  national  festivals,  the  1  Cor. 


588 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


the   Sanctuary   of  Neptune  was  silent   and  unoccupied  when  St.  Paul 
passed  by  it  along  the  northern  road,  on  his  way  to  Macedonia.^ 

His  intention  had  been  to  go  by  sea  to  Syria,^  as  soon  as  the  season  of 
safe  navigation  should  be  come  ;  and  in  that  case  he  would  have  embarked 
at  Cenchrea,  whence  he  had  sailed  during  his  second  missionary  jour- 
ney, and  whence  the  Christian  Phoebe  had  recently  gone  with  the  letter 
to  the  Romans.'  He  himself  had  prepared  his  mind  for  a  journey  to 
Rome  ;  *  but  first  he  was  purposed  to  visit  Jerusalem,  that  he  might  con- 
vey the  alms  which  had  been  collected  for  the  poorer  brethren  in  Mace- 
donia and  Achaia.  He  looked  forward  to  this  expedition  with  some  mis- 
giving ;  for  he  knew  what  danger  was  to  be  apprehended  from  his  Jewish 
and  Judaizing  enemies ;  and  even  in  his  letter  to  the  Roman  Christians, 
he  requested  their  prayers  for  his  safety.  And  he  had  good  reason  to 
fear  the  Jews ;  for  ever  since  their  discomfiture  under  Gallio  they  had 
been  irritated  by  the  progress  of  Christianity,  and  they  organized  a  plot 
against  the  great  preacher  when  he  was  on  the  eve  of  departing  for  Syria. 
We  are  not  informed  of  the  exact  nature  of  this  plot ;  ^  but  it  was  proba- 


1  A  fall  account,  both  of  the  description 
which  Pausanias  gives  of  the  sanctnary  and  of 
present  appearances,  may  be  seen  in  Leake. 
In  our  account  of  Corinth  (Ch.  XL,  XII.), 
we  have  entered  into  no  inquiry  concerning 
the  topography  of  the  scene  of  the  Isthmian 
games.  (See  p.  362.)  Since  St.  Paul  (as  we 
have  seen)  makes  many  allusions  to  the 
athletic  contests  of  the  Greeks,  and  since  we 
are  now  come  to  the  point  in  his  life  when  he 
leaves  Corinth  for  the  last  time,  it  seems  right 
that  we  should  state  what  is  known  on  the 
subject. 

No  complete  topographical  delineation  of 
the  Isthmus  exists.  This  district  was  omitted 
in  the  French  Expedition  de  la  Mor^e.  We 
have  given  opposite  the  plan  of  the  ground 
near  the  sanctuary  from  Col.  Leake's  third 
volume,  which  accurately  represents  the  rela- 
tive positions  of  the  stadium,  the  theatre,  and 
the  temple.  But  we  must  add,  that,  since  our 
last  edition  was  published,  the  ground  has 
been  more  exactly  examined  by  the  Rev.  W. 
G.  Clark,  and  a  careful  plan  given  in  his 
P'loponnesus  (1858). 

The  Posidonium,  or  Sanctuary  of  Neptune, 
is  at  the  narrowest  part  of  the  Isthmus,  close 
by  Schoenus,  the  present  Kalamaki  (see  p.  360, 
n.  7);  and  modern  travellers  may  visit  the 
ruins  on  their  way  between  Kalamaki  and 
Lutraki,  from  one  steamboat  to  the  other.     St. 


Paul  would  also  pass  by  this  spot  if  he  went 
by  land  from  Athens  (p.  356,  n.  5).  The  dis- 
tance from  Corinth  is  about  eight  miles ;  and 
at  Hexamili,  near  Corinth,  the  road  falls  into 
that  which  leads  to  Cenchrea.  (See  p.  584, 
and  Leake,  iii.  286.)  The  military  wall,  which 
crossed  the  Isthmus  to  Lechaum,  abutted  on 
the  Sanctuary  (p.  358,  n.  1),  and  was  for  some 
space  identical  with  the  sacred  enclosure.  At 
no  great  distance  are  the  traces  of  the  canal 
which  Nero  left  unfinished  about  the  time  of 
St.  Paul's  death  (p.  360) ;  and  in  many  places 
along  the  shore,  as  any  traveller  may  see  on 
his  way  from  Kalamaki  to  Lutraki,  are  those 
green  pine-trees,  whose  leaves  wove  the  "  fad- 
ing garlands"  which  the  Apostle  contrasts 
with  the  "  unfading  crown,"  the  prize  for 
which  he  fought. 

2  Acts  XX.  3. 

^  For  Cenchrea,  see  the  note  at  the  end  of 
the  preceding  chapter.  Phoebe  was  a  resident 
at  Cenchrea.  When  she  went  to  Rome,  she 
probably  sailed  from  LechsEum. 

*  See  the  end  of  Ch.  XV. 

^  "  The  Jews  generally  settled  in  great 
numbers  at  seaports  for  the  sake  of  commerce, 
and  their  occupation  would  give  them  peculiar 
influence  over  the  captains  and  owners  of 
merchant- vessels,  in  which  St.  Paul  must  have 
sailed.  They  might,  however,  form  the  pro- 
ject of  seizing  him  or  murdering  him  at  Cen- 


POSIDONIUM    AT   THE    ISTHMUS. 
(From  Colonel  J^eake's  Merca  ) 


CHAP.  XX.  KOUTE  THROUGH  MACEDONIA.  589 

bly  a  conspiracy  against  his  life,  like  that  which  was  formed  at  Damascus 
soon  after  his  conversion  (Acts  ix.  23,  2  Cor.  xi.  32),  and  at  Jerusalem, 
both  before  and  after  the  time  of  which  we  write  (Acts  ix.  29,  xxiii.  12), 
and  it  necessitated  a  change  of  route,  such  as  that  which  had  once  saved 
him  on  his  departure  from  Beroea  (Acts  xvii.  14). 

On  that  occasion  his  flight  had  been  from  Macedonia  to  Achaia ;  now  it 
was  from  Achaia  to  Macedonia.  Nor  would  he  regret  the  occasion  which 
brought  him  once  more  among  some  of  his  dearest  converts.  Again  he 
saw  the  Churches  on  the  north  of  the  ^gean,  and  again  he  went  through 
the  towns  along  the  line  of  the  Via  Egnatia.^  He  re-appeared  in  the  scene 
of  his  persecution  among  the  Jews  of  Thessalonica,  and  passed  on  by 
Apollonia  and  Amphipolis  to  the  place  where  he  had  first  landed  on  the 
European  shore.  The  companions  of  his  journey  were  Sopater  the  son 
of  Pyrrhus,^  a  native  of  Beroea,  —  Aristarchus  and  Secundus,  both  of 
Thessalonica,  —  with  Gains  of  Derbe  and  Timotheus,  —  and  two  Chris- 
tians from  the  province  of  Asia,  Tychicus  and  Trophimus,  whom  we 
have  mentioned  before  (p.  479),  as  his  probable  associates  when  he 
last  departed  from  Ephesus.  From  the  order  in  which  these  disciples 
are  mentioned,  and  the  notice  of  the  specific  places  to  which  they  be- 
longed, we  should  be  inclined  to  conjecture  that  they  had  something  to  do 
with  the  collections  which  had  been  made  at  the  various  towns  on  the 
route.  As  St.  Luke  does  not  mention  the  collection,'  we  cannot  expect 
to  be  able  to  ascertain  all  the  facts.  But  since  St.  Paul  left  Corinth 
sooner  than  was  intended,  it  seems  likely  that  all  the  arrangements  were 
not  complete,  and  that  Sopater  was  charged  with  the  responsibility  of 
gathering  the  funds  from  Beroea,  while  Aristarchus  and  Secundus  took 
charge  of  those  from  Thessalonica.  St.  Luke  himself  was  at  Philippi: 
and  the  remaining  four  of  the  party  were  connected  with  the  interior  or 
the  coast  of  Asia  Minor.* 

The  whole  of  this  company  did  not  cross  together  from  Europe  to  Asia ; 
but  St.  Paul  and  St.  Luke  lingered  at  Philippi,  while  the  others  preceded 
them  to  Troas.^     The  journey  through  Macedonia  had  been  rapid,  and 

chrea    with    great    probability  of     success."  disciple  of  the  same  name  who  is  mentioned 

Com/?i.o«  </ie  ^rts,  by  Rev.  F.  C.  Cook,  1850.  before  along  with   Aristarchus   ("Gaiusand 

1  For  the  Via  Egnatia  and  the  stages  be-  Aristarchus,  Macedonians,"  xix.  29).  But  it 
tween  Philippi  and  Beroea,  see  pp.  275,  277,  is  almost  certain  that  Timotheus  was  a  native 
293.  of  Lystra,  and  not  Derbe  (see  p.  227,  n.  1) ; 

2  Such  seems  to  be  the  correct  reading;  and  Gains  [or  Caius,  see  above,  p.  426]  was  so 
and  the  addition  may  be  made  to  distinguish  common  a  name,  that  this  need  cause  us  uo 
him  from  Sosipater.     (Rom.  xvi.  21.)  diflSculty. 

*  Except  in  one  casual  allusion  at  a  later  ^  It  is  conceivable,  but  not  at  all  probable, 
period.     Acts  xxiv.  17.  that  these  companions  sailed  direct  from  Cor- 

*  Some  would  read  "  and  Timothy  of  inth  to  Troas,  while  Paul  went  through  Mace- 
Derbe,"  in  order  lo  identify  Gains  with  the  donia.     Some  would  limit  "  these  "  to  Troplu- 


590 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL. 


the  visits  to  the  other  Churches  had  been  short.  But  the  Church  at  Phil- 
ippi  had  peculiar  claims  on  St.  Paul's  attention :  and  the  time  of  his 
arrival  induced  him  to  pause  longer  than  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  jour- 
ney. It  was  the  time  of  the  Jewish  passover.  And  here  our  thoughts 
turn  to  the  passover  of  the  preceding  year,  when  the  Apostle  was  at 
Ephesus  (p.  432).  We  remember  the  higher  and  Christian  meaning 
which  he  gave  to  the  Jewish  festival.  It  was  no  longer  an  Israelitish 
ceremony,  but  it  was  the  Easter  of  the  New  Dispensation.  He  was  not 
now  occupied  with  shadows  ;  for  the  substance  was  already  in  possession. 
Christ  the  Passover  had  been  sacrificed,  and  the  feast  was  to  be  kept  with 
the  unleavened  bread  of  sincerity  and  truth.  Such  was  the  higher 
standing-point  to  which  he  sought  to  raise  the  Jews  whom  he  met,  in  Asia 
or  in  Europe,  at  their  annual  celebrations. 

Thus,  while  his  other  Christian  companions  had  preceded  him  to  Troas, 
he  remained  with  Luke  some  time  longer  at  Philippi,  and  did  not  leave 
Macedonia  till  the  passover  moon  was  waning.  Notwithstanding  this 
delay,  they  were  anxious,  if  possible,  to  reach  Jerusalem  before  Pentecost.' 
And  we  shall  presently  trace  the  successive  days  through  which  they  were 
prosperously  brought  to  the  fulfilment  of  their  wish.^  Some  doubt  has 
been  thrown  on  the  possibility  of  this  plan  being  accomplished  in  the  in- 


mus  and  Tychicus ;  but  this  is  quite  unnatural. 
The  expression  "as  far  as  Asia"  seems  to 
imply  that  St.  Paul's  companions  left  him  at 
Miletus,  except  St.  Luke  (who  continues  the 
narrative  from  this  point  in  the  first  person) 
and  Trophimus  (who  was  with  him  at  Jerusa- 
lem, xxi.  29),  and  whoever  might  be  the  other 
deputies  who  accompanied  him  with  the  alms. 
(2  Cor.  viii.  19-21.) 

1  Acts  XX.  16. 

2  It  may  be  well  to  point  out  here  the  gen- 
eral distribution  of  the  time  spent  on  the 
voyage.  Forty-nine  days  intervened  between 
Passover  and  Pentecost.  The  days  of  unleav- 
ened bread  [Mark  xiv.  12,  Luke  xxii.  7,  Acts 
xii.  3,  1  Cor.  v.  8]  succeeded  the  Passover. 
Thus,  St.  Paul  staid  at  least  seve)i  days  at 
Philippi  after  the  Passover  (v.  6),  — Jive  days 
were  spent  on  the  passage  to  Troas  (ib.),  — 
six  days  (for  so  we  may  reckon  them)  were 
spent  at  Troas  (ih.), — ^m?- were  occupied  on 
the  voyage  by  Chios  to  Miletus  (vv.  13-15,  see 
below),  —  two  were  spent  at  Miletus, — in  three 
days  St.  Paul  went  by  Cos  and  Rliode  to 
Patara  (xxi.  1,  see  below), — two  days  would 
suffice  for  the  voyage  to  Tyre  (vv.  2,  3),  — six 
days  were  spent  at  Tyre  (v.  4),  tivo  were  taken 


up  in  proceeding  by  Ptolemais  to  Csesarea 
(w.  7,  8).  This  calculation  gives  us  thirty- 
seven  days  in  all ;  thus  leaving  thirteen  before 
the  festival  of  Pentecost,  after  the  arrival  at 
Csesarea,  which  is  more  than  the  conditions 
require.  We  may  add,  if  necessary,  two  or 
three  days  more  during  the  voyage  in  the 
cases  where  we  have  reckoned  inclusively. 

The  mention  of  the  Sunday  spent  at  Troas 
fixes  (though  not  quite  absolutely)  the  day  of 
the  week  on  which  the  Apostle  left  Philippi. 
It  was  a  Tuesday  or  a  Wednesdaj'.  We  might, 
with  considerable  probability,  describe  what 
was  done  each  day  of  the  week  during  the 
voyage;  but  we  arc  not  sure,  in  all  cases, 
whether  we  are  to  reckon  inclusively  or  exclu- 
sively, nor  are  we  absolutely  certain  of  the 
length  of  the  stay  at  Miletus. 

It  will  be  obsen-ed  that  all  we  have  here 
said  is  independent  of  the  particular  year  in 
which  we  suppose  the  voyage  to  have  been 
made,  and  of  the  day  of  the  week  on  which  the 
14tb  of  Nisan  occurred.  Greswell  and  Wiese- 
Icr  have  made  the  calculation  for  the  years  56 
and  58  respectively,  and  both  have  shown  that 
the  accomplishment  of  St.  Paul's  wish  was 
practicable.     Both  too  have  allowed  more  time 


CHAP.  XX.  VOYAGE  FEOM  PHILIPPI.  591 

terval ;  for  they  did  not  leave  Philippi  till  the  seventh  day  after  the  four- 
teenth of  Nisan  was  past.  It  will  be  our  business  to  show  that  the  plan 
was  perfectly  practicable,  and  that  it  was  actually  accomplished,  with 
some  days  to  spare. 

The  voyage  seemed  to  begin  unfavorably.  The  space  between  Neapo- 
lis  and  Troas  could  easily  be  sailed  over  in  two  days  with  a  fair  wind ; 
and  this  was  the  time  occupied  when  the  Apotjtle  made  the  passage  on 
his  first  coming  to  Europe.^  On  this  occasion  the  same  voyage  occupied 
five  days.  We  have  no  means  of  deciding  whether  the  ship's  progress 
was  retarded  by  calms,  or  by  contrary  winds.^  Either  of  these  causes 
of  delay  might  equally  be  expected  in  the  changeable  weather  of  those 
seas.  St.  Luke  seems  to  notice  the  time  in  both  instances,  in  the  manner 
of  one  who  was  familiar  with  the  passages  commonly  made  between 
Europe  and  Asia  :  *  and  something  like  an  expression  of  disappointment 
is  implied  in  the  mention  of  tlie  "  five  days  "  which  elapsed  before  the 
arrival  at  Troas. 

The  history  of  Alexandria  Troas,  first  as  a  city  of  the  Macedonian 
princes,  and  then  as  a  favorite  colony  of  the  Romans,*  has  been  given 
before  ;  but  little  has  been  said  as  yet  of  its  appearance.  From  the 
extent  and  magnitude  of  its  present  ruins  (though  for  ages  it  has  been  a 
quarry  both  for  Christian  and  Mohammedan  edifices)  we  may  infer  wliat 
it  was  in  its  flourisliing  period.  Among  the  oak-trees,  which  fill  the  vast 
enclosure   of   its   walls,   are   fragments    of    colossal    masonry.      Huge 


than  needful  for  the  voyage  between  Patara  mand    of  her   moTcments.     This  would    be 

and  Tyre.  highly  unlikely  for  a  person  under  the  circum- 

We  may  observe  here,  that  many  commen-  stances  of  St.  Paul ;  and  we  shall  see  that  it 

tators  write  on  the  nautical  passages  of  the  was  not  the  case  in  the  present  voyage,  during 

Acts  as  if  the  weather  were  always  the  same  which,  as  at  other  times,  he  availed  himself  of 

and  the  rate  of  sailing  uniform,  or  as  if  the  the  opportunities  offered  by  merchant-vessels 

Apostle  travelled  in  steamboats.     His  motions  or  coasters, 

were  dependent  on  the  wind.      He  might  be  i  Acts  xvi.  11. 

detained  in  harbor  by  contrary  weather.    Noth-  ^  The  course  is  marked  in  our  map  with  a 

ing  is  more  natural  than  that  he  should  be  five  zigzag  line.     K   the  wind  was   contrary,  the 

days  on  one  occasion,  and  two  on  another,  in  vessel  would  have  to  beat.     The  delay  might 

passing  between  Philippi  and  Troas  ;  just  as  equally  have  been  caused  by  calms. 

Cicero  was  once  fifteen,  and  once  thirteen,  in  ^  It  has  been  remarked  above  (p.  270)  that 

passing  between  Athens  and  Ephesus.     So  St.  St.  Luke's  vocation  as  a  physician  may  have 

Paul  might  sail  in   two  days  from  Patara  to  caused  him  to  reside  at  Philippi  and  Troas, 

Tyre,   though   under  less    favorable    circum-  and  made  him  familiar  with  these  coasts.     The 

stances   it   might  have  required  four  or  five,  autoptical  style  (see  p.  244)  is  immediately  re- 

or  even  more.      It  is  seldom  that   the  same  sumed  with  the  change  of  the  pronoun, 

passage  is  twice^made  in  exactly  the  same  time  *  For  the  history  of  the  foundation  of  the 

by  any  vessel  not  a  steamer.  city  under  the  successors  of  Alexander,  and  of 

Another  remark  may   be  added,  that  com-  the  feelings  of  Romans  towai-ds  it,   see  the 

mentators  often  write  as  though  St.  Paul  had  concluding  part  of  Ch.  VIII. 
chartered  his  own  vessel,  and  had  the  full  com- 


592  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xx. 

columns  of  granite  are  seen  lying  in  the  harbor,  and  in  the  quarries  on 
the  neighboring  hills. ^  A  theatre,  commanding  a  view  of  Tenedos  and 
the  sea,  shows  where  the  Greeks  once  assembled  in  crowds  to  witness 
their  favorite  spectacles.  Open  arches  of  immense  size,  towering  from 
the  midst  of  other  great  masses  of  ruin,  betray  the  hand  of  Roman 
builders.  These  last  remains  —  once  doubtless  belonging  to  a  gym- 
nasium or  to  baths,  and  in  more  ignorant  ages,  when  the  poetry  of 
Homer  was  better  remembered  than  the  facts  of  history,  popularly 
called  "  The  Palace  of  Priam  "  ^  —  are  conspicuous  from  the  sea.  We 
cannot  assert  that  these  buildings  existed  in  the  day  of  St.  Paul,  but  we 
may  be  certain  that  the  city,  both  on  the  approach  from  the  water,  and 
to  those  who  wandered  through  its  streets,  must  have  presented  an 
appearance  of  grandeur  and  prosperity.  Like  Corinth,  Ephesus,  or 
Thessalonica,  it  was  a  place  where  the  Apostle  must  have  wished  to  lay 
firmly  and  strongly  the  foundations  of  the  Gospel.  On  his  first  visit, 
as  we  have  seen  (pp.  241-245),  he  was  withheld  by  a  supernatural 
revelation  from  remaining ;  and  on  his  second  visit  (pp.  478-480), 
though  a  door  was  opened  to  him,  and  he  did  gather  together  a  com- 
munity of  Christian  disciples,  yet  his  impatience  to  see  Titus  compelled 
him  to  bid  them  a  hasty  farewell.'  Now,  therefore,  he  would  be  the 
more  anxious  to  add  new  converts  to  the  Church,  and  to  impress  deeply, 
on  those  who  were  converted,  the  truths  and  the  duties  of  Christianity  : 
and  he  had  valuable  aid,  both  in  Luke,  who  accompanied  him,  and  the 
other  disciples  who  had  preceded  him. 

The  labors  of  the  early  days  of  the  week  that  was  spent  at  Troas  are 
not  related  to  us  ;  but  concerning  the  last  day  we  have  a  narrative  which 
enters  into  details  with  all  the  minuteness  of  one  of  the  Gospel  histories. 
It  was  the  evening  which  succeeded  the  Jewish  Sabbath.*     On  the  Sun- 

1  Alexandria  Troas  must  have  been,  like  ^  d,.,  Clarke  regards  these  ruins  as  the  re- 
Aberdeen,  a  city  of  granite.  The  hills  which  mains  of  Alexandria  Troas.  He  says  that 
supplied  this  material  were  to  the  N.  E.  and  "  these  three  arches  of  the  building  make  a 
S.  E.  Dr.  Clarke  (vol.  ii.  p.  1 49)  mentions  a  conspicuous  figure  from  a  considerable  dis- 
stupendous  column,  which  is  concealed  among  tance  at  sea,  like  the  front  of  a  magnificent 
some  trees  in  the  neighborhood,  and  which  he  palace  ;  and  this  circumstance,  connected  with 
compares  to  the  famous  column  of  the  Egyp-  the  mistake  so  long  prevalent  concerning  the 
tian  Alexandria.  Fellows  (p  58)  speaks  of  city  itself  [viz.  that  it  was  the  ancient  TroyJ, 
hundreds  of  columns,  and  says  that  many  are  gave  rise  to  the  appellation  of  '  Tlie  Palcux  of 
bristling  among  the  waves  to  a  considerable  Priam,'  bestowed  by  mariners  upon  thes« 
distance  out  at  sea.  He  saw  seven  columns  ruins."  See  p.  242,  n.  4. 
lying  with  their  chips  in  a  quarry,  which  is  ^2  Cor.  ii.  13. 

connected    by  a  paved    road  with    the  city.  *  "  The  first  day  of  the  week,"  v.  7.     Tliil 

Thus  granite  seems  to  have  been  to  Alexandria  is  a  passage  of   the   utmost  importance,   aa 

Troas  what    marble  was    to   Athens.      The  showing  that  the  observance  of  Sunday  wa« 

granite  columns  of  Troas  have  been  used  for  customary.     Cf.  1  Cor.  xvi.  2.     See  p.  385. 
making  cannon-balls    for  the  defence  of  the 
Dardanelles. 


CHAP.  XX.  SUNDAY  AT  TE.OAS.  593 

day  morning  the  vessel  was  about  to  sail.^  The  Christians  of  Troas 
were  gathered  together  at  this  solemn  time  to  celebrate  that  feast  of  love 
which  the  last  commandment  of  Christ  has  enjoined  on  all  His  followers. 
The  place  was  an  upper  room,  with  a  recess  or  balcony  "^  projecting  over 
the  street  or  the  court.  The  night  was  dark:  three  weeks  had  not 
elapsed  since  the  Passover,^  and  the  moon  only  appeared  as  a  faint 
crescent  in  the  early  part  of  the  night.  Many  lamps  were  burning  in 
tlie  room  where  the  congregation  was  assembled.*  The  place  was  hot 
and  crowded.  St.  Paul,  with  the  feeling  strongly  impressed  on  his  mind 
that  the  next  day  was  the  day  of  his  departure,  and  that  souls  might  be 
lost  by  delay,  was  continuing  in  earnest  discourse,  and  prolonging  it 
even  till  midnight,'  when  an  occurrence  suddenly  took  place,  which  filled 
the  assembly  with  alarm,  though  it  was  afterwards  converted  into  an 
occasion  of  joy  and  thanksgiving.  A  young  listener,  whose  name  was 
Eutychus,  was  overcome  by  exhaustion,  heat,  and  weariness,  and  sank 
into  a  deep  slumber.^  He  was  seated  or  leaning  in  the  balcony  ;  and, 
falling  down  in  his  sleep,  was  dashed  upon  the  pavement  below,  and  was 
taken  up  dead.''  Confusion  and  terror  followed,  with  loud  lamenta- 
tion.^ But  Paul  was  enabled  to  imitate  the  power  of  that  Master  whose 
doctrine  he  was  proclaiming.  As  Jesus  had  once  said^  of  the  young 
maiden,  who  was  taken  by  death  from  the  society  of  her  friends,  "  She 
is  not  dead,  but  sleepeth,"  so  the  Apostle  of  Jesus  received  power  to 
restore  the  dead  to  life.  He  went  down  and  fell  upon  the  body,  like 
Elisha  of  old,^"  and,  embracing  Eutychus,  said  to  the  bystanders,  "  Do 
not  lament ;  for  his  life  is  in  him." 

1  "  About  to  depart  on  the  morrow,"  ib.  tire  scene  to  which  he  refers  stood  now  with 
See  V.  13.  By  putting  all  these  circumstances  such  minuteness  and  vividness  before  his 
together,  we  can  almost  certainly  infer  the  day  mind."  Hackett  on  the  Acts,  Boston,  U.  S., 
of  the  week  on  which  St.  Paul  left  Troas.  1852.  [See  a  similar  instance  in  the  case  of 
See  above.  the  mention  of  the  proseucha  at  Philippi,  Acts 

2  The  word  used  here  denotes  an  aperture  xvi.  13.] 

closed  by  a  wooden  door,  doubtless  open  in  ^  "  He  continued   his   discourse   till   mid- 

this  case  because  of  the  heat.    See  the  note  and  night,"   v.   7.     "While  Paul  was  long  dis- 

woodcut  in  the  Pictorial  Bible.     These  upper  coursing,"  v.  9. 

rooms  of  the  ancients  were  usually  connected  ^  The  present  participle  in  v.  9  seems  to 

with  the  street  by  outside  stairs,  such  as  those  denote  the  gradual  sinking  into  sleep,  as  op- 

of  which  we  see  traces  at  Pompeii.  posed  to  the  sudden  fall  implied  by  the  aorist 

*  See  above,  p.  590.  participle  in  the  next  phrase. 

*  V.  8.  Various  reasons  have  been  sng-  '  It  is  quite  arbitrary  to  qualify  the  words 
gested  why  this  circumstance  should  be  men-  by  supposing  that  he  was  only  apparently 
tioned.      Meyer   thinks    it    is   given   as    the  dead. 

reason  why  the  fate  of  the  young  man  was  *  This  is  implied  in  the  "  Trouble  not  your- 

perceived  at  once.     But  it  has  much  more  the  selves  "  below.     The  word  denotes  a  loud  and 

appearance  of  having  simply  "  proceeded  from  violent  expression  of  grief,  as  in  Matt.  ix.  23, 

an  eye-witness,  who  mentions  the  incident,  not  Mark  v.  39. 
for  the  purpose  of  obviating  a  difficulty  which  ^  Matt.  ix.  24 ;  Mark  v.  39. 

might  occur  to  the  reader,  but  because  the  en-  i"  2  Kings  iv.  34.    In  each  case,  as  Prof. 

38 


594 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


With  minds  solemnized  and  filled  with  thankfulness  by  this  wonderful 
token  of  God's  power  and  love,  they  celebrated  the  Eucharistic  feast.^ 
The  act  of  Holy  Communion  was  combined,  as  was  usual  in  the 
Apostolic  age,  with  a  common  meal :  ^  and  St.  Paul  now  took  some 
refreshment  after  the  protracted  labor  of  the  evening,^  and  then  con- 
tinued his  conversation  till  the  dawning  of  the  day.* 

It  was  now  time  for  the  congregation  to  separate.  The  ship  was  about 
to  sail,  and  the  companions  of  Paul's  journey  took  their  departure  to  go 
on  board.'  It  was  arranged,  however,  that  the  Apostle  himself  should 
join  the  vessel  at  Assos,  which  was  only  about  twenty  miles  ^  distant  by 
the  direct  road,  while  the  voyage  round  Cape  Lectum  was  nearly  twice 
as  far.  He  thus  secured  a  few  more  precious  hours  with  his  converts  at 
Troas  ;  and  eagerly  would  they  profit  by  his  discourse,  under  the  feeling 
that  he  was  so  soon  to  leave  them:  and  we  might  suppose  that  the 
impression  made  under  such  circumstances,  and  with  the  recollection 
of  what  they  had  witnessed  in  the  night,  would  never  be  effaced  from  the 
minds  of  any  of  them,  did  we  not  know,  on  the  highest  authority,  that 
if  men  believe  not  the  prophets  of  God,  neither  will  they  believe  "  though 
one  rose  from  the  dead." 

But  the  time  came  when  St.  Paul  too  must  depart.  The  vessel  might 
arrive  at  Assos  before  him ;  and,  whatever  influence  he  might  have  with 


Hackett  remarks,  the  act  appears  to  have  been 
the  sign  of  a  miracle. 

1  v.  11,  compared  with  v.  7. 

3  See  p.  385. 

»  When  he  had  eaten,  v.  11.  This  is  distin- 
guished in  the  Greek  from  the  breaking  bread. 

*  Having  talked  a  long  while.  This,  again, 
is  distinguished  from  the  preaching  mentioned 
above. 

5  We  might  illustrate  what  took  place  at 
this  meeting  by  the  sailing  of  the  Bishop  of 
Calcutta  from  Plymouth  in  1829.  "He  and 
his  chaplain  made  impressive  and  profitable 
addresses  to  us,  the  first  part  of  the  meeting, 
as  they  had  received  orders  to  embark  the 
same  morning.  I  began  then  to  speak,  and  in 
the  middle  of  my  speech  the  captain  of  the 
frigate  sent  for  them,  and  they  left  the  meet- 
ing." —  Memoir  of  Rev.  E.  Bickersteth,  vol.  i. 
p.  44.5. 

"  See  p.  240.  The  impression  derived  from 
modern  travellers  through  this  neglected  re- 
gion is,  that  the  distance  between  Assos  and 
Troas  is  rather  greater.  Sir  C.  Fellows  reck- 
ons it  at  30  miles,  and  he  was  in  the  saddle 
from  half-past  eight   to   five     Dr.  Hunt,  in 


Walpole's  Memoirs,  was  part  of  two  days  on 
the  road,  leaving  Assos  in  the  afternoon  ;  but 
he  deviated  to  see  the  hot  springs  and  salt 
works.  Mr.  Weston  (MS.  journal)  left  Assos 
at  three  in  the  afternoon,  and  reached  Troas 
at  ten  the  next  morning  ;  but  he  adds,  that  it 
was  almost  impossible  to  find  the  road  without 
a  guide. 

In  a  paper  on  "  Kecent  Works  on  Asia  Mi- 
nor," in  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra  for  October,  18.51, 
it  is  said  that  Assos  is  nine  miles  from  Troas. 
This  must  be  an  oversight.  It  is,  however, 
quite  possible  that  Mitylene  might  have  been 
reached,  as  we  have  assumed  below  on  the 
Sunday  evening.  If  the  vessel  sailed  from 
Troas  at  seven  in  the  morning,  she  would 
easily  bo  round  Cape  Lectum  before  noon. 
If  St.  Paul  left  Troas  at  ten,  he  might  arrive 
at  Assos  at  four  in  the  afternoon  ;  and  the 
vessel  might  be  at  anchor  in  the  roads  of 
Mitylene  at  seven.  Greswcll  supposes  that 
they  sailed  from  Assos  on  the  Monday.  This 
would  derange  the  days  of  the  week  as  we 
have  given  them  below,  but  would  no^  affeo* 
the  general  conclusion. 


CHAP.  XX.  ASSOS.  595 

the  seamen,  he  could  not  count  on  any  long  delay.  He  hastened,  there- 
fore, through  the  southern  gate,  past  the  hot  springs,*  and  through  the 
oak-woods,''  —  then  in  full  foliage,'  —  which  cover  all  that  shore  with 
greenness  and  shade,  and  across  the  wild  water-courses  on  the  western 
side  of  Ida.*  Such  is  the  scenery  which  now  surrounds  the  traveller  on 
his  way  from  Troas  to  Assos.  The  great  difference  then  was,  that  there 
was  a  good  Roman  road,^  which  made  St.  Paul's  solitary  journey  both 
more  safe  and  more  rapid  than  it  could  have  been  now.  We  have  seldom 
had  occasion  to  think  of  the  Apostle  in  the  hours  of  his  solitude.  But 
such  hours  must  have  been  sought  and  cherished  by  one  whose  whole 
strength  was  drawn  from  communion  with  God,  and  especially  at  a  time 
when,  as  on  this  present  journey,  he  was  deeply  conscious  of  his  weak- 
ness, and  filled  with  foreboding  fears.®  There  may  have  been  other  rea- 
sons why  he  lingered  at  Troas  after  his  companions :  but  the  desire  for 
solitude  was  (we  may  well  believe)  one  reason  among  others.  The  dis- 
comfort of  a  crowded  ship  is  unfavorable  for  devotion :  and  prayer  and 
meditation  are  necessary  for  maintaining  the  religious  life  even  of  an 
Apostle.  That  Saviour  to  whose  service  he  was  devoted  had  often  prayed 
in  solitude  on  the  mountain,  and  crossed  the  brook  Kedron  to  kneel 
under  the  olives  of  Gethsemane.  And  strength  and  peace  were  surely 
sought  and  obtained  by  the  Apostle  from  the  Redeemer,  as  he  pursued 
his  lonely  road  that  Sunday  afternoon  in  spring,  among  the  oak-woods 
and  the  streams  of  Ida. 

No  delay  seems  to  have  occurred  at  Assos.  He  entered  by  the  Sacred 
Way  among  the  famous  tombs,''  and  through  the  ancient  gateway,  and 
proceeded  immediately  to  the  shore.  We  may  suppose  that  the  vessel 
was  already  hove  to  and  waiting  when  he  arrived  ;  or  that  he  saw  her 
approaching  from  the  west,  through  the  channel  between  Lesbos  and  the 
main.     He  went  on  board  without  delay,  and  the  Greek  sailors  and  the 


1  Mentioned  by  Fellows  and  Hunt.  '  Compare  Rom.  xv.  30,  31,  Acts  xx.  3, 

2  All  travellers  make  mention  of  the  woods  with  Acts  xx.  22-25,  xxi.  4,  13. 

of   Vallonea  oaks  in   the    neighborhood    of  ^  This  Street  of  Tombs  ( Via  Sacra)  is  one 

Troas.     The  acorns  are  used  for  dyeing,  and  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  Assos.     It 

form  an  important  branch  of  trade.     The  col-  is  described  by  Fellows   in   his   excellent  ac- 

lecting  of  the  acorns,  and  shells,  and  gall-nuts,  count  of  Assos.     The  Street  of  Tombs   ex- 

cmploys  the  people  during  a  great  part  of  the  tends   to   a  great  distance   across    the    level 

year.     One  traveller  mentions  an  English  ves-  ground  to  N.  W.  of  the  city.     Some  of   the 

sel  which  he  saw  taking  in  a  load  of   these  tombs   are  of   vast  dimensions,   and    formed 

acorns.  each  of  one  block  of  granite.     These  remains 

^  The  woods  were  in  full  foliage  on  the  are   the    more  worthy  of  notice   because   the 

1 8th  of  March.     Hunt.  word  sarcophagus  was  first  applied  in  Roman 

*  For  the  streams  of  this  mountain,  see  f  times   to   this   stone  of  Assos  (lapis  Assius), 

240,  n.  5.  from  the  peculiar  power  it  was  supposed  to 

^  See  note  on  the  preceding  page.  possess  of  aiding  the  natural  decay  of  corpsei. 


596 


THE  LIFE  A^D  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XX. 


Apostolic  missionaries  continued  their  voyage.  As  to  the  city  of  Assos 
itself,  we  must  conclude,  if  we  compare  the  description  of  the  ancients 
with  present  appearances,  that  its  aspect  as  seen  /  from  the  sea  was 
sumptuous  and  grand.  A  terrace  with  a  long  portico  was  raised  hy  a 
wall  of  rock  above  the  water-line.  Above  this  was  a  magnificent  gate,- 
approached  by  a  flight  of  steps.  Higher  still  was  the  theatre,  which  com- 
manded a  glorious  view  of  Lesbos  and  the  sea,  and  those  various  build- 
ings which  are  now  a  wilderness  of  broken  columns,  triglyphs,  and  friezes. 
The  whole  was  crowned  by  a  citadel  of  Greek  masonry  on  a  cliff  of  gran- 
ite. Such  was  the  view  which  gradually  faded  into  indistinctness  as  the 
vessel  retired  from  the  shore,  and  the  summits  of  Ida  rose  in  the  evening 
sky.2 

The  course  of  the  voyagers  was  southwards,  along  the  eastern  shore 
of  Lesbos.  When  Assos  was  lost,  Mitylene,  the  chief  city  of  Lesbos, 
came  gradually  into  view.  The  beauty  of  the  capital  of  Sappho's  island 
was  celebrated  by  the  architects,  poets,  and  philosophers  of  Rome.  Like 
other  Greek  cities,  which  were  ennobled  by  old  recollections,  it  was 
honored  by  the  Romans  with  the  privilege  of  freedom.'  Situated  on  the 
Bouth-eastern  coast  of  the  island,  it  would  afford  a  good  shelter  from  the 
north-westerly  winds,  whether  the  vessel  entered  the  harbor  or  lay  at  an- 
chor in  the  open  roadstead.*     It  seems  likely  that  the  reason  why  they  lay 


^  The  view  opposite  is  from  a  drawing  by 
the  Rev.  G.  F.  Weston,  who  visited  Assos  in 
1845.  In  liis  MS.  journal  he  speaks  of  it  as 
follows  :  "  Proceeding  300  or  400  yards  [from 
the  theatre]  in  a  N.  W.  direction,  you  come  to 
the  great  gate  of  the  city,  a  very  interesting 
specimen  of  Greek  architecture.  An  arch  is 
formed  by  one  stone  overlapping  that  beneath 
it.  There  are  remains  also  of  two  flanking 
towers  with  splayed  loopholes,  and  the  wall 
running  up  to  the  precipices  of  the  Acropolis 
is  almost  perfect.  Higher  up,  towards  the 
Acropolis,  are  two  more  curious  arches.  Run- 
ning N.  W.  from  the  great  gate  is  the  Via 
Sacra."     See  the  preceding  note. 

-  The  travellers  above  mentioned  speak  in 
strong  terms  of  the  view  from  the  Acropolis 
towards  Lesbos  and  the  sea.  Towards  Ida 
and  the  land  side  the  eye  ranges  over  the 
windings  of  a  river  through  a  fruitful  plain. 

Fellows  conceives  that  the  remains  here 
mentioned  have  been  preserved  from  the  dep- 
redations committed  on  other  towns  near  the 
coast,  in  consequence  of  the  material  being 
the  "  same  gray  stone  as  the  neighboring  rock, 
and  not  having  intrinsic  value  as  marble." 


He  observed  "no  trace  of  the  Romans." 
Leake  says' that  the  "hard  granite  of  Mount 
Ida  "  has  furnished  the  materials  for  many  of 
the  buildings,  and  even  the  sculptures  ;  and  he 
adds  that  "  the  whole  gives  perhaps  the  most 
perfect  idea  of  a  Greek  city  that  anywhere 
exists." 

*  For  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  Mitylene, 
and  for  remarks  on  the  orthography  of  the 
word,  see  Smith's  Diet,  of  Geoijraphy.  In  our 
larger  editions  is  a  view  of  the  town  with  the 
mountains  behind. 

*  "  The  chief  town  of  Mitylene  is  on  the 
S.  E.  coast,  and  on  a  peninsula  (once  an  is- 
land) forming  two  small  harbors :  of  these  the 
northern  one  is  sheltered  by  a  pier  to  the 
north,  and  admits  small  coasters.  .  .  .  The 
roadstead,  which  is  about  seven  miles  N.  from 
the  S.  E.  end  of  the  island,  is  a  good  summer 
roadstead,  but  the  contrary  in  winter,  being 
much  exposed  to  the  S.  E.  and  N.  E.  winds, 
which  blow  with  great  violence." — Purdy's 
SaiUnrj  Directory,  p.  154.  It  should  be  par- 
ticularly observed  that  St.  Paul's  ship  would 
be  sheltered  here  from  the  N.  W.  We  shall 
see,  as  we  proceed,  increasing  reason   for  be- 


CTiAP.  XX.  CHIOS. — SAMOS.  597 

here  for  the  night  was,  because  it  was  the  time  of  dark  moon,'  and  tliey 
would  wish  for  daylight  to  accomplish  safely  the  intricate  navigation 
between  the  southern  part  of  Lesbos  and  the  mainland  of  Asia  Minor. 

hi  the  course  of  Monday  they  were  abreast  of  Chios  (v.  15).  The 
weather  in  these  seas  is  very  variable :  and,  from  the  mode  of  expression 
employed  by  St.  Luke,  it  is  probable  that  they  were  becalmed.  An 
English  traveller  under  similar  circumstances  has  described  himself  as 
"  engrossed  from  daylight  till  noon  "  by  the  beauty  of  the  prospects  with 
which  he  was  surrounded,  as  his  vessel  floated  idly  on  this  channel 
between  Scio  and  the  continent.'^  On  one  side  were  the  gigantic  masses 
of  the  mainland :  on  the  other  were  the  richness  and  fertility  of  the 
island,  with  its  gardens  of  oranges,^  citrons,  almonds,  and  pomegranates, 
and  its  white  scattered  houses  overshadowed  by  evergreens.  Until  the 
time  of  its  recent  disasters,  Scio  was  the  paradise  of  the  modern  Greek  : 
and  a  familiar  proverb  censured  the  levity  of  its  inhabitants,*  like  that 
which  in  the  Apostle's  day  described  the  coarser  faults  of  the  natives  of 
Crete  (Tit.  i.  12). 

The  same  Englisli  traveller  passed  the  island  of  Samos  after  leaving 
that  of  Chios.  So  likewise  did  St.  Paul  (v.  15).  But  the  former  sailed 
along  the  western  side  of  Samos,  and  he  describes  how  its  towering  cloud- 
capped  heights  arc  contrasted  with  the  next  low  island  to  the  west.^  The 
Apostle's  course  lay  along  the  eastern  shore,  where  a  much  narrower 
"  marine  pass  "  intervenes  between  it  and  a  long  mountainous  ridge  of 
the  mainland,  from  which  it  appears  to  have  been  separated  by  some 
violent  convulsion  of  nature.®     This  high  promontory  is   the  ridge  of 

lieving  that   the  wind   blew  from   this  quar-  changes  are  subsequent  to  the   discovery  of 

ter.  America.     See  p.   20,   n.    1.     The   wines  of 

1  The  moon  would  be  about  six  days  old  Chios  were  always  celebrated.  Its  coins  dis- 
(see  above),  and  would  set  soon  after  mid-  play  an  amphora  and  a  bunch  of  grapes. 
night.  We  are  indebted  for  this  suggestion  *  The  proverb  says  that  it  is  easier  to  find 
to  Mr.  Smith  (author  of  the  Vojaije  and  Ship-  a  green  horse  than  a  sober-minded  Sciot. 
wr<xk  of  St.  Paul),  and  we  take  this  oppor-  ^  See  the  view  which  Dr.  Clarke  gives  of 
tunity  of  acknowledging  our  obligations  to  his  this  remarkable  "  marine  pass,"  vol.  ii.  p.  192. 
MS.  notes  in  various  parts  of  this  chapter.  The  summit  of  Samos  was  concealed  by  a  thick 

2  Dr.  Clarke's  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  188.-  See  covering  of  clouds,  and  he  was  told  that  its 
the  whole  description.  This  applies  to  a  period  heights  were  rarely  unveiled.  Sec  again  vol. 
some  years  before  the  massacre  of  1822.  For  iii.  pp.  364-.367.  Compare  Norie's  Sailinr/  Di- 
flotices  of  Scio,  and  a  description  of  the  rectory,  p.  150.  "  Samos,  being  mountainous, 
jicenery  in  its  nautical  aspect,  see  the  Sailing  becomes  visible  twenty  leagues  off;  and  the 
Direclorij,  pp.  124-128.  summit   of   Mount   Kerki    retains    its    snow 

^  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  vegeta-  throughout  the  year."      The  strait  thi-ough 

tion,  and  with  the  vegetation  the  scenery,  of  which  Dr.  Clarke  sailed  is  called  the  Great 

the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  have  varied  Boghat,  and  is  ten  miles  broad.     The  island  to 

with   the  progress   of  civilization.     It  seems  the  west  is  Icaria. 

that  the  Arabians  introduced  the   orange  in  ^  This  strait  is  the  Little  Boghaz,  which  is 

the  early   part  of    the   middle   ages.     Other  reckoned  at  about  a  mile  in  breadth  both  by 


598  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xx 

Mycale,  well  known  in  the  annals  of  Greek  victory  over  tlie  Persians. 
At  its  termination,  not  more  than  a  mile  from  Samos,  is  the  anchorage 
of  Trogyllium.  Here  the  night  of  Tuesday  was  spent ;  apparently  for 
the  same  reason  as  that  which  caused  the  delay  at  Mitylene.  The  moon 
set  early :  and  it  was  desirable  to  wait  for  the  day  before  running  into  the 
harbor  of  Miletus,^ 

The  short  voyage  from  Chios  to  Trogyllium  had  carried  St.  Paul 
through  familiar  scenery.  The  bay  across  which  the  vessel  had  been 
passing  was  that  into  which  the  Cayster^  flowed.  The  mountains  on  the 
mainland  were  the  western  branches  of  Messogis  and  Tmolus,^  the  ranges 
that  enclose  the  primeval  plain  of  "  Asia."  The  city,  towards  which  it 
is  likely  that  some  of  the  vessels  in  sight  were  directing  their  course,  was 
Ephesus,  where  the  Apostolic  labors  of  three  years  had  gathered  a  com- 
pany of  Christians  in  the  midst  of  unbelievers.  One  whose  solicitude  was 
so  great  for  his  recent  converts  could  not  willingly  pass  by  and  leave 
them  unvisited  :  and  had  he  had  the  command  of  the  movements  of  the 
vessel,  we  can  hardly  believe  that  he  would  have  done  so.  He  would 
surely  have  landed  at  Ephesus,  rather  than  at  Miletus.  The  same  wind 
which  carried  him  to  the  latter  harbor  would  have  been  equally  advan- 
tageous for  a  quick  passage  to  the  former.  And,  even  had  the  weather 
been  unfavorable  at  the  time  for  landing  at  Ephesus,  he  might  easily  have 
detained  the  vessel  at  Trogyllium  ;  and  a  short  journey  by  land  north- 
ward would  have  taken  him  to  the  scene  of  his  former  labors.* 

Yet  every  delay,  whether  voluntary  or  involuntary,  might  have  been 
fatal  to  the  plan  he  was  desirous  to  accomplish.     St.  Luke  infoims  us 

Strabo  and  Chandler.     We  shall  return  pres-  of  Trogyllium,   bearing   the    namo   of   "  St. 

ently  to  this  ridge  of  Mycale  in  its  relation  Paul's  Port." 

to  the  interior,  when  we  refer  to  the  journey  of  ^  See  what  is  said  of  the  Cay&«cr,  pp.  410, 

the  Ephesian  elders  to  Miletus.     It  was  evident-  461 . 

ly  a  place  well  known  to  sailors,  from  Strabo's  *  See  again,  on  these  Ephesian  mountains, 

reckoning  the  distance  from  hence  to  Sunium  p.  462. 

in  Attica.  *  Trogyllium,  as  we  have  se<:n,  is  at  the 
1  We  should  observe  here  again  that  Tro-  point  where  the  coast  projects  and  forms  a 
gyllium,  though  on  the  shore  of  the  mainland,  narrow  strait  between  Asia  Minor  and  Samos. 
is  protected  by  Samos  from  the  north-westerly  The  coast  recedes  northwards  towards  Ephe- 
winds.  With  another  wind  it  might  have  sus,  and  southwards  towards  Miletus ;  each 
been  better  to  have  anchored  in  a  port  to  the  of  these  places  being  about  equidistant  from 
N.  E.  of  Samos,  now  called  Port  Vathy,  which  Trogyllium.  Up  to  this  point  from  Chios,  St. 
is  said,  in  the  Sailinr;  Directory  (p.  119),  to  be  Paul  had  been  nearly  following  the  line  of  the 
"protected  from  every  wind  but  the  N.  W."  Ephesian  merchant-vessels  up  what  is  now 
We  may  refer  here  to  the  clear  description  called  the  gulf  of  Scala  Nuova.  By  compar- 
and map  of  Samos  by  Toumefort,  Voyage  da  ing  the  Admiralty  Chart  witn  Strabo  and 
Levant,  i.  pp.  156,  157.  But  the  Admiralty  Chandler,  a  very  good  notion  la  obtained  of 
Charts  (1530  and  1555)  should  be  consulted  the  coast  and  country  between  Ephesus  and 
for  the  soundings,  &c.  An  anchorage  will  Miletus, 
be  seen  just  to  the  east  of  the  extreme  point 


CHAP.  XX.  MILETUS.  —  TEOGYLLIUM.  599 

here  (and  the  occurrence  of  the  remark  shows  us  how  much  regret  was 
felt  by  the  Apostle  on  passing  by  Ephesus)  that  his  intention  was,  if 
possible^  to  be  in  Jerusalem  at  Pentecost  (v.  16).  Even  with  a  ship  at 
his  command,  he  could  not  calculate  on  favorable  weather,  if  he  lost  his 
present  opportunity  :  nor  could  he  safely  leave  the  ship  which  had  con- 
veyed him  hitherto ;  for  he  was  well  aware  that  he  could  not  be  certain 
of  meeting  with  another  that  would  forward  his  progress.  He  deter- 
mined, therefore,  to  proceed  in  the  same  vessel,  on  her  southward  course 
from  Trogyllium  to  Miletus.  Yet  the  same  watchful  zeal  which  had 
urged  him  to  employ  the  last  precious  moments  of  the  stay  at  Troas  in 
his  Master's  cause  suggested  to  his  prompt  mind  a  method  of  re-impress- 
ing the  lessons  of  eternal  truth  on  the  hearts  of  the  Christians  at 
Ephesus,  though  he  was  unable  to  revisit  them  in  person.  He  found  that 
the  vessel  would  be  detained  at  Miletus  ^  a  sufficient  time  to  enable  him 
to  send  for  the  presbyters  of  the  Ephesian  Church,  with  the  hope  of  their 
meeting  him  there.  The  distance  between  the  two  cities  was  hardly 
thirty  miles,  and  a  good  road  connected  them  together.^  Thus,  though 
the  stay  at  Miletus  would  be  short,  and  it  might  be  hazardous  to  attempt 
the  journey  himself,  he  could  hope  for  one  more  interview,  —  if  not 
with  the  whole  Ephesian  Church,  at  least  with  those  members  of  it 
whose  responsibility  was  the  greatest. 

The  sail  from  Trogyllium,  with  a  fair  wind,  would  require  but  little 
time.  If  the  vessel  weighed  anchor  at  daybreak  on  Wednesday,  she 
would  be  in  harbor  long  before  noon.'  The  message  was  doubtless  sent 
to  Ephesus  immediately  on  her  arrival ;  and  Paul  remained  at  Miletus 
waiting  for  those  whom  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  his  hands,  had  made  "  over- 
seers "  over  the  flock  of  Christ  (v.  28).  The  city  where  we  find  the 
Christian  Apostle  now  waiting,  while  those  who  had  the  care  of  the 
vessel  were  occupied  with  the  business  that  detained  them,  has  already 
been  referred  to  as  more  ancient  than  Ephesus,*  though  in  the  age  of  St. 

1  It  is  surely  quite  a  mistake  to  suppose,  in  consequence  of  the  state  of  the  weather  at 

with  some  commentators,  that  St.   Paul  had  the  darkness. 

the  command  of  the  movements  of  the  vessel.  ^  piiny  says  that  Magnesia  is  fifteen  miles 

His  influence  with  the  captain  and  the  seamen  from  Ephesus,  and  Magnesia  was  about  equi- 

might  induce  them  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  distant  from  Ephesus,  Tralles,  and  Miletus, 

oblige  him  ;  and  perhaps  we  may  trace  some  For  further  notices  of  the  roads,  we  must  refer 

such  feeling  in  the  arrangements   at  Assos,  to  our  larger  editions. 

just  as  afterwards  at  Sidcn  (Acts  xxvii.  3),  ^  The  distance  is  about  seventeen  nautical 

when  on  his  voyage  to  Rome.     But  he  mu&»  miles  and  a  half.     If  the  vessel  sailed  at  six  in 

necessarily  have  been  content  to  take  advan-  the  morning  from  Trogyllium,  she  would  easily 

tage  of  such  opportunities  as  were  consistent  be  in  harbor  at  nine. 

with  the  business  on  which  the  vessel  sailed.  *  See  above,  p.  410.  Comjare  p.  462.   Thus 

She   evidently  put  in  for  business  to  Troas,  the  imperial  coins  of  Miletus  are  rare,  and  the 

Miletus,  and  Patara.     At  the  other  places  she  autonomous  coins  begin  very  early. 
«eems  to  have  touched  merely  for  convenience. 


600  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUX.  chap,  xx 

Paul  inferior  to  it  in  political  and  mercantile  eminence.  Even  in  Homer, 
the  "  Carian  Miletus  "  appears  as  a  place  of  renown.  Eighty  colonies 
went  forth  from  the  banks  of  the  Maeander,  and  some  of  them  were 
spread  even  to  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  beyond  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules  to  the  west.  It  received  its  first  blow  in  the  Persian 
war,  when  its  inhabitants,  like  the  Jews,  had  experience  of  a  Babylonian 
captivity.^  It  suffered  once  more  in  Alexander's  great  campaign  ;  ^  and 
after  his  time  it  gradually  began  to  sink  towards  its  present  condition  of 
ruin  and  decay,  from  the  influence,  as  it  would  seem,  of  mere  natural 
causes,  —  the  increase  of  alluvial  soil  in  the  delta  having  the  effect  of 
removing  the  city  gradually  farther  and  farther  from  the  sea.  Even  in 
the  Apostle's  time,  there  was  between  the  city  and  the  shore  a  considera- 
ble space  of  level  ground,  through  which  the  ancient  river  meandered  in 
new  windings,  like  the  Forth  at  Stirling.'  Few  events  connect  the 
history  of  Miletus  with  the  transactions  of  the  Roman  Empire.  When 
St.  Paul  was  there,  it  was  simply  one  of  the  second-rate  seaports  on  this 
populous  coast,  ranking,  perhaps,  with  Adramyttium  or  Patara,  but 
hardly  with  Ephesus  or  Smyrna.* 

The  excitement  and  joy  must  have  been  great  among  the  Christians  of 
Ephesus,  when  they  heard  that  their  honored  friend  and  teacher,  to  whom 
they  had  listened  so  often  in  the  school  of  Tyrannus,  was  in  the  harbor ' 
of  Miletus,  within  the  distance  of  a  few  miles.  The  jA'esbyters  must 
have  gathered  together  in  all  haste  to  obey  the  summons,  and  gone  with 
eager  steps  out  of  the  southern  gate,  which  leads  to  Miletus.  By  those 
who  travel  on  such  an  errand,  a  journey  of  twenty  or  thirty  miles  is  not 
regarded  long  and  tedious,  nor  is  much  regard  paid  to  the  difference 
between  day  and  night.®     The  presbyters  of  Ephesus  might  easily  reach 

^  Herod.  V.  30,  vi.  18.  ward    to    the    time  when   Samos   and  other 

2  Arrian,  Anab.  i.  19,  20.  islands  will  unite  with  the  shore,  and  the  prcs- 

*  This  is  the  comparison  of  Sir  C.  Fellows.  ent   promontories   will  be   seen   inland.     See 

The  Maeander  was  proverbial  among  the  an-  Kiepert's   Hellas,  for  a  representation  of  the 

cients,  both  for  the  sinuosities  of  its  course,  coast  as  it  was  in  the  early  Greek  times ;  and 

and  the  great  quantity  of  alluvial  soil  brought  for  a  true  delineation  of  its  present  state,  see 

down  b}    the  stream.     Pliny  tells  us  that  is-  the  Admiralty  Chart,  No.  1555. 
lands  near  Miletus  had   been  joined  to   the  *  For  Smyrna,  see  again  pp.  410,  462. 

continent,  and  Strabo  relates  that  Priene,  once  °  Strabo  says  that  Miletus  had  four  har- 

a  seaport,  was  in  his  time  forty  stadia  from  the  bors,   one  of  which  was  for  vessels  of  war. 

sea.     Fellows   says  that  Miletus  was   once  a  No  trace  of  them  is  to  be  seen  now. 
headland  in  a  bay,  which  is  now  a  "  dead  flat "  ''  For  a  notion  of  the  scenery  of  this  joar- 

ten  miles  in  breadth.     Chandler  (p.  202),  on  ney  of  the  presbyters  over  or  round  the  ridge 

looking  down  from  Priene  on  the  "  bare  and  of  Mycale,  and  by  the  windings  of  the  Majan- 

marshy  plain,"  says,  "  How  different  its  aspect  dcr,  the  reader  may  consult  Chandler  and  Fel- 

whcn    the    mountains  were   boundaries  of  a  lows.     The  latter  describes  the  extensive  view 

gulf,  and  Miletus,  Myus,  and  Priene,  maritime  in   each   direction   from   the   summit  of   the 

cities!"  —  And  again  (p.  207),  he  looks  for-  range.     The  former  was  travelling,  Like  these 


CHAP.  XX.  SPEECH   TO   THE   EPHESIAN  PRESBYTERS  601 

Miletus  Oil  the  day  after  that  on  which  the  summons  was  received.'  And 
though  they  might  be  weary  when  they  arrived,  their  fatigue  would  soon 
be  forgotten  at  the  sight  of  their  friend  and  instructor  ;  and  God,  also, 
"  who  comforts  them  that  are  cast  down  "  (2  Cor.  vii.  6),  comforted  him 
by  the  sight  of  his  disciples.  They  were  gathered  together  —  probably  in 
some  solitary  spot  upon  the  shore  —  to  listen  to  his  address.  This  little 
company  formed  a  singular  contrast  with  the  crowds  which  used  to  as- 
semble at  the  times  of  public  amusement  in  the  theatre  of  Miletus.'^  But 
that  vast  theatre  is  now  a  silent  ruin,  —  while  the  words  spoken  by  a  care- 
worn traveller  to  a  few  despised  strangers  are  still  living  as  they  were  that 
day,  to  teach  lessons  for  all  time,  and  to  make  known  eternal  truths  to  all 
who  will  hear  them,  —  while  they  reveal  to  us,  as  though  they  were  merely 
human  words,  all  the  tenderness  and  the  aSection  of  Paul,  the  individual 
speaker.  ^^^^ 

XX. 

He  reminds         Brethren,'  ye  know  yourselves,*  from  the  first  day  that  1   18 
p^uaboM*     came  into  Asia,  after  what  manner  I  have  been  with  you 

amon;;  them.         ,  ,  ,ni         ,.  .  i         x         it  h       •  ■, 

throughout  all  the  time  ;   serving  the  Lord  Jesus  *  with  all  ®   19 
lowliness  of  mind,  and  with  many  tears '  and  trials  which  befell  me  through 
the  plotting^  of  the  Jews.     And  how  I  kept^  back  none  of  those  things  20 
which  are  profitable  for  you,  but  declared  them  to  you,  and  taught  you 
both  publicly  and  from  house  '*  to  house ;  testifying  both  to  Jews  and   21 
Gentiles  their  "  need  of  repentance  towards  God,  and  faith  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.     And  now,  as  for  me,''^  behold  I  go  to  Jerusalem  '^  in  spirit  22 

presbyters,  in  April ;    and  "  the  weather  was  *  "  Ye  yourselves,"  emphatic, 

unsettled  ;  the  sky  was  blue  and  the  sun  shone,  ^  "  The  Lord,"  as  Col.  iii.  24.     With  this 

but  a  wet  wintry  north  wind  swept  the  clouds  self-commendation  Tholuck  compares  1  Thess. 

along  the  top  of  the  range  of  Mycale."  ii.  10,  and  2  Cor.  vi.  3,  4.     See  note  on  verse 

1  We  may  remark  here,  in  answer  to  those  33  below.  "  Felix,"  says  Bengel,  "  qui  sic  exor- 

who  think  that  the  kmoaoT^oi  mentioned  in  this  diri  potest  conscientiam  auditorum  testando." 
passage  were  the  bishops  of  various  places  in  "^  "All."    Tholuck  i-emarks  on  the  charac- 

the  province  of  Asia,  that  there  was  evidently  teristic  use  of  "  all  "  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles, 
no  time  to  summon  them.     On  the  converti-  "^  "  Tears."  Compare  2  Cor.  ii.  4,  and  Phil. 

bility  of  emaKonog  and  npea^vTsoo^,  see  below.  iii.  18. 

^  In  our  larger  editions  is  a  view  of  Miletus  ^  "Plotting  of  Jeios."    Compare  1  Cor.  xt. 

from  Laborde.     The  two  conspicuous  features  31. 

are  the  great  theatre  and  the  windings  of  the  ®  "  Kept  back  nothing."    Compare  2  Cor.  It, 

Mceaiider  towards  the  sea.  2,  and  1  Thess.  ii.  4. 

^  "  Brethren"  is  found  here  in  the  Uncial  ^'^  "House  to  house."   ComparelThess.ii.il, 

Manuscript  d   (Codex  Bezje)   and  in    some  ii  Observe  that  the  definite  article  is  used 

early  versions ;    and  we  have  adopted  it,  be-  here.     The  repentance  (which  they  ought  to 

cause  it  is  nearly  certain  that  St.  Paul  would  have)  towards  God,  <^c. 
not  have  begun  his  address  abruptly  without  ^^  See  next  note. 

some  such  word.     Compare  all  his  other  re-  ^^  The  order  of  the  words,  according  to  the 

corded  speeches  in  the  Acts.  true  reading,  giv<^s  this  turn  to  'he  passage. 


602 


THE  LIFE  A3    0    EPIS  "LES   OP   ST.   PAUL, 


foredoomed  to  chains  ;  yet  I    ?  .,ow  n  jt  tho  things  which  shall  befall  me 

23  there,  save  that  in  every  city^  the  Holy  Spirit  gives  the  same  testimony, 

24  that  bonds  and  afflictions  abide  me.  But  none  of  these  things  move  me,^ 
neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course 
■with  joy,^  and  the  ministry  which  I  received  from  the  Lord  Jesus  to  testify 
the  Glad-tidings  of  the  grace  of  God. 

25  And  now,  behold  I  know  that  ye  all,*  among  whom  I  have  „.  , 

'  J  '  o  His  farewell 

gone  from  city  to  city,  proclaiming  the  kingdom  of  God,  shall  ^^^'^s- 

26  see  my  face  no  more.     Wherefore  I  take  you  to  witness  this  day,  that  I 

27  am  clear  from  the  blood  *  of  all.     For  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto 

28  you  all  the  counsel  of  God.  Take  heed,  therefore,  unto  yourselves,  and 
to  all  the  flock  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  made  you  overseers,^  to  feed 

29  the  Church  of  God,''  which  He  purchased  with  His  own  blood.  For  this  I 
know,  that  after  my  departure  grievous  wolves  shall  enter  in  among  you, 

80  who  will  not  spare  the  flock.  And  from  your  own  selves  will  men  arise 
speaking  perverted  words,  that  they  may  draw  away  the  disciples  after 

81  themselves.*  .  Therefore,  be  watchful,  and  remember  that  for  the  space  of 


St.  Paul  was  "  bound,"  i.  e.  a  prisoner  in  chains, 
but  as  yet  only  in  the  spirit,  not  in  body.  This 
is  not  the  Holy  Spirit,  from  which  it  is  dis- 
tinguished by  the  addition  of  "  Holy  "  in  the 
verse  below.  This  explanation  of  the  passage 
(which  agrees  with  that  of  Grotius  and  Chrys- 
ostom)  seems  the  natural  one,  in  spite  of  the 
objections  of  De  Wette  and  others. 

1  We  have  two  examples  of  this  afterwards, 
namely,  at  Tyre  (Acts  xxi.  4)  and  at  Caesarea 
(Acts  xxi.  10,  11).  And  from  the  present 
passage  we  learn  that  such  warnings  had  been 
given  in  many  places  during  this  journey. 
St.  Paul's  own  anticipations  of  danger  appear 
Rom.  XV.  31. 

2  The  reading  adopted  by  Tischendorf 
here,  though  shorter,  is  the  same  in  sense. 

3  Compare  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  and  Phil.  ii.  16. 
See  the  remarks  which  have  been  made  in  the 
early  part  of  this  chapter  on  this  favorite 
metaphor  of  St.  Paul,  especially  p.  585,  n.  1. 
[See  also  p.  157,  n.  6.  —  h.] 

*  This  "  all "  includes  not  only  the  Ephe- 
sian  presbyters,  but  also  the  brethren  from 
Macedonia.  (See  Acts  xx.  4.)  The  "  gone  " 
is,  literally,  "  gone  through."  With  regard  to 
the  expectation  expressed  by  St.  Paul,  it  must 


be  regarded  as  a  human  inference  from  tho 
danger  which  he  knew  to  be  before  him.  If 
(as  we  think)  he  was  liberated  after  his  first 
imprisonment  at  Rome,  he  did  see  some  of  his 
present  audience  again.  Tholuck  compares 
Phil.  i.  20,  i.  25,  and  ii.  24. 

*  See  xviii.  6.  "  Your  blood  be  upon  your 
own  heads  :  1  am  clean." 

6  'ETTiCT/coTTOvf.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
remark,  that  in  the  New  Testament  the  words 
imcKOTTOQ  and  npeaiSvTepog  are  convertible. 
Compare  verse  1 7  and  Tit.  i.  5,  7,  and  see  p. 
378.  Tholuck  remarks  that  this  reference  to 
the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  author  of  church  gov- 
ernment is  in  exact  accordance  with  1  Cor.  xii. 
8,  11,  and  28. 

■^  We  have  retained  the  T.  R.  here  since 
the  MSS.  and  fathers  are  divided  between  the 
readings  "  God  "  and  "  Lord."  At  the  same 
time,  we  must  acknowledge  that  the  balance  uf 
authority  is  rather  in  favor  of  "  Lord."  A 
very  candid  and  able  outline  of  the  evidence 
on  each  side  of  the  question  is  given  by  Mr. 
Humphry.  The  sentiment  exactly  agrees  with 
1  Cor.  vi.  20. 

8  We  read  "  themselves "  with  Lachmann 
on  the  authority  of  some  of  the  best  MSS. 


CHAP.  XX. 


GRIEF   OF   SEPAEATION. 


603 


Pinal  com- 
mendation to 
God,  and  ex- 
hortation to 
disinterested 
exertion. 


XX. 


three  years  '  I  ceased  not  to  warn  every  onq  of  you,  night  and  day,  with 
tears. ^ 

And'  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  God,  and  to  the  32 
word  of  His  grace  ;  even  to  Him  who  is  able  to  build  you  up 
and  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all  them  that  are  sancti- 
fied.    When  I  was  with  you,*  I  coveted  no  man's  silver  or  gold,   33 
or  raiment.     Yea,  ye  know  yourselves'  that  these  hands  ministered  to   34 
my  necessities,  and  to  those  who  were  with  me.^     And  all  this  I  did  for  35 
your  example  ;  to  teach  you  that  so  laboring  ye  ought  to  support  the 
helpless,''  and  to  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  He  said,  "  It 

IS   MORE   BLESSED   TO    GIVE   THAN   TO   RECEIVE." 


The  close  of  this  speech  was  followed  by  a  solemn  act  of  united  suppli- 
cation (Acts  XX.  36).  St.  Paul  knelt  down  on  the  shore  with  all  those 
who  had  listened  to  him,  and  offered  up  a  prayer  to  that  God  who  was 
founding  His  Church  in  the  midst  of  difficulties  apparently  insuperable ; 
and  then  followed  an  outbreak  of  natural  grief,  which  even  Christian 
faith  and  resignation  were  not  able  to  restrain.  They  fell  on  the  Apos- 
tle's neck  and  clung  to  him,  and  kissed  him  again  and  again,^  sorrowing 
most  because  of  his  own  foreboding  announcement,  that  they  sliould 
never  behold  that  countenance  again,  on  which  they  had  often  gazed^ 
with  reverence  and  love  (ib.  37,  38).  But  no  long  time  could  be  devoted 
to  the  grief  of  separation.  •  The  wind  was  fair,^"  and  the  vessel  must 


1  This  space-  of  three  ytars  may  either  be 
nsed  (in  the  Jewish  mode  of  reckoning)  for 
the  two  years  and  upwards  which  St.  Paul 
spent  at  Ephesus ;  or,  if  we  suppose  him,  to 
speak  to  the  Macedonians  and  Corinthians  also 
(who  were  present),  it  may  refer  to  the  whole 
time  (about  three  years  and  a  half),  since  he 
came  to  reside  at  Ephesus  in  the  autumn  of 
54  A.  D. 

^  See  p.  601,  n.  7.  We  have  much  satis- 
faction in  referring  here  to  the  second  of  A. 
Monod's  recently  published  sermons.  (Saint 
Paul,  Cinq  Discours.     Paris,  1851.) 

2  This  conclusion  reminds  us  of  that  of  the 
letter  to  the  Komans  so  recently  written.  Com- 
pare Rom.  xvi.  25. 

*  This  is  the  force  of  the  aorist,  unless  we 
prefer  to  suppose  it  used  (as  often  by  St.  Paul) 
for  a  perfect. 

^  This  way  of  appealing  to  the  recollection 
of  his  converts  in  proof  of  his  disinterested- 
ness is  highly  characteristic  of  St.  Paul.    Com- 


pare 1  Thess.  ii.  5-11,2  Thess.  iii.  7-9,  1  Cor. 
ix.  4-15,  2  Cor.  xii.  14,  &c. 

•  This  mention  of  his  companions  and 
attendants  is  characteristic.  St.  Paul  seema 
always  to  have  been  accompanied  by  a  band  of 
disciples,  who  helped  him  in  the  discharge  of 
the  many  duties  in  which  he  was  involved  by 
"  the  care  of  all  the  churches."  Compare  Gal. 
i.  2  for  the  expression. 

■^  "  The  weak,"  1.  e.  the  poor.  This  inter- 
pretation is  defended  by  Chrysostom,  and  con- 
firmed by  Aristophanes,  quoted  by  Wetstein. 
The  interpretation  of  Calvin  (who  takes  it  as 
the  weak  in  faith),  which  is  supported  by  Ne- 
ander  and  others,  seems  hardly  consistent  with 
the  context. 

'  The  Greek  verb  (v.  37)  is  in  the  imper- 
fect. 

9  "  Gaze  on  his  face,"  v.  38.  The  expres- 
sion is  stronger  than  that  used  by  St.  Faol 
himself,  v.  25. 

1°  See  below. 


604  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.xx 

depart  They  accompanied  the  Apostle  to  the  edge  of  the  water 
(ib.  38).^  The  Christian  brethren  were  torn  away  from  the  embrace  of 
their  friends ;  ^  and  the  ship  sailed  out  into  the  open  sea,  while  the  pres- 
byters prepared  for  their  weary  and  melancholy  return  to  Ephesus. 

The  narrative  of  the  voyage  is  now  resumed  in  detail.  It  is  quite 
clear,  from  St.  Luke's  mode  of  expression,  that  the  vessel  sailed  from 
Miletus  on  the  day  of  the  interview.  With  a  fair  wind  she  would  easily 
run  down  to  Cos  in  the  course  of  the  same  afternoon.  The  distance  is 
about  forty  nautical  miles  ;  the  direction  is  due  south.  The  phrase  used 
implies  a  straight  course  and  a  fair  wind,'  and  we  conclude,  from  the 
well-known  phenomena  of  the  Levant,  that  the  wind  was  north-westerly, 
which  is  the  prevalent  direction  in  those  seas.*  With  this  wind  the  vessel 
would  make  her  passage  from  Miletus  to  Cos  in  six  hours,  passing  the 
shores  of  Caria,  with  the  high  summits  of  Mount  Latmus  on  the  left,  and 
with  groups  of  small  islands  (among  which  Patmos  (Rev.  i.  9)  would  be 
seen  at  times)  ^  studding  the  sea  on  the  right.  Cos  is  an  island  about 
twenty-three  miles  in  length,  extending  from  south-west  to  north-east, 
and  separated  by  a  narrow  channel  from  the  mainland.^  But  we  should 
rather  conceive  the  town  to  be  referred  to,  which  lay  at  the  eastern 
extremity  of  the  island.  It  is  described  by  the  ancients  as  a  beautiful 
and  well-built  city:  and  it  was  surrounded  with  fortifications  erected  by 
Alcibiades  towards  the  close  of  the  Peloponnesian  war.  Its  symmetry 
had  been  injured  by  an  earthquake,  and  the  restoration  had  not  yet  been 
effected  ;  but  the  productiveness  of  the  island  to  which  it  belonged,  and 
its  position  in  the  Levant,  made  the  city  a  place  of  no  little  consequence. 
The  wine  and  the  textile  fabrics  of  Cos  were  well  known  among  the 
imports  of  Italy.  Even  now  no  harbor  is  more  frequented  by  the  laer- 
chant-vessels  of  the  Levant.^  The  roadstead  is  sheltered  by  nature  from 
all  winds  except  the  north-east,  and  the  inner  harbor  was  not  then,  as  is 
is  now,  an  unhealthy  lagoon.*     Moreover,  Claudius  had  recently  best(  wed 

1  Prof.   Hackett  notices   how   the   phrase,  ^  This  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  chan- 

they  accompanied  him  to  the  ship,  suits  the  place,  nel  mentioned  below,  between  the  southei  n  side 

which  had  then  a  long  level  between  the  town  of  Cos  and  Cape  Crio. 
and  the  anchorage.  ''  "  No  place  in  the  Archipelago  is  murefre- 

^  The  English  translation  of  xxi.  1,  "got-  quentcd  by  merchant-vessels  than  this  port." 

ten  from  them,"  is  too  weak.  Purdy,  p.  115. 

3  They  ran   before  the   wind,  xxi.   1.     See  >*  See  the  description  of  the  town  and  anchor- 

what  has  been   said   before   on   this   nautical  age  in  Purdy:  — "  The  town  is  sheltered  from 

phrase,  p.  246.  westerly  winds   by  very  high   mountams,"  p. 

*  For  what  relates  to  this  prevalent  wind,  114.  "  The  road  is  good  in  all  winds  except 
see  below.  the  E.  N.  E.,"  p.  115.     A  view  of  the  modern 

*  Dr.  Clarke  describes  a  magnificent  even-  city  of  Cos  from  the  anchorage,  as  well  as  the 
ing,  with  the  sun  setting  behind  Patmos,  present  soundings,  and  the  traces  of  liw  an- 
which  he  saw  on  the  voyage  from  Samos  to  cient  port,  is  given  in  the  Admiralty  Uaart 
Cos.  No.  1550. 


liHODES. 


605 


peculiar  privileges  on  the  city.'  Another  circumstance  made  it  the 
resort  of  many  strangers,  and  gave  it  additional  renown.  It  was  the  seat 
of  the  medical  school  traditionally  connected  with  ^sculapius ;  and  the 
temple  of  the  god  of  healing  was  crowded  with  votive  models,  so  as  to 
hecome  in  eifect  a  museum  of  anatomy  and  pathology.'^  The  Christian 
physician  St.  Luke,  wlio  knew  these  coasts  so  well,  could  hardly  be 
ignorant  of  the  sciciitific  and  religious  celebrity  of  Cos.  We  can  imagine 
the  thankfulness  with  which  he  would  reflect  —  as  the  vessel  lay  at 
anchor  off  the  city  of  Hippocrates  —  that  he  had  been  emancipated  from 
the  bonds  of  superstition,  without  becoming  a  victim  to  that  scepticism 
which  often  succeeds  it,  especially  in  minds  familiar  with  the  science  of 
physical  phenomena.^ 

On  leaving  the  anchorage  of  Cos,  the  vessel  would  have  to  proceed 
through  the  channel  which  lies  between  the  southern  shore  of  the  island 
and  that  tongue  of  the  mainland  which  terminates  in  the  Point  of 
Ciiidus.  If  the  wind  continued  in  the  north-west,  the  vessel  would  be 
able  to  hold  a  straight  course  from  Cos  to  Cape  Crio  (for  such  is  the 
modern  name  of  the  promontory  of  Triopium,  on  which  Cnidus  was 
built),  and  after  rounding  the  point  she  would  run  clear  before  the  wind 
all  the  way  to  Rhodes.*     Another  of  St.  Paul's  voyages  will  lead  us  to 


^  Tac  Ann.  xii.  61. 

^  See  p.  271,  n.  1.  Perhaps  the  fullest 
account  of  Cos  is  that  given  by  Dr.  Clarke, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  196-213,  and  again  after  his  return 
from  Egypt,  vol.  iii.  pp.  321-329.  He  de- 
scribes the  celebrated  plane-tree,  and  from  this 
island  he  brought  the  altar  which  is  now  in 
the  Public  Library  at  Cambridge.  We  may 
refer  also  to  a  paper  on  Cos  by  Col.  Leake  in 
the  second  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the 
Roijnl  Society  of  Literature.  See  Smith's  Diet. 
of  Cicor/. 

^  If  we  attached  any  importance  to  the  tra- 
dition which  represents  St.  Luke  as  a  painter, 
we  might  add  that  Cos  was  the  birthplace  of 
Apelles  as  well  as  of  Hippocrates. 

*  We  shall  return  again  to  the  subject  of 
the  north-westerly  winds  which  prevail  during 
the  fine  season  in  the  Archipelago,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  neighborhood  of  Rhodes.  For  the 
present  the  following  authorities  may  suflBce. 
Speaking  of  Rhodes,  Dr.  Clarke  says  (vol.  ii. 
p.  223),  "  The  winds  are  liable  to  little  varia- 
tion ;  they  are  N.  or  N.  W.  during  almost 
every  month,  but  these  winds  blow  with  great 
violence :  "  and  again,  p.  230,  "  A  N.  wind  has 
prevailed  from  the    time   of   our  leaving   the 


Dardanelles."  Again  (vol.  iii.  p.  378),  in  the 
same  seas  he  speaks  of  a  gale  from  the  N. 
W.  :  —  "  It  is  surprising  for  what  a  length  of 
time,  and  how  often,  the  N.  W.  rages  in  the 
Archipelago.  It  prevails  almost  unceasingly 
through  the  greater  part  of  the  year,"  380. 
And  in  a  note  he  adds,  "  Mr.  Spencer  Smith, 
brother  of  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  informed  the 
author  that  he  was  an  entire  month  employed  in 
endeavoring  to  effect  a  passar/e  Jrom  Rliodes  to 
Stanchio  [Cos] :  the  N^.  W,  wind  prevailed  all 
the  time  with  such  force  that  the  vessel  in  which  he 
sailed  could  not  double  Cape  Crio."  We  find 
the  following  in  Norie's  Sailinrj  Directory,  p. 
127  :  — "  The  Etesian  winds,  which  blow  from 
the  N.  E.  and  N.  W.  quarters,  are  the  mon- 
soons of  the  Levant,  which  blow  constantly 
during  the  summer,  and  give  to  the  climate 
of  Greece  so  advantageous  a  temperature.  At 
this  season  the  greatest  part  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, but  particularly  the  eastern  half,  in- 
cluding the  Adriatic  and  Archipelago,  are 
subject  to  N.  W.  winds.  .  .  .  When  the  sun, 
on  advancing  from  the  north,  has  begun  to 
rarefy  the  atmophere  of  southern  Europe,  th* 
Etesians  of  spring  commence  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean  Sea.      These    blow  in    Italy  during 


606  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.xx. 

make  mention  of  Cnidus.^  We  shall,  therefore,  only  say,  that  the 
extremity  of  the  promontory  descends  with  a  perpendicular  precipice  to 
the  sea,  and  that  this  high  rock  is  separated  by  a  level  space  from  the 
main,  so  that,  at  a  distaiice,  it  appears  like  one  of  the  numerous  islands 
on  the  coast.^  Its  history,  as  well  as  its  appearance,  was  well  impressed 
on  the  mind  of  the  Greek  navigator  of  old  ;  for  it  was  the  scene  of 
Conon's  victory  ;  and  the  memory  of  their  great  admiral  made  the  south- 
western corner  of  the  Asiatic  peninsula  to  the  Athenians  what  the 
south-western  corner  of  Spain  is  to  us,  through  the  memories  of  St.  Vin- 
cent and  Trafalgar. 

We  have  supposed  St.  Paul's  vessel  to  have  rounded  Cape  Crio,  to  have 
left  the  western  shore  of  Asia  Minor,  and  to  be  proceeding  along  the 
southern  shore.  The  current  between  Rhodes  and  the  main  runs  strongly 
to  the  westward ;  ^  but  the  north-westerly  wind  *  would  soon  carry  the 
vessel  through  the  space  of  fifty  miles  to  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
island,  where  its  famous  and  beautiful  city  was  built. 

Until  the  building  of  its  metropolis,  the  name  of  this  island  was  com- 
paratively unknown.  But  from  the  time  when  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earlier  towns  were  brought  to  one  centre,*  and  the  new  city,  built  by 
Hippodamus  (the  same  architect  who  planned  the  streets  of  the  Piraeus) , 
rose  in  the  midst  of  its  perfumed  gardens  and  its  amphitheatre  of  hills, 
with  unity  so  symmetrical  that  it  appeared  like  one  house,^ —  Rhodes  has 
held  an  illustrious  place  among  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean.  From 
the  very  effect  of  its  situation,  lying  as  it  did  on  the  verge  of  two  of  the 
basins  of  that  sea,  it  became  the  intermediate  point  of  the  eastern  and 
western  trade.''  Even  now  it  is  the  harbor  at  which  most  vessels  touch 
on  their  progress  to  and  from  the  Archipelago.^     It  was  the  point  from 

March  and  April."    In  Purdy's  Sailing  Direc-  Cos  and  Cnidus.     It  was  about  the   time  of 

tory,  p.  122,  it  is  said  of  the  neighborhood  of  the  Peloponnesian  war  that  the  three  earlier 

Smyrna  and  Ephesus :  "  The  northerly  winds  cities  of  Lindus,  lalysus,   and  Camirus  were 

hereabout  continue  all  the  summer,  and  some-  centralized  in  the  new  citi/  of  Rhodes.     "  We 

times  blow  with  unremitting  violence  for  sev-  find  the  Rhodian  navy  rising  in  strength  and 

eral  weeks."     See  again  what  Admiral  Beau-  consequence  towards  the  time   of  Demosthe- 

fort  says  of  the  N.  W.  wind  at  Patara.  nes ;  "  and,  after  this  period,  it  "  makes  nearly 

1  See  Acts  xxvii.  7.  as  great  a  figure  in  history  as  Venice  does  in 

2  In   the  Admiralty  Chart  of  the  gulf  of  the  annals  of  Modem  Europe." 

Cos,  &c.  (No.  1604),  a  very  good  view  of  Cape  ^  This  is  the  phrase  of  Diodorus  Siculus. 

Crio   is  given.     We  shall   speak  of   Cnidus  ''  An  interesting  illustration  of  the   trade 

more  fully  hereafter.     Meantime  we  may  refer  of  Rhodes  will  be  found   in  vol.  iii.  of  thp 

t(i  a  view  in  Laborde,  which  gives  an  admira-  Trans,  of  the  Roijal  Society  of  Literature,  in  a 

lile  representation  of  the  passage  between  Cos  paper  on  some  inscribed  handles  of  wine-ves- 

and  Ciipe  Crio.  sels  found  at  Alexandria.     We  shall  refer  to 

^  I'urdy.                                  *  See  above.  this  paper  again  when  we  come  to  speak  of 

*  Herodotus  simply  mentions   Rhodes   as  Cnidus. 

forming  part  of  the  Dorian  confederacy  with  *  "  Vessels  bound  to  the  ports  of  Earamania 


CHAP.  XX.  RHODES.  607 

which  the  Greek  geographers  reckoned  their  parallels  of  latitude  and 
meridians  of  longitude.  And  we  may  assert  that  no  place  has  been  so 
long  renowned  for  ship-building,  if  we  may  refer  to  the  "  benches,  and 
masts,  and  ship-boards  "  of  "  Dodanim  and  Chittim,"  with  the  feeble  con- 
structions of  the  modern  Turkish  dockyard,  as  the  earliest  and  latest  efforts 
of  that  Rhodian  skill,  which  was  celebrated  by  Pliny  in  the  time  of  St. 
Paul.  To  the  copious  supplies  of  ship-timber  were  added  many  other 
physical  advantages.  It  was  a  proverb,  that  the  sun  shone  every  day  in 
Rhodes ;  and  her  inhabitants  revelled  in  the  luxuriance  of  the  vegetation 
which  surrounded  them.  We  find  this  beauty  and  this  brilliant  atmosphere 
typified  in  her  coins,  on  one  side  of  which  is  the  head  of  Apollo  radiated 
like  the  sun,  while  the  other  exhibits  the  rose-flower,  the  conventional 
emblem  which  bore  the  name  of  the  island.^  But  the  interest  of  what  is 
merely  outward  fades  before  the  moral  interest  associated  with  its  history. 
If  we  rapidly  run  over  its  annals,  we  find  something  in  every  period,  with 
which  elevated  thoughts  are  connected.  The  Greek  period  is  the  first, — 
lamous  not  merely  for  the  great  Temple  of  the  Sun,  and  the  Colossus, 
which,  like  the  statue  of  Borromeo  at  Arona,  seemed  to  stand  over  the 
city  to  protect  it,*  —  but  far  more  for  the  supremacy  of  the  seas,  which 
was  employed  to  put  down  piracy,  for  the  code  of  mercantile  law,  by 
which  the  commerce  of  later  times  was  regulated,  and  for  the  legislative 
enactments,  framed  almost  in  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  for  the  protection 
of  the  poor.  This  is  followed  by  the  Roman  period,  when  the  faithful  ally, 
which  had  aided  by  her  naval  power  in  subduing  the  East,  was  honored 
by  the  Senate  and  the  Emperors  with  the  name  and  privileges  of  freedom : ' 
and  this  by  the  Byzantine,  during  which  Christianity  was  established  in 
the  Levant,  and  the  city  of  the  Rhodians,  as  the  metropolis  of  a  province 
of  islands,  if  no  longer  holding  the  empire  of  the  Mediterranean,  was  at 

as  well  as  to  those  of  Syria  and  Egypt  gene-  been  alluded  to  before  in  reference  to  Athens, 

rally  touch  here  for  pilots  or  for  intelligence."  p.  326  ;  and  in  height  they  were  nearly  identi- 

Beaufort.     "  The  southern  harbor  is  generally  cal,  the  latter  being  106  feet,  the  former  105 

full    of   merchant-vessels."      Purdy,    p.    232.  (70  cubits).     See  the  paper  referred  to,  p.  606, 

"  The  chief  source  of  what  little  opulence  it  n.  7. 

still  enjoys  is  in  the  number  of  vessels  which  ^  After  the   defeat  of  Antiochus,  Ehodes 

touch  here  on  their  passage  from  the  Archi-  received  from  the  Roman  senate  some  valua- 

pelago  to  the  eastward."    lb.  ble  possessions  on   the    mainland,   including 

1  One  of  these  coins  is  given  in  the  larger  part  of  Caria  and  the  whole  of  Lycia.     See 

editions.  what  has  been  said  on  the  province  of  Asia, 

■^  The  Colossus  was  in  ruins  even  in  Stra-  pp.  206,  207,  comparing  p.  209.  These  con- 
bo's  time.  It  had  been  overthrown  by  an  tinental  possessions  were  afterwards  with- 
earthquake  according  to  Polybius.  It  seems  drawn  ;  but  the  Rhodians  were  still  regarded 
to  be  a  popular  mistake  that  this  immense  as  among  the  allies  of  Rome.  They  rendered  . 
statue  stood  across  the  entrance  of  one  of  the  valuable  aid  in  the  war  against  Mithridates, 
harbors.  The  only  parallel  in  modern  times  is  and  were  not  reduced  to  the  form  of  a  prov- 
the  statue  of  San  Carlo  Borromeo,  which  has  ince  till  the  reign  of  Vespasian. 


t)08  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xx. 

least  recognized  as  the  Queen  of  the  ^Egeaii.^  During  the  earlier  portion 
of  the  middle  ages,  while  mosques  were  gradually  taking  the  place  of 
Byzantine  cliurches,  Rhodes  was  the  last  Christian  city  to  make  a  stand 
against  the  advancing  Saracens  ;  and  again  during  their  later  portion,  she 
re-appears  as  a  city  ennobled  by  the  deeds  of  Christian  chivalry  ;  so  that, 
ever  since  the  successful  siege  of  Solyman  the  Magnificent,  her  fortifica- 
tions and  her  stately  harbor,  and  the  houses  in  her  streets,  continue  to  be 
the  memorials  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John.  Yet  no  point  of  Rhodian 
history  ought  to  move  our  spirits  with  so  much  exultation  as  that  day, 
when  the  vessel  that  conveyed  St.  Paul  came  round  the  low  northern  point  ^ 
of  the  island  to  her  moorings  before  the  city.  We  do  not  know  that  he 
landed  like  other  great  conquerors  who  have  visited  Rhodes.  It  would 
not  be  necessary  even  to  enter  the  harbor,  for  a  safe  anchorage  would  be 
found  for  the  night  in  the  open  roadstead.'  "  The  kingdom  of  God 
Cometh  not  with  observation ;  "  and  the  vessel  which  was  seen  by  the 
people  of  the  city  to  weigh  anchor  in  the  morning  was  probably  undis- 
tinguished from  the  other  coasting  craft  with  which  they  were  daily 
familiar. 

No  view  in  the  Levant  is  more  celebrated  than  that  from  Rhodes  towards 
the  opposite  shore  of  Asia  Minor.  The  last  ranges  of  Mount  Taurus* 
come  down  in  magnificent  forms  to  the  sea ;  and  a  long  line  of  snowy 
summits  is  seen  along  the  Lycian  coast,  while  the  sea  between  is  often  an 
unruffled  expanse  of  water  under  a  blue  and  brilliant  sky.  Across  this 
expanse,  and  towards  a  harbor  near  the  farther  edge  of  these  Lycian 
mountains,  tlie  Apostle's  course  was  now  directed  (Acts  xxi.  1).  To  the 
eastward  of  Mount  Cragus,  —  the  steep  sea-front  of  which  is  known  to 
the  pilots  of  the  Levant  by  the  name  of  the  "  Seven  Capes,"  ^  —  the  river 
Xanthus  winds  through  a  rich  and  magnificent  valley,  and  past  the  ruins 
of  an  ancient  city,  the  monuments  of  which,  after  a  long  concealment, 
have  lately  been  made  familiar  to  the  British  public.^  The  harbor  of  the 
city  of  Xantlius  was  situated  a  sliort  distance  from  the  left  bank  of  the 
river.     Patara  was  to  Xanthus  what  the  Piraeus  was  to  Athens ; ''  and 


1  It  was  then  the  metropolis  of  the  "  ProT-  *  "  These  capes  (called  in  Italian,  the  usual 

ince  of  the  Islands."  language  of  the  pilots,  sette  capi)  are  the  ex- 

^  Compare  Purdy's  Sailing  Directory  with  tremities  of  high  and  ru^fged  mountains,  occu- 

the  Admiralty  Chart   (No.  1639),  attached  to  pying  a  space  of  ten  miles."     Purdy,  p.  236. 
which  is  an  excellent  view  of  Rhodes.  ^  The  allusion  is  of  course  to  the  Xantbian 

3  See  Purdy,  p.  231.  room  in  the  British  Museum. 

*  Compare  p.  19.     For  the  appearance  of  ^  Thus   Appian   speaks  of  Patara  as    ihe 

this  magnificent  coast  on  a  nearer  approach,  port  of  Xanthus,  B.  C.  iv.  81.     In  the  follow- 

see  Dr.  Clarke.     For  a  description  of   these  ing  chapter  he  says  that  Andriace  haa  the 

south-western  mountains  of  Asia  Minor,  the  same  relation  to  Myra.     (Acts  xxvii.  5.) 
Travels  of  Spratt  and  Forbes  may  be  consulted. 


PATARA. 


G09 


though  this  comparison  might  seem  to  couvey  the  idea  of  an  impoitauce 
which  never  belonged  to  the  Lycian  seaport,  yet  ruins  still  remain  to 
show  that  it  was  once  a  place  of  some  magnitude  and  splendor.  The  bay 
into  which  the  river  Xanthus  flowed  is  now  a  "  desert  of  moving  sand." 
which  is  blown  by  the  westerly  wind  into  ridges  along  the  shore,  and  is 
gradually  hiding  the  remains  of  the  ancient  city ;  ^  but  a  triple  archway 
and  a  vast  theatre  have  been  described  by  travellers.^  Some  have  even 
thought  that  they  have  discovered  the  seat  of  the  oracle  of  Apollo,  who 
was  worshipped  liere,  as  his  sister  Diana  was  worshipped  at  Ephesus  or 
Perga  :  ^  and  the  city  walls  can  be  traced  among  the  sand-hills  with  the 
castle*  that  commanded  the  harbor.  In  the  war  against  Antiochus,  this 
harbor  was  protected  by  a  sudden  storm  from  the  Roman  fleet,  when 
Livius  sailed  from  Rhodes.*  Now  we  find  the  Apostle  Paul  entering  it 
with  a  fair  wind,  after  a  short  sail  from  the  same  island. 

It  seems  that  the  vessel  in  which  St.  Paul  had  been  hitherto  sailing 
either  finished  its  voyage  at  Patara,  or  was  proceeding  farther  eastward 
along  the  southern  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  and  not  to  the  ports  of  Phoenicia. 
St.  Paul  could  not  know  in  advance  whether  it  would  be  "  possible  "  for 


1  Admiral  Beaufort  was  the  first  to  describe 
Patara.  Karaniania,  chap.  i.  It  was  also  visit- 
ed by  the  Dilettanti  Society.  It  is  described 
by  Sir  C.  Fellows  both  in  his  Lijcia  and 
his  xisia  Minor.  In  the  Travels  of  Spratt 
and  Forbes  the  destruction  of  the  harbor  and 
the  great  increase  of  sand  are  attributed  to  the 
rising  of  the  coast.  The  following  passage  is 
transcribed  at  length  from  this  work  :  —  "A  day 
was  devoted  to  an  excursion  to  Patara,  which 
lies  on  the  coast  at  some  distance  from  the  left 
bank  of  the  river,  about  ten  miles  from  Xan- 
thus. "We  rode  along  the  river-side  to  the 
sand-hills,  passing  large  straw-thatched  villages 
of  gypsies  on  the  way,  and  then  crossed  the 
sand-hills  to  the  sea-side.  ...  At  Patara  is 
tlie  triple  arch,  which  formed  the  gate  of  the 
city,  the  baths,  and  the  theatre,  admirably 
described  long  ago  by  Captain  Beaufort.  The 
latter  is  scooped  out  of  the  side  of  a  hill,  and 
is  remarkable  for  the  completeness  of  the  pro- 
scenium and  the  steepness  and  narrowness  of 
the  marble  seats.  Above  it  is  the  singular  pit 
excavated  on  the  summit  of  the  same  hill, 
with  its  central  square  column,  conjectured 
with  probability,  by  Admiral  Beaufort,  to  have 
been  the  seat  of  the  oracle  of  Apollo  Patareus. 
The  stones  of  which  the  column  is  built  ai"e 
displaced  from  each  other  in  a  singular  man- 
ner, as  if  by  the  revolving  motion  of  an  earth- 
89 


quake.  A  fine  group  of  palm-trees  rises 
among  the  ruins,  and  the  aspect  of  the  city 
when  it  was  flourishing  must  have  been  very 
beautiful.  Now  its  port  is  an  inland  marsh, 
generating  poisonous  malaria;  and  the  mari- 
ner sailing  along  the  coast  would  never  guess 
that  the  sand-hills  before  him  blocked  up  the 
harbor  into  which  St.  Paul  sailed  of  old." 

2  A  drawing  of  the  gateway  is  given  by 
Beaufort,  p.  1.  Views  of  the  theatre,  &c.,  of 
Patara  will  be  found  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
Ionian  Antiquities,  published  by  the  Dilettanti 
Society. 

8  See  pp.  143,  144,  and  p.  464,  &c.  The 
coins  of  Patara  show  the  ascendency  of  ApoUo 
in  the  district.  One  is  given  in  the  larger  edi- 
tions. 

*  Beaufort,  p.  3. 

^  The  Roman  fleet  had  followed  nearly  the 
same  course  as  the  Apostle  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Ephesus,  the  following  places  being 
mentioned  in  order, — Miletus,  Cnidus,  Cos, 
Rhodes,  Patara.  Liv.  xxxvii.  16.  We  may 
add  another  illustration  from  Roman  history, 
in  Pompey's  voyage,  where  the  same  places 
are  mentioned  in  a  similar  order.  After  de- 
scribing his  departure  from  Mitylene,  and  his 
passing  by  Asia  and  Chios,  Lacan  proceeds  to 
enumerate  Ephesus,  Cos,  Cnidus,  and  Ehode*. 
Phars.  viii. 


610  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OB^   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  x» 

him  to  arrive  in  Palestine  in  time  for  Pentecost  (xx.  16)  ■;  but  an  oppor- 
.tiinity  presented  itself  unexpectedly  at  Patara.  Providential  circum< 
stances  conspired  with  his  own  convictions  to  forward  his  journey, 
notwithstanding  the  discouragement  which  the  fears  of  others  had  thrown 
across  his  path.  In  the  harbor  of  Patara  they  found  a  vessel  which  was 
on  the  point  of  crossing  the  open  sea  to  Phoenicia  (xxi.  2).  They  went 
on  board  without  a  moment's  delay ;  and  it  seems  evident  from  the  mode 
of  expression  that  they  sailed  the  very  day  of  their  arrival.'  Since 
the  voyage  lay  across  the  open  sea,^  with  no  shoals  or  rocks  to  be  dreaded, 
and  since  the  north-westerly  winds  often  blow  steadily  for  several  days  in 
the  Levant  during  spring/  there  could  be  no  reason  why  the  vessel  should 
not  weigh  anchor  in  the  evening,  and  sail  through  the  night.* 

We  have  now  to  think  of  St.  Paul  as  no  longer  passing  through  nar- 
row channels,  or  coasting  along  in  the  shadow  of  great  mountains,  but 
as  sailing  continuously  through  the  midnight  hours,  with  a  prosperous 
breeze  filling  the  canvass,  and  the  waves  curling  and  sounding  round  the 
bows  of  the  vessel.  There  is  a  peculiar  freshness  and  cheerfulness  in 
the  prosecution  of  a  prosperous  voyage  with  a  fair  wind  by  night.  The 
sailors  on  the  watch,  and  the  passengers  also,  feel  it,  and  the  feeling  is 
often  expressed  in  songs  or  in  long-continued  conversation.  Such  cheer- 
fulness might  be  felt  by  the  Apostle  and  his  companions,  not  without 
thankfulness  to  that  God  "  who  givcth  songs  in  the  night "  (Job  xxxv. 
10),  and  who  hearkeneth  to  those  who  foar  Him,  and  speak  often  to  one 
another,  and  think  upon  His  name  (Mai.  iii.  16).  If  we  remember,  too, 
that  a  month  had  now  elapsed  since  the  moon  was  shining  on  the  snows 
of  Haemus,*  and  that  the  full  moonlight  would  now  be  resting  on  the  great 
sail  ^  of  the  ship,  we  are  not  without  an  expressive  imagery,  which  we  may 
allowably  throw  round  the  Apostle's  progress  over  the  waters  between 
Patara  and  Tyre. 

Tlie  distance  between  these  two  points  is  three  hundred  and  forty  geo- 
graphical miles ;  and  if  we  bear  in  mind  (what  has  been  mentioned  more 
than  once)  that  the  north-westerly  winds  in  April  often  blow  like  mon- 
soons in  the  Levant,  and  that  the  rig  of  ancient  sailing  vessels  was 
peculiarly  favorable  to  a  quick  run  before  the  wind,'  we  come  at  once  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  voyage  might  easily  be  accomplished  in  forty-eight 
hours.^     Every  thing  in  St.  Luke's  account  gives  a  strong  impression  that 

1  This  is  shown  not  only  by  the  expression  *  For  this  and  other  points  connected  with 
"  we  went  aboard,"  but  by  the  omission  of  the  navigation  of  the  ancients,  we  must  refer 
any  phrase  for  "  next  day,"  such  as  we  find  in       to  Ch.  XXIII. 

tx.  15.  6  See  above,  p.  590. 

2  It  is  said  that  the  ship  was  on  the  point  ^  See  Smith's  Voyage  and  Shipwreck, -p.  151. 
of  sailing  over  or  "  crossing  "  to  Phoenicia.                    T  Smith,  p.  180. 

'  See  aljove,  p.  605  8  j.  e.  the  rate  would  be  rather  more  than 


CHAP.  XI.  TYRE,  611 

the  weather  was  in  the  highest  degree  favorable ;  aud  there  is  one  pic- 
turesque phrase  employed  by  the  narrator,  which  sets  vividly  before  us 
some  of  the  phenomena  of  a  rapid  voyage.'  That  which  is  said  in  the 
English  version  concerning  the  "  discovering  "  of  Cyprus,  and  "  leaving 
it  on  the  lift  hand,"  is,  in  the  original,  a  nautical  expression,  implying 
that  the  land  appeared  to  rise  quickly,-  as  they  sailed  past  it  to  the  south- 
ward.'* It  would  be  in  the  course  of  the  second  day  (probably  in  the 
evening)  that  "  the  high  blue  eastern  land  appeared."  The  highest 
mountain  of  Cyprus  is  a  rounded  summit,  and  there  would  be  snow  upon 
it  at  that  season  of  the  year.*  After  the  second  night,  the  first  land  in 
sight  would  be  the  high  range  of  Lebanon*  in  Syria  (xxi.  3),  and  they 
would  easily  arrive  at  Tyre  before  the  evening. 

So  much  has  been  written  concerning  the  past  history  and  present  con- 
dition of  Tyre,  that  these  subjects  are  familiar  to  every  reader,  and  it  is 
unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  them  here.®  When  St.  Paul  came  to  this  city, 
it  was  neither  in  the  glorious  state  described  in  the  prophecies  of  Ezekiel 
and  Isaiah,''  when  "  its  merchants  were  princes,  and  its  traffickers  the 
honorable  of  the  earth,"  nor  in  the  abject  desolation  in  which  it  now  ful- 
fils those  prophecies,  being  "  a  place  to  spread  nets  upon,"  and  showing 
only  the  traces  of  its  maritime  supremacy  in  its  ruined  mole,  and  a  port 
hardly  deep  enough  for  boats.^  It  was  in  the  condition  in  which  it  had 
been  left  by  the  successors  of  Alexander,  —  the  island,  which  once  held 
the  city,  being  joined  to  the  mainland  by  a  causeway,  —  with  a  harbor 
on  the  north,  and  another  on  the  south.®  In  honor  of  its  ancient  great- 
seven  knots  an  hour.  The  writer  once  asked  grammar  are  common  in  the  language  of  suil- 
the  captain  of  a  vessel  engaged  in  the  Medi-  ors.  Thus  an  English  seaman  speaks  of 
terranean  trade,  how  long  it  would  take  to  "rising  the  land,"  which  is  exactly  what  is 
sail  with  a  fair  ivind  from  the  Seven  Capes  to       meant  here. 

Tyre ;    and   the  answer  was,   "  About  thirty  ^  jyjj.    gmith  says  in  a  MS.  note  :  "  The 

hours,  or  peruaps  it  would  be  safer  to  say  term  indicates  both  the  rapid  approach  to 
tbrty-eight."  2^ow,  vessels  rigged  like  those  land,  and  that  it  was  seen  at  a  distance  by 
of  the  ancients,  with  one  large  mainsail,  would       daylight." 

run  befort  the  u/ind  more  quickly  than  our  own  ^  We  shall  hereafter  point  out  the  contrast 

merchantmen,     'x'hose  who  have  sailed  before       between  this  voyage  and  that  which  is  men- 
the   monsoons  iU   the  China  seas  have  seen       tioned  afterwards  in  Acts  xxvii.  4. 
junks  (wkich  aro  rigged  in  this  respect  like  *  The  island   is    traversed  by   two  chains 

Greek  and  Roioaa  merchantmen)  behind  them  running  nearly  east  and  west,  and  they  are 
in  the  norizoa  in  the  morning,  and  before  covered  with  snow  in  winter.  Norie,  p.  144. 
them  in  ihe  horiioa  in  the  evening.  The  wiiter  has  been    informed    by   Captain 

^  The  word,  m  reference  to  sea-voyages.  Graves,  R.  N.,  that  the  highest  part  is  of  a 
means  "  to  see  lanc,  to  bring  land  into  view,"       rounded  form.  ^  Compare  pp.  19,  49. 

by  a  similar  figure  '.f  speech  to  that  in  which  ®  One  of  the  fullest  accounts  of  Tyre  will 

our  sailors  speak  oi    'making  land."    So  "ape-      be  found  in  Dr.  Robinson's  third  volume. 
nVe  "  is   used  in  i«»»In,    and  "open"  by  our  "^  Ezek.  xxvi.,  xxvii.,  Isa.  xxiii. 

own  sailors.      The  y-rammatical   construction  *  Sailing  Directory,  p.  259. 

in  the  Greek  is  ptculiar;    but  confusions  of  '  Old  Ti/re  was  destroyed.     New  Tyre  was 


612  THE   LLFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap.aa. 

ness,  the  Romans  gave  it  the  uame  of  a  free  city  ;  ^  and  it  still  commanded 
some  commerce,  for  its  manufactures  of  glass  and  purple  were  not  yet 
decayed,^  and  the  narrow  belt  of  the  Phoenician  coast  between  the  rnoun- 
tains  and  the  sea  required  that  the  food  for  its  population  should  be  partly 
brought  from  without.^  It  is  allowable  to  conjecture  that  the  ship,  which 
we  have  just  seen  crossing  from  Patara,  may  have  brought  grain  from  the 
Black  Sea,  or  wine  from  the  Archipelago,*  —  with  the  purpose  of  taking 
on  from  Tyre  a  cargo  of  Phoenician  manufactures.  We  know  that,  what- 
ever were  the  goods  she  brought,  they  were  unladed  at  Tyre  (v.  3),  and 
that  the  vessel  was  afterwards  to  proceed^  to  Ptolemais  (v.  7).  For  this 
task  of  unlading,  some  days  would  be  required.  She  would  be  taken  into 
the  inner  dock ;  ^  and  St.  Paul  had  thus  some  time  at  his  disposal,  which 
he  could  spend  in  the  active  service  of  his  Master.  He  and  his  companions 
lost  no  time  in  "  seeking  out  the  disciples."  It  is  probable  that  the  Chris- 
tians at  Tyre  were  not  numerous  ;  '^  but  a  Church  had  existed  there 
ever  since  the  dispersion  consequent  upon  the  death  of  Stephen  (pp. 
75,  109),  and  St.  Paul  and  himself  visited  it,  if  not  on  his  mission  of 
charity  from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem  (p.  118),  yet  doubtless  on  his  way 
to  the  Council  (p.  187).  There  were  not  only  disciples  at  Tyre,  but 
prophets.  Some  of  those  who  had  the  prophetical  power  foresaw  the 
danger  which  was  hanging  over  St.  Paul,  and  endeavored  to  per- 
suade him  to  desist  from  his  purpose  of  going  to  Jerusalem.  We  see 
that  different  views  of  duty  might  be  taken  by  those  who  had  the  same 
spiritual  knowledge,  though  that  knowledge  were  supernatural.  St.  Paul 
looked  on  the  coming  danger  from  a  higher  point.  What  to  others  was 
an  overwhelming  darkness,  to  him  appeared  only  as  a  passing  storm. 
And  he  resolved  to  face  it,  in  the  faith  that  He  who  had  protected  him 
hitherto  would  still  give  him  shelter  and  safety. 

built  on  a  small  island,  separated  by  a  very  ward-bound  Alexandrian  ship  in  one  of  the 

narrow  channel  from  the  mainla,nd,  with  which  harbors  of  Lycia.     Acts  xxvii.  5,  6. 
it  was  united  by  a  dam  in  Alexander's  siege;  ^  Wg  infer  that  St.  Paul  proceeded  in  the 

and  thenceforward  Tyre  was  on  a  peninsula.  same  vessel   to  Ptolemais,   partly  because   the 

^  For   the  general    notion  of   a  free  city  phrase  in  v.  6  means  "  we  went  on  board  tht 

(libera  cioiUis)  under  the  Empire,  see  p.  288.  ship,"  and  partly  because  it  is  not  said  that 

Tyre  seems  to  have  been  honored,  like  Athens,  the  vessel  was  bound  for  Tyre,  but  simply  that 

for  the  sake  of  the  past.  she  was  to  unlade  there. 

-  For  the  manufactures  of  Tyre  at  a  much  ^  Scylax  mentions   a    harbor  within    the 

later  period,  see  j).  188,  n.  2.  walls. 

^  The  dependence  of  Phoenicia  on    other  ^  "Having  sought  out   the   disciples"  is 

countries  for  grain  is  alluded  to  in  Acts  xii.  the  literal  translation.     Some  search  was  re- 

20.     (See  p.  118,  n.  8.)  quired    before     the     Christians    were   found 

*  For  the  wine  trade  of  the  Archipelago,  Perhaps  the  first  inquiries  would  be  made  at 

see  what  has  been  said  in  reference  to  Rhodes.  the   synagogue.     [See  p.  388,  n.  5.]     For  a 

We  need  not  suppose  that  the  vessel  bound  notice  of  the  Jews  at  Tyre  in  later  times,  we 

for  Phoenicia  sailed  in  the  first  instance  from  may  again  refer  to  p.  188,  n.  2. 
Patara.     St.  Paul  afterwards  found  a  west-  ' 


CHAP.  XX.  PTOLEMAIS.  613 

The  time  spent  at  Tyre  in  unlading  the  vessel,  and  probably  taking  in 
a  new  cargo,  and  possibly,  also,  waiting  for  a  fair  wind,^  was  ''  seven 
days,"  including  a  Sunday.^  St.  Paul  "  broke  bread  "  with  the  disciples, 
and  discoursed  as  he  had  done  at  Troas  (p.  256)  ;  and  the  week-days, 
too,  would  afford  many  precious  opportunities  for  confirming  those  who 
were  already  Christians,  and  for  making  the  Gospel  known  to  others,  botli 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  When  the  time  came  for  the  ship  to  sail,  a  scene 
was  witnessed  on  the  Phoenician  shore  like  that  which  had  made  the 
Apostle's  departure  from  Miletus  so  impressive  and  affecting.^  There 
attended  him  through  the  city  gate,*  as  he  and  his  companions  went  out 
to  join  the  vessel  now  ready  to  receive  them,  all  the  Christians  of  Tyre, 
and  even  their  "  wives  and  children."  And  there  they  knelt  down  and 
prayed  together  on  the  level  shore.*  We  are  not  to  imagine  here  any 
Jewish  place  of  worship,  like  the  proseucha  at  Philippi ;  ®  but  simply  that 
they  were  on  their  way  to  the  ship.  The  last  few  moments  were  precious, 
and  could  not  be  so  well  employed  as  in  praying  to  Him  who  alone  can 
give  true  comfort  and  protection.  ^  The  time  spent  in  this  prayer  was 
soon  passed.  And  then  they  tore  themselves  from  each  other's  embrace  ; 
the  strangers  went  on  board,^  and  the  Tyrian  believers  returned  home 
sorrowful  and  anxious,  while  the  ship  sailed  southwards  on  her  way  to 
Ptolemais. 

There  is  a  singular  contrast  in  the  history  of  those  three  cities  on  the 
Phoenician  shore,  which  are  mentioned  in  close  succession  in  the  conclud- 
ing part  of  the  narrative  of  this  Apostolic  journey.  Ti/re,  the  city  from 
which  St.  Paul  had  just  sailed,  had  been  the  seaport  whose  destiny 
formed  the  burden  of  the  sublimest  prophecies  in  the  last  days  of  the 
Hebrew  monarchy.  Ccesarea,  the  city  to  which  he  was  ultimately  bound, 
was  the  work  of  the  family  of  Herod,  and  rose  witli  the  rise  of  Chris- 
tianity. Both  are  fallen  now  into  utter  decay.  Ptolemais,  which  was  the 
intermediate  stage  between  them,  is  an  older  city  than  either,  and  has 
outlived  them  both.  It  has  never  been  withdrawn  from  the  field  of 
history ;  and  its  interest  has  seemed  to  increase  (at  least  in  the  eyes  of 

1  These    suppositions,    however,    are    not  *  The  word  here  used  is  the  same  as  in 

necessary ;    for  the  work  of  taking  the  cargo  Acts  xxvii.  39,  40,  and   denotes   a  sandy  or 

from  the   hold  of   a   merchant-vessel    might  pebbly  beach,  as  opposed  to  a  rocky  shore, 
easily  occupy  six  or  seven  days.  ^  Hammond  supposes  that  there  was  a  pro- 

-  This,  however,  need  not  mean  more  than  seucha  near  the  place  of  embarkation.     But 

"  six  days."    Some  think  that  by  "  accomplish-  we  need  not  suppose  any  reference  to  a  Jewish 

ing  the  days  "  is  meant  that  they  "  employed  place  of  worship  either  here  or  at  Miletus, 

the  time  in  making  ready  for  the  journey,"  though  it  is  interesting  to  bear  in  mind  the 

comparing  2  Tim.  iii.  17.     [See  on  v.  15.]  orattones  littorales  of  the  Jers.     See  p.  256. 

3  See  above,  p.  603.  ">  See  above,  p.  612. 

*  The  Greek  expresses  this  more  fully  and 
vividly  than  the  English. 


614  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xi 

Englishmen)  with  the  progress  of  centuries.  Under  the  ancient  name 
of  Acco,  it  appears  in  the  book  of  Judges  (i.  31)  as  one  of  the  towns  of 
the  tribe  of  Assher.  It  was  the  pivot  of  the  contests  between  Persia  and 
Egypt.  Not  unknown  in  the  Macedonian  and  Roman  periods,  it  re- 
appears with  brilliant  distinction  in  the  middle  ages,  when  the  Crusaders 
called  it  St.  Jean  d'Acre.  It  is  needless  to  allude  to  the  events  which 
have  fixed  on  this  sea-fortress,  more  than  once,  the  attention  of  our  own 
generation.'  At  the  particular  time  when  the  Apostle  Paul  visited  this 
place,  it  bore  the  name  of  Ptolemais,'^  —  most  probably  given  \,o  it  by 
Ptolemy  Lagi,  who  was  long  in  possession  of  this  part  of  Syria,'  —  and  it 
had  recently  been  made  a  Roman  colony  by  the  Emperor  Claudius.*  It 
shared  with  Tyre  and  Sidon,^  Autioch  and  Caesarea,  the  trade  of  the 
eastern  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  With  a  fair  wind,  a  short  day's 
voyage  separates  it  from  Tyre.  To  speak  in  the  language  of  our  own 
sailors,  there  are  thirteen  miles  from  Tyre  to  Cape  Blanco,  and  fifteen 
from  thence  to  Cape  Carmel ;  and  Acre  —  the  ancient  Ptolemais  —  is 
situated  on  the  farther  extremity  of  that  bay,  which  sweeps  with  a  wide 
curvature  of  sand  to  the  northwards,  from  the  headland  of  Carmel.®  It 
ifi  evident  that  St.  Paul's  company  sailed  from  Tyre  to  Ptolemais  within 
the  day.'  At  the  latter  city,  as  at  the  former,  there  were  Christian  dis- 
ciples,^ who  had  probably  been  converted  at  the  same  time  and  under  the 
same  circumstances  as  those  of  Tyre.  Another  opportunity  was  afforded 
for  the  salutations  and  encouragement  of  brotherly  love  ;  but  the  mis- 
sionary party  staid  here  only  one  day.^  Though  they  had  accomplished 
the  voyage  in  abundant  time  to  reach  Jerusalem  at  Pentecost,  they 
hastened  onwards,  that  they  might  linger  some  days  at  Caesarea.'^ 

One   day's   travelling  by  land*'  was  sufficient  for   this  part  of  their 
journey.     The  distance  is  between  thirty  and  forty  miles, '^     At  Caesarea 

'  The  events  at  the  close  of  the  last  cen-  ''  V.  7.     Instead  of   the  words  "  we  that 

tury  and  others  still  more  recent.     It  is  surely  were  of  Paul's  company,"  the  best  MSS.  have 

well  that  wo  should  bo  able  to  associate  this  simply  "  we,"  which  seems  to  have  been  altered 

place  with  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  as  much  into  the  longer  phrase,  as  being  the  opening 

OS  with   Sir   Sidney  Smith   and    Sir   Charles  of  a  separate  section  for  reading  in  churches. 

Napier.  The  meaning  of  what  begins  the   7th  verse 

^  So  it  is  called  in  1  Mace.  v.  15,  x.  1,  &c.  seems  to  be  "  thus  accomplishing  our  voyage." 

^  See  his  life  in  Smith's  Dictionary  o/Bioc/-  The  rest  of  the  journey  was  by  land. 

raphij.                                 *  Pliny,  v.  19,  17.  '  Both  here  and  in  v.  4  the  Greek  has  the 

^  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  we  find  Tyre  definite  article, 

mentioned  in  connection  with  the  voyages  of  '  V.  7.                         ^°  See  below,  v.  10. 

merchantmen,  xxi.  3,  and  Sidori,  xxvii.  3.  ^^'  "  The  next  day  we  departed,"  v.  8.    We 

^  For  a  nautical  delineation   of  this  bay,  may  observe,  that  the  word  used  hero  is   far 

with  the  anchorage,  Kaifa,  &c.,  see  the  Admi-  more  suitable  to  a  departure  by  land  than  by 

ralty  Chart.    The  travellers  who  have  described  sea. 

the  sweep  of  this  bay  from  Carmel  are  so  nu-  ^^  The  Jerusalem  Itinerary  gives  the  dis- 

merous,  that  tluiy  need  not  be  specified.  tance  as  thirty-one  miles,   the  stages    being 


CHAP.  XX. 


CiESAKEA.  615 


there  was  a  Christian  family,  already  known  to  us  in  the  earlier  passages 
of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  with  whom  they  were  sure  of  receiving  a 
welcome.  The  last  time  we  made  mention  of  Philip  the  Evangelist 
(p.  74)  was  when  he  was  engaged  in  making  the  Gospel  known  on 
the  road  which  leads  southwards  by  Gaza  towards  Egypt,  about  the 
time  when  St.  Paul  himself  was  converted  on  the  northern  road,  when 
travelling  to  Damascus.  Now,  after  many  years,  the  Apostle  and  the 
Evangelist  are  brought  together  under  one  roof.  On  the  former  occa- 
sion, we  saw  that  Caesarea  was  the  place  where  the  labors  of  Philip  on 
that  journey  ended.^  Thenceforward  it  became  his  residence  if  his  life 
was  stationary,  or  it  was  the  centre  from  which  he  made  other  missionary 
circuits  through  Judgea.'^  He  is  found,  at  least,  residing  in  this  city  by 
the  sea,  when  St.  Paul  arrives  in  the  year  58  from  Achaia  and  Mace- 
donia. His  family  consisted  of  four  daughters,  who  were  an  example 
of  the  fulfilment  of  that  prediction  of  Joel,  quoted  by  St.  Peter,  which 
said,  that,  at  the  opening  of  the  new  dispensation,  God's  Spirit  should 
come  on  His  "  handmaidens  "  as  well  as  His  bondsmen,  and  that  the 
"  daughters,"  as  well  as  the  sons,  should  prophesy.'  The  prophetic 
power  was  granted  to  these  four  women  at  Caesarea,  who  seem  to  have 
been  living  that  life  of  single  devotedness*  which  is  commended  by 
St.  Paul  in  his  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians  (1  Cor.  vii.),  and  to  have 
exercised  their  gift  in  concert  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church. 

it  is  not  improbable  that  these  inspired  women  gave  St.  Paul  some 
intimation  of  the  sorrows  which  were  hanging  over  him.'  But  soon  a 
more  explicit  voice  declared  the  very  nature  of  the  trial  he  was  to 
expect.  The  stay  of  the  Apostle  at  Caesarea  lasted  some  days  (v.  10). 
He  had  arrived  in  Judaea  in  good  time  before  the  festival,  and  haste  was 
now  unnecessary.  Thus  news  reached  Jerusalem  of  his  arrival ;  and  a 
prophet  named  Agabus  —  whom  we  have  seen  before  (p.  117)  coming 
from  the  same  place  on  a  similar  errand  —  went  down  to  Caesa- 
rea, and  communicated  to  St.  Paul  and  the  company  of  Christians 
by  whom  he  was  surrounded  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  impending 
danger.  His  revelation  was  made  in  that  dramatic  form  which  im- 
presses the  mind  with  a  stronger  sense  of  reality  than  mere  words  can 

twelve,  three,  eight,  and  eight.     The  Anto-  1    Cor.  xiv.  34;   1    Tim.  ii.  12;   and  see  p. 

nine  Itinerary  makes  the  distance  greater,  viz.  375. 

twenty-four  and  twenty.  *  It  is  diflBcult  not  to  see  some  emphasis  in 

1  Acts  viii.  40.     See  p.  75,  n.  1.  the  word  "virgins."    See  Matt.  xix.  12. 

'^  The  term  "Evangelist"  seems  to  have  ^  Perhaps  the  force  of  "who  did  prophesy" 
been  almost  synonymous  with  our  word  (v.  9)  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  they  did 
"  Missionary."  It  is  applied  to  Philip  and  to  foretell  what  was  to  come.  The  word,  how- 
Timothy.     See  p.  381  ;  also  p.  380,  note.  ever,  has  not  necessarily  any  relation  to  the 

8  Joel  ii.  28,  29;  Acts  ii.  17,  18.     Compare  fatare. 


616  THE  LLFB   AND   EPISTLES  OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap,  ix 

do,  and  which  was  made  familiar  to  the  Jews  of  old  by  the  practice  of 
the  Hebrew  prophets.  As  Isaiah  (ch.  xx.)  loosed  the  sackcloth  from 
his  loins,  and  put  off  his  shoes  from  his  feet,  to  declare  how  the  Egyp- 
tian captives  should  be  led  away  into  Assyria  naked  and  barefoot,  —  or 
as  the  girdle  of  Jeremiah  (ch.  xiii.),  in  its  strength  and  its  decay,  was 
made  a  type  of  the  people  of  Israel  in  their  privilege  and  their  fall,  — 
Agabus,  in  like  manner,  using  the  imagery  of  action,^  took  the  girdle  of 
St.  Paul,  and  fastened  it  round  his  own'^  hands  and  feet,  and  said, 
"  Thus  saith  the  Holy  Ghost :  So  shall  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem  bind  the 
man  to  whom  this  girdle  belongs,  and  they  shall  deliver  him  into  the 
hands  of  the  Gentiles." 

The  effect  of  this  emphatic  prophecy,  both  on  Luke,  Aristarchus,  and 
Trophimus,'  the  companions  of  St.  Paul's  journey,  and  those  Christians 
of  Cassarea,*  who,  though  they  had  not  travelled  with  him,  had  learnt 
to  love  him,  was  very  great.  They  wept,^  and  implored  him  not  to  go  to 
Jerusalem.®  But  the  Apostle  himself  could  not  so  interpret  the  super- 
natural intimation.  He  was  placed  in  a  position  of  peculiar  trial.  A 
voice  of  authentic  prophecy  had  been  so  uttered,  that,  had  he  been 
timid  and  wavering,  it  might  easily  have  been  construed  into  a  warning 
to  deter  him.  Nor  was  that  temptation  unfelt  which  arises  from  the 
sympathetic  grief  of  loving  friends.  His  affectionate  heart  was  almost 
broken  "^  when  he  heard  their  earnest  supplications  and  saw  the  sorrow 
that  was  caused  by  the  prospect  of  his  danger ;  but  the  mind  of  the  Spirit 
had  been  so  revealed  to  him  in  his  own  inward  convictions,  that  he  could 
see  the  Divine  counsel  through  apparent  hinderances.  His  resolution  was 
"  no  wavering  between  yea  and  nay,  but  was  yea  in  Jesus  Christ."  ^  His 
deliberate  purpose  did  not  falter  for  a  moment.**  He  declared  that  he 
was  "  ready  not  only  to  be  bound,  but  to  die  at  Jerusalem  for  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus."  And  then  they  desisted  from  their  entreaties. 
Their  respect  for  the  Apostle  made  them  silent.  They  recognized  the 
will  of  God  in  the  steady  purpose  of  His  servant,  and  gave  tlieir 
acquiescence  in  those  words  in  which  Christian  resignation  is  best 
expressed:  "  The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.'''' 

The  time  was  now  come  for  the  completion  of  the  journey.     The  fes- 

1  See  another  striking  instance  in  Ezek.  iv.  '  For  the  companions  of  St.  Paul  at  thia 

Compare  what  has  been  said  before  in  refer-  moment,  see  p.  589,  and  n.  5. 
ence  to  the  gestures  of  Paul   and  Barnabas  *  "  Both  we  and  they  of  the  place,"  v.  12. 

when  they  departed  from  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  ^  "  What  mean  ye  to  weep,"  &c.,  t.  13. 

p.  162.  6  V.  12. 

^  It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  "^  V.  13. 

Agabus  bound  Paul's  hands  and  feet.     Besides,  '  2  Cor.  i.     See  aboTC,  p.  487. 

Agabus  says,  not  "  the  man  whom  I  bind,"  •  This  is  implied  in  the  present  tense,  » 

but  "  the  man  whose  girdle  this  is."  14. 


CHAP.  XX.  JOUKNEY   TO  JERUSALEM.  617 

tival  was  close  at  hand.  Having  made  the  arraugements  that  were 
necessary  with  regard  to  their  luggage,^  —  and  such  notices  in  Holy 
Scripture  '^  should  receive  their  due  attention,  for  they  help  to  set  before 
us  all  the  reality  of  the  Apostle's  journeys,  —  he  and  the  companions 
who  had  attended  him  from  Macedonia  proceeded  to  the  Holy  City. 
Some  of  the  Christians  of  Caesarea  went  along  with  them,  not  merely,  as 
it  would  seem,  to  show  their  respect  and  sympathy  for  the  Apostolic  com- 
pany,^ but  to  secure  their  comfort  on  arriving,  by  taking  him  to  the  house 
of  Mnason,  a  native  of  Cyprus,  who  had  been  long  ago  converted  to 
Christianity,^  —  possibly  during  the  life  of  our  Lord  Himself,*  —  and 
who  may  have  been  one  of  those  Cyprian  Jews  who  first  made  the  Gospel 
known  to  the  Greeks  at  Antioch. 

Thus  we  have  accompanied  St.  Paul  on  his  last  recorded  journey  to 
Jerusalem.  It  was  a  journey  full  of  incident ;  and  it  is  related  more 
minutely  than  any  other  portion  of  his  travels.  We  know  all  the  places 
by  which  he  passed,  or  at  which  he  staid  ;  and  we  are  able  to  connect 
them  all  with  familiar  recollections  of  history.  We  know,  too,  all  the 
aspect  of  the  scenery.  He  sailed  along  those  coasts  of  Western  Asia,  and 
among  those  famous  islands,  the  beauty  of  which  is  proverbial.  The  very 
time  of  the  year  is  known  to  us.  It  was  when  the  advancing  season  was 
clothing  every  low  shore,  and  the  edge  of  every  broken  cliff,  with  a  beau- 
tiful and  refreshing  verdure ;  when  the  winter  storms  had  ceased  to  be 
dangerous,  and  the  small  vessels  could  ply  safely  in  shade  and  sunshine 
between  neighboring  ports.  Even  the  state  of  the  weather  and  the  direc- 
tion of  the  wind  are  known.  We  can  point  to  the  places  on  the  map  where 
the  vessel  anchored  for  the  night,®  and  trace  across  the  chart  the  track  that 
was  followed,  when  the  moon  was  full.'  Yet  more  than  this.  We  are 
made  fully  aware  of  the  state  of  the  Apostle's  mind,  and  of  the  burdened 


1  "  We  weran  made  redi."     Wicli..     "We  *  "  An  old  disciple."     The  Greek  adjective 
made  oure  selfes   redy."      Tyndale.     "Wee  reminds  us  of  Acts  vi.  15. 

toke  up  oure  burthens."     Cranmer.      "  We  ^  He  can  hardly  have  been  converted  by  St. 

trussed  up  our  fardeles."     Geneva.     "  Being  Paul  dui-ing  his  journey  through  Cyprus,  or 

prepared."    Rheims.      The  word  "  carriage  "  St.  Paul  would  have  been  acquainted  with  him, 

in  the  Authorized  Version  is  used  as  in  Judg.  which  does  not  appear  to  have  been  the  case, 

xviii.  21,  1  Sam.  xvii.  22.     Greswell  sees,  in  He   may  have   been   converted   by  Barnabas, 

the  allusion  to  the  baggage,  some  indication  (See  Acts  xv.  39.)     But  he  was  most  probably 

of  haste ;   but  the  contrary  seems  rather  im-  one  of  the  earliest  disciples  of  Christ.     As  to 

plied.  the  construction,  see  the  article  on  this  nime 

2  See,  for  instance,  2  Tim.  iv.  13.  in  the  Diet,  of  the  Bible.     [See  p.  109,  and  Ch 
^  The  frequent  use  of  the  word   denoting  V.] 

"  to  conduct "  or  "  to  accompany,"  in  the  ac-  ^  See  pp.  597,  598. 

counts  of  the  movements  of  the  Apostles  and  ''  See  p.  610. 

their  companions,  is  worthy  of   observation. 
See  Acts  xv.  3,  xx.  38  ;  Rom.  xv.  24,  &c. 


618  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xx. 

feeling  under  which  this  journey  was  accomplished.  The  expression  of 
this  feeling  strikes  us  the  more  from  its  contrast  with  all  tlie  outward 
circumstances  of  the  voyage.  He  sailed  in  the  finest  season,  by  the 
brightest  coasts,  and  in  the  fairest  weather ;  and  yet  his  mind  was  occu- 
pied with  forebodings  of  evil  from  first  to  last ;  —  so  that  a  peculiar  shade 
of  sadness  is  thrown  over  the  whole  narration.  If  this  be  true,  we  should 
expect  to  find  some  indications  of  this  pervading  sadness  in  the  letters 
written  about  this  time  ;  for  we  know  how  the  deeper  tones  of  feeling 
make  themselves  known  in  the  correspondence  of  any  man  with  his 
friends.  Accordingly,  we  do  find  in  The  Epistle  written  to  the  Romans, 
shortly  before  leaving  Corinth,  a  remarkable  indication  of  discourage- 
ment, and  almost  despondency,  when  he  asked  the  Christians  at  Rome  to 
pray  that,  on  his  arrival  in  Jerusalem,  he  might  be  delivered  from  the 
Jews  who  hated  him,  and  be  well  received  by  those  Christians  who  dis- 
regarded his  authority.^  The  depressing  anxiety  with  which  he  thus 
looked  forward  to  the  journey  would  not  be  diminished,  when  the  very 
moment  of  his  departure  from  Corinth  was  beset  by  a  Jewish  plot  against 
his  life.^  And  we  find  the  cloud  of  gloom,  which  thus  gathered  at  the 
first,  increasing  and  becoming  darker  as  we  advance.  At  Philippi  and 
at  Troas,  indeed,  no  direct  intimation  is  given  of  coming  calamities  ;  but 
it  is  surely  no  fancy  which  sees  a  foreboding  shadow  thrown  over  that 
midnight  meeting,  where  death  so  suddenly  appeared  among  those  that 
were  assembled  there  with  many  lights  in  the  upper  chamber,  while  the 
Apostle  seemed  unable  to  intermit  his  discourse,  as  "  ready  to  depart  on 
the  morrow."  For  indeed  at  Miletus  he  said,  that  already  "  in  every 
city  "  ^  the  Spirit  had  admonished  him  that  bonds  and  imprisonment 
were  before  him.  At  Miletus  it  is  clear  that  the  heaviness  of  spirit 
under  which  he  started  had  become  a  confirmed  anticipation  of  evil. 
When  he  wrote  to  Rome,  he  hoped  to  be  delivered  from  the  danger  he 
had  too  much  reason  to  fear.  Now  his  fear  predominates  over  hope  ;  * 
and  he  looks  forward,  sadly  but  calmly,  to  some  imprisonment  not  far 
distant.  At  Tyre,  the  first  sounds  that  he  hears  on  landing  are  the  echo 
of  his  own  thoughts.  He  is  met  by  the  same  voice  of  warning,  and  the 
same  bitter  trial  for  himself  and  his  friends.  At  Ccesarea  his  vague  fore- 
bodings of  captivity  are  finally  made  decisive  and  distinct,  and  he  has  a 


1  Rom.  XV.  31.     We  should  remember  that  *  Seep.  602. 

he  had   two   causes    of   apprehension,  —  one  *  Acts  xx.  23  should  be  closely  compared 

arising  from   the  Jews,  who  persecuted   him  with    Rom.  xv.   30,   31.     See  also   the   note 

everywhere;    the    other  from    the  Judaizing  above  (-p.  m\)  on  "bound in  spirit."     St.  Paul 

Christians,  who  sought  to  depreciate  his  apos-  seems  to  have  suffered  extremely  both  from  the 

tolic  authority.  anticipation  and  the  experience  of  imprison- 

'^  See  p.  589.  rnent. 


PAUL'S  TBUST  IN  GOD. 


619 


last  struggle  with  the  remonstrances  of  those  whom  he  loved.  Never 
had  he  gone  to  Jerusalem  without  a  heart  full  of  emotion, — neither  in 
those  early  years,  when  he  came  an  enthusiastic  boy  from  Tarsus  to  the 
school  of  Gamaliel,  —  nor  on  his  return  from  Damascus,  after  the  greatest 
change  that  could  have  passed  over  an  inquisitor's  mind,  —  nor  when  he 
went  with  Barnabas  from  Antioch  to  the  Council,  which  was  to  decide  an 
anxious  controversy.  Now  he  had  much  new  experience  of  the  insidious 
progress  of  error,  and  of  the  sinfulness  even  of  the  converted.  Yet  his 
trust  in  God  did  not  depend  on  the  faithfulness  of  man  ;  and  he  went  to 
Jerusalem  calmly  and  resolutely,  though  doubtful  of  his  reception  among 
the  Christian  brethren,  and  not  knowing  what  would  happen  on  the 
morrow. 


CHAPTER    XXL 

Reception  at  Jerusalem.  —  Assembling  of  the  Presbyters.  —  Advice  given  to  St.  Paul.  —  The 
Four  Nazarites.  —  St.  Paul  seized  at  the  Festival.  —  The  Temple  and  the  Garrison. — He- 
brew Speech  on  the  Stairs.  —  The  Centurion  and  the  Chief  Captain.  —  St.  Paul  before  the 
Sanhedrin.  —  The  Pharisees  and  Sadducees.  —  Vision  in  the  Castle.  —  Conspiracy.  —  St 
Paul's  Nephew.  —  Letter  of  Claudius  Lysias  to  Felix. — Night  Journey  to  Antipatris, — 
Caesarea. 

"  TTTHEN  we  were  come  to  Jerusalem,  the  Brethren  received  us  glad- 
T  ▼  Ij."  Such  is  St.  Luke's  description  of  the  welcome  which  met  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  on  his  arrival  in  the  metropoUs  of  Judaism.  So 
we  sliall  find  afterwards  ^  "  the  brethren"  hailing  his  approach  to  Rome, 
and  "  coming  to  meet  him  as  far  as  Appii  Forum."  Thus  wherever  he 
went,  or  whatever  might  be  the  strength  of  hostility  and  persecution 
which  dogged  his  footsteps,  he  found  some  Christian  hearts  who  loved  the 
Glad-tidings  which  he  preached,  and  loved  himself  as  the  messenger  of 
the  grace  of  God. 

The  Apostle's  spirit,  which  was  much  depressed,  as  we  have  seen,^  hj 
anticipations  of  coldness  and  distrust  on  the  part  of  the  Church  at  Jeru- 
salem, must  have  been  lightened  by  his  kind  reception.  He  seems  to 
have  spent  the  evening  of  his  arrival  with  these  sympathizing  brethren  ; 
but  on  the  morrow,  a  more  formidable  ordeal  awaited  him.  He  must 
encounter  the  assembled  Presbyters  of  the  Church  ;  and  he  might  well 
doubt  whether  even  the  substantial  proof  of  loving  interest  in  their  wel- 
fare, of  which  he  was  the  bearer,  would  overcome  the  antipathy  with 
which  (as  he  was  fully  aware)  too  many  of  them  regarded  him.  The 
experiment,  however,  must  be  tried ;  for  this  was  the  very  end  of  his 
coming  to  Jerusalem  at  all,  at  a  time  when  his  heart  called  him  to  Rome.' 
His  purpose  was  to  endeavor  to  set  himself  right  with  the  Church  of 
Jerusalem,  to  overcome  the  hostile  prejudices  which  had  already  so  much 
impeded  his  labors,  and  to  endeavor,  by  the  force  of  Christian  love  and 
forbearance,  to  win  the  hearts  of  those  whom  he  regarded,  in  spite  of  all 

1  Acts  xxviii.  15.    The  same  expression  is  *  See  the  preceding  chapter,  pp.  588,  601- 

uscd  in  both  cases.     This  is  sufficient  to  refute      603,  612,  615,  616,  617,  619. 
the  cavils  which  have  been   made,  as  though  ^  See  Acts  xix.  21,  Bom.  i  10-15,  xr.  23- 

this  verse  (xxi.  17)  implied  unanimous  cordi-       29.  , 

ality  on  the  part  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem.  * 

620 


CHAP.  XXI.  ASSEMBLING   OF  THE  PKESBYTERS.  621 

their  weaknesses  aud  errors,  as  brethren  in  Christ  Jesus.  Accordinglj, 
when  the  morning  came,^  the  Presbyters  or  Elders  of  the  Church  were 
called  together  by  James  ^  (who,  as  we  have  before  mentioned,  presided 
over  the  Church  of  Jerusalem)  to  receive  Paul  and  his  fellow-travellers, 
the  messengers  of  the  Gentile  Churches.  We  have  already  seen  how 
carefully  St.  Paul  had  guarded  himself  from  the  possibility  of  suspicion 
in  the  administration  of  his  trust,  by  causing  deputies  to  be  elected  by 
the  several  churches  whose  alms  he  bore,  as  joint  trustees  with  himself 
of  the  fund  collected.  These  deputies  now  entered  together  with  him ' 
into  the  assembly  of  the  Elders,  and  the  offering  was  presented,  —  a 
proof  of  love  from  the  Churches  of  the  Gentiles  to  the  mother  Church, 
whence  their  spiritual  blessings  had  been  derived. 

The  travellers  were  received  with  that  touching  symbol  of  brotherhood, 
the  kiss  of  peace,*  which  was  exchanged  between  the  Christians  of  those 
days  on  every  occasion  of  public  as  well  as  private  meeting.  Then  the 
main  business  of  the  assembly  was  commenced  by  an  address  from  St. 
Paul.  This  was  not  the  first  occasion  on  which  he  had  been  called  to 
take  a  similar  part,  in  the  same  city,  and  before  the  same  audience.  Our 
thoughts  are  naturally  carried  back  to  the  days  of  the  Apostolic  Council, 
when  he  first  declared  to  the  Church  of  Jerusalem  the  Gospel  which  he 
preached  among  the  Gentiles,  and  the  great  things  which  God  had 
wrought  thereby.*  The  majority  of  the  Church  had  then,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Spirit  of  God,  been  brought  over  to  his  side,  and  had 
ratified  his  views  by  their  decree.  But  the  battle  was  not  yet  won  ;  he 
had  still  to  contend  against  the  same  foes  with  the  same  weapons. 

We  are  told  that  he  now  gave  a  detailed  account*  of  all  that  "  God  had 
wrought  among  the  Gentiles  by  his  ministry  "  since  he  last  parted  from 
Jerusalem  four  years  before.''  The  foundation  of  the  great  and  flourish- 
ing Church  of  Ephesus  doubtless  furnished  the  main  interest  of  his  nar- 
rative ;  but  he  would  also  dwell  on  the  progress  of  the  several  Churches 
in  Phrygia,  Galatia,  and  other  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  and  likewise  those  in 
Macedonia  and  Achaia,  from  whence  he  was  just  returned.  In  such  a 
discourse,  he  could  scarcely  avoid  touching  on  subjects  which  would 
excite  painful  feelings,  and  rouse  bitter  prejudice  in  many  of  his  audience. 
He  could  hardly  speak  of  Galatia  without  mentioning  the  attempted  per- 
version  of  his   converts  there.     He  could  not  enter  into  the  state  of 


1  "  The  day  following,"  t.  18.  8  ggg  p.  191,  &c. 

^  See  p.  190.  «  "Particularly,"  v.  19. 

•  "  Paul  with  us,"  fb.  ''  He  had  then  endeavored  to  reach  Jerusa- 

*  So  we  understand  when  he  had  tcduted  lem  by  the  feast  of  Pentecost  (Acts  xriii.  21, 
them,  V.  19.  See  1  Thegs.  v.  26,  and  the  note  and  see  Wieseler),  as  on  the  present  occa- 
p.  347  sion. 


622  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chat,  xxi 

Corinth  without  alluding  to  the  emissaries  from  Palestine,  wlio  had  intrO' 
duced  confusion  and  strife  among  the  Christians  of  that  city.  Yet  we 
cannot  doubt  that  St.  Paul,  with  that  graceful  courtesy  which  distin- 
guished both  his  writings  and  his  speeches,  softened  all  that  was  dis- 
agreeable, and  avoided  what  was  personally  offensive  to  his  audience,  and 
dwelt,  as  far  as  he  could,  on  topics  in  which  all  present  would  agree. 
Accordingly,  we  find  that  the  majority  of  the  assembled  Elders  were 
favorably  impressed  by  his  address,  and  by  the  tidings  which  he  brought 
of  the  progress  of  the  Gospel.  The  first  act  of  the  assembly  was  to 
glorify  God  for  the  wonders  He  had  wrought.'  They  joined  in  solemn 
thanksgiving  with  one  accord  ;  and  the  Amen  (1  Cor.  xiv.  16)  which 
followed  the  utterance  of  thanks  and  praise  from  apostolic  lips  was 
swelled  by  many  voices. 

Thus  the  hope  expressed  by  St.  Paul  on  a  former  occasion,^  concerning 
the  result  of  this  visit  to  Jerusalem,  was  in  a  measure  fulfilled.  But 
beneath  this  superficial  show  of  harmony  there  lurked  elements  of  dis- 
cord, which  threatened  to  disturb  it  too  soon.  We  have  already  had 
occasion  to  remark  upon  the  peculiar  composition  of  the  Church  at  Jeru- 
salem, and  we  have  seen  that  a  Pharisaic  faction  was  sheltered  in  its 
bosom,  which  continually  strove  to  turn  Christianity  into  a  sect  of 
Judaism.  We  have  seen  that  this  faction  had  recently  sent  emissaries 
into  the  Gentile  Churches,  and  had  endeavored  to  alienate  the  minds  of 
St.  Paul's  converts  from  their  converter.  These  men  were  restless 
agitators,  animated  by  the  bitterest  sectarian  spirit ;  and  although  they 
were  numerically  a  small  party,  yet  we  know  the  power  of  a  turbulent 
minority.  But  besides  these  Judaizing  zealots,  there  was  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  Christians  at  Jerusalem,  whose  Christianity,  though  more 
sincere  than  that  of  those  just  mentioned,  was  yet  very  weak  and  imper- 
fect. The  "  many  thousands  of  Jews  which  believed  "  had  by  no  means 
all  attained  to  the  fulness  of  Christian  faith.  Many  of  them  still  knew 
only  a  Christ  after  the  flesh,  —  a  Saviour  of  Israel,  —  a  Jewish  Messiah. 
Their  minds  were  in  a  state  of  transition  between  the  Law  and  the 
Gospel,  and  it  was  of  great  consequence  not  to  shock  their  prejudices  too 
rudely,  lest  they  should  be  tempted  to  make  shipwreck  of  their  faith,  and 
renounce  their  Christianity  altogether.  Their  prejudices  were  most 
wisely  consulted  in  things  Indifferent  by  St.  James  ;  who  accommodated 
liimself  in  all  points  to  the  strict  requirements  of  the  Law,  and  thus  dis- 
armed the  hostility  of  the  Judaizing  bigots.  He  was,  indeed,  divinely 
ordained  to  be  the  Apostle  of  this  transition- CJiurch.  Had  its  councils 
been  less  wisely  guided,  had  the  Gospel  of  St.  Paul  been  really  repudiated 

1  V  20  »  2  Cor.  ix  12 


CHXP.  XXI.  ILL-FEELING  AGAINST  ST.   PAUL.  623 

hy  ihe  Church  of  Jerusalem,  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  evil  which 
might  have  resulted.  This  class  of  Christians  was  naturally  very  much 
influenced  by  the  declamation  of  the  more  violent  partisans  of  Judaism. 
Theii  feelings  would  be  easily  excited  by  an  appeal  to  their  Jewish 
patriotism.  They  might  without  ditfcult  be  roused  to  fury  against  one 
whom  they  were  taught  to  regard  as  a  despiser  of  the  Law,  and  a  reviler 
of  the  customs  of  their  forefathers.  Against  St.  Paul  their  dislike  had 
been  long  aiid  artfully  fostered  ;  and  •  they  would  from  the  first  have 
looked  on  him  perhaps  with  some  suspicion,  as  not  being,  like  themselves, 
a  Hebrew  of  the  Holy  City,  but  only  a  Hellenist  of  the  Dispersion. 

Such  being  the  composition  of  the  great  body  of  the  Cliurch,  we  cannot 
doubt  that  the  same  elements  were  to  be  found  amongst  the  Elders  also. 
And  this  will  «^xplain  the  resolution  to  which  the  assembly  came,  at  the 
close  of  their  discussion  on  the  matters  brought  before  them.  They 
began  by  calling  St.  Paul's  attention  to  the  strength  of  the  Judaical  party 
among  the  Christians  of  Jerusalem.  They  told  him  tliat  the  majority 
even  of  the  Christian  Church  had  been  taught  to  hate  his  very  name,  and 
to  believe  that  he  went  about  the  world  "  teaching  the  Jews  to  forsake 
Moses,  saying  that  they  ought  not  to  circumcise  their  children,  neither  to 
walk  after  the  customs."  They  further  observed  that  it  was  impossible 
his  arrival  should  remain  unknown ;  his  renown  was  too  great  to  allow 
him  to  be  concealed  :  his  public  appearance  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem 
would  attract  a  crowd  ^  of  curious  spectators,  most  of  whom  would  be 
violently  hostile.  It  was  therefore  of  importance  that  he  should  do 
something  to  disarm  this  hostility,  and  to  refute  the  calumnies  which  had 
been  circulated  concerning  him.  The  plan  they  recommended  was,  that 
he  should  take  charge  of  four  Jewish  Christians,-  who  were  under  a 
Nazaritic  vow,  accompany  them  to  the  temple,  and  pay  for  them  the 
necessary  expenses  attending  the  termination  of  their  vow.  Agrippa  I., 
not  long  before,  had  given  the  same  public  expression  of  his  sympathy 
with  the  Jews,  on  his  arrival  from  Rome  to  take  possession  of  his  throne.^ 
And  what  the  King  had  done  for  popularity  it  was  felt  that  the  Apostle 
might  do  for  the  sake  of  truth  and  peace.  His  friends  thought  that  he 
would  thus,  in  the  most  public  manner,  exhibit  himself  as  an  observer  of 
the  Mosaic  ceremonies,  and  refute  the  accusations  of  his  enemies.  They 
added,  that,  by  so  doing,  he  would  not  countenance  the  errors  of  those 

1  "  A  multitude,"  v.  22.    Not  "  the  multi-  ^  That  these  Nazarites  were  Christians   is 

tude,"   nor  the  laity  of  the   Church,  as  some  evident  from  the  words  "  We  have." 
have  imagined.     Were  such  the  meaning,  the  ^  "On   arriving   at  Jerusalem,  he  offered 

Greek  would   have   had   the   definite  article.  many   sacrifices  of   thanksgiving:    wherefore 

Tlicre    seems    to    be   some  doubt  about  the  also  he  ordered  that  many  of  the   Nazarites 

gi'nuineness    of    the    clause.      See    Tischen-  should  have  their  heads  shorn."    Joseph.  Ant 

''<«*■•  xix.  6,  1 . 


624  THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap,  xix 

who  sought:  to  impose  the  Law  upon  Gentile  converts ;  because  it  had 
been  ah'eady  decided  by  the  Church  of  Jerusalem,  that  the  ceremonial 
observances  of  the  Law  were  not  obligatory  on  the  Gentiles.' 

It  is  remarkable  that  this  conclusion  is  attributed  expressly,  in  the 
Scriptural  narrative,  not  to  James  (who  presided  over  the  meeting),  but 
to  the  assembly  itself.  The  lurking  shade  of  distrust  implied  in  the  terms 
of  the  admonition  was  certainly  not  shared  by  that  great  Apostle  who  had 
long  ago  given  to  St.  Paul  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  We  have  already 
seen  indications,  that,  however  strict  might  be  the  Judaical  observances  of 
St.  James,  they  did  not  satisfy  the  Judaizing  party  at  Jerusalem,  who 
attempted,  under  the  sanction  of  his  name,"  to  teach  doctrines  and  enforce 
practices  of  which  he  disapproved.  The  partisans  of  this  faction,  indeed, 
are  called  by  St.  Paul  (while  anticipating  this  very  visit  to  Jerusalem) 
"  the  disobedient  party."  ^  It  would  seem  that  their  influence  was  not 
unfelt  in  the  discussion  which  terminated  in  the  resolution  recorded.  And 
though  St.  James  acquiesced  (as  did  St.  Paul)  in  the  advice  given,  it 
appears  not  to  have  originated  with  himself. 

The  counsel,  however,  though  it  may  have  been  suggested  by  suspicious 
prejudice,  or  even  by  designing  enmity,  was  not  in  itself  unwise.  St. 
Paul's  great  object  (as  we  have  seen)  in  this  visit  to  Jerusalem  was 
to  conciliate  the  Church  of  Palestine.  If  he  could  win  over  that  Church 
to  the  truth,  or  even  could  avert  its  open  hostility  to  himself,  he  would 
be  doing  more  for  the  diffusion  of  Christianity  than  even  by  the  conver- 
sion of  Ephesus.  Every  lawful  means  for  such  an  end  he  was  ready 
gladly  to  adopt.  His  own  principles,  stated  by  himself  in  his  Epistles, 
required  this  of  him.  He  had  recently  declared  that  every  compliance 
in  ceremonial  observances  should  be  made,  rather  than  cast  a  stumbling- 
block  in  a  brother's  way.**  He  had  laid  it  down  as  his  principle  of  action 
to  become  a  Jew  to  Jews  that  he  might  gain  the  Jews,  as  willingly  as 
he  became  a  Gentile  to  Gentiles  that  he  might  gain  the  Gentiles.^  He 
had  given  it  as  a  rule,  that  no  man  should  change  his  external  observ- 
ances because  he  became  a  Christian  ;  that  the  Jew  shoiild  remain  a  Jew 
in  things  outward.^  Nay  more,  he  himself  observed  the  Jewish  festivals, 
had  previously  countenanced  his  friends  in  the  practice  of  Nazaritic  vows,^ 
and  had  circumcised  Timothy,  the  soa  of  a  Jewess.     So  false  was  the 

1  v.  2.'),  comparing  xv.  28  ''  Acts  xviii.  1 8,  which  we  conceive  to  refer 

2  Acts  XV.  See  Gal.  ii.  12  to  Aquila.  (See  p.  368.)  But  many  inter- 
8  Rom.  XV.  31.  preters  of  the  passage  think  that  ^t.  Paul  hira- 
*  Rom.  xiv.  ^  See  1  Cor.  ix.  20.  self  made  the  vow.  We  cannot  possil)ly  as- 
«  1  Cor.  vii.  17-19.     Such  passages  are  the  sent  to  Mr.  Lewin's  view,  that  St.  Paul  was 

best  refutation  of  those  who  endeavor  to  repre-  s'till,  on  his  arrival  at  Jerusalem,  under  the 

sent  the  conduct  here  assigned  to  St.  Paul  as  obligation  of  a  vow  taken  in  consequf  nee  of 

inconsistent  with  his  teaching.     See  the  dis-  his  escape  at  Ephesus. 
CHSsion  pp.  229,  230. 


CHAP.  XXI.  NATURE   OF  THE  KAZARITIC   VOW.  625 

charge  that  he  had  forbidden  the  Jews  to  circumcise  their  children.'  In 
fact,  the  great  doctrine  of  St.  Paul  concerning  the  worthlessness  of  cere- 
monial observances  rendered  him  equally  ready  to  practise  as  to  forsake 
them.  A  mind  so  truly  catholic  as  his  was  necessarily  free  from  any 
repugnance  to  mere  outward  observances ;  a  repugnance  equally  super- 
stitious with  the  formalism  which  clings  to  ritual.  In  his  view,  circum- 
cision was  nothing,  and  uncircumcision  was  nothing ;  but  faith,  which 
worketh  by  love.  And  this  love  rendered  him  willing  to  adopt  the  most 
burdensome  ceremonies,  if  by  so  doing  he  could  save  a  brother  from  stum- 
bling. Hence  he  willingly  complied  with  the  advice  of  the  assembly,  and 
thereby,  while  he  removed  the  prejudices  of  its  more  ingenuous  members, 
doubtless  exasperated  the  factious  partisans  who  had  hoped  for  his  refusal. 
Thus  the  meeting  ended  amicably,  with  no  open  manifestation  of  that 
hostile  feeling  towards  St,  Paul  which  lurked  in  the  bosoms  of  some  who 
were  present.  On  the  next  day,  which  was  the  great  feast  of  Pentecost,^ 
St.  Paul  proceeded  with  the  four  Christian  Nazarites  to  the  Temple.  It 
is  necessary  here  to  explain  the  nature  of  their  vow,  and  of  the  office 
which  he  was  to  perform  for  them.  It  was  customary  among  the  Jews 
for  those  who  had  received  deliverance  from  any  great  peril,  or  who  from 
other  causes  desired  publicly  to  testify  their  dedication  to  God,  to  take 
upon  themselves  the  vow  of  a  Nazarite,  the  regulations  of  which  are 
prescribed  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  tlie  book  of  Numbers.'  In  that  book  no 
rule  is  laid  down  as  to  the  time  during  which  this  life  of  ascetic  rigor 
was  to  continue  :  *  but  we  learn  from  the  Talmud  and  Josephus  *  that 

1  It  has  been  argued  that  this  charge  was  rate  themselves  to  vow  a  vow  of  a  Nazarite,  to 

true,  because   the  logical   inference  from  St.  separate  themselves  unto  the  Lord,  he  shall 

Paul's  doctrines  was  the  uselessness  of  circum-  separate  himself  from  wine  and  strong  drink, 

cision.     But  it  might  as  well  be  said  that  the  ...  All  the  days  of  the  vow  of  his  separation 

logical  inference  from  the  decree  of  the  Coun-  there  shall  no  razor  come  upon  his  head  :  until 

cil  of  Jerusalem  was  the  uselessness  of  circum-  the  days  be  fulfilled  in   the  which  he  sepa- 

cision.     The  continued  observance  of  the  law  rateth  himself   unto   the  Lord,   he    shall  be 

was  of  course  only  transitional.  holy,  and  shall  let  the  locks  of  the  hair  of  hi» 

•^  This  mode  of  settling  the  vexed  question  head  grow."    Numb.  vi.  2-5. 
of  the  "  seven  days  "  entirely  removes  the  diffi-  *  Sometimes  the  obligation  was  for  life,  aa 

culty   arising  out  of   the  "  twelve  days,"  of  in  the  cases  of  Samson,  Samuel,  and  John  the 

which  St.  Paul  speaks  (xxiv.  11)  in  his  speech  Baptist.     That  "seven  days"  in  the  instance 

before  Felix.     Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  before  us  was  the  whole  duration  of  the  vow, 

on  reading  consecutively  the  twenty-sixth  and  seems  impossible,  for  this  simple  reason,  that 

twenty-seventh  verses  of  the  twenty-first  chap-  so  short  a  time  could  produce  no  perceptible 

ter,  it  is  difficult  (whether  or  not  we  identify  effect  on  the  hair.     Hemsen  makes  a  mistake 

"  the  days  of  purification "  with  "  the  seven  here    in   referring   to   the   "  seven   days  "   iu 

days")  to  believe  that  the  same  day  is  referred  Numb.  vi.  6,  which  contemplates  only  the  ex- 

to  in  each  verse.     And  when  we  come  to  xxiv.  ceptional  case  of  defilement  in  the  course  of 

1 1 ,  we  shall  see  that  other  modes  of  reckoning  the  vow. 
the  time  are  admissible.  6  Josephus    states    this    after    mentioning 

'  "  When  either  man  or  woman  shall  sepa-  Berenice's  vow,  War,  ii.  15,  1. 
40 


626 


THE  LIFE  AJSTD  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


COAP.  XXI. 


thirty  days  was  at  least  a  customary  period.  During  this  time  the  Naza- 
rite  was  bound  to  abstain  from  wine,  and  to  suffer  his  hair  to  grow  uncut. 
At  the  termination  of  the  period,  he  was  bound  to  present  himself  in  the 
Temple  with  certain  offerings,  and  his  hair  was  then  cut  off  and  burnt 
upon  the  altar.  The  offerings  required  ^  were  beyond  the  means  of  the 
very  poor,  and  consequently  it  was  thought  an  act  of  piety  for  a  rich 
man  ^  to  pay  the  necessary  expenses,  and  thus  enable  his  poorer  country- 
men to  complete  their  vow.  St.  Paul  was  far  from  rich  ;  he  gained  his 
daily  bread  by  the  work  of  his  own  hands ;  and  we  may  therefore  natu- 
rally ask  how  he  was  able  to  take  upon  himself  the  expenses  of  these 
four  Nazarites.  The  answer  probably  is,  that  the  assembled  Elders  had 
requested  him  to  apply  to  this  purpose  a  portion  of  the  fund  which  he 
had  placed  at  their  disposal.  However  this  may  be,  he  now  made  him- 
self responsible  for  these  expenses,  and  accompanied  the  Nazarites  to  the 
Temple,  after  having  first  performed  the  necessary  purifications  together 
with  them.'  On  entering  the  Temple,  he  announced  to  the  priests  that 
the  period  of  the  Nazaritic  vow  which  his  friends  had  taken  was  accom- 
plished, and  he  waited  *  within  the  sacred  enclosure  till  the  necessary 
offerings  were  made  for  each  of  them,  and  their  hair  cut  off  and  burnt 
in  the  sacred  fire. 


1  "And  this  is  the  law  of  the  Nazarite, 
when  the  days  of  his  separation  are  fulfilled  : 
he  shall  be  brought  unto  the  door  of  the  tab- 
ernacle of  the  congregation  ;  and  he  shall  offer 
his  offering  unto  the  Lord,  one  he-lauib  of  the 
first  year  without  blemish  for  a  burnt-offering, 
anil  one  ewc-lanib  of  the  first  year  without 
blemish  for  a  sin-offering,  and  one  ram  with- 
out blemish  for  peace-offerings,  and  a  basket 
of  unleavened  bread,  cakes  of  fine  flour 
mingled  with  oil,  and  wafers  of  unleavened 
bread  anointed  with  oil,  and  their  meat-offer- 
ing, and  their  drink-offerings.  And  the  priest 
shall  bfing  them  before  the  Lord,  and  shall 
offer  his  sin-offering  and  his  burnt-offering  : 
and  he  shall  offer  the  ram  for  a  sacrifice  of 
peace-offerings  unto  the  Lord,  with  the  basket 
of  unleavened  bread  :  the  priest  shall  offer  also 
his  meat-offering  and  his  drink-offering.  And 
the  Nazarite  shall  shave  the  head  of  his  separa- 
tion at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  shall  take  the  hair  of  the  head 
of  his  separation,  and  put  it  in  the  fire  which 
Ls  under  the  sacrifice  of  tlie  peace-offerings." 
Numb.  vi.  13-18. 

2  Compare  the  case  of  Agrippa  mentioned 
above. 


^  Purify  thyself  with  them  (xxi.  24),  when 
purified  he  went  in  (26),  they  found  me  purijied 
(xxiv.  18).  "We  do  not  agree  with  those  com- 
mentators who  interpret  the  first  expression  to 
mean  "  dedicate  thyself  as  a  Nazarite  along 
with  them."  We  (ioubt  whether  it  could  bear 
this  meaning.  At  all  events,  the  other  is  by 
far  the  most  natural  and  obvious,  and  it  cor- 
responds with  the  Septuagintal  use  of  the 
same  verb  in  Numbers  xix.  12. 

*  The  obvious  translation  of  v.  26  seems  to 
be,  "  He  entered  into  the  Temple,  giving  pub- 
lic notice  that  the  days  of  purification  were 
fulfilled  [and  staid  there]  till  the  offering  for 
each  one  of  the  Nazarites  was  brought."  The 
emphatic  force  of  each  one  should  be  noticed. 
Publicity  is  implied  in  the  word  for  giving 
notice.  The  persons  to  whom  notice  was  given 
were  the  priests. 

This  interpretation  harmonizes  with  Wiese- 
ler's  view  of  the  whole  subject.  If  we  believe 
that  several  days  were  yet  to  elapse  before  the 
expiration  of  the  Nazaritic  ceremonies,  we 
must  translate,  with  Mr.  Humphry  —  "  mak- 
ing it  known  that  the  days  of  separation  which 
must  be  fulfilled  before  the  offering  should  be 
made  were  in  the  course  of  completion." 


CHAP.  XXI.  ST.    PAUL   SEIZED   AT  THE   FESTIVAL.  627 

He  might  well  have  hoped,  by  thus  complying  with  the  legal  cere- 
monial, to  conciliate  tliose,  at  least,  who  were  only  hostile  to  him  because 
they  believed  him  hostile  to  their  national  worship.  And,  so  far  as  the 
great  body  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem  was  concerned,  he  probably  suc- 
ceeded. But  the  celebration  of  the  festival  had  attracted  multitudes  to 
the  Holy  City,  and  the  Temple  was  thronged  with  worshippers  from 
every  land  ;  and  amongst  these  were  some  of  those  Asiatic  Jews  who 
had  been  defeated  by  his  arguments  in  the  Synagogue  of  Ephesus, 
and  irritated  against  him  during  the  last  few  years  daily  more  and  more, 
by  the  continual  growth  of  a  Christian  Church  in  that  city,  formed  in 
great  part  of  converts  from  among  the  Jewish  Proselytes.  These  men, 
whom  a  zealous  feeling  of  nationality  had  attracted  from  their  distant 
home  to  the  metropolis  of  their  faith,  now  beheld,  where  they  least  ex- 
pected to  find  him,  the  apostate  Israelite,  who  had  opposed  their  teach- 
ing and  seduced  their  converts.  An  opportunity  of  revenge,  wliich  they 
could  not  have  hoped  for  in  the  Gentile  city  where  they  dwelt,  had 
suddenly  presented  itself.  They  sprang  upon  their  enemy,  and  shouted 
while  they  hold  him  fast,  "  Men  of  Israel,  help.  This  is  the  man  that 
teacheth  all  men  everywhere  against  the  People  and  the  Law,  and  this 
Place."'  Then  as  the  crowd  rushed  tumultuously  towards  the  spot,  they 
excited  them  yet  further  by  accusing  Paul  of  introducing  Greeks  into 
the  Holy  Place,  which  was  profaned  by  the  presence  of  a  Gentile.  The 
vast  multitude  wliich  was  assembled  on  the  spot,  and  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood,  was  excited  to  madness  by  these  tidings,  wliich  spread 
rapidly  through  the  crowd.  The  pilgrims  who  flocked  at  such  seasons 
to  Jerusalem  were  of  course,  the  most  zealous  of  their  nation  ;  very 
Hebrews  of  the  Hebrews.  We  may  imagine  the  horror  and  indigiiatioa 
which  would  fill  their  minds  when  they  heard  that  an  apostate  from  the 
faith  of  Israel  had  been  seized  in  the  very  act  of  profaning  the  Temple 
at  this  holy  season.  A  furious  multitude  rushed  upon  the  Apostle  ;  and 
it  was  only  their  reverence  for  the  holy  place  which  preserved  him  from 
being  torn  to  pieces  on  the  spot.  They  hurried  him  out  of  the  sacred 
enclosure,  and  assailed  him  with  violent  blows.''^  Their  next  course  miglit 
have  been  to  stone  him  or  to  hurl  him  over  the  precipice  into  the  valley 
below.  They  were  already  in  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles,  and  tlie  heavy 
gates'  which  separated  the  inner  from  the  outer  enclosure  were  shut  by 

1  "  This  place,"  v.  28,  "this  holy  place," —  must  have  remembered  Stephen,  and  felt  as 

ib.     We  should  compare  here  the  accusation  though  this  attack  on  himself  were  a  rctribu- 

iijainst  Stephen,  vi.  13.     "  lie  ceaseth  not  to  tion.     See  below  on  xxii.  20.     Cf.  p.  65. 

speak    blasphemous   words    against    this    holy  ^  See  Acts  xxi.  31,  32. 

place."    The  two  cases  are  in  many  respects  ^  For  an  account  of  these  gates,  see  b©- 

larallel.      We  cannot  but  believe   that  Paul  low. 


628  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.xxi. 

the  Levites,  —  when  an  unexpected  interruption  prevented  the  murderous 
purpose. 

It  becomes  desirable  here  to  give  a  more  particular  description  than 
we  have  yet  done  of  the  Temple-area  and  the  sanctuary  which  it  enclosed. 
Some  reference  has  been  made  to  this  subject  in  the  account  of  St. 
Stephen's  martyrdom  (p.  65),  especially  to  that  "Stone  Chamber"  — 
the  Hall  Gazith  —  where  the  Sanhedrin  held  their  solemn  conclave. 
Soon  we  shall  see  St.  Paul  himself  summoned  before  this  tribunal,  and 
hear  his  voice  in  that  hall  where  he  had  listened  to  the  eloquence  of  the 
first  martyr.  Bnt  meantime  other  events  came  in  rapid  succession,  for 
the  better  understanding  of  which  it  is  well  to  form  to  ourselves  a  clear 
notion  of  the  localities  in  which  they  occurred. 

The  position  of  the  Temple  on  the  eastern  side  of  Jerusalem,  the  rela 
tion  of  Mount  Moriah  to  the  other  eminences  on  which  the  city  was  built, 
the  valley  which  separated  it  from  the  higher  summit  of  Mount  Zion, 
and  the  deeper  ravine  which  formed  a  chasm  between  the  whole  city  and 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  —  these  facts  of  general  topography  are  too  well 
known  to  require  elucidation.^  On  the  other  hand,  when  we  turn  to  the 
description  of  the  Temple-area  itself  and  that  which  it  contained,  we  are 
met  with  considerable  difficulties.  It  does  not,  however,  belong  to  our 
present  task  to  reconcile  the  statements  in  Josephus  '^  and  the  Talmud  * 
with  each  other  and  with  present  appearances.*  Nor  shall  we  attempt 
to  trace  the  architectural  changes  by  which  the  scene  has  been  modified, 
in  the  long  interval  between  the  time  when  the  Patriarch  built  the  altar 
on  Moriah  for  his  mysterious  sacrifice,^  and  our  own  day,  when  the  same 
spot^  is  the  "  wailing-place  "  of  those  who  are  his  children  after  the  flesh, 
but  not  yet  the  heirs  of  his  faith.  Keeping  aloof  from  all  difficult  details, 
and  withdrawing  ourselves  from  the  consideration  of  those  events  which 
have  invested  this  hill  with  an  interest  unknown  to  any  other  spot  on  the 
earth,  we  confine  ourselves  to  the  simple  task  of  depicting  the  Temple 
of  Herod  as  it  was  when  St.  Paul  was  arrested  by  the  infuriated  Jews. 

1  Among  the  materials  used  in  our  account  because  of  his  general  accuracy,  and  against 

of  the  Temple,  we  may  particularly  mention  Middoth,  because  the  Rabbis  could  write  only 

Dr.   Robinson's   Researches,   the    memoir    on  from  tradition. 
Jerusalem  with  the  plan  of  the  Ordnance  Sur-  "*  Gen.  xxii. 

vey,  published  separately  by  Mr.  G.  Williams,  ®  See  Robinson,  i.  350.     "It  is  the  nearest 

and  Mr.  Thrupp's  Ancient  Jerusalem.  point  in  which  the  Jews  can  venture  to  ap- 

'^  The    two    places    in    Josephus    where  proach  their  ancient  temple ;  and,  fortunately 

Herod's   Temple  is  described  at  length   are  for  them,  it  is  sheltered  from  observation  by 

Ant.  XV.  11,  and   War,  v.  5.      See  also  Ant.  the  narrowness  of  the  land  and  the  dead  walls 

XX.  9,  7.  around."     It  seems  that  the  custom  is  nen- 

8  The    tract   Middoth   (Measures)    in    the  tioned  even  by  Benjamin  of  Tudela  in   th« 

Mischna  treats  entirely  of  this  subject.  twelfth  century. 

*  Mr.  Thrupp  argues  in  favor  of  Josephus, 


caAp.  xii.  THE   TEMPLE   OF   HEEOD.  o29 

That  rocky  summit,  which  was  wide  enough  for  the  threshing-floor  of 
Aran n ah ,^  was  levelled  after  David's  death,  and  enlarged  by  means  of 
laborious  substructions,  till  it  presented  the  appearance  of  one  broad 
uniform  area.^  On  this  level  space  the  temples  of  Solomon  and  Zerub 
babel  wero  successively  built :  and  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles  there  were 
remains  of  the  former  work  in  the  vast  stones  which  formed  the  support- 
ing wall  on  the  side  of  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,^  and  of  the  latter  in 
the  eastern  gate,  which  in  its  name  and  its  appearance  continued  to  be 
a  monument  of  the  Persian  power.*  The  architectural  arrangements 
of  Herod's  Temple  were,  in  their  general  form,  similar  to  the  two  which 
had  preceded  it.  When  we  think  of  the  Jewish  sanctuary,  whether  in 
its  earlier  or  later  periods,  our  impulse  is  to  imagine  to  ourselves  some 
building  like  a  synagogue  or  a  church :  but  the  first  effort  of  our 
imagination  should  be  to  realize  the  appearance  of  that  wide  open  space, 
which  is  spoken  of  by  the  prophets  as  the  "  Outer  Court "  or  the  "  Court 
of  the  Lord's  House  ;  "  ®  and  is  named  by  Josephus  the  "  Outer  Temple," 
and,  both  in  the  Apocrypha  and  the  Talmud,  the  "  Mountain  of  the 
House." ^  That  which  was  the  "  House"  itself,  or  the  Temple,  propcrlj 
so  called,'^  was  erected  on  the  highest  of  a  series  of  successive  terraces, 
which  rose  in  an  isolated  mass  from  the  centre  of  the  Court,  or  rather 
nearer  to  its  north-western  corner.^ 

In  form,  the  Outer  Court  was  a  square  ;  a  strong  wall  enclosed  it ;  the 
sides  corresponded  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  heavens,  and  each  was  a 
stadium  or  a  furlong  in  length.^  Its  pavement  of  stone  was  of  various 
colors  :  '^  and  it  was  surrounded  by  a  covered  colonnade,  the  roof  of  which 
was  of  costly  cedar,  and  was  supported  on  lofty  and  massive  columns  of 
the  Corinthian  order,  and  of  the  whitest  marble."     On  three  sides  there 

1  1  Chron.  xxi.  18 ;  2  Chron.  iii.  1.  ''In  the  LXX.  we  find  oIkoc  and  vab^  used 

2  See  the  description  of  this  work  iH  Jose-  for  that  which  was  properly  the  Temple  The 
phus,  War,  v.  5,  1.     Ant.  xv.  11,3.  expression  rd  iepbv,  in  the  N.  T.,  is  a  general 

^  The   lower    courses    of    these    immense  term,  inclusive  of  the  whole  series  of  courts, 

stones  still  remain,  and  are  described  by  all  So  it  is  used  by  Josephus,  who  speaks  of  the 

travellers.  Outer  Court  as  the  frst  kpbv,  the  outer  kpov, 

*  The  Shushan  Gate,  which  had  a  sculp-  while  he  uses  vabg  for  the  Temple  itself 
tured  representation  of  the  city  of  Susa,  and  ^  In  Middoth  it  is  distinctly  said  that  the 

was  preserved  from  the  time  of  Zerubbabel.  space  from  the  east  and  south  is  greater  tha'u 

Mkldoth.      That  which    is    now    called    the  that  from  the  west  and  north. 
Golden    Gate,    "  a  highly  ornamental   double  '  We  do  not  venture  to  touch  the  difBcul- 

gateway  of  Roman  construction,"  is  doubtless  ties  connected  with  the  dimension  of  the  Tem- 

on  the  same  spot.  pie.     Josephus  is  inconsistent   both  with  the 

^  Ezek.  xl.  17  ;  Jer.  xix.   14,  xxvi.  2.     In  Talmud  and  himself     In  one  of  his  estimates 

2  Chron.  iv.  9,  it  is  called  the  Great  Court.  of  the  size  of  the  whole  area,  the  ground  on 

®  The  term  with  which  we  are  most  famil-  which  Antonia  stood  is  included. 
iar,  —  "  The    Court    of    the    Gentiles,"  —  is  i°   War,  v.  5,  2. 

nerer  applied  to  this  space  by  Jewish  writers.  ^  Ant.  xv.  11,  5.     He  adds  that  the  height 


b3U  THE   LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OE  ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xx. 

were  two  rows  of  columns  :  but  on  the  southern  side  the  cloister  deepened 
into  a  fourfold  colonnade,  the  innermost  supports  of  the  roof  being  pilas- 
ters in  the  enclosing  wall.  About  the  south-eastern  angle,  where  the 
valley  was  most  depressed  below  the  plateau  of  the  Temple,  we  are  to 
look  for  that  "  Porch  of  Solomon  "  (John  x.  23,  Acts  iii.  11)  which  it 
familiar  to  us  in  the  New  Testament :  ^  and  under  the  colonnades,  or  on  the 
open  area  in  the  midst,  were  the  "  tables  of  the  money-changers  and  the 
Beats  of  them  who  sold  doves,"  which  turned  that  which  was  intended  for  a 
house  of  prayer  into  a  "  house  of  merchandise  "  (John  ii.  16),  and  "  a  den 
of  thieves  "  (Matt.  xxi.  13).  Free  access  was  afforded  into  this  wide  en- 
closure by  gates  ^  on  each  of  the  four  sides,  one  of  which  on  the  east  was 
called  the  Royal  Gate,  and  was  perhaps  identical  with  the  "  Beautiful 
Gate  "  of  Sacred  History,^  while  another  on  the  west  was  connected  with 
the  crowded  streets  of  Mount  Zion  by  a  bridge  over  the  intervening 
valley.* 

Nearer  (as  we  have  seen)  to  the  north-western  corner  than  the  centre 
of  the  square,  arose  that  series  of  enclosed  terraces  on  the  summit  of 
which  was  the  sanctuary.  These  more  sacred  limits  were  fenced  off  by  a 
low  balustrade  of  stone,  with  columns  at  intervals,  on  which  inscriptions 
in  Greek  and  Latin  warned  all  Gentiles  against  advancing  beyond  them 
on  pain  of  death.'  It  was  within  this  boundary  that  St.  Paul  was  accused 
of  having  brought  his  Heathen  companions.  Besides  this  balustrade,  a 
separation  was  formed  by  a  flight  of  fourteen  steps  leading  up  to  the  first 
platform,®  which  in  its  western  portion  was  a  narrow  terrace  of  fifteen  feet 

of  the  columns  was  25  cubits  (?),  and  their  in  the  sacred  limits :  "Was  it  not  yourselves, 

number  162,  while  each  column  was  so  wide  ye  wretches,  who  raised  this  fence  before  your 

that  it  required  three  men  with  outstretched  sanctuary  ?     Was  it  not  yourselves  that  set  the 

arms  to  embrace  it.  pillars    therein    at    intervals,   inscril>cd    with 

1  See  Joseph.  Ant.  xx.  9,  7.  Groek  characters  and  our  characters,  and  for- 

2  The  statements  of  Josephus  and  Middoth  bidding  any  one  to  pass  the  boundary  ?  And 
•with  regard  to  the  gates  into  the  Outer  Court  was  it  not  loe  that  allowed  you  to  kill  any  one 
are  absolutely  irreconcilable.  so  transgressing,  though  he  were  a  Roman  ?  " 

8  The  Shushan  Gate,  mentioned  above.  War,  vi.  2,  4.     From  this  it  appears  that  the 

*  The  supposed  remains  of  this  bridge,  Jews  had  full  permission  from  the  Romans  to 
with  some  of  the  different  theories  respecting  kill  even  a  Roman,  if  he  went  beyond  the 
them,  have  been  alluded  to  before.  See  p.  25,  ,  boundary.  These  inscriptions  have  been  al- 
and the  engraving.  ludcd  to  before  in  this  work,  p.  3. 

^  Joseph.  Wari  v.  5,  2.     In  the  Antiquities  ^  With  this  platform  begins  what  is  called 

(xv.  11,  7)  he  does  not  say  that  the  inscription  "the  second   lepbv"  by  Josephus.     For  the 

was  in  different  languages,  but  he  adds  that  fourteen  steps  see    War,  v.  5,  2.     In  Middoth 

it  announced  death  as   the  penalty  of   trans-  the  steps  are  twelve.     Leaving  aside  the  dis- 

gression.      A    similar    statement    occurs    in  cordance  as  to  numbers,  we  may  remark  that 

Philo.  we  are  left  in  doubt  as  to  whether  the  balu.s- 

This  fence  is  mentioned  again  by  Josephus  trade   was  above  or  below   the   steps.      Mr. 

in  a  striking  passage,  where  Titus  says  to  the  Thrupp  places  the  steps  within  the  barrier,  p 

Jews,  after  a  horrible  scene  cf  bloodshed  with-  328. 


CHAP.  XXI.  THE    TEMPLE   OF   HEEOD.  G3I 

wide  round  the  walls  of  the  innermost  sanctuary,  —  while  the  eastern 
portion  expanded  into  a  second  court,  called  the  Court  of  the  Wbmeyi} 
By  this  term  we  are  not  to  understand  that  it  was  exclusively  devoted  to 
that  sex,  but  that  no  women  were  allowed  to  advance  beyond  it.  This 
court  seems  to  have  contained  the  treasury-  (Mark  xii.  41,  Luke  xxi.  1) 
and  various  chambers,  of  which  that  at  the  south-eastern  corner  should 
be  mentioned  here,  for  there  the  Nazarites  performed  their  vows  ;  ^  and 
the  whole  court  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  its  own,  with  gates  on  each 
side,  —  the  easternmost  of  which  was  of  Corinthian  brass,  with  folding- 
doors  and  strong  bolts  and  bars,  requiring  the  force  of  twenty  men  to 
close  them  for  the  night.*  We  conceive  that  it  was  the  closing  of  these 
doors  by  the  Levites,  which  is  so  pointedly  mentioned  by  St.  Luke  (Acts 
xxi.  30)  :  and  we  must  suppose  that  St.  Paul  had  been  first  seized  within 
them,  and  was  then  dragged  down  the  flight  of  steps  into  the  Outer 
Court. 

The  interest,  then,  of  this  particular  moment  is  to  be  associated  with 
the  eastern  entrance  of  the  Inner  from  the  Outer  Temple.  But  to  com- 
plete our  description,  we  must  now  cross  the  Court  of  the  Women  to  its 
western  gate.  The  Holy  Place  and  the  Holy  of  Holies  were  still  within  and 
above  the  spaces  we  have  mentioned.  Two  courts  yet  intervened  between 
the  court  last  described  and  the  Holy  House  itself.  The  first  was  the 
Court  of  Israel,  the  ascent  to  which  was  by  a  flight  of  fifteen  semicircular 
steps  ;  *  the  second,  the  Court  of  the  Priests,  separated  from  the  former 
by  a  low  balustrade.®  Where  these  spaces  bordered  on  each  other,  to  the 
south,  was  the  hall  Gazith,''  the  meeting-place  of  the  Sanhedrin,  partly  in 
one  court  and  partly  in  the  other.  A  little  farther  towards  the  north 
were  all  those  arrangements  which  we  are  hardly  able  to  associate  with 
the  thoughts  of  worship,  but  which  daily  reiterated  in  the  sight  of  the 

1  War,  V.  5,  2.     See  Ant.  xv.  11,  5.  from  the  east,  by  Ant.  xv.  11.     Su<  h  is  the 

2  In  Joseph.  War,  v.  5,  2,  we  find  "  Treas-  position  assigned  to  the  gate  of  Corinthian  brass 
uries"  in  the  plural.  Compare  vi.  5,  2.  by  L'Empereur  and  Winer.  Others  (Light- 
L'Empereur,  who  edited  the  tract  Middoth,  foot,  De  "Wette,  Williams)  makes  it  the  west- 
places  the  treasury,  or  treasuries,  in   the  wall  em  gate  of  the  Court  of  the  Women. 

of  the  Court  of  the  Women,  but  facing  the  *  War,  v.  5,  3,  also  Middoth. 

Outer  Court.  ^  The  information  which  Josephus  gives 

3  Middoth.  concerning   these   two  courts  (or   rather   two 
*  We  can  hardly  doubt  that  this  is  the  gate  parts  of   one   cot  rt)   is   scanty.      Under   the 

mentioned  by  Josephus,  War,  vi.  5,  3 :  "  The  Court  of  Israel  m  ere  rooms  for  the  musical 

pjastern  gate,  made  of  brass,  and  very  strong,  instruments  of  the  priests.     Middoth. 

shut  at  nightfall   with    difficulty   by   twenty  '  Middoth.     Reference  has  been  made  be- 

mcn."     And  this,  we  think,  must  be  identical  fore  to  this  hall,  in  the  narrative  of  Stephen's 

with  that  of  War,  v.  8,  3  :  "  One  gate  outside  trials.     P.  6.5,  n.  4.     See  below,  p.  642.     Rab- 

the    Temple,    made    of    Corinthian    brass."  binical  authorities  say  that  the  boundary-line 

This  again  is  determined  to  be  the  gate  by  of  Judah  and  Benjamin  passed  between  Gazjfh 

which  the  Court  of  the  Women  was  entered  and  the  Holy  Place. 


632  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  in, 

Israelites  that  awful  truth  that  "  without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no 
remission,"  —  the  rings  at  which  the  victims  were  slaughtered,  —  the 
beams  and  hooks  from  which  they  were  suspended  when  dead,  —  and  the 
marble  tables  at  which  the  entrails  were  washed  :  ^  —  here,  above  all,  was 
the  Altar,  the  very  place  of  which  has  been  plausibly  identified  by  the 
bore  in  the  sacred  rock  of  the  Moslems,  which  appears  to  correspond 
exactly  with  the  description  given  in  the  Mischna  of  the  drain  and  cesspool 
which  communicated  with  the  sewer  that  ran  off  into  the  Kedron.^ 

The  house  itself  remains  to  be  described.  It  was  divided  into  three 
parts,  the  Vestibule,  the  Holy  Place,  and  the  Holy  of  Holies.  From  the 
Altar  and  the  Court  of  the  Priests  to  the  Vestibule  was  another  flight  of 
twelve  steps,  the  last  of  the  successive  approaches  by  which  the  Temple 
was  ascended  from  the  east.  The  Vestibule  was  wider  ^  than  the  rest  of 
the  House  :  its  front  was  adorned  with  a  golden  vine  of  colossal  propor- 
tions :  *  and  it  was  separated  by  a  richly-embroidered  curtain  or  veil  from 
the  Holy  Place,  which  contained  the  Table  of  Show-bread,  the  Candle- 
stick, and  the  Altar  of  Incense.  After  this  was  the  "  second  veil  "  (Heb. 
ix.  3),  closing  the  access  to  the  innermost  shrine,  which  in  the  days  of 
the  Tabernacle  had  contained  the  golden  censer  and  the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant, but  which  in  Herod's  Temple  was  entirely  empty,  though  still 
regarded  as  the  "  Holiest  of  All."  (lb.)  The  interior  height  of  the 
Holy  Place  and  the  Holy  of  Holies  was  comparatively  small :  but  above 
them  and  on  each  side  were  chambers  so  arranged  that  the  general 
exterior  effect  was  that  of  a  clere-story  ^  rising  above  aisles  :  and  the  whole 
was  surmounted  with  gilded  spikes,®  to  prevent  the  birds  from  settling  on 
the  sacred  roof. 

Such  is  a  bare  outline  of  the  general  plan  of  the  Jewish  Temple. 
Such  was  the  arrangement  of  its  parts,  which  could  be  traced,  as  in  a 
map,  by  those  who  looked  down  from  the  summit  of  the  Mount  of  Olives, 

1  Middoth.     The  position  of  these  rings,  ^  Josephus  says  that  there  were  shoulders 

fee,  was  on   the  north  side  of  the   altar  of  on  each  side. 

bnmt-offering,  —  to  which  the  ascent  was  by  a  *  Ant.  xv.  11,  3.     War,  y.  5,  4.     Compare 

gradual  slope  on  the  south  side.  Middoth  :   "  Vitis   aurea  expandebatur   super 

■^  This   is   the  view  of  Prof.  Willis.      See  portam  templi ; "  also  Tactius :  "  Vitis  aurea 

Williams'  Memoir,  p.  95.     But  it  cannot   be  templo  reperta."     Hist.  v.  5. 
regarded  as   absolutely  certain.     Mr.  Thrupp  &  Williams,  p.  97. 

(p.  317)  objects  that  it  is  difficult  to   under-  ^   War,  v.  5,  6.     Lightfoot  (ch.  xi.)  thinks 

stand  how  so  elevated  a  rock  can  be  identical  that  the  roof  had  pinnacles,  ''  as  King's  Col- 

with  the  threshing  floor  of  Araunah,  which  ledge   Chapelle   in    Cambridge    is  decked  in 

must  have  been  levelled.     He  thinks  the  per-  like  manner,  to"  its  great   beauty : "  and   he 

foration  was  the  secret  passage  made  by  Herod  adds  that  the  roof  was  not  flat,  but  rising  in 

fiom  Antonia.    Joseph.  Ant.  xv.  11,  7.     The  the  middle,  "  as  King's  Colledge  Chapelle  may 

only  authentic  account  of  the  "  Rock  of  the  be  herein  a  parallel  also." 
Sakrah  "  is  that  of  Mr.  Catherwood,  given  in 
Barilett's  Walks  afxjut  Jerusalem.     See  Stan- 
|fy'«  Sinn!  and  Palestine,  p.  1  77. 


CHAP.  XXI.  THE  FORTEESS  ANTONIA.  6b3 

as  the  modern  traveller  looks  now  from  the  same  place  upon  the  Mosque 
of  Omar  and  its  surrounding  court.  As  seen  from  this  eminence, — 
when  the  gilded  front  of  the  vestibule  flashed  back  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
and  all  the  courts  glittered  (to  use  the  comparison  of  Josephus)  with 
the  whiteness  of  snow,  —  while  the  column  of  smoke  rose  over  all,  as  a 
perpetual  token  of  acceptable  sacrifice, —  and  worshippers  were  closely 
crowded  on  the  eastern  steps  and  terraces  in  front  of  the  Holy  House, 
and  Pilgrims  from  all  countries  under  heaven  were  moving  through  the 
Outer  Court  and  flocking  to  the  same  point  from  all  streets  in  the  city,  — 
the  Temple  at  the  time  of  a  festival  must  have  been  a  proud  spectacle  to 
the  religious  Jew.  It  must  have  been  with  sad  and  incredulous  wonder 
that  the  f<.Mir  Disciples  heard  from  Him  who  wept  over  Jerusalem,  that 
all  this  magnificence  was  presently  to  pass  away.'  None  but  a  Jew  can 
understand  the  passionate  enthusiasm  inspired  by  the  recollections  and 
the  .glorious  appearance  of  the  national  Sanctuary.  And  none  but  a 
Jew  can  understand  the  bitter  grief  and  deep  hatred  which  grew  out  of 
the  degradation  in  which  his  nation  was  sunk  at  that  particular  time. 
This  ancient  glory  was  now  under  the  shadow  of  an  alien  power.  The 
Sanctuary  was  all  but  trodden  under  foot  by  the  Gentiles.  The  very 
worship  was  conducted  under  the  surveillance  of  Roman  soldiers.  We 
cannot  conclude  this  account  of  the  Temple  without  describing  the  for- 
tress which  was  contiguous,  and  almost  a  part  of  it. 

If  we  were  to  remount  to  the  earlier  history  of  the  Temple,  we  might 
perhaps  identify  the  tower  of  Antonia  with  the  "  palace  "  of  which  we 
read  in  the  book  of  Nehemiah  (ii.  8,  vii.  2).  It  was  certainly  the  build- 
ing which  the  Asmonean  princes  erected  for  their  own  residence  under 
the  name  of  Baris.^  Afterwards  rebuilt  with  greater  strength  and 
splendor  by  the  first  Herod,  it  was  named  by  him,  after  his  Romanizing 
I'ashion,  in  honor  of  Mark  Antony.^  Its  situation  is  most  distinctly 
marked  out  by  Josephus,  who  tells  us  that  it  was  at  the  north-western* 
corner  of  the  Temple-area,  with  the  cloisters  of  which  it  communicated 
by  means  of  staircases  (Acts  xxi.  35,  40)."*  It  is  difficult,  however,  to 
define  the  exact  extent  of  ground  which  it  covered  in  its  renewed  form 
during  the  time  of  the  Herods.  There  is  good  reason  for  believing  that 
it  extended  along  the  whole  northern  side  of  the  great  Temple  court, 

1  Matt.  xxiv.  2,  3  ;  Mark  xiii.  2,  3 ;  Luke  *  Compare  War,  v.  5,  8,  with  Ant.  xt.  1 1 

xxi   6.  2  Joseph.  Ant.  xv.  11,  4.  4,  and  War,  i.  5,  4 ;  i.  21,  1 ;  also  v.  4,  2. 

^  Josephus  says  of  it :  — "  It  was  of  old  ^  g^g  ^^^Q  next  note  but  two  for  the  clear 

called  Boris,  but  afterwards  named  Antonia  description  which  Josephus  gives  of  this  com- 

during    the    time    of    Anto^i/'s    ascendency,  munication  between  the  fortress  and  the  clois- 

just  as   Sebaste   and  Agrippias  gained   their  ters. 
later   names   from   Sebastus   [Augustus]   and 
Agrippa."      War,  i.  5,  4.     See  p.  25. 


534  THE  LlFJi:  AKD  EPiSTLES   OF   ST,   PAUL.  chap,  xi, 

from  the  north-western  corner  where  it  abutted  on  the  city,  to  the  north- 
eastern where  it  was  suddenly  stopped  by  the  precipice  which  fronted  the 
valley  :  and  that  the  tank,  which  is  now  popularly  called  the  Pool  of 
Bethesda,  was  part  of  the  fosse  which  protected  it  on  the  north.' 
Though  the  ground  on  which  the  tower  of  Antonia  stood  was  lower  than 
that  of  the  Temple  itself,  yet  it  was  raised  to  such  a  height,  that  at  least 
the  south-eastern  of  its  four  turrets  -  commanded  a  view  of  all  that  went 
on  within  the  Temple,  and  thus  both  in  position  and  in  elevation  it  was 
in  ancient  Jerusalem  what  the  Turkish  governor's  house  is  now,  — 
whence  the  best  view  is  obtained  over  the  enclosure  of  the  Mosque  of 
Omar.  But  this  is  an  inadequate  comparison.  If  we  wish  to  realize 
the  influence  of  this  fortress  in  reference  to  political  and  religious 
interests,  we  must  turn  rather  to  that  which  is  the  most  humiliating 
spectacle  in  Christendom,  the  presence  of  the  Turkish  troops  at  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  where  they  are  stationed  to  control  the 
fury  of  the  Greeks  and  Latins  at  the  most  solemn  festival  of  the  Chris- 
tian year.  Such  was  the  office  of  the  Roman  troops  that  were  quartered 
at  the  Jewish  festivals  in  the  fortress  of  Antonia.^  Within  its  walls  there 
were  barracks  for  at  least  a  thousand  soldiers.'*  Not  that  we  are  to  sup- 
pose that  all  the  garrison  in  Jerusalem  was  always  posted  there.  It  is 
probable  that  the  usual  quarters  of  the  "  whole  cohort "  (Matt,  xxvii.  27), 
or  the  greater  part  of  it,  were  towards  the  western  quarter  of  the  city, 
in  that  "  prajtorium  "  (John  xviii.  28)  or  official  residence '^  where  Jesxjs 
was  mocked  by  the  soldiers,  and  on  the  tessellated  pavement  ^  in  front  of 
which  Pilate  sat,  and  condemned  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  But  at  the 
time  of  the  greater  festivals,  when  a  vast  concourse  of  people,  full  of 
religious  fanaticism  and  imbittered  by  hatred  of  their  rulers,  flocked  into 

1  This  view  is  ably  advocated  by  Dr.  Robin-  vals  watching  the  people,  lest  any  insurrec- 
8on  in  his  account  of  Antonia  (i?es.  I.  pp.  431-  tionary  movement  should  arise.  lb.  [The 
436),  and,  as  jNIr.  Williams  remarks  (Memoir,  word  Tuy/za  seems  to  be  loosely  used  in  Jose- 
p.  100),  this  reservoir  (the  Birket-Isracl )  may  phus  and  elsewhere.     See  1  Cor.  xv.  23.] 

still  be  the  Bethesda  of  the   Gospel.     Sec   a  *  See  below,  p.  647,  note  on  anelpa. 

confirmation   of    Dr.   Robinson's   hypothesis,  ^  This  Prsetoriura  seems  to  have  been  the 

from   the  observations  of  Mr.  Walcott,  Bib.  old  palace  of  Herod,  connected  with  the  tower 

-Sac.  I.  p.  29.  called  Ilippicus,  which  is  identified  by  existing 

2  It  had  four  smaller  towers  rising  from  its  remains.  It  was  on  the  western  side  of  the 
angles,  like  the  Tower  of  London,  save  that  city,  and  is  one  of  our  fixed  points  in  tracing 
that  on  the  S.  E.  was  higher  than  the  others.  the  course  of  the  ancient  walls. 

War,  V.  5,  8.  ^  He  took  his  seat  on  a  tribunal  at  a  place 

^  Where  it  joined  the  two  colonnades  of  called  "  the  Pavement,"  and  in  Hebrew,  "  Gab- 

the  Temple,  it  had  passages  leading  down  to  hatha."    John  xix.  13.     Something  has  been 

them   both,  tlu-ough  which   the   guard  (for  a  said  before  (p.  364,  n.  7)  on  the  (3ij/ia  or  tribn- 

Uoman  legion  was   always   quartered   in   the  nal   as   the   symbol  of  Roman   power  in   th« 

fort)  went  down,   so  as  to  take  various  posi-  prov'nces. 
tions  along  the  colonnades,  in  arms,  at  fcsti- 


CHAP.  XXI.  THE   FORTRESS   ANTONIA.  635 

the  Temple  courts,  it  was  found  necessary  to  order  a  strong  military 
force  into  Antonia,  and  to  keep  them  under  arms,  so  that  they  might  act 
immediately  and  promptly  in  the  case  of  any  outbreak. 

A  striking  illustration  of  the  connection  between  the  Fortress  and  the 
Temple  is  afforded  by  the  history  of  the  quarrels  which  arose  in  reference 
to  the  pontifical  vestments.  These  robes  were  kept  in  Antonia  during 
the  time  of  Herod  the  Great.  When  he  died,  they  came  under  the  super 
intendence  of  the  Roman  procurator.  Agrippa  I.,  during  his  short  reign, 
exercised  the  right  which  had  belonged  to  his  grandfather.  At  his  death 
the  Command  that  the  Procurator  Cuspius  Fadus  should  take  the  vest- 
ments under  his  care  raised  a  ferment  among  the  whole  Jewish  people ; 
and  they  were  only  kept  from  an  outbreak  by  the  presence  of  an 
overwhelming  force  under  Longinus,  the  Governor  of  Syria.  All  embassy 
to  Rome,  with  the  aid  of  the  younger  Agrippa,  who  was  then  at  the 
imperial  court,  obtained  the  desired  relaxation :  and  the  letter  is  still 
extant  in  which  Claudius  assigned  to  Herod,  King  of  Chalcis,  the  privi- 
lege which  had  belonged  to  his  brother.^  But  under  the  succeeding 
Procurators,  the  relation  between  the  fortress  Antonia  and  the  religious 
ceremonies  in  the  Temple  became  more  significant  and  ominous.  The 
hatred  between  the  imbittered  Jews  and  those  soldiers  who  were  soon  to 
take  part  in  their  destruction  grew  deeper  and  more  implacable.  Under 
Ventidius  Cumanus,^  a  frightful  loss  of  life  had  taken  place  on  one  occa- 
sion at  the  passover,'in  consequence  of  an  insult  perpetrated  by  one  of 
the  military.'  When  Felix  succeeded  him,  assassination  became  frequent 
in  Jerusalem :  the  high  priest  Jonathan  was  murdered,  like  Bccket,  in 
the  Temple  itself,  with  the  connivance  of  the  Procurator :  *  and  at  the 
very  moment  of  which  we  write,  both  the  soldiers  and  the  populace  were 
in  great  excitement  in  consequence  of  the  recent  "  uproar  "  caused  by 
anEgy})tian  impostor  (Acts  xxi.  38),  who  had  led  out  a  vast  number  of 
fanatic  followers  "  into  the  wilderness  "  to  be  slain  or  captured  by  the 
troops  of  Felix.^ 

This  imperfect  description  of  the  Temple-area  and  of  the  relations 
subsisting  between  it  and  the  contiguous  fortress  is  sufficient  to  set  the 
scene  before  us,  on  which  the  events  we  are  now  to  relate  occurred  in 
rapid  succession.     We  left  St.  Paul  at  the  moment  when  the  Levites  had 

1  Joseph.  Ant.   xx.   1,   2.      The   letter   is  shall  recur  to  the  series  of  procurators  in  the 

quoted  in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  Mr.  Lewin's  beginning  of  the  next  chapter, 
work  on  the  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paid,  a  ^  Joseph.  Ant.  xx.  5,  2.      War,  li.  12,  1. 

chapter  which  contains  much  miscellaneous  in-  In  this  narrative  the  tower  of  Antonia  and  its 

formation  concerning  Jerusalem  and  the  Jews  guards  are  particularly  mentioned, 
at  this  time.  *  War,  ii.  13,  3. 

^  Tiberius  Alexander,  a  renegade  Jew,  in-  ^  The  passages  in  Josephus  which  relate  t» 

terrened  between  Fadus  and  Cumanus.     We  this  Egyptian,  are  J.n<.  xx.  8, 6 ;  TFar,  ii.  13,  5. 


636  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  m. 

closed  the  gates,  lest  the  Holj  Place  should  be  polluted  by  murder,  — 
and  when  the  infuriated  mob  were  violently  beating  the  Apostle,  with  the 
full  intention  of  putting  him  to  death.  The  beginning  and  rapid  prog- 
ress of  the  commotion  must  have  been  seen  by  the  sentries  on  the 
cloisters  and  the  tower :  and  news  was  sent  up  ^  immediately  to  Claudius 
Lysias,  the  commandant  of  the  garrison,  that  "  all  Jerusalem  was  in  an 
uproar"  (v.  31).  The  spark  had  fallen  on  materials  the  most  inflam- 
mable, and  not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost  if  a  conflagration  was  to  be 
averted.  Lysias  himself  rushed  down  instantly,  with  some  of  his  sub- 
ordinate officers  and  a  strong  body  of  men,^  into  the  Temple  court.  At 
the  sight  of  the  flashing  arms  and  disciplined  movements  of  the  imperial 
soldiers,  the  Jewish  mob  desisted  from  their  murderous  violence.  "  They 
left  off  beating  of  Paul."  They  had  for  a  moment  forgotten  that  the 
eyes  of  the  sentries  were  upon  them :  but  this  sudden  invasion  by  their 
hated  and  dreaded  tyrants  reminded  them  that  they  were  "  in  danger  to 
be  called  in  question  for  that  day's  uproar."     (Acts  xix.  40.)  , 

Claudius  Lysias  proceeded  with  the  soldiers  promptly  and  directly  to 
St.  Paul,*  whom  he  perceived  to  be  the  central  object  of  all  the  excite- 
ment in  the  Temple  court :  and  in  the  first  place  he  ordered  him  to  be 
chained  by  each  hand  to  a  soldier :  *  for  he  suspected  that  he  might  be 
the  Egyptian  rebel,^  who  had  himself  baffled  the  pursuit  of  the  Roman 
force,  though  his  followers  were  dispersed.  This  being  done,  he  proceed- 
ed to  question  the  bystanders,  who  were  watching  this  summary  pro- 
ceeding, half  in  disappointed  rage  at  the  loss  of  their  victim,  and  half  in 
satisfaction  that  they  saw  him  at  least  in  captivity.  But  "  when  Lysias 
demanded  who  he  was  and  what  he  had  done,  some  cried  one  thing,  and 
some  another,  among  the  multitude  "  (v.  33,  34)  ;  and  when  he  found 
that  he  could  obtain  no  certain  information  in  consequence  of  the  tumult, 
he  gave  orders  that  the  prisoner  should  be  conveyed  into  the  barracks 
within  the  fortress.^  The  multitude  pressed  and  crowded  on  the  soldiers, 
as  they  proceeded  to  execute  this  order :  so  that  the  Apostle  was  actually 
"  carried  up  "  the  staircase  in  consequence  of  the  violent  pressure  from 
below.''  And  meanwhile  deafening  shouts  arose  from  the  stairs  and  from 
the  court,  —  the  same  shouts,  which,  nearly  thirty  years  before,  sur- 

^  Literally  "came  mjo,"  t.  31.      Compare  *  "  Two  chains."     So  St.  Peter  was  bound, 

this  with  "  ran  down,"  in  the  next  verse,  and  Acts  xii. 
the  "  stairs,"  mentioned  below.  ^  This  is  evident  from  his  question  below, 

2  V.  32.     If  the  word  (chiliarch)  translated  v.  38. 
"  chief  captain  "  is  to  be  understood  literally  ^  The  word  used  here,  v.  34,  and  below, 

of  the  commander  of  1,000  men,  the  full  com-  xxii.  24,  xxiii.  16,  denotes,  not  "  the  castle," 

plement  of  centurions  in  the  castle  would  be  but  soldiers'  "  barracks  "  within  it.     It  is  the 

ten.  word  used  of  the  camp  of  the  Israelites  in  th« 


'  "  Then  the  chief  captain  drew  near."  Wilderness.  (LXX ';  ''  "V.  35. 


^ 


CHAP.m.  HEBREW  SPEECH  TO  THE  PEOPLE.  637 

rounded   the    prsetorium    of   Pilate,^  —  "  Away   with   him,   away    with 
him!" 

At  this  moment,^  the  Apostle,  with  the  utmost  presence  of  mind,  turned 
to  the  commanding  officer  who  was  near  him,  —  and,  addressing  him  in 
Greek,  said  respectfully,  "  May  I  speak  with  thee  ?  "  Claudius  Lysias  was 
startled  when  he  found  himself  addressed  by  his  prisoner  in  Greek,  and 
asked  him  whether  he  was  then  mistaken  in  supposing  he  was  the  Egyp- 
tian ringleader  of  the  late  rebellion.  St.  Paul  replied  calmly  that  he  was 
no  Egyptian,  but  a  Jew  ;  and  he  readily  explained  his  knowledge  of  Greek, 
and  at  the  same  time  asserted  his  claim  to  respectful  treatment,^  by  saying 
that  he  was  a  native  of  "  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  a  citizen  of  no  mean  city :  " 
and  he  proceeded  to  request  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  address  the  peo- 
ple. The  request  was  a  bold  one ;  and  we  are  almost  surprised  that 
Lysias  should  have  granted  it :  but  there  seems  to  have  been  something 
in  St.  Paul's  aspect  and  manner,  which  from  the  first  gained  an  influence 
orer  the  mind  of  the  Roman  officer  ;  and  his  consent  was  not  refused. 
And  now  the  whole  scene  was  changed  in  a  moment.  St.  Paul  stood 
upon  the  stairs  and  turned  to  the  people,  and  made  a  motion  with  the 
hand,*  as  about  to  address  them.  And  they  too  felt  the  influence  of  his 
presence.  Tranquillity  came  on  the  sea  of  heads  below :  there  was  "  a 
great  silence  :  "  and  he  began,  saying,  —  . 

xxii 
Brethren  and  Fathers,'  hear  me,  and  let  me  now  defend  myself  before     l 

you. 

The  language  which  he  spoke  was  Hebrew.*  Had  he  spoken  in  Greek, 
the  majority  of  those  who  heard  him  would  have  understood  his  words : 
but  the  sound  of  the  holy  tongue  in  that  holy  place  fell  like  a  calm  on  the 
troubled  waters.  The  silence  became  universal  and  breathless :  and  the 
Apostle  proceeded  to  address  his  countrymen  as  follows  :  — 

HiB  birth  and       ■'"  ^^  Daysclf  an  Israelite,  born  indeed  at  Tarsus  la  Cilicia,     3 
educauon.       ^^^  brouglit  up  in  this  city,  and  taught  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel, 

^  Compare  Luke  xxiii.  18,  Joha  xix.  15.  perhaps  members  of  the   Sanhedrin,  ancieut 

-  "  When  he  was  on  the  point  of  being  led  Scribes   and  Doctors  of  the  Law,  who  were 

in,"  V.  37.  stirring  up   the  people  against   the    heretic. 

8  We  need  not  repeat  all  that  has  been  said  The    phrase    generally  translated   in   A.   V. 

before  concerning  the  importance  of  Tarsus.  "  Men   and  brethren,"  literally,  "  Men  who  are 

See  pp.  20,  45-48,  98,  99,  220,  221.  my     brethren,"     may    be     equally    translated 

*  V.  40.     Compare  xiii.   16,  xxvi.  1,  also  "Brethren." 
XX.  34.  ^  That  is,  it  was  the  Hebraic  dialect  popu- 

^  To  account  for  this  peculiar  mode  of  ad-  larly  spoken   in  Judaea,  which  we  now   call 

iress,  we  must  suppose  that  mixed  with  the  Syro-Chaldaic. 
crowd  were  men  of  venerable  age  and  dignity,  "^  The  pronoun  is  emphatic. 


638  THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xiu 

..  in  the  strictest  doctrine  of  the  law  of  our  fathers  :  and  was  zealous^  in 

4  the  cause  of  God,  as  ye  all  are  this  day.    And  I  persecuted  this  ms  persecu- 
tion of  the 
sect  unto  the  death,  binding  with  chains   and    casting  into  Christians. 

6  prison  both  men  and  women.     And  of  this  the  High  Priest  is  my  witness, 

and  all  the  ^  Sanhedrin  ;  from  whom,  moreover,  I  received  letters  to  the 

brethren,^  and  went*  to  Damascus,  to  bring  those  also  who  were  there  to 

Jerusalem,  in  chains,  that  they  might  be  punished. 

6  But  it  came  to  pass  that  as  I  journeyed,  when  I  drew  nigh  pjjg  ^^   « 
to  Damascus,  about  mid-day,  suddenly  there  shone  from  heaven  ^^°'^' 

7  a  great  light  round  about  me.     And  I  fell  to  the  ground,  and  heard  a 

8  voice  saying  unto  me,  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me  P    And  I  an- 
swered, W7io  art  thou,  Lord  ?  and  He  said  unto  me,  /  am  Jesus  of  JSfaza- 

9  reth^  whom  thou  persecutest.     And  the  men  who  were  with  me  saw  the 
light,  and  were  terrified  ;  ®  but  they  heard  not  the  voice  of  Him  that  spake 

10  unto  me.  And  I  said,  What  shall  I  do.  Lord  ?  And  the  Lord  said  unto  me, 
Arise  and  go  into  Damascus,  and  there  thou  shalt  be  told  of  all  things  which 
are  appointed  for  thee  to  do. 

11  And  when  I  could  not  see,  from  the  brightness  of  that  light,  ms  hiindnena. 

cure,  and 

my  companions  led  me  by  the  hand,  and  so  I  entered  into  baptism. 

12  Damascus.  And  a  certain  Ananias,  a  devout'  man  according  to  the  law, 
well  reported  of  by  all  the  Jews  who  dwelt  there,  came  and  stood  beside 

13  me,  and  said  to  me.  Brother  Saul,  receive  thy  sight ;  and  in  that  instant  T 

14  received  my  sight,^  and  looked  upon  him.     And  he  said,  The  God  of  our 
\^^  fathers  hath  ordained  thee  to  know  His  will,  and  to  behold  the  Just  One,  and  to 

hear  the  voice  of  Sis  mouth.    For  thou  shalt  be  Sis  witness  to  all  the  world  * 

1  See  the  note  on  Gal.  i.  14.  ''  The  corresponding  Greek  word  is  omitted 

2  The   Presbytery.      Compare  Luke  xxii.  in   some  of  the  best   MSS.    (and  altered  in 
66.     The  hi;rh  priest  hero  appealed  to  was  the  others),   probably  because  the  copyists  were 
person  who  held  that  office  at  the  time  of  St.  perplexed  at  finding  it  not  here  used  in  its 
Paul's  conversion,  probably  Theophilus,  who  usual  technical  sense  of  a  Jewish  Proseli/te. 
was  high  priest  in  37  and  38  a.  d.  ^  The  verb  here  has  the  double  meaning  of 

"  I.e.  the  Jews  resident  at  Damascus.  to  recover  sirjht  and  to  look  up;  in  the  former    | 

*  Literally,  I  was  on  my  road  (imperf).  of  which  it  is  used  in  the  accounts  of  blind     » 

^  Literally,  Jf.ius  the  Nazarene.     Saul  was  men  healed  in  the  Gospels.     Here  the  A.  V. 

going  to  cast  the  Nazarenes  (so  the  Christians  translates    the    same  verb    by   two    different 

were  called,  see  Acts  xxiv.  5)  into  chains  and  words. 

dungeons  when  he  was  stopped  by  the  Lord  *  The  meaning  rather  stronger  than  "  all 

announcing  Himself  from  heaven  to  be  Jesus  men." 
the  Nazarme. 

'  The  clause  "  and  were  terrified  "  is  omit- 
ted in  some  of  the  best  MSS. 


HIS   ADDEESS   SUDDENLY   LNTEERUPTED. 


639 


His  return  to 
Jerusalem. 


xxu 

of  what  thou  hast  seen  and  heard.     And  now,  why  dost  thou  delay?     Arise   16 

and  he  baptized '  and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  07i  the  name  of  Jesusr 

And  it  came  to  pass,  after  I  had  returned  to  Jerusalem,  and   17 
while  I  was  praying  in  the  Temple,  that  I  was  in  a  trance,  and 
saw  Him  saying  unto  me,  Make  haste  and  go  forth  quickly  from  Jerusalem  ;   18 
.  for  they  will  not  receive  thy  testimony  concerning  me.     And  I   19 

^ston^tlj'go^to  said,'  Lord,  they  themselves  know  that  I  continually  *  imprisoned 

the  Gentiles.  .  7       r    i  •  •       rm  a      7    ni\ 

and   scourged   m   every  synagogue  the  believers  m  Ihee.     And  20 
when  the  blood  of  thy  martyr  ^  Stephen  was  shed,  I  myself  also  was  standing 
by  and  consenting  gladly  ®  to  his  death,''  and  keeping  the  raiment  of  them  who 
sleio  him.     And  He  said  unto  me.  Depart ;  for  I  will  send  thee  far  hence  21 
unto  the  Grentiles. 


At  these  words  St.  Paul's  address  to  his  countrymen  was  suddenly  in- 
terrupted. Up  to  this  point  he  had  riveted  their  attention.*  They  listened, 
while  he  spoke  to  them  of  his  early  life,  his  persecution  of  the  Church, 
liis  mission  to  Damascus.  Many  were  present  who  could  testify,  on  their 
own  evidence,  to  the  truth  of  what  he  said.  Even  when  he  told  them  of 
his  miraculous  conversion,  his  interview  with  Ananias,  and  his  vision  in 
the  Temple,  they  listened  still.  With  admirable  judgment  he  deferred 
till  the  last  all  mention  of  the  Gentiles.^  He  spoke  of  Ananias  as  a 
"  devout  man  according  to  tlie  law"  (v.  12),  as  one  "  well  reported  of  by 
all  the  Jews  "  (ib.),  as  one  who  addressed  him  in  the  name  of  "  the  God 


1  Literally,  cause  thpelf  to  be  baptized  (mid.). 
With  the  following  compare  1  Cor.  vi.  11. 

-  The  best  MSS.  read  "His  name,"  and 
not  "  the  Lord's  name."*  The  reference  is  to 
the  confession  of  fiiith  in  Jesus,  which  pre- 
ceded baptism. 

^  St.  Paul  expected  at  first  that  the  Jews 
at  Jerusalem  (the  members  of  his  own  party) 
would  listen  to  him  readily,  because  they  could 
not  be  more  violent  against  the  Nazarenes 
than  they  knew  him  to  have  been :  and  he 
therefore  thought  that  they  must  feel  that 
nothing  sh6rt  of  irresistible  truth  could  have 
made  him  join  the  sect  which  he  had  hated. 

*  Literally,  /  was  imprisoning,  I  kept  on  im- 
prisonin;/. 

''  This  word  (literally  Witness)  had  not  yet 
acquired  its  technical  sense,  but  here  it  may  be 
translated  ilartijr,  because  the  mode  in  which 
Stephen  bore  testimony  was  by  hi^  death. 

''  Compare  Rom.  i.  32. 


■^  "  To  his  death,"  though  omitted  in  the 
best  MSS.,  is  implied  in  the  sense. 

^  The  verb  for  listening  is  in  the  imperfect; 
that  for  the  outbreak  is  in  the  aorist.  See  the 
remarks  on  Stephen's  speech,  p.  66. 

^  As  an  illustration  of  St.  Paul's  wisdom,  it 
is  instructive  to  observe  that  in  xxvi.  17  it  is 
distinctly  said  that  Jesus  himself  announced 
from  heaven  Paul's  mission  to  the  Gentiles; 
and  that  in  ix.  15  the  same  announcement  i? 
made  to  Ananias,  — whereas  in  the  address  to 
the  Jews  this  is  kept  out  of  view  for  the  mo- 
ment, and  reserved  till  after  the  vision  in  the 
Temple  is  mentioned.  And  again  we  should 
observe  that  while,  in  ix.  10,  Ananias  is  spoken 
of  as  a  Christian  (see  13),  here  he  is  described 
as  a  strict  and  pious  Jew.  He  was,  in  fact, 
both  the  one  and  the  other.  But,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  persuasion,  St.  Paul  lays  stress  here 
CD  the  latter  point. 


640  THE  LIFE  AISTD   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xrr. 

of  their  Fathers  "  (v.  14).  He  showed  how  in  his  vision  he  had  pleaded 
before  that  God  the  energy  of  his  former  persecution  as  a  proof  that  his 
countrymen  must  surely  be  convinced  by  his  conversion :  and  when  he 
alluded  to  the  death  of  Stephen,  and  the  part  which  he  had  taken  himself 
in  that  cruel  martyrdom  (v.  20),  all  the  associations  of  the  place  where 
they  stood  ^  must  (we  should  have  thought)  have  brought  the  memory  of 
that  scene  with  pathetic  force  before  their  minds.  But  when  his  mission 
to  the  G-entiles  was  announced,  —  though  the  words  quoted  were  the  words 
of  Jehovah  spoken  in  the  Temple  itself,  even  as  the  Lord  had  once  spoken 
to  Samuel,^  —  one  outburst  of  frantic  indignation  rose  from  the  Temple- 
area  and  silenced  the  speaker  on  the  stairs.  Their  national  pride  bore 
down  every  argument  which  could  influence  their  reason  or  their  rever- 
ence. They  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  uncircumcised  Heathens  being 
made  equal  to  the  sons  of  Abraham.  They  cried  out  that  such  a  wretch 
ought  not  to  pollute  the  earth  with  his  presence  —  that  it  was  a  shame  to 
have  preserved  his  life;'  and  in  their  rage  and  impatience  they  tossed  off 
their  outer  garments  (as  on  that  other  occasion,  when  the  garments  were 
laid  at  the  feet  of  Saul  himself),*  and  threw  up  dust  into  the  air  with 
frantic  violence.^  This  commotion  threw  Lysias  into  new  perplexity.  He 
had  not  been  able  to  understand  the  Apostle's  Hebrew  speech  :  and,  when 
he  saw  its  results,  he  concluded  that  his  prisoner  must  be  guilty  of  some 
enormous  crime.  He  ordered  him  therefore  to  be  taken  immediately 
from  the  stairs  into  the  barracks;®  and  to  be  examined  by  torture,^  in 
order  to  elicit  a  confession  of  his  guilt.  Whatever  instruments  were  ne- 
cessary for  this  kind  of  scrutiny  would  be  in  readiness  within  a  Roman 
fortress;  and  before  long  the  body  ^  of  the  Apostle  was  "  stretched  out," 
like  that  of  a  common  malefactor,  "  to  receive  the  lashes,"  with  the 
officer  standing  by,"  to  whom  Lysias  had  intrusted  the  superintendence  of 
this  harsh  examination. 

1  See  above,  p.  627,  n.  1.  place  themselves  near  the  gate  of  the  palace, 

2  1  Sam.  iii.  where  they  suppose  they  are  most  likel}  to  be 

3  The  correct  reading  appears  to  put  the  seen  and  heard,  and  then  set  up  a  horrid  out- 
verb  in  the  past.  It  will  be  remembered  that  cry,  rend  their  garments,  and  throw  dust  into 
they  were  on  the  point  of  killing  St.  Paul,  the  air,  at  the  same  time  demanding  justice." 
when  Claudius  Lysias  rescued  him,  xxi.  31.  Hackett, 

*  Compare  xxii.  23  with  vii.  58.     "We  need  ^  See  above,  p.  636. 

not,  however,  suppose  that  this  tossing  of  the  ^  v.  24. 

garments  and  throwing  of  dust  was  precisely  *  "We  take  the  phrase  to  mean   "  for  the 

symbolical  of  their  desire  to  stone  Paul.     It  thongs,"  i.  e.  the  straps  of  which  the  scourges 

denoted  simply  impatience  and  disgust.  were  made.     Others  consider  the  word  to  de- 

5  "  Sir  John  Chardin,  as  quoted  by  Harmer  note  the  thongs  or  straps  with  which  the  of- 

(06s.  iv.  203),  says  that  it  is  common  for  the  fender  was  fastened  to  the  post  or  pillar.     In 

peasants  in  Persia,  when  they  have  a  complaint  either  case,  the  use  of  the  article  is  explained, 
to  1  4.  before  their  governors,  to  repair  to  them  ^  We  see  this  from  v.  25,  "  he  said  to  the 

by       ndreds,  or  a  thousand,  at  once.     They  centurion,  who   stood   by."     Claudius   Lysiaa 


CHAP.  XXI.  HIS   IMPRISONMENT.  641 

Thus  St.  Paul  was  on  the  verge  of  adding  another  suffering  and  disgrace 
to  that  long  catalogue  of  afflictions,  which  he  had  enumerated  in  the  last 
letter  he  wrote  to  Corinth,  before  his  recent  visit  to  that  city  (2  Cor.  xi. 
23-25).  Five  times  scourged  by  the  Jews,  once  beaten  with  rods  at  Phil- 
ippi,  and  twice  on  other  unknown  occasions,  he  had  indeed  been  "  in  stripes 
above  measure."  And  now  he  was  in  a  Roman  barrack,  among  rude 
soldiers,  with  a  similar  indignity  ^  in  prospect ;  when  he  rescued  himself, 
and  at  the  same  time  gained  a  vantage-ground  for  the  Gospel,  by  that  ap- 
peal to  his  rights  as  a  Roman  citizen  under  which  he  had  before  sheltered 
his  sacred  cause  at  Philippi.'^  He  said  these  few  words  to  the  centurion 
who  stood  by :  "  Is  it  lawful  to  torture  one  who  is  a  Roman  citizen,  and 
uncoudemned  ?  "  The  magic  of  the  Roman  law  produced  its  effect  in  a 
moment.  The  centurion  immediately  reported  the  words  to  his  com- 
manding officer,  and  said  significantly,  "  Take  heed  what  thou  doest :  for 
this  man  is  a  Roman  citizen."  Lysias  was  both  astonished  and  alarmed. 
He  knew  full  well  that  no  man  would  dare  to  assume  the  right  of  citizen- 
ship if  it  did  not  really  belong  to  him ; '  and  he  hastened  in  person  to  his 
prisoner.  A  hurried  dialogue  took  place,  from  which  it  appeared,  not 
only  that  St.  Paul  was  indeed  a  Roman  citizen,  but  that  he  held  this 
privilege  under  circumstances  far  more  honorable  than  his  interrogator ; 
for  while  Claudius  Lysias  had  purchased  *  the  right  for  "  a  great  sum," 
PauP  ^  was  free-born."  Orders  were  instantly  given  ^  for  the  removal  of 
the  instruments  of  torture :  and  those  who  had  been  about  to  conduct  the 
examination  retired.  Lysias  was  compelled  to  keep  the  Apostle  still  in 
custody  ;  for  he  was  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  his  offence  :  and  indeed 
this  was  evidently  the  only  sure  method  of  saving  him  from  destruction 
by  the  Jews.  But  the  Roman  officer  was  full  of  alarm  ;  for  in  his  treat- 
ment of  the  prisoner'  he  had  already  been  guilty  of  a  flagrant  violation 
of  the  law. 

himself  was  not  on  the  spot  (see  v.  26),  bnt  '  It  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  here  what  haa  - 

had  handed  over  the  Apostle  to  a  centurion  been  said  concerning  the  citizenship  of  Paal 

who  "  stood  by,"  as  in  the  case  of  a  military  and  his  father.     See  pp.  42,  43.     For  the  laws 

flogging  with  us.  relating  to  the  privileges  of  citizens,  see  again 

1  We  must  distinguish  between  the  scour-  p.  269. 
gvig  here  (24,25)  and  thebeating  with  rods  {Acts  *  This  is  not  expressed,  but  it  is  implied 

xvi.  22 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  25).     In  the  present  in-  by   what  follows.      "  Immediately  they  went 

stance  the  object  was  not  punishment,  but  ex-  away,"  &c. 
amination.  ''  Lysias   was  afraid,   because   he    had   so 

■^  Seep.  269.  "bound"   the  Apostle,  as  he  could  not  have 

^  Such  pretensions  were   liable  to  capital  ventured  to  do,  had  he  known  he  was  a  Roman 

punishment.  citizen.    It  seems,  that  in  any  case  it  would 

*  We    learn  from    Dio    Cassiua,  that   the  have  been  illegal  to  have  had  immediate  re- 

tivitas  of  Rome  was,  in  the  early  part  of  the  course  to  torture.     Certainly  it  was  contrary 

reign  of  Claudius,  sold   at  a  high  rate,  and  to  the  Roman  law  to  put  any  Roman  citizea 

afterwards  for  a  mere  trifle.  to  the  torture,  either  by  scourging  or  in  anj 

41 


642  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xja, 

Ou  the  following  day^  the  commandant  of  the  garrison  adopted  a 
milder  method  of  ascertaining  the  nature  of  his  prisoner's  offence.  He 
summoned  a  meeting  of  the  Jewish  Sanhedrin  with  the  high  priests,  and 
brought  St.  Paul  down  from  the  fortress  and  set  him  before  them,  — 
doubtless  taking  due  precautions  to  prevent  the  consequences  which 
might  result  from  a  sudden  attack  upon  his  safety.  Only  a  narrow  space 
of  the  Great  Temple  Court  intervened^  between  the  steps  which  led 
down  from  the  tower  Antonia  and  those  which  led  up  to  the  hall 
Gazith,  the  Sanhedrin's  accustomed  place  of  meeting.  If  that  hall  was 
used  on  this  occasion,  no  Heathen  soldiers  would  be  allowed  to  enter  it ; 
for  it  was  within  the  balustrade  which  separated  the  sanctuary  from  the 
Court.  But  the  fear  of  pollution  would  keep  the  Apostle's  life  in  safety 
within  that  enclosure.  There  is  good  reason  for  believing  that  the  Sanhe- 
drin met  at  that  period  in  a  place  less  sacred,'  to  which  the  soldiers  would 
be  admitted ;  but  this  is  a  question  into  which  we  need  not  enter.  Wher- 
ever the  council  sat,  we  are  suddenly  transferred  from  the  interior  of  a 
Roman  barrack  to  a  scene  entirely  Jewish. 

Paul  was  now  in  presence  of  that  council,  before  which,  when  he 
was  himself  a  member  of  it,  Stephen  had  been  judged.  That  moment 
could  hardly  be  forgotten  by  him  :  but  he  looked  steadily  at  his  inquisi- 
tors ;  *  among  whom  he  would  recognize  many  who  had  been  his  fellow- 
pupils  in  the  school  of  Gamaliel,  and  his  associates  in  the  persecution  of 
the  Christians.  That  unflinching  look  of  conscious  integrity  offended 
them,  —  and  his  confident  words  —  "Brethren,^!  have  always  lived  a 
conscientious **  life  before  God,  up  to  this  very  day"  —  so  enraged  the 
high  priest,  that  he  commanded  those  who  stood  near  to  strike  him  on  the 
mouth.  This  brutal  insult  roused  the  Apostle's  feelings,  and  he  exclaimed, 
"  God  shall  smite  thee,  thou  whited  wall : '  sittest  thou  to  judge  me 
according  to  the  law,  and  then  in  defiance  of  the  law  dost  thou  command 
me  to  be  struck  ? "  If  we  consider  these  words  as  an  outburst  of  natural 
indignation,  we  cannot  severely  blame  them,  when  we  remember  St. 
Paul's  temperament,*  and  how  they  were  provoked.     If  we  regard  them 

other  way.     Under  the  Imperial  regime,  how-  ®  This  assertion  of  habitual  conscientious- 

ever,  so  early  as  the  time  of  Tiberius,  this  rule  ness  is  peculiarly  characteristic  of  St.  Paul. 

was  violated  ;  and  torture  was  applied  to  citi-  See  2  Tim.  i.  3,  where  there  is  also  a  reference 

zens  of  the   highest   rank,   more   and   more  to  his  forefathers,  as  in  v.  6  below.     Compare 

freely.  ch.  xxvi. 

1  V.  30.  ''  With  "  whited  wall "  compare   Our   Sa- 

^  See  above.  '  See  p.  65.  viour's  comparison  of  hypocrites  with  "whited 

*  Actsxxiii.   I.  See  p.  134,  n.  1.  sepulchres"  (Matt,  xxiii.  27).     Lightfooi goes 

*  It  should  be  observed,  that,  both  here  and  so  far  here  as  to  say  that   the  words  them- 
below  (vv.  5,  6),  he  addresses  the  Sanhedrin  as  selves  mean  that  Ananias  had  the  semblance 
equals,  —  "  Brethren,"  —  whereas  in  xxii.  1  he  of  the  high  priest's  office  without  the  rp.ality. 
says,  "  Brethren  and  Fathers."  '  See  p.  46. 


CHAP.  XXI.  ST.   PAUL  BEFORE  THE   SANHEDRIN.  643 

as  a  prophetic  denunciation,  they  were  terribly  fulfilled  when  this  hypo- 
critical president  of  tlie  Sanhedrin  was  murdered  by  the  assassins  in  the 
Jewish  war.^  In  whatever  light  we  view  them  now,  those  who  were 
j)resent  in  the  Sanhedrin  treated  them  as  profane  and  rebellious.  "  Revi- 
iest  thou  God's  high  priest  ? "  was  the  indignant  exclamation  of  the 
bystanders.  And  then  Paul  recovered  himself,  and  said,  with  Christian 
meekness  and  forbearance,  that  he  did  not  consider  ^  that  Ananias  was 
high  priest;  otherwise  he  would  not  so  have  spoken,  seeing  that  it  is 
written  in  the  Law,^  "  ®hatt  i8ihaU  not  xtviU  tht  ruler  of  thy  people."  But 
the  Apostle  had  seen  enough  to  be  convinced  that  there  was  no  prospect 
before  this  tribunal  of  a  fair  inquiry  and  a  just  decision.  He  therefore 
adroitly  adopted  a  prompt  measure  for  enlisting  the  sympathies  of  those 
who  agreed  with  him  in  one  doctrine,  which,  tliough  held  to  be  an  open 
question  on  Judaism,  was  an  essential  truth  in  Christianity.^  He  knew 
that  both  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  were  among  his  judges,  and  well 
aware  that,  however  united  they  might  be  in  the  outward  work  of  perse- 
cution, they  were  divided  by  an  impassable  line  in  the  deeper  matters  of 
religious  faith,  he  cried  out,  "  Brethren,  I  am  a  Pharisee,  and  all  my 
forefatliers  were  Pharisees :  *  it  is  for  the  hope  of  a  resurrection  from  the 
dead  that  I  am  to  be  judged  this  day."  This  exclamation  produced 
an  instantaneous  effect  on  the  assembly.  It  was  the  watchword  which 
marshalled  the  opposing  forces  in  antagonism  to  each  other.®  The  Phari- 
sees felt  a  momentary  hope  that  they  might  use  their  ancient  partisan  as 
a  new  weapon  against  their  rivals  ;  and  their  hatred  against  the  Sadducees 
was  even  greater  than  their  hatred  of  Christianity.  They  were  vehement 
in  their  vociferations ; '  and  their  language  was  that  which  Gamaliel  had 
used  more  calmly  many  years  before  *  (and  possibly  the  aged  Rabban  may 
have  been  present  himself  in  this  very  assembly)  : ^  "If  this  doctrine  be 

1  He  was   killed  by  the  Sicarii.    Joseph.  know  from  Josephus,  that  there  was  the  great- 
War,  ii.  17,  9.  est  irregularity  in  the  appointments  about  this 

^  The   use   of   this   English  word   retains  time.     Lastly,  it  has  been  suggested  (p.  134, 

something  of  the  ambiguity  of  the  original.  n.  1),  that  the  imperfection  of  St.  Paul's  vision 

It  is  difficult  to  decide  positively  on  the  mean-  (supposed  to  be  implied  in  xxiii.  1)  was  the 

ing  of  the  words.     Some  think  that  St.  Paul  cause  of  the  mistake.  ^  Ex.  xxii.  28. 

meant  to  confess  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  a  *  For  these  two  sects,  see  the  early  part  of 

want  of  due  reflection, — others  that  he  spoke  Ch.  II. 

ironically,  as  refusing  to  recognize  a  man  like  ^  "  Pharisees,"  not  "  Pharisee,"  is  the  read- 
Ananias  as  high  priest,  —  others  have  even  ing  best  supported  by  MSS.,  and  the  plural  is 
thought  that  there  was  in  the  words  an  in-  far  more  forcible.  See  pp.  31,  32. 
spired  reference  to  the  abolition  of  the  sacerdo-  ^  "  There  arose  a  discussion,  .  .  .  and  the 
tal  system  of  the  Jews,  and  the  sole  priesthood  multitude  was  divided,"  v.  7.  Compare  "  they 
of    Christ.     Another  class  of  interpreters  re-  strove,"  v.  9. 

gard  St.  Paul  as  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  An-  ''  "  There  arose  a  great  cry,"  v.  9. 

anias  was  high  priest,  or  argue  that  Ananias  *  Acts  v.  39. 

was  not  really  installed  in  his  office.     And  we  •  It  api)ears  that  he  died  about  two  years 


644  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xxi, 

of  God,  ye  cannot  destroy  it :  beware  lest  ye  be  found  to  be  fighting 
against  God."     "  We  find  no  fault  in  this  man :  what,  if  (as  he  says)  ^  an 

angel  or  a  spirit  have  indeed  spoken  to  him  " The  sentence  was 

left  incomplete  or  unheard  in  the  uproar.'^  The  judgment-hall  became  a 
scene  of  the  most  violent  contention  ;  and  presently  Claudius  Lysias 
received  information  of  what  was  taking  place,  and  fearing  lest  the  Roman 
citizen,  whom  he  was  bound  to  protect,  should  be  torn  in  pieces  between 
those  who  sought  to  protect  him,  and  those  who  thirsted  for  his  destruc- 
tion, he  ordered  the  troops  to  go  down  instantly,  and  bring  him  back  into 
the  soldiers'  quarters  within  the  fortress.^ 

So  passed  this  morning  of  violent  excitement.  In  the  evening,  when 
Paul  was  isolated  both  from  Jewish  enemies  and  Christian  friends,  and 
surrounded  by  the  uncongenial  sights  and  sounds  of  a  soldier's  barrack, 
—  when  the  agitation  of  his  mind  subsided,  and  he  was  no  longer  strung 
up  by  the  presence  of  his  persecutors,  or  supported  by  sympathizing 
brethren, —  can  we  wonder  that  his  heart  sank,  and  that  he  looked  with 
dread  on  the  vague  future  that  was  before  him  ?  Just  then  it  was  that 
he  had  one  of  those  visions  by  night,  which  were  sometimes  vouchsafed 
to  him  at  critical  seasons  of  his  life,  and  in  providential  conformity  with 
the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed.  The  last  time  when  we  were 
informed  of  such  an  event  was  when  he  was  in  the  house  of  Aquila  and 
Priscilla  at  Corinth,  and  when  he  was  fortified  against  the  intimidation 
of  the  Jews  by  the  words,  "  Fear  not :  for  I  am  with  thee."  (Acts  xviii. 
9,  10.)  The  next  instance  we  shall  have  to  relate  is  in  the  worst  part  of 
the  storm  at  sea,  between  Fair  Havens  and  Malta,  when  a  similar  assur- 
ance was  given  to  him:  "  Fear  not :  thou  must  stand  before  Caesar." 
(lb.  xxvii.  24.)  On  the  present  occasion,  events  were  not  sufficiently 
matured  for  him  to  receive  a  prophetic  intimation  in  this  explicit  form. 
He  had,  indeed,  long  looked  forward  to  a  visit  to  Rome  :  but  the  pros- 
after  this  time.  See  p.  53.  "We  may  refer  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  (v.  30).  When 
here  to  the  observations  of  Mr.  Birks  in  the  Gamaliel  interposes,  it  is  noted  that  he  was  a 
Horce  ApostoUcce  (No.  xvi.)  appended  to  his  re-      Pharisee,  &c."  (v.  34). 

cent  edition  of  the  Horce  PauUncc,  where  he  ^  There  is  probably  a  tacit  reference  to  what 

applies  the  jealousy  and  mutual  antipathy  of       St.  Paul  had  said,  in  his  speech  on  the  stairs, 
the  Sadducees  and  Pharisees,  to  explain  the      concerning  his  vision  in  the  Temple, 
conduct  of  Gamaliel  at  the  former  trial,  and  ^  There  seems  no  doubt  that  the  words  "  let 

thus  traces  "  an  unobtrusive  coincidence  "  be-  us  not  fight  against  God,"  ought  not  to  be  in 
twcen  this  passage  and  the  narrative  in  Acts  the  text ;  and  that  there  is  an  aposiopesis^ 
T.  "  First,  the  leaders  in  the  persecution  were  either  voluntary  for  the  sake  of  emphasis,  or 
Sadducees  (v.  17).  In  the  next  place,  it  was  compulsory  because  of  the  tumult  Perhaps 
a  doctrinal  offence  which  was  charged  upon  the  phrase  "  fighters  against  God,"  in  Acta  v. 
them  (v.  28).  Again,  the  answer  of  Peter,  39,  may  have  led  to  the  interpolation, 
while  an  explicit  testimony  to  the  claims  of  '  xxiii.  10. 

Jesus,   is    an    equally  plain    avowal    of  the 


CHAP.  XXI.  CONSPIRACY.  645 

pect  now  seemed  farther  ofif  than  ever.  And  it  was  at  this  anxious  lime 
that  he  was  miraculously  comforted  and  strengthened  by  Him  who  is 
"  the  confidence  of  all  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  of  them  that  are  afar 
off  upon  the  sea ;  who  by  His  strength  setteth  fast  the  mountains  ;  who 
stilleth  the  noise  of  the  seas  and  the  tumult  of  the  people."  In  the 
visions  of  the  night,  the  Lord  himself  stood  by  him,  and  said,  "  Be  of 
good  cheer,  Paul ;  for  as  thou  hast  testified  of  me  at  Jerusalem,  so  must 
thou  testify  also  at  Rome."     (lb.  xxiii.  11.) 

The  contrast  is  great  between  the  peaceful  assurance  thus  secretly 
given  to  the  faith  of  the  Apostle  in  his  place  of  imprisonment,  and  the 
active  malignity  of  his  enemies  in  the  city.  When  it  was  day,  more  than 
forty  of  the  Jews  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  assassinate  Paul : '  and, 
that  they  might  fence  round  their  crime  with  all  the  sanction  of  religion, 
they  bound  themselves  by  a  curse,  that  they  would  eat  and  drink  nothing 
till  the  deed  was  accomplished.^  Thus  fortified  by  a  dreadful  oath,  they 
came  before  the  chief  priests  and  members  of  the  Saiihedrin,'  and  pro- 
posed the  following  plan,  which  seems  to  have  been  readily  adopted. 
The  Sanhedrists  were  to  present  themselves  before  Claudius  Lysias,  with 
the  request  that  he  would  allow  the  prisoner  to  be  brought  once  more 
before  the  Jewish  Court,  that  they  might  enter  into  a  further  investiga- 
tion :  *  and  the  assassins  were  to  lie  in  wait,  and  murder  the  Apostle  on 
his  way  down '  from  the  fortress.  The  plea  to  be  brought  before  Lysias 
was  very  plausible :  and  it  is  probable,  that,  if  he  had  received  no 
further  information,  he  would  have  acted  on  it :  for  he  well  knew  that 
the  proceedings  of  the  Court  had  been  suddenly  interrupted  the  day 
before,*  and  he  would  be  glad  to  have  his  perplexity  removed  by  the 

1  With  the  direct  narrative,  v.  12-15,  we  only  momentary,  and  that  the  temporary 
should  compare  closely  the  account  given  by  schism  had  been  healed  in  the  common  wish  to 
St.  Paul's  nephew,  vv.  20,  21.  destroy  him.     The  Pharisees  really  hated  him 

2  So  we  are  told  by  Josephus  that  ten  Jews  the  most.  It  »vould  seem,  moreover,  from 
bound  themselves  by  a  solemn  oath  to  as-  xxiv.  15,  that  Pharisees  appeared  as  accusers 
sassinate  Herod,  and  that  before  their  execution  before  Felix. 

they  maintained   "that  their  oath  had  been  *  Or  rather   "that  he  might  enter,   &c." 

well   and  piously  taken."    Ant.  xv.   8,  3,  4.  Such  seems  the  true  reading.     See  the  next 

Hackett  quotes  from  Philo  a  formal  justifica-  note  but  two. 

tion  of  such  assassinations  of  apostates.     In  ^  "  Bring c?own,"  v.  15  and  v.  20.     So  "take 

illustration  of  the  form  of  the  oath,  Lightfoot  down,"  v.  10,  and  "bringing  down,"  xxii.  30. 

shows  from  the  Talmud  that  those  who  were  The  accurate  use  of  these  words  should  be 

implicated  in  such  an  oath  could  obtain  absolu-  compared  with  what  is  said  by  Josephus  and 

tion.  by  St.  Luke  himself  of  the  stairs  between  the 

8  Most  of  the  commentators  are  of  opinion  Temple  and  the  fortress.      They  present  us 

that  Only  the  Sadduccan  party  is  contemplated  with  an  undesigned  consistency  in  a  matter  of 

here,  the  Pharisees  having  espoused  St.  Paul's  topography  ;  and  they  show  that   the  writer 

cause.     But  it  is  far  more  natural  to  suppose  was  familiar  with  the  place  he  is  describing. 
that  their  enthusiasm  in  his  behalf  had  been  '^  See  above. 


646  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  ixi. 

results  of  a  new  inquiry.^  The  danger  to  which  the  Apostle  was  exposed 
was  most  imminent :  and  there  has  seldom  been  a  more  horrible  example 
of  crime  masked  under  the  show  of  religious  zeal. 

The  plot  was  ready  :  ^  and  the  next  day  ^  it  would  have  been  carried 
into  effect,  when  God  was  pleased  to  confound  the  schemes  of  the  conspir- 
ators. The  instrument  of  St.  Paul's  safety  was  one  of  his  own  relations,* 
the  son  of  that  sister  whom  we  have  before  mentioned  (p.  46)  as  the 
companion  of  his  childhood  at  Tarsus.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to 
draw  that  veil  aside  which  screens  the  history  of  this  relationship  from 
our  view,  though  the  narrative  seems  to  give  us  hints  of  domestic  inter- 
course at  Jerusalem,'  of  which,  if  it  were  permitted  to  us,  we  would 
gladly  know  more.  Enough  is  told  to  us  to  give  a  favorable  impression, 
both  of  the  affection  and  discretion  of  the  Apostle's  nephew :  nor  is  he 
the  only  person  the  traits  of  whose  character  are  visible  in  the  artless 
simplicity  of  the  narrative.  The  young  man  came  into  the  barracks, 
and  related  what  he  knew  of  the  conspiracy  to  his  uncle  ;  to  whom  he 
seems  to  have  had  perfect  liberty  of  access.®  Paul,  with  his  usual  prompti- 
tude and  prudence,  called  one  of  the  centurions  to  him,  and  requested 
him  to  take  the  youth  "^  to  the  commandant,  saying  that  he  had  a  commu- 
nication to  make  to  him.^  The  officer  complied  at  once,  and  took  the 
young  man  with  this  message  from  "  the  prisoner  Paul "  to  Claudius 
Lysias  ;  who  —  partly  from  the  interest  he  felt  in  the  prisoner,  and 
partly,  we  need  not  doubt,  from  the  natural  justice  and  benevolence  of 
his  disposition — received  the  stranger  kindly,  "  took  him  by  the  hand, 
and  led  him  aside,  and  asked  him  in  private  "  to  tell  him  what  he  had  to 
say.  The  young  man  related  the  story  of  the  conspiracy  in  full  detail, 
and  with  much  feeling.  Lysias  listened  to  his  statement  and  earnest 
entreaties ;  ^  then,  with  a  soldier's  promptitude,  and  yet  with  the  caution 
of  one  who  felt  the  difficulty  of  the  situation,  he  decided  at  once  on  what 

^  If  the  Sanhedrin  were  about  to  investi-  Paul's  sister  and  nephew  resided  at  Jerusalem, 

gate  (see  v.  15),  it  would   be  in  order  that  and,  if  so,  why  he  lodged,  not  with  them,  but 

Claudius  Lysias  might  obtain  more  informa-  with  Mnason  (above,  p.  617). 
tion  :  and  it  would  be  more  natural  for  the  ^  So    afterwards    at    Caesarea,    xxiv.    23. 

young  man  to  put  the  matter  before  him  in  this  "  Felix  commanded   to  let  him  have  liberty, 

point  of  view.  and  that  he  should  forbid  none  of  his  acquaint- 

2  Observe  the  young  man's  words,  v.  21  :  ance  to  minister  or  come  to  him."     See  the 

"and  now  are  they  ready,  looking  for  a  prom-  next  chapter  for  a  description  of  the  nature 

ise  from  thee."  of  the  Custodia,  in  which  St.  Paul  was  kept, 

*  "  To-morrow,"  v.  20.     It  is  in  the  young  both  at  Jerusalem  and  Csesarea. 

man's  statement  that  this  precise  reference  to  "  The  word  for  "young  man  "  is  indeter- 

time  occurs.    In  v.  15,  the  word  appears  to  be  minate,  but  the  whole  narrative  gives  the  im- 

an  interpolation.  pression  that  he  was  a  very  young  man.     See 

*  vv.  16-22.  p.  99,  n.  4. 

^  Two  questions  easily  asked,  but  not  easily  *  w.  17,  18. 

answered,   suggest    themselves  —  whether  St.  «  "But  do  not  thou  yield  unto  them,"  t  31. 


CHAP.  XII.  A  NIGHT  JOURNEY.  G47 

he  would  do,  but  without  communicating  the  plan  to  his  informant.  He 
simply  dismissed  him,  with  a  significant  admonition,  —  "  Be  careful  that 
thou  tell  no  man  that  thou  hast  laid  this  information  before  me." 

When  the  young  man  was  gone,  Claudius  Lysias  summoned  one  or  two 
of  bis  subordinate  officers,^  and  ordered  them  to  have  in  readiness  two 
hundred  of  the  legionary  soldiers,  with  seventy  of  the  cavalry,  and 
two  hundred  spearmen ;  '^  so  as  to  depart  for  Caesarea  at  nine  in  the 
evening,^  and  take  Paul  in  safety  to  Felix  the  governor.  The  journey 
was  long,  and  it  would  be  requisite  to  accomplish  it  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
He  therefore  gave  directions  that  more  than  one  horse  should  be  provided 
for  the  prisoner.*  We  may  be  surprised  that  so  large  a  force  was  sent  to 
secure  tho  safety  of  one  man  ;  but  we  must  remember  that  this  man  was 
a  Roman  citizen,  while  the  garrison  in  Antonia,  consisting  of  more  than  a 
thousand  men,®  could  easily  spare  such  a  number  for  one  day  on  such  a 
service  ;  and  further,  that  assassinations,  robberies,  and  rebellions  were 
frequent  occurrences  at  that  time  in  Judaea,®  and  that  a  conspiracy  also 
wears  a  formidable  aspect  to  those  who  are  responsible  for  the  public 
peace.  The  utmost  secrecy,  as  well  as  promptitude,  was  evidently  re- 
quired ;  and  therefore  an  hour  was  chosen,  when  the  earliest  part  of  the 
night  would  be  already  past.  At  the  time  appointed,  the  troops,  with  St. 
Paul  in  the  midst  of  them,  marched  out  of  the  fortress,  and  at  a  rapid 
pace  took  the  road  to  Caesarea. 

It  is  to  the  quick  journey  and  energetic  researches  of  an  American 
traveller  that  we  owe  the  power  of  following  the  exact  course  of  this 
night-march  from  Jerusalem  to  Caesarea.^       In  an  earlier  part  of  this 

1  The  full  complement  of  centurions  would  ten  cohorts  in  a  legion ;  and  each  legion  con- 
be  ten.     See  below,  p.  650,  n.  8.  tained  more  than  6,000  men,  besides  an  equal 

2  The  rendering  in  the  Authorized  Version  number  of  auxiliaries  and  a  squadron  of 
is  probably  as  near  as  any  other  to  the  true  horse :  but  see  the  next  chapter,  especially  p. 
meaning.  The  singular  word  used  here  dis-  656.  ®  See  the  next  chapter, 
tiuguishes  the  soldiers  in  question  from  lecjion-  ">  See  "  A  Visit  to  Antipatris,"  by  the  Rev. 
cu-y  sokliei-s  and  from  cavalry,  and  therefore  Eli  Smith,  missionary  in  Palestine,  in  the 
doubtless  means  liyht-armed  troops.  Moreover  Biblioiheca  Sacra,  vol.  i.  pp.  478-496.  The 
the  word  seems  to  imply  the  use  of  some  wea-  journey  was  expressly  taken  (on  the  way  from 
])on  simply  carried  in  the  right  hand.  As  to  Jerusalem  to  Joppa)  for  the  purpose  of  ascer- 
the  mixture  of  troops  in  the  escort  sent  by  taining  St.  Paul's  route  to  Antipatris;  and 
Claudius  Lysias,  we  may  remark  that  he  sent  the  whole  of  this  circuitous  route  to  Joppa 
forces  adapted  to  act  on  all  kinds  of  ground,  was  accomplished  in  two  days.  The  article  is 
and  from  the  imperfect  nature  of  his  informa-  followed  by  some  valuable  remarks  by  Dr. 
tion  he  could  not  be  sure  that  an  ambuscade  Robinson,  who  entirely  agrees  with  Mr.  E. 
might  not  be  laid  in  the  way;  and  at  least  Smith,  though  he  had  previously  assumed 
banditti  were  to  be  feared.     See  p.  656.  {Bihl.  Res.  iii.  46,  60)   that  St.  Paul's  escort 

^  "  And  at  the  third  hour  of  the  night,"  v.  had  gone  by  the  pass   of  Bcthoron,  a  route 

23.  sometimes  used,  as  by  Cestius  Gallius  on  his 

*  V.  24.  march  from  Casarea  by  Lydda  to  Jerusalem. 

*  The  aneipa  was  a  cohort.      There  were  Joseph.  War,  ii.  19,  1. 


648 


THE  LITE  AND   EPISTLES  OP  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXLi 


work,  we  have  endeavored  to  give  an  approximate  representation  of  the 
Roman  roads  as  they  existed  in  Palestine ;  ^  and  we  have  had  occasion 
more  than  once  to  allude  to  the  route  which  lay  between  the  religious  and 
political  capitals  of  the  country.^  To  the  roads  previously  mentioned  we 
must  add  another,  which  passes,  not  by  Lydda^  (or  Diospolis),  but  more 
directly  across  the  intermediate  space  from  Gophna  to  Antipatris.  We 
have  thus  the  whole  route  to  Caesarea  before  us  ;  and  we  are  enabled  to 
picture  to  ourselves  the  entire  progress  of  the  little  army,  which  took  St. 
Paul  in  safety  from  the  conspiracies  of  the  Jews,  and  placed  him  under 
the  protection  of  Felix  the  governor. 

The  road  lay  first,  for  about  three  hours,  northwards,*  along  the  high 
mountainous  region  which  divides  the  valley  of  the  Jordan  from  the 
great  western  plain  of  Judaea.'  About  midnight  they  would  reach 
Gophna.*  Here,  after  a  short  halt,  they  quitted  the  northern  road  which 
leads  to  Neapolis  "^  and  Damascus,  once  travelled  by  St.  Paul  under  widely 
different  circumstances,  —  and  turned  towards  the  coast  on  the  left. 
Presently  they  began  to  descend  among  the  western  eminences  and 
valleys  of  the  mountain-country,^  startling  the  shepherd  on  the  hills  of 
Ephraim,  and  rousing  the  village  peasant,  who  woke  only  to  curse  his 


1  Ch.  ni.  In  the  larger  editions  these  roads 
are  shown  in  a  map. 

2  Pp.  50,  97,  370,  617. 

*  See  Acts  ix.  32.  For  geographical  illus- 
tration, we  may  refer  to  the  movements  of 
Peter  in  reference  to  Lydda,  Joppa,  Caesarea, 
and  Jerusalem  (ix.  38,  x.  23,  24,  xi.  2),  and 
also  those  of  Philip  in  reference  to  Sebaste  (?) 
in  Samaria,  Azotus,  Gaza,  and  Caesarea  (viii). 

*  This  part  of  the  road  has  been  mentioned 
before  (p.  78)  as  one  where  Dr.  Robinson  fol- 
lowed the  line  of  a  Roman  pavement.  With 
the  very  full  description  in  his  third  volume, 
pp.  75-80,  the  map  in  the  first  volume  should 
be  compared.  Mr.  E.  Smith  mentions  this 
part  of  the  route  briefly,  B.  S.  pp.  478,  479. 

6  P.  78. 

8  "  We  rode  hastily  to  Bireh  .  .  .  reached 
Bireh  in  2  h.  20  m.  .  .  .  35  m.  from  Bireh, 
we  <;arae  to  ruins.  Here  we  found  we  had 
mistiiken  our  path.  ...  30  m.  from  hence  we 
took  the  following  bearings,  &c.  •  .  .  reached 
Jufna  in  30  m."  B.  S.  479.  Compare  the 
time  in  Dr.  Robinson's  account. 

*  P.  78. 

*  "  We  started  [from  Jufna]  by  the  oldest 
road  to  Kcfr  Saba.  ...  In  20  m.  reached  Bir 
Zeit.     In  this  distance,  we  found  evident  re- 


mains of  the  pavement  of  a  Roman  road,  af- 
fording satisfactory  proof  that  we  had  not 
mistaken  our  route."  B.  S.  480.  "  The  whole 
of  our  way  down  the  mountain  was  a  very 
practicable,  and,  for  the  most  part,  a  very  easy 
descent.  It  seemed  formed  by  nature  for  a 
road ;  and  we  had  not  descended  far  from  the 
point  where  our  observations  were  made,  be- 
fore we  came  again  upon  the  Roman  pave- 
ment. This  we  cdntinued  to  find  at  intervals 
during  the  remainder  of  the  day.  In  some 
places,  for  a  considerable  distance,  it  was 
nearly  perfect ;  and  then,  again,  it  was  en- 
tirely broken  up,  or  a  turn  in  our  path  made 
us  lose  sight  of  it.  Yet  we  travelled  hardly 
half  an  hour  at  any  time  without  finding  dis- 
tinct traces  of  it.  I  do  not  remember  observ- 
ing anywhere  before  so  extensive  remains  of 
a  Roman  road,"  p.  482.  "  A  few  minutes  be- 
yond the  village  [Um  Sufah],  a  branch  of  the 
road  led  off  to  tlie  right,  where,  according  to 
our  guides,  it  furnishes  a  more  direct  route  to 
Kcfr  Saba.  But  just  at  this  point  the  Roman 
road  was  fortunately  seen  following  the  path 
on  the  left;  and  thus  informed  us  very  dis- 
tinctly that  this  was  the  direction  for  us  to 
take,"  p.  483. 


CHAP.  XXI. 


ANTIPATRIS 


649 


oppressor,  as  he  heard  the  hoofs  of  the  horses  on  the  pavement,  and  the 
"well-known  tramp  of  the  Roman  soldiers.  A  second  resting-place  might 
perhaps  be  found  at  Tliamna,^  a  city  mentioned  by  Joseplms  in  the  Jewish 
■wars,  and  possibly  the  "  Timnatli  Heres,"  where  Joshua  "^  was  buried  "  in 
Mount  Ephraim,  in  the  border  of  his  inheritance."  And  then  they 
proceeded,  still  descending  over  a  rocky  and  thinly-cultivated  tract,'^  till 
about  daybreak  they  came  to  the  ridge  of  the  last  hill,*  and  overlooked 
"  the  great  plain  of  Sharon  coming  quite  up  to  its  base  on  the  west." 
The  road  now  turned  northwards,'  across  the  rich  land  of  the  plain 
of  Sharon,  through  fields  of  wheat  and  barley,^  just  then  almost  ready 
for  the  harvest.  "  On  the  east  were  the  mountains  of  Samaria,  rising 
gradually  above  each  other,  and  bounding  the  plain  in  that  direction : 
on  the  left  lay  a  line  of  low  wooded  hills,  shutting  it  in  from  the 
sea."  Between  this  higher  and  lower  range,  but  on  the  level  ground,  in 
a  place  well  watered  and  richly  wooded,  was  the  town  of  Antipatris. 
Both  its  history  and  situation  are  described  to  us  by  Josephus.  The 
ancient  Caphar-Saba,  from  which  one  of  the  Asmonean  princes  had  dug 
a  trench  and  built  a  wall  to  Joppa,  to  protect  the  country  from  inva- 


1  One  of  the  collateral  results  of  Mr.  Eli 
Smith's  journey  is  the  identification  of  the 
site'of  this  city  —  not  the  Timnath  of  Josh. 
XV.  10  —  but  a  place  mentioned  in  the  follow- 
ing passages   of   Josephus,   Ant.  xiv.  11,  2; 

iVar,  iii.  3,  5,  iv.  8,   1  :  also  1  Mace.  ix.   50. 
The  ruins  are  now  called  Tibneh. 

2  Josh.  xix.  49,  50,  xxiv.  30 ;  Judg.  ii.  8, 
9.  Mr.  E.  Smith  observed  some  remarkable 
sepulchres  at  Tibneh. 

8  B.  S.  486,  487.  The  traveller  was  still 
guided  by  the  same  indications  of  the  ancient 
road.  "  Hastening  on  [from  Tibneh],  and  pass- 
ing occasionally  portions  of  the  Roman  road,  we 
reached  in  40  m.  the  large  town  of  Abud.  .  .  . 
To  the  left  of  our  road  we  passed  several  se- 
pulchral excavations,  marking  this  as  an  an- 
cient place.  Our  path  led  us  for  a  considera- 
ble distance  down  a  gentle  but  very  rocky 
descent,  which  was  the  beginning  of  a  Wady. 
Through  nearly  the  whole  of  it,  we  either  rode 
upon  or  by  the  side  of  the  Roman  road.  At 
length  the  Wady  became  broader,  and  with  its 
declivities  was  chiefly  occupied  with  fields  of 
grain  and  other  cultivation.  .  .  .  After  clear- 
ing the  cultivation  in  the  neighborhood,  we 
passed  over  a  hilly  tract,  with  little  cultivation, 
and  thinly  sprinkled  with  shrubbery.  ...  In 
our  descent,  which  was  not  great,  we  thought 
we  could  discern  further  traces  of  the  Roman 


road.  But  it  was  nearly  dark,  and  we  may 
possibly  have  been  mistaken." 

*  At  this  point  is  the  village  of  Mejdcl 
Yaba  in  the  province  of  Nablous.  "  It  stands 
on  the  top  of  a  hill,  with  the  valley  of  Belat  on 
the  south,  a  branch  Wady  running  into  it 
on  the  east,  and  the  great  plain  of  Sharon 
coming  quite  up  to  its  base  on  the  west,"  p. 
488.  Mr.  E.  Smith  arrived  there  at  eight  in 
the  evening,  having  ridden  about  thirty  miles 
since  the  morning.  The  next  day  he  says  : 
"  I  was  disappointed  in  not  procuring  so  many 
bearings  from  Mejdel  Yaba  as  I  had  hoped. 
The  rising  sun  shooting  his  rays  down  the 
side  of  the  mountain  prevented  our  seeing 
much  in  that  direction,"  p.  490. 

s  From  Mejdel  Yaba  Mr.  E.  Smith  did  not 
take  the  direct  route  to  Kefr  Saba,  "  which 
would  have  led  northward,  probably  in  the 
direction  of  the  Roman  road,"  but  went  more 
to  the  west,  by  Ras-el-Ain,  and  across  the  river 
Anjeh  near  its  source,  and  then  by  Jiljulieh. 

^  "  Its  soil  is  an  inexhaustible  black  loam, 
and  nearly  the  whole  of  it  was  now  under 
cultivation,  presenting  a  scene  of  fertility  and 
niral  beauty  rarely  equalled.  Immense  fields 
of  wheat  and  barley,  waving  in  the  breeze, 
were  advancing  rapidly  to  maturity,"  p.  491. 
This  was  on  the  27th  of  April,  almost  the 
exact  time  of  St.  Paul's  journey. 


050  THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OE   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xxj. 

sioii,'  was  afterwards  rebuilt  by  Herod,  and  named  in  honor  of  his  father 
Antipater.'  It  is  described  in  one  passage  as  being  near  the  mountains  ; ' 
and  in  another,  as  in  the  richest  plain  of  his  dominions,  with  abundance 
both  ot  water  and  wood.*  In  the  narrative  of  the  Jewish  war,  Antipatris 
is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  scenes  of  Vespasian's  first  military  proceed- 
ings.^ It  afterwards  disappears  from  history ;  ^  but  the  ancient  name  is 
still  familiarly  used  by  the  peasantry,  and  remains  with  the  physical 
features  of  the  neighborhood  to  identify  the  site.'' 

The  foot-soldiers  proceeded  no  farther  than  Antipatris,  but  returned 
from  tlience  to  Jerusalem  (xxiii.  32).  They  were  no  longer  necessary  to 
secure  St.  Paul's  safety  ;  for  no  plot  by  the  way  was  now  to  be  appre- 
hended ;  but  they  might  very  probably  be  required  in  the  fortress  of 
Antonia.^  It  would  be  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon  that  the  remaining 
soldiers  with  their  weary  horses  entered  the  streets  of  Caesarea.  The 
centurion  who  remained  in  command  of  them  *  proceeded  at  once  to  the 
governor,  and  gave  up  his  prisoner ;  and  at  the  same  time  presented  the 
despatch,'"  with  which  he  was  charged  by  the  commandant  of  the  garrison 
at  Jerusalem. 

We  have  no  record  of  the  personal  appearance  of  Felix  ;  but  if  we 
may  yield  to  the  impression  naturally  left  by  what  we  know  of  his  sensual 
and  ferocious  character,'^  we  can  imagine  the  countenance  with  which  he 
read  the  following  despatch.'^  "  Claudius  Lysias  sends  greeting  to  the 
most  Excellent ''  Felix  the  governor.  This  man  was  apprehended  by  the 
Jews,  and  on  the  point  of  being  killed  hy  them,  when  I  came  and  rescued 
him  with  my  military  guard :  '*  for  I  learnt  that  he  was  a  Roman  citizen}^ 
And  wishing  to  ascertain  the  charge  which  they  had  to  allege  against  him,  I 

^  Joseph.  Ant.  xiii.  15,  1  ;  War,  i.  4,  7.  others  returned.   Possibly  he  is  the  same  officer 

2  Ant.  xvi.  5, 2 ;  War,  i.  21 , 9.     ^  War,  i.  4, 7.  who  is  mentioned  xxiv.  23.      ^^  Acts  xxiii.  33. 

*  Ant.  xvi.  5,  2  ;  War,  i.  21,  9.  "  See  next  chapter.             i^  ^(.jg  xxiii.  26. 
^  Hearing  of  the  revolt   of  Vindex   from  i^  "  His  Excellency  the  Governor."     This 

Nero,  "  he  moved   his  forces  in   spring  from  is  apparently  an  official  title.     Tertullus  uses 

Caasarea  towards  Antipatris."  —  War,  iv.  8,  1.  the  same  style,  in  addressing  Felix,  xxiv.  3, 

^  It  is  mentioned  by  Jerome  as  a  "small  and  Paul  himself,  in  addressing  Festus,  xxvi. 

town  half  ruined."      It  occurs  in  Jerusalem  25.     Hence  we  may  suppose  Theophilus  (who 

Itinerary    between    Caesarea    and    Jerusalem ;  is  thus  addressed,  Luke  i.  3)  to  have  been  a 

and  tlie  distances  are  given.  man  holding  official  rank. 

■^   The  existence  of  a  place  called   Kafar  i^  In  A.  V.   (through  forgetfulness  of  the 

Saba  in  this  part  of  the  plain  was  known  to  definite  article)  this  is  unfortunately  translated 

Prokesch,    and    its    identity   with   Antipatris  "  with  an  army." 

was  suggested  by  Raumer,  Rob.  Bib.  Res.  iii.  '^^  This  statement  was  dexterously  inserted 

45-47.     This  identity  may  be  considered  now  by  Claudias  Lysias  to  save  himself  from  dis- 

as  proved  beyond  a  doubt.     For  some  remarks  grace.    But  it  was  false;  for  it  is  impossible  not 

on  minor  difficulties,  see  our  note  here  in  the  to  see  "I  learnt"  intends  to  convey  the  im- 

largcr  editions.  pression  that  Paul's  Roman  citizenship  was  the 

*  It  is  explicitly  stated  that  they  came  back  cause  of  the  rescue,  whereas  this  fact  did  not 
to  their  quarters  at  Jerusalem.  come  to  his  knowledge  till  afterwards.     Some 

^  One  centurion   would    remain  while  the       of  the  commentators  have  justly  observed  that 


«HAP.  XII.  FELIX.  651 

took  him  down^-  to  their  Sanhedrin:  and  there  I  found  that  the  charge  had 
reference  to  certain  questions  of  their  law,  and  that  he  was  accused  of  no 
offence  worth?/  of  death  or  imprisonment.  And  now,  having  received  infor- 
mation that  a  plot  is  about  to  be  formed  against  the  mail's  life,' I send"^  him 
to  thee  forthivith,  and  I  have  told  his  accusers  that  they  must  bring  their 
charge  before  thee.^     Far&weLV  * 

Felix  raised  his  eyes  from  the  paper,  and  said,  "  To  what  province  does 
he  belong  ?  "  It  was  the  first  question  which  a  Roman  governor  would 
naturally  ask  in  such  a  case.  So  Pilate  had  formerly  paused,  when  he 
found  he  was  likely  to  trespass  on  "  Herod's  jurisdiction,"  Besides  the 
delicacy  required  by  etiquette,  the  Roman  law  laid  down  strict  rules  for 
all  inter-provincial  communications.  In  the  present  case  there  could  be 
no  great  difficulty  for  the  moment.  A  Roman  citizen  with  certain  vague 
charges  brought  against  him  was  placed  under  the  protection  of  a  pro- 
vincial governor,  who  was  bound  to  keep  him  in  safe  custody  till  the 
cause  should  be  heard.  Having  therefore  ascertained  that  Paul  was  a 
native  of  the  province  of  Cicilia,*  Felix  simply  ordered  him  to  be  kept  in 
"  Herod's  praetoriura,"  and  said  to  Paul  himself,  "  I  will  hear  and  decide 
thy  cause ^  when  thy  accusers  are  come."  Here,  then,  we  leave  the  Apos- 
tle for  a  time.  A  relation  of  what  befell  him  at  Caesarea  will  be  given  in 
another  chapter,  to  which  an  account  of  tlie  political  state  of  Palestine, 
and  a  description  of  Herod's  city,  will  form  a  suitable  introduction. 

this  dexterous  falsehood  is  an  incidental  proof  balanced,  we  should  decide  in  its  favor ;  for  it 

of  the  genuineness  of  the  document.  is  exactly  the  Latin  "  Vale."    Such  despatches 

1  "  Took  doion."  Here  we  may  repeat  what  from  a  subordinate  to  a  commanding  officer 
has  been  said  above  concerning  the  topography  would  naturally  be  in  Latin.     See  p.  2. 

of  Antonia  and  the  Temple.  6  Xhe  word  here  is  inapxla,  v.  34.     It  has 

2  This  is  the  natural  English  translation.  already  been  observed  (pp.  130,  131)  that  this 
Our  letters  are  expressed  as  from  the  writer's  is  a  general  term  for  both  the  Emperor's  and 
point  of  view  :  those  of  the  ancients  were  adapt-  the  Senate's  provinces,  just  as  Tiye/nuv  is  a 
ed  to  the  position  of  the  reader.  general   term   for   the   government  of  either. 

3  "  Before //(ee,"  at  the  termination,  emphatic.  For  the  province  of  Cilicia,  see  p.  214. 

*  "Farewell."  The  MSS.  varyas  to  the  gen-  "^  Such  is  the  meaning  of  the  phrase,  t.  35. 

ainencss  of  this  word.  If  the  evidence  is  equally       So  in  xxiv.  22. 


~:^ 


^•SVr  h:^._z3^''  J 


View  of  CsBsarea. 


CHAPTER   XXn. 

BUstory  of  Jadsea  resumed.  —  Roman  Governors.  —  Felix.  —  Troops  quartered  in  Palestine.  — 
Description  of  Csesarea.  —  St.  Paul  accused  there.  —  Speech  before  Felix.  —  Continued  Im- 
prisonment. —  Accession  of  Festus.  —  Appeal  to  the  Emperor.  —  Speech  before  AyripjM. 

WE  have  pursued  a  long  and  varied  narrative  since  we  last  took  a 
general  view  of  the  political  history  of  Judaea.  The  state  of  this 
part  of  the  Empire  in  the  year  44  was  briefly  summed  up  in  a  previous 
chapter  (Ch.  IV.).  It  was  then  remarked  that  this  year  and  the  year  60 
were  the  two  only  points  which  we  can  regard  as  fixed  in  the  annals  of 
tlie  earliest  Church,  and,  therefore,  the  two  best  chronological  pivots 
of  the  Apostolic  history.^  We  have  followed  the  life  of  the  Apostle  Paul 
through  a  space  of  fourteen  years  from  the  former  of  these  dates  ;  and 
now  we  are  rapidly  approaching  the  second.  Then  we  recounted  the 
miserable  end  of  King  Agrippa  I.  Now  we  are  to  speak  of  Agrippa  II., 
who,  like  bis  father,  had  the  title  of  King,  though  his  kingdom  was  not 
identically  the  same.'^ 

The  life  of  the  second  Agrippa  ranges  over  the  last  period  of  national 
Jewish  history,  and  the  first  age  of  the  Christian  Church ;  and  both  his 
life  and  that  of  his  sisters  Drusilla  and  Berenice  are  curiously  connected, 
by  manifold  links,  with  the  general  history  of  the  times.  This  Agrippa 
saw  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  lived  till  the  first  century  was 
closed  in  the  old  age  of  St.  John,  —  the  last  of  a  dynasty  eminent  for 
magnificence  and  intrigue.  Berenice  concluded  a  life  of  profligacy  by  a 
criminal  connection  with  Titus,  the  conqueror  of  Jerusalem.'     Drusilla 

1  We  assume  that  Festus  succeeded  Felix  Berenice  is  so  mixed  up  with  the  history  of 

in  the  year  60.     In  support  of  this  opinion  we  the  times,  and  she  is  so  often  mentioned,  both 

must  refer  to  the  note  (C)  upon  the  Chrono-  by  Josephus  and  by  Roman  writers,  that  it  ia 

logical  Table,  Appendix  III.  desirable  to  put   together  here  some  of    the 

'^  Agrippa  II.  was  made  king  of  Chalcis  principal   notices  of   her  life  and  character. 

A.D.  48  —  he  received   a  further  accession   of  She  was  first  married  to  her  uncle,  Herod,  king 

territory  a.  d.  53,  and  died,  at  the  age  of  70,  of  Chalcis ;  and  after  his  death  she  lived  with 

A.  I).  99.     He  was  intimate  with  Josephus,  and  her  brother,  Agrippa,  not  without  suspicion  of 

was  the  last  prince  of  the  Herodian  house.  the  most  criminal  intimacy.    (Joseph.  Ant.  xx. 

•*  Titus  seems  to  have  been  only  prevented  7,3.)     Compare  Juvenal,  vi.  155. 

from   marrying   this  beautiful  and   profligate  It  was  during  this  period  of  her  life  that  she 

princess  by  the  indignant  feeling  of  the  Ro-  made   that  marriage  with   Polemo,   king  of 

mans.     See  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  15.     The  name  of  Cilicia,  which  has  been  alluded  to  in  the  earlier 
652 


«RAP.  xxn. 


JXJD^A.  653 


became  the  wife  of  Felix,  and  perished  with  the  child  of  that  union  in 
the  eruption  of  Vesuvius. 

We  have  said  that  the  kingdom  of  this  Agrippa  was  not  coincident 
with  that  of  his  father.  He  was  never,  in  fact,  King  of  Judcea.  The 
three  years  during  which  Agrippa  I.  reigned  at  Cassarea  were  only  an 
interpolation  iu  the  long  series  of  Roman  procurators  who  ruled  Judaea, 
in  subordination  to  the  governors  of  Syria,  from  the  death  of  Herod  the 
Great  to  the  final  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  In  the  year  44,  the  second 
Agrippa  was  only  sixteen  years  old,  and  he  was  detained  about  the  court 
of  Claudius,  while  Cuspius  Fadus  was  sent  out  to  direct  the  provincial 
affairs  at  Caesarca.'  It  was  under  the  administration  of  Fadus  that  those 
religious  movements  took  place,  which  ended  (as  we  have  seen  above, 
p.  635)  in  placing  under  the  care  of  the  Jews  the  sacred  vestments  kept 
in  the  tower  of  Antonia,  and  which  gave  to  Herod  king  of  Chalcis  the 
management  of  the  Temple  and  its  treasury,  and  the  appointment  of  the 
high  priests.  And  in  other  respects  the  Jews  had  reason  to  remember 
his  administration  with  gratitude ;  for  he  put  down  the  banditti  which 
had  been  the  pest  of  the  country  under  Agrippa ;  and  the  slavish  com- 
pliment of  Tertullus  to  Felix  (Acts  xxiv.  2,  3)  might  have  been 
addressed  to  him  with  truth,  —  that  "  by  him  the  Jews  enjoyed  great 
quietness,  and  that  very  worthy  deeds  liad  been  done  to  the  nation  by 
his  providence."  He  was  succeeded  by  Tiberius  Alexander,  a  renegade 
Alexandrian  Jew,  and  the  nephew  of  the  celebrated  Pliilo.^  In  relation 
to  the  life  of  this  official  in  Judaea,  there  are  no  incidents  worth  record- 
ing :  at  a  later  period  we  see  him  at  tlie  siege  of  Jerusalem  in  command 
of  Roman  forces  under  Titus : '  and  the  consequent  inscriptions  in  his 
honor  at  Rome  served  to  point  the  sarcasm  of  the  Roman  satirist.*  Soon 
after  the  arrival  of  Yentidius  Cumanus  to  succeed  him  as  governor  ^  in 
the  year  48,  Herod  king  of  Chalcis  died,  and  Agrippa  II.  was  placed  on 
his  throne,  with  the  same  privileges  in  reference  to  the  Temple  and  its 
worship  which  had  been  possessed  by  his  uncle.  "  During  the  govern- 
ment of  Cumanus,  the  low  and  sullen  murmurs  which  announced  the 
approaching  eruption  of  the  dark  volcano,  now  gathering  its  strength  in 
Palestine,  became  more  distinct.     The  people  and  the  Roman  soldiery 

part  of   this  work.     (p.  23.)     Soon   she  left  on    the    occasion    alluded   to,   p.   625.     (See 

Polemo,    and   returned   to  her  brother:   and  Joseph.  TFar,  ii.  15,  16.) 

then  it  was  that  St.  Paul  was  brought  before  ^  Joseph.  Ant.  xix.  9,  xx.  5,  1.      War,  u. 

them  at  Caesarea.     After  this  time,  she  became  11,6. 

a  partisan  of  Vespasian.      Tac.  Hist.   ii.  81.  ^  Joseph.  .4n<.  xx.  5,  2. 

Her  connection  with  Vespasian's  son  is  men-  '  War,  v.  1,  6.     Compare  ii.  18,7  ;  and  It. 

tioned  by  Suetonius  and  by  Tacitus,  as  well  as  10,  6. 

by  Dio  Cassius.     The  one  redeeming  passage  *  Juv.  i.  129. 

in  her  life  is  the  patriotic  feeling  she  displayed  ^  Ant.  xx.  5,  2.     War,  ii.  12,  1. 


654  THE  LIFE  AKD  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xxi . 

began  to  display  mutual  animosity."  ^  One  indication  of  this  animosity 
has  been  alluded  to  before,^  —  the  dreadful  loss  of  life  in  the  Temple  which 
resulted  from  the  wanton  insolence  of  one  of  the  soldiers  in  A.ntonia  at 
the  time  of  a  festival.  Another  was  the  excitement  which  eii?ued  after 
the  burning  of  the  Scriptures  by  the  Roman  troops  at  Beth-Horou,  on  the 
road  between  Jerusalem  and  Caesarea.  An  attack  made  by  the  Samari- 
tans on  some  Jews  who  were  proceeding  through  their  country  to  a 
festival  led  to  wider  results.^  Appeal  was  made  to  Quadratus,  governor 
of  Syria ;  and  Cumanus  was  sent  to  Rome  to  answer  for  his  conduct  to 
the  Emperor.  In  the  end  he  was  deposed,  and  Felix,  the  brother  of 
Pallas  the  freedman  and  favorite  of  Claudius,  was  (partly  by  the  influ- 
ence of  Jonathan  the  high  priest)  appointed  to  succeed  him.* 

The  mention  of  this  governor,  who  was  brought  into  such  intimate 
relations  with  St.  Paul,  demands  that  we  should  enter  now  more  closely 
into  details.  The  origin  of  Felix  and  the  mode  of  his  elevation  would 
prepare  us  to  expect  in  him  such  a  character  as  that  which  is  condensed 
into  a  few  words  by  Tacitus,*  —  that,  "  in  the  practice  of  all  kinds  of  lust 
and  cruelty,  he  exercised  the  power  of  a  king  with  the  temper  of  a 
slave."  The  Jews  had,  indeed,  to  thank  him  for  some  good  services  to 
their  nation.  He  cleared  various  parts  of  the  country  from  robbers;' 
and  he  pursued  and  drove  away  that  Egyptian  fanatic,'  with  whom 
Claudius  Lysias  too  hastily  identified  St.  Paul.^  But  the  same  historian 
from  whom  we  derive  this  information  gives  us  a  terrible  illustration  of 
his  cruelty  in  the  story  of  the  murder  of  Jonathan,  to  whom  Felix  was 
partly  indebted  for  his  own  elevation.  The  high  priest  had  presumed  to 
expostulate  with  the  governor  on  some  of  his  practices,  and  assassins 
were  forthwith  employed  to  murder  him  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  Temple.® 
And  as  this  crime  illustrates  one  part  of  the  sentence,  in  which  Tacitus 
describes  his  character,  so  we  may  see  the  other  parts  of  it  justified  and 
elucidated  in  the  narrative  of  St.  Luke  ;  —  that  which  speaks  of  him  as  a 
voluptuary,  by  his  union  with  Drusilla,  whom  he  had  enticed  from  her 
husband  by  aid  of  a  magician,  who  is  not  unreasonably  identified  by  some 
with  Simon  Magus,^"  —  and  that  which  speaks  of  his  servile  meanness, 

1  Milman's  Hist,  of  the  Jews,  ii.  203.  Felix,  it  has  been  supposed  that  he  was  mano- 

■2  See  the  preceding  chapter,  p.  635.     For  mitted  by  Antonia,  the  mother  of  Claudias. 
Beth-Horon,  see  p.  647,  n.  7.  ^  Hist.  \.  9.     See  Ant.  xii.  54. 

8  Ant.  XX.  6.      War,  ii.  12.  «   War,  ii.  13,  2. 

*  Josephus  and  Tacitus  differ  as  to  the  cir-  ">  Ant.  xx.  8,  6.     War,  ii.  13,  5. 

f^umstances  of  his  first  cominj^  into  the  East.  '  See  the  preceding  chapter. 

Acconling  to  one  account,  he  was  joint-pro-  '  Ant.  xx.  8,  5.     His  treachery  to  Eleazmr 

curator  for  a  time  with  Cumanus,  the  latter  the  arch-robber,  mentioned  by  Josephos  in  tb« 

holding  Galilee,  the  former  Samaria.    From  same  section,  should  not  be  unaot'ced 
the  circumstance  of  hia  being  called  Antonius  ^^  See  p.  74,  n.  3. 


CH^  xxn.  THE  ROMAN  ARMY.  655 

bj  his  trembliug  without  repentauce  at  the  preaching  of  Paul,  and  by 
his  detention  of  liim  in  prison  from  the  hope  of  a  bribe.  When  he 
finally  left  the  Apostle  in  bonds  at  Caesarea,  this  also  (as  we  shall  see) 
was  done  from  a  mean  desire  to  conciliate  those  who  were  about  to 
accuse  him  at  Rome  of  mal-administration  of  the  province.  The  final 
breach  between  him  and  the  provincials  seems  to  have  arisen  from  a 
quarrel  at  Caesarea  between  the  Jewish  aiid  Heathen  population,  which 
grew  so  serious,  that  the  troops  were  called  out  into  the  streets,  and  both 
slaughter  and  plunder  was  the  result. 

The  mention  of  this  circumstance  leads  us  to  give  some  account  of 
the  troops  quartered  in  Palestine,  and  of  the  general  distribution  of  the 
Roman  army,  without  some  notion  of  which  no  adequate  idea  can  be 
obtained  of  the  Empire  and  the  Provinces.  Moreover,  St.  Paul  is 
brought,  about  this  part  of  his  life,  into  such  close  relations  with  difierent 
parts  of  that  military  service,  from  which  he  draws  some  of  his  most 
forcible  imagery,^  that  our  narrative  would  be  incomplete  without  some 
account  both  of  the  Praetorian  guards  and  the  legionary  soldiers.  The 
latter  force  may  be  fitly  described  in  connection  with  Caesarea,  and  we 
shall  see  that  it  is  not  out  of  place  to  allude  here  to  the  former  also, 
though  its  natural  association  is  with  the  city  of  Rome. 

That  division  between  the  armed  and  unarmed  provinces,  to  which 
attention  has  been  called  before  (pp.  129-131),'  will  serve  to  direct  us  to 
the  principle  on  which  the  Roman  legions  were  distributed.  They  were 
chiefly  posted  in  the  outer  provinces  or  along  the  frontier,  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  Mediterranean  being  completely  subdued  under  the 
sway  of  Rome.  The  military  force  required  in  Gaul  and  Spain  was  much 
smaller  than  it  had  been  in  the  early  days  of  Augustus.  Even  in  Africa 
the  frontier  was  easily  maintained  ;  for  the  Romans  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  engaged  there  in  that  interminable  war  with  native  tribes  which 
occupies  the  French  in  Algeria.  The  greatest  accumulation  of  legions 
was  on  the  northern  and  eastern  boundaries  of  the  Empire,  —  along  the 
courses  of  tlie  three  frontier  rivers,  the  Rhine,  the  Danube,  and  the 
Euphrates ; '  and,  finally,  three  legions  were  stationed  in  Britain,  and 
three  in  Judgea.  We  know  the  very  names  of  these  legions.  Just  as  we 
find  memorials  of  the  second,  the  ninth,  and  the  twentieth  in  connection 

1  See  especially  Eph.  vi.  10-18;  also  1  Cor.  ^  Jq   4)^  time  of  Augustus  we  find  four 

xiv.  8 ;  1  Thess.  v.  8  ;  and  2  Tim.  ii.  3,  4.  legions  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Euphrates, 

'^  We  may  add  here,  that  the  division  of  eight  on  the  Rhine  frontier,  and  six  along  the 

the  provinces  under  the  Emperors  arose  out  of  Danube  (two  in  Mcesia,  two  in  Pannonia,  and 

an  earlier  division  under  the  Republic,  when  a  two   in  Dalmatia).     In  that  (if  Hadrian,  the 

i'roconsul  with  a  large  military  force  was  sent  force  on  each  of  these  rivers  was  considerably 

to  some  provinces,  and  a  Propraetor  with  a  greater, 
smaller  force  to  others. 


656  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  ch.vp.  ixii. 

witb  Chester  ^  or  York,  so  by  the  aid  of  historians  or  historic  moimmeuts 
we  can  trace  the  presence  of  the  fifth,  the  tenth,  and  the  fifteenth  in 
Cassarea,  Ptolemais,  or  Jerusalem.^  And  here  two  principles  must  be 
borne  in  mind  which  regulated  the  stations  of  the  legions.  They  did  not 
move  from  province  to  province,  as  our  troops  are  taken  in  succession 
from  one  colony  to  another ;  but  they  remained  on  one  station  for  a  vast 
number  of  years.  And  they  were  recruited,  for  the  most  part,  from  the 
provijices  where  they  were  posted ;  for  the  time  had  long  passed  away 
when  every  legionary  soldier  was  an  Italian  and  a  Ireeborn  Roman 
citizen.^  Thus  Josephus  tells  us  repeatedly  that  the  troops  quartered  in 
his  native  country  were  re-enforced  from  thence ;  *  not  indeed  from  the 
Jews,  —  for  they  were  exempt  from  the  duty  of  serving,"*  —  but  from  the 
Greek  and  Syrian  population. 

But  what  were  these  legions  ?  We  must  beware  of  comparing  them 
too  exactly  with  our  own  regiments  of  a  few  hundred  men ;  for  they 
ought  rather  to  be  called  brigades,  each  consisting  of  more  than  6,000 
infantry,  with  a  regiment  of  cavalry  attached.  Here  we  see  the  explana- 
tion of  one  part  of  the  force  sent  down  by  Claudius  Lysias  to  Antipatris.® 
Within  the  fortress  of  Antonia  were  stables  for  the  horses  of  the  troopers, 
as  well  as  quarters  for  a  cohort  of  infantry.  But,  moreover,  every  legion 
had  attached  to  it  a  body  of  auxiliaries  levied  in  the  province,  of  almost 
equal  number ;  and  here,  perhaps,  we  find  the  true  account  of  the  200 
"  spearmen,"  who  formed  a  part  of  St.  Paul's  escort,  with  the  200  legion- 
ary soldiers.  Thus  we  can  form  to  ourselves  some  notion  of  those  troops 
(amounting,  perhaps,  to  35,000  men),  the  presence  of  which  was  so 
familiar  a  thing  in  Judaea,  that  the  mention  of  them  appears  in  the  most 

^  Antiquarians  acquainted  with  the  monn-  began  with  Marias.     The  alauda  of  Csesar  was 

ments  of  Chester  are  familiar  with  the  letters  formed  of  strangers :   but  these  troops  after- 

Leg.  XX.  V.  V.  (Valens  Victrix).  wards  received  the  Roman  citizenship.  With  the 

2  In  the  Eistoi-y  of  Tacitus  (t.  1)  these  three  distinction  between  the  Praetorian  and  legionary 

legions  are  expressly  mentioned.     Compare  i.  soldiers,  all  necessary  connection  between  citi- 

10,  ii.  4.     The  same  legions  are  mentioned  by  zenship  and  military  service  ceased  to  exist. 

Josephus.     See,  for  instance,  War,  v.  1,  6,  v.  In  strict  conformity  with  this  atate  of  things 

2,,  3.     We  have  also  notices  of  them  on  Syrian  we  find  that  Claudius  Lysias  was  a  citizen  by 

coins  and  inscriptions.  purchase,  not  because  he  was  a  military  officer. 

It  should  be  noticed  that  the  passages  just  *  Ant.  xiv.  15,  10.      War,  i.  17,  1. 

adduced  from  Josephus  and  Tacitus  refer  to  ^  Jos.  Ant.  xiv.  10,  11-19. 

the  time  when  the  Jewish  war  was  breaking  ^  What  is  written  here  and  in  the  preceding 

out.    Judffia  may  have  been  garrisoned,  not  by  chapter  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  the 

legions,  liut  by  detached  cohorts,  during   the  cohort  under  the  command  of  Claudius  Lysias 

rule  of  Felix  and  Festus.  was  a  legionary  cohort.     But  it  is  by  no  means 

8  At  first  under  the  Republic  all  Roman  certain  that  it  was  not  an  indei>endent  cohort, 

soldiers  were  Roman  citizens.  "  But  in  propor-  like  those  called  "  Augustan  "  and  "  Italic." 

tion  as  the  public  freedom  was  lost  in  extent  of  It  appears  that  such  cohorts  really  contained 

conquest,  war  was  gradually  improved  into  an  1,000  men  each, 
art  and  degraded  into  a  trade."     The  change 


CHAP.  xxn. 


THE  ROMAN  ARMY. 


Go7 


solemn  passages  of  the  Evangelic  and  Apostolic  history,'  while  a  Jewish 
historian  gives  us  one  of  the  best  accounts  of  their  discipline  and  exer- 
cises.^ 

But  the  legionary  soldiers,  with  their  cavalry  and  auxiliaries,  were  not 
the  only  military  force  in  the  Empire,  and,  as  it  seems,  not  the  only  one 
in  Judaea  itself.  The  great  body  of  troops  at  Rome  (as  we  shall  see 
when  we  have  followed  St.  Paul  to  the  metropolis)  were  the  Praetorian 
Guards,  amounting  at  this  period  to  10,000  men.'  These  favored  forces 
were  entirely  recruited  from  Italy  ;  their  pay  was  higher,  and  their  time 
of  service  shorter ;  and,  for  the  most  part,  they  were  not  called  out  on 
foreign  service.^  Yet  there  is  much  weight  in  the  opinion  which  regards 
the  Augustan  Cohort  of  Acts  xxvii.  1  as  a  part  of  this  Imperial  Guard." 
Possibly  it  was  identical  ^  with  the  Italic  Cohort  of  Acts  x.  1.  It  might 
well  be  that  the  same  corps  might  be  called  "  Italic,"  because  its  men 
were  exclusively  Italians ;  and  "  Augustan,"  because  they  were  properly 
part  of  the  Emperor's  guard,  though  some  of  them  might  occasionally  be 
attached  to  the  person  of  a  provincial  governor.  And  we  observe  that, 
while  Cornelius  (x.  1)  and  Julius  (xxvii,  1)  are  both  Roman  names,  it 
is  at  Caesarea  that  each  of  these  cohorts  is  said  to  have  been  stationed. 
As  regards  the  Augustan  cohort,  if  the  view  above  given  is  correct,  one 
result  of  it  is  singularly  interesting  ;  for  it  seems  that  Julius  the  centu- 
rion, who  conducted  the  Apostle  Paul  to  Rome,  can  be  identified  with  a 


1  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  some  of 
the  soldiers  mentioned  in  the  Gospels  belonged 
to  Herod's  military  force :  but  since  his  troops 
were  disciplined  on  the  Roman  model,  we  need 
hardly  make  this  distinction. 

-    War,  iii.  5. 

^  Under  Augustus  there  were  nine  cohorts. 
Under  Tiberius  they  were  raised  to  ten.  The 
number  was  not  increased  again  till  after  St. 
Paul's  time. 

*  Such  a  general  rule  would  have  excep- 
tions, —  as  in  the  case  of  our  own  Guards  at 
Waterloo  and  Sebastopol. 

^  This  is  a  question  of  some  difficulty. 
Two  opinions  held  by  various  commentators 
may,  we  think,  readily  be  dismissed.  1.  This 
cohors  Augusta  was  not  a  part  of  any  legio  An- 
(/usta.  2.  It  was  not  identical  with  the  Sehasteni 
(so  named  from  Sebaste  in  Samaria)  men- 
tioned by  Josephus  :  for,  in  the  first  place,  this 
was  a  troop  of  horse ;  and  secondly,  we  should 
expect  a  different  term  to  be  used. 

Wieseler  thinks  this  cohort  was  a  special 
corps  enrolled  by  Nero   under  the  name  of 
Auyustani.     They  were  the  ^Ute  of  the  Prae- 
42 


torians,  and  accompanied  Nero  to  Greece. 
The  date  of  their  enrolment  constitutes  a  diffi- 
culty. But  might  not  the  cohort  in  question 
be  some  other  detachment  of  the  Praetoriaa 
Guards  ? 

It  appears  from  Joseph.  War,  iii.  4,  2, 
that  five  cohorts  (independently  of  the  le- 
gions) were  regularly  stationed  at  Caesarea,  and 
the  Augustan  cohort  may  very  well  have  been 
one  of  them.  But  we  are  not  by  any  means 
limited  to  those.  Dean  Alford  remarks,  very 
justly,  that  we  must  not  assume,  as  too  many 
commentators  have  done,  that  this  cohort  was 
resident  at  Cassarea. 

^  See  p.  26,  n.  4,  also  p.  108,  n.  3,  (in  the 
account  of  Cornelius,)  where  it  is  shown  that 
this  corps  cannot  have  been  a  cohort  of  Nero's 
Legio  prima  Italica.  One  objection  to  the 
view  of  Meyer,  who  identifies  the  two,  is  that 
Judjea  was  not  under  procurators  at  the 
time  of  the  conversion  of  Cornelius.  But 
there  is  great  obscurity  about  the  early  dates 
in  the  Acts.  If  the  "  Augustan  cohort "  is 
identical  with  the  Augustani  of  Nero,  it  is  cleai 
that  the  "  Italic  cohort "  is  not  the  same. 


658  THE  LIFE  AKD  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xxn 

high  degree  of  probability  with  Julius  Priscus,  who  was  afterwards  pre- 
fect of  the  Praetoriau  Guards  under  the  Emperor  Yitellius.^ 

This  brief  notice  may  suffice,  concerning  the  troops  quartered  in  Pales- 
tine, and  especially  at  Caesarea.  The  city  itself  remains  to  be  described. 
Little  now  survives  on  the  spot  to  aid  us  in  the  restoration  of  this  hand- 
some metropolis.  On  the  wide  area  once  occupied  by  its  busy  population 
there  is  silence,  interrupted  only  by  the  monotonous  washing  of  the  sea  ; 
and  no  sign  of  human  life,  save  the  occasional  encampment  of  Bedouin 
Arabs,  or  the  accident  of  a  small  coasting  vessel  anchoring  off  the  shore. 
The  best  of  the  ruins  are  ingulfed  by  the  sand,  or  concealed  by  the  en- 
croaching sea.  The  nearest  road  passes  at  some  distance,  so  that  com 
paratively  few  travellers  have  visited  Caesarea.^  Its  glory  was  short-lived. 
Its  decay  has  been  complete,  as  its  rise  was  arbitrary  and  sudden.  Strabo, 
in  the  reign  of  Augustus,  describes  at  this  part  of  the  inhospitable  coast  of 
Palestine  nothing  but  a  landing-place,  with  a  castle  called  Strato's  Tower. 
Less  than  eiglity  years  afterwards  we  read  in  Tacitus  and  Pliny  of  a  city 
here,  which  was  in  possession  of  honorable  privileges,  which  was  the 
"  Head  of  Judaea,"  as  Antioch  was  of  Syria.  Josephus  explains  to  us 
the  change  which  took  place  in  so  short  an  interval,  by  describing  the 
work  which  Herod  the  Great  began  and  completed  in  twelve  years.^ 
Before  building  Antipatris  in  honor  of  his  father  (see  p.  650),  he  built  on 
the  shore  between  Dora  and  Joppa,  where  Strato's  castle  stood,  near  the 
boundary  of  Galilee  and  Samaria,  a  city  of  sumptuous  palaces  in  honor 
of  Augustus  Caesar.  The  city  was  provided  with  every  thing  that  could  con- 
tribute to  magnificence,*  amusement,^  and  health.®  But  its  great  boast 
was  its  harbor,  which  provided  for  the  ships  which  visited  that  dangerous 
coast  a  safe  basin,  equal  in  extent  to  the  Piraeus.''  Vast  stones  were  sunk 
in  the  sea  to  the  depth  of  twenty  fathoms,^  and  thus  a  stupendous  break- 
water ®  was  formed,  curving  round  so  as  to  afiford  complete  protection  from 


^  The  argument  is  given  in  full  by  Wieseler.  (p.  119).     Some  traces  of  it  are  said  to  re- 

^  Thus  Dr.  Bobinson  was  prevented  from  main, 

visiting  or  describing  what  remains.     The  full-  ^  The  arrangement  of  the  sewers  is  partic- 

est  account  is  perhaps  that  in  Buckingham's  ularly  mentioned  by  Josephus.     The  remains 

Travels  (i.  197-215).     See  also  Irby  and  Man-  of  the  aqueducts  are  still  visible, 

glcs,  and  Lamartine.     There  is  an  excellent  ^  This    is    the    comparison    of  Josephus, 

description  of  the  place,  with  illustrations,  at  Antiq.    In  the ."  PFar  "  he  says  it  was  greater 

the  end  of  the  first  volume  of  Dr.  Traill's  than  the  Piraeus. 

Josejihus.     We  may  reicr  now  to  the  views  in  "  Most  of  the  stones  were  50  feet  long,  18 

Van  de  Vcldc's  Pa^s  d  'Israel.  feet  broad,  and  9  feet  dccii.     Josephus,  liow- 

^  Antii/.  XV.  9,  6.      War,  i.  21,  5-8.  ever,  is  not  quite  consistent  with  himseir  in 

*  The  buildings  were  of  white  stone.  his  statement  of  the  dimensions. 

-  ^  It  contained  both  a  theatre  and  an  amphi-  ^  This  breakwater  has  been  compared   to 

theatre.    Theformer  possesses  great  interest  for  that  of  Plymouth  :  but  it  was  more  like  that 

as.  as  being  the  scene  of  the  death  of  Agrippa  of  Cherbourg,  and  the  whole  harbor  may  more 


CHAP,  xxn. 


C^SAREA. 


659 


the  soutb-westerlj  winds/  and  open  only  on  the  north.  Such  is  an  im- 
perfect description  of  that  city,  which  in  its  rise  and  greatest  eminence  is 
exactly  contemporaneous  with  the  events  of  which  we  read  in  the  Gospels 
and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  It  has,  indeed,  some  connection  with  later 
history.  Vespasian  was  here  declared  emperor,  and  he  conferred  on  it  the 
title  of  a  colony,  with  the  additional  honor  of  being  called  by  his  own 
name.  Here  Eusebius  ^  and  Procopius  were  born,  and  thus  it  is  linked 
with  the  recollections  of  Constantino  and  Justinian.  After  this  time  its 
annals  are  obscured,  though  the  character  of  its  remains — which  have 
been  aptly  termed  "  ruins  of  ruins  "  —  show  that  it  must  have  long  been 
a  city  of  note  under  the  successive  occupants  of  Palestine.'  Its  chief 
association,  however,  must  always  be  with  the  age  of  which  we  are  writing. 
Its  two  great  features  were  its  close  connection  witli  Rome  and  the  empe- 
rors, and  the  large  admixture  of  Heathen  strangers  in  its  population. 
Not  only  do  we  see  here  the  residence  of  Roman  procurators,^  the  quar- 
ters of  imperial  troops,*  and  the  port  by  which  Judaea  was  entered  from 
the  west,  but  a  Roman  impress  was  ostentatiously  given  to  every  thing  that 
belonged  to  Caesarea.  The  conspicuous  object  to  those  who  approached 
from  the  sea  was  a  temple  dedicated  to  Caesar  and  to  Rome  :  ^  the  harbor 
was  called  the  "  Augustan  harbor :  "  ^  the  city  itself  was  "  Augustan 
Caesarea."  ^  And,  finally,  the  foreign  influence  here  was  so  great,  that 
the  Septuagint  translation  of  the  Scriptures  was  read  in  the  Synagogues.* 
There  was  a  standing  quarrel  between  the  Greeks  and  the  Jews,  as  to 


fitly  be  compared  to  the  harbors  of  refuge 
now  (1852)  in  construction  at  Holyhead  and 
Portland. 

1  Josephus  particularly  says  that  the  places 
on  this  part  of  the  coast  were  "  bad  for  anchor- 
age on  account  of  the  swell  towards  {i.  e. 
from)  the  S.  W."  —  a  passage  which  deserves 
careful  attention,  as  illustrating  Acts  xxvii. 
12. 

2  He  was  the  first  biblical  geographer  (as 
Forbiger  remarks  in  his  account  of  Caesarea), 
and  to  him  we  owe  the  Onomasticon,  translated 
by  Jerome.  This  place  was  also  one  of  the 
scenes  of  Origen's  theological  labors. 

3  See  the  Appendix  of  Dr.  Traill's  Jose- 
phus, vol.  I.  xlix-lvi,  where  a  very  copious 
account  is  given  of  the  existing  state  of  Caesa- 
rea. J*s  ruins  are  described  as  "  remains  from 
which  obtrude  the  costly  materials  of  a  succes- 
sion of  structures,  and  which  furnish  a  sort 
of  condensed  commentary  upon  that  series  of 
historical  evidence  which  we  derive  from 
books."     Of  late  years  they  have  been  used  aa 


a  quarry,  famishing  shafts  and  ready-wrought 
blocks,  &c.,  for  public  buildings  at  Acre  and 
elsewhere. 

*  We  are  inclined  to  think  that  the  "  praB- 
torium"  or  "palace "of  Herod  (Acts  xxiii. 
35)  was  a  different  building  from  the  official 
residence  of  Felix  and  Festus.  This  seems  to 
be  implied  in  xxiv.  24  and  xxv.  23.  We  shall 
have  occasion  again  to  refer  to  the  word 
■npaiTupiov,  Ch.  XXVI. 

^  See  above  on  the  Augustan  cohort. 

^  This  temple  has  been  alluded  to  before, 
p.  107.  Josephus  says  that  in  the  temple  were 
two  statues,  one  of  Rome  and  one  of  Caesar. 
Ant.  In  War,  he  says  that  the  statues  were 
colossal,  that  of  Caesar  equal  in  size  to  the 
Olympian  Jupiter,  and  that  of  Rome  to  the 
Argive  Juno. 

■^  We  find  this  term  on  coins  of  Agrippa  1. 
One  of  them  is  given  in  our  larger  editions. 

^  So  it  is  called  by  Josephus.  Ant.  xv.  1, 
51. 

^  Lightfoot  on  Acts  vi.  1.    See  p.  34,  n.  .1 


660  THE   LIFE   AJ>iD   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  cuap.xxii 

whether  it  was  a  Greek  city  or  a  Jewish  city.  The  Jews  appealed  to  the 
fact  that  it  was  built  by  a  Jewish  prince.  The  Greeks  pointed  to  the 
temples  and  statues.*  This  quarrel  was  never  appeased  till  the  great  war 
broke  out,  the  first  act  of  which  was  the  slaughter  of  20,000  Jews  in  the 
streets  of  Cajsarea.^ 

Such  was  the  city  in  which  St.  Paul  was  kept  in  detention  among  the 
Roman  soldiers,  till  the  time  should  come  for  his  trial  before  that  un- 
scrupulous governor,  whose  character  has  been  above  described.  His 
accusers  were  not  long  in  arriving.  The  law  required  that  causes  should 
be  heard  speedily  ;  and  the  Apostle's  enemies  at  Jerusalem  were  not 
wanting  in  zeal.  Thus,  "  after  five  days,"  ^  the  high  priest  Ananias  and 
certain  members  of  the  Sanhedrin*  appeared,  with  one  of  those  advo- 
cates who  practised  in  the  law  courts  of  the  provinces,  where  the  forms 
of  Roman  law  were  imperfectly  known,  and  the  Latin  language  imper- 
fectly understood.'  The  man  whose  professional  services  were  engaged 
on  this  occasion  was  called  TertuUus.  The  name  is  Roman,  and  there 
is  little  doubt  that  he  was  an  Italian,  and  spoke  on  this  occasion  in 
Latin.®  The  criminal  information  was  formally  laid  before  the  govern- 
or.'' The  prisoner  was  summoned,^  and  TertuUus  brought  forward  the 
charges  against  him  in  a  set  speech,  which  we  need  not  quote  at  length. 
He  began  by  loading  Felix  with  unmerited  praises,^  and  then  proceeded 
to  allege  three  distinct  heads  of  accusation  against  St.  Paul,  —  charging 
him,  first  with  causing  factious  disturbances  among  all  the  Jews  through- 
out the  Empire  ^"^  (which  was  an  offence  against  the  Roman  Government, 
and  amounted  to  Majestas  or  treason  against  the  Emperor), —  secondly 
with  being  a  ringleader  of  "  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes  "  "  (which  involved 

1  Ant.  XX.  8,  7.     War,\i.  13,  7.  the  law  courts  in  every  part  of  the  Empire 

2  War,  ii.  18,  1.     See  p.  665.  See  p.  2. 

'  It  is  most  natural  to  reckon   these  fire  ^  See  again  p.  2,  for  remarks  on  TertuUus 

days  from  the  time  of  St.  Paul's  departure  and    the    peculiarly   Latin    character  of   the 

from  Jerusalem.  speech  here  given. 

*  "  With  the  Elders ;  "  by  which  we  are  to  "^  "  They  laid  information  before  the  gover- 

understand   representatives  or  deputies   from  nor  against  Paul,"  xxiv.  1.     See  xxv.  2. 
the  Sanhcdrin.  ^  "  When  he  was  summoned,"  v.  2.     The 

^  The  accuser  and  the  accused  could  plead  presence  of  the  accused  was  required  by  the 

in  person,  as  St.  Paul  did  here :  but  aduocati  Roman  law. 

(/if/ropef)  were  often  employed.  It  was  a  com-  ®  See  above.  It  is  worth  while  to  notice 
mon  i)ractice  for  young  Koman  lawyers  to  go  here  one  phrase  which  is  exactly  the  Latin  tud 
with  consuls  and  prajtors  to  the  provinces,  and  providentid.  It  may  be  illustrated  by  the  in- 
to "  qualify  themselves  by  this  provincial  prac-  scription  :  provid.  auo.  on  the  coin  of  Com- 
tice  for  the  sharper  struggles  of  the  forum  at  modus  in  the  titlepage  of  this  edition, 
home."  We  have  an  instance  in  the  case  of  ^'*  A  mover  of  sedition  among  all  Uie  Jewa 
Cselius,  who  spent  his  youth  in  this  way  in  thromjhout  the  world. 

Africa.     Cic.  pro  Ccd.  30.     It  must  be  reraem-  ^^  A  riwilmder  of  the  sect  of  the  Nasarenet 

bered  that  Latin  was  the  proper  language  of  On  the  word  for  sect,  see  below,  not«,  on  v.  1 4 


CHAP.  xxn.  SPEECH  BEFOliE   FELIX.  661 

heresy  against  the  law  of  Moses),  —  and  thirdly  with  an  attempt  to 
profane  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  ^  (an  ofifence  not  only  against  the 
Jewish,  but  also  against  the  Roman  Law,  which  protected  the  Jews  in 
the  exercise  of  their  worship).  He  concluded  by  asserting  (with  serious 
deviations  from  the  truth)  that  Lysias,  the  commandant  of  the  garrison, 
had  forcibly  taken  the  prisoner  away,  when  the  Jews  were  about  to 
judge  him  by  tlieir  own  ecclesiastical  law,  and  had  thus  improperly 
brought  the  matter  before  Felix.^  The  drift  of  this  representation  was 
evidently  to  persuade  Felix  to  give  up  St.  Paul  to  the  Jewish  courts,  in 
which  case  his  assassination  would  have  been  easily  accomplished.^  And 
the  Jews  who  were  present  gave  a  vehement  assent  to  the  statements  of 
Tertullus,  making  no  secret  of  their  animosity  against  St.  Paul,  and 
asserting  that  these  things  were  indeed  so. 

The  governor  now  made  a  gesture  *  to  the  prisoner  to  signify  that  he 
might  make  his  defence.  The  Jews  were  silent ;  and  the  Apostle,  after 
briefly  expressing  his  satisfaction  that  he  had  to  plead  his  cause  before 
one  so  well  acquainted  with  Jewish  customs,  refuted  Tertullus  step  by 
step.  He  said  that  on  his  recent  visit  to  Jerusalem  at  the  festival  (and 
he  added  that  it  was  only  "  twelve  days  "  since  he  had  left  Caesarea  for 
that  purpose),^  he  had  caused  no  disturbance  in  any  part  of  Jerusalem, 
—  that,  as  to  heresy,  he  had  never  swerved  from  his  belief  in  the  Law 
and  tlie  Prophets,  and  that,  in  conformity  with  that  belief,  he  held  the 
doctrine  of  a  resurrection,  and  souglit  to  live  conscientiously  before  the 
God  of  his  fathers,® —  and  as  to  the  Temple,  so  far  from  profaning  it,  he 
had  been  found  in  it  deliberately  observing  the  very  strictest  ceremonies. 
The  Jews  of  "  Asia,"  he  added,  who  had  been  his  first  accusers,  ought  to 

The  Authorized  Version  unfortunately  renders  *  In  reckoning  these  twelve  days  (v.  11)  it 

the  same  Greek  word,  in  one  case  by  "sect,"  would  be  possible  to  begin  with   the   arrival 

in  the  other  "  heresy,"  and  thus  conceals  the  in    Jerusalem  instead   of   the    departure    for 

link  of  connection.     As  regards  "  Nazarene,"  Csesarea,  —  or  we  might  exclude  the  days  after 

this  is  the  only  place  where  it  occurs  in  this  the  return  to  Csesarea.     Wiesoler's  arrange- 

sense.     In  the  mouth  of  Tertullus  it  was  a  ment  of  the  time  is  as  follows.     1st  day :  De- 

lerm  of  reproach,  as  "  Christian  "  below  (xxvi.  parture  from  Caesarea.     2d:  Arrival  at  Jeru- 

28)  in  that  of  Agrippa.  salem.      3d :    Meeting  of    the  Elders.      4th 

1  Who  hath  also  gone  about  to  profane  the  (Pentecost) :  Arrest  in  the  Temple.  5th  :  Tri- 
Teiiipk.  al  before  the  Sanhedrin.     6th  (at  night)  :  De- 

2  We  have  before  observed  that  the  Sanhe-  parture  to  Csesarea.  7th:  Arrival.  I2th  (five 
drin  was  still  allowed  to  exercise  criminal  days  after)  :  Ananias  leaves  Jerusalem.  13th  : 
jurisdiction  over  ecclesiastical  offenders.  Ananias  reaches  Csesarea.     Trial  before  Felix. 

8  Compare  the  tvo  attempts,  xxiii.  15  and  ^  It  has  been  well  observed  that  the  classi- 

XXV.  3.  cal  phrase  "our  hereditary  God  "  (v.  14)  was 

*  V.  10.     It  is  some  help  towards  our  real-  judiciously  employed    before    Felix.      "  The 

izmg  the  scene  in  our  imagination,  if  we  re-  Ai)ostle  asserts  that,  according  to  the  Roman 

lember  that  Felix  was  seated  on  the  tribunal  law  which  allowed  all  men  to  worship  the  gods 

rrifia)  like  Gallio  (xviii.  12)  and  Festus  (xxv.  of  their  own  nation,  he  is   not  open    to   any 

6).  charge  of  irreligion."     Humphiy. 


662  THE  LIFE   AND  EPISTLES    OF   ST.   PACTL.  chap.  sxrr. 

have  been  present  as  witnesses  now.  Those  who  were  present  knew  full 
well  that  no  other  charge  was  brought  home  to  him  before  the  Sanhe- 
drin,  except  what  related  to  the  belief  that  he  held  in  common  with  tho 
Pharisees.     But,  without  further  introduction,  we  quote  St.  Luke's  sum- 

A.CT8  ^^^^T  of  l^^s  0^^  words :  — 
rxiv. 

10  Knowinsr,  as  I  do,  that  thou  hast  been  ludge  over  this  nation  He  denies  the 

*'  '  JO  charges 

for  many  years,  I  defend  myself  in  the  matters  brought  against  agai"^*  ^m- 

11  me  with  greater  confidence.     For^  it  is  in  thy  power  to  learn  that  only 

12  twelve  days  have  passed  since  I  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  worship.  And 
neither  in  the  temple,  nor  in  the  synagogues,  nor  in  the  streets,  did  they 
find  me  disputing  with  any  man,  or  causing  any  disorderly  concourse'*  of 

18   people ;  nor  can  they  prove  against  me  the  things  whereof  they  now 

accuse  me. 
14       But  this  I  acknowledge  to  thee,  that  I  follow  the  opinion,'  Hisownstate- 

"  '  '■  ment  of  liis 

which  they  call  a  sect,*  and  thus  worship  the  God  of  my  ''*^^- 
fathers.     And  I  believe  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  Law  and  in 
16   the  Prophets ;  and  I  hold  a  hope  towards  God,  which  my  accusers  them- 
selves ^  entertain,  that  there  will  be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead,  botli  of 

16  the  just  and  of  the  unjust.  Wherefore  *  I  myself  also  "^  strive  earnestly 
to  keep  a  conscience  always  void  of  ofifence  ^  towards  God  and  man. 

17  Now  after  several  ^  years  I  came  ^^  hither,  to  bring  alms  ^'  to  my  nation, 

'  The  connection  of  this  with  the  preceding  the  same  toleration  which  is  extended  by  the 

is  that  Felix,  having  so  long  governed  tho  prov-  Roman  law  to  the  others.     I  claim  the  right 

ince,  would  know  that  Paul  had  been  resident  which  you  allow  to  all  the  nations  under  your 

there  before,   during  several    years ;    besides  government,   of   worshipping    their    national 

which  he  could  easily  ascertain  the  date  of  his  gods." 
recent  arrival.  ^  This  shows  that  the  Pharisees  were  the 

'-  This  is  a  Pauline  word  found  nowhere  principal  accusers  of  St.  Paul ;  and  that  the 

else  in  N.  T.  except  2  Cor.  xi.  28.     The  literal  effect  produced  upon  them  by  his  speech  before 

translation  would  be  a  mob.  the  Sanhcdrin  was  only  momentary. 

3   Wnj/,   i.    e.    a   religious  opinion    or  sect.  ^  Compare  2  Cor.  v.  9,  where  the  same  con- 

(See  chap.  xxii.  4.)  elusion  is  derived  from  the  same  premises. 

*  Properly  a  sect  or  religious  party ;  not  ''  The  best  MSS.  have  also. 

used  in  a  bad  sense.     See  Acts  v.  17  and  xv.  '  Literally,  containing  no  cause  of  stit-nhling 

5,  and  especially  xxvi.  5,  where  the  same  word  This  also  is  a  Pauline  word,  occurring  onlj 

is  used.     St.  Paul  means  to  say  (or  rather  did  1  Cor.  x.  32,  and  Phil.  i.  10,  in  N.  T. 
say  in  the  argument  of  which  St.  Luke  here  '  "  Several,"  not  so  strong  as  "  many." 

gives  the  outline) :  "  Our  nation  is  divided  into  ^^  "  I  came  into  this  country." 

religious  parties  which  arc  called  sects ;  thus  ^^  This  is  the  only  mention  of  this  collep- 

thcre  is  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees  and  the  sect  tion  in  the  Acts,  and  its  occurrence  here  is  a 

of  the  Sadducees,  and  so  now  we  are  called  striking  undesigned  coincidence  between   the 

the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes.    I  do  not  deny  that  Acts  and  Epistles. 
I  belong  to  the  latter  sect ;  but  I  claim  for  it 


CHAP.  sxn.  CONTINUED  IMPKISONMENT.  663 

XxiT 

and  offerings  to  the   Temple.^     And  they  found  me  so   doing   in   the   18 
Temple,  after  I  had  undergone  purification ;  not  gathering  together  a 
multitude,  nor  causing  a  tumult ;  but  certain  Jews  from  Asia  discovered 
me,  who  ought  to  have  been  here  before  thee  to  accuse  me,  if  they  had   19 
any  thing  to  object  against  me. 

Lis  rFi'en't  ac^       ^^  ^^^  thcsc  my  accuscrs  themselves  say  whether  they  found  20 
sauiiedrfn.  ^    mc  guilty  of  any  offence  when  I  stood  before  the  Sanhedrin  ; 
except  it  be  for  these  words  only  which  I  cried  out  as  I  stood  in  the   21 
midst  of  them :  "  Concerning  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  I  am  called 
in  question  before  you  this  day." 

There  was  all  the  appearance  of  truthfulness  in  St.  Paul's  words  ;  and 
they  harmonized  entirely  with  the  statement  contained  in  the  despatch 
of  Claudius  Lysias.  Moreover,  Felix  had  resided  so  long  in  Caesarea,* 
where  the  Christian  religion  had  been  known  for  many  years,^  and  had 
penetrated  even  among  the  troops,*  that  "  he  had  a  more  accurate 
knowledge  of  their  religion  "  (v.  22)  than  to  be  easily  deceived  by  the 
misrepresentations  of  the  Jews.*  Thus  a  strong  impression  was  made 
on  the  mind  of  this  wicked  man.  But  his  was  one  of  those  characters 
which  are  easily  affected  by  feelings,  but  always  drawn  away  from  right 
notion  by  the  overpowering  motive  of  self-intxirest.  He  could  )iot  make 
ap  his  mind  to  acquit  St.  Paul.  He  deferred  all  inquiry  into  the  case 
for  the  present.  "  When  Lysias  comes  down,"  he  said,  "  I  will  decide 
finally^  between  you."  Meanwhile  he  placed  the  Apostle  under  the 
charge  of  the  centurion  who  had  brought  him  to  Caesarea,''  with  directions 
that  he  should  be  treated  with  kindness  and  consideration.  Close  con- 
finement was  indeed  necessary,  both  to  keep  him  in  safety  from  the  Jews, 

1  Offerings.  "We  need  not  infer  that  St.  some  of  the  best  commentators.  Or  they  may 
Paul  brought  offerings  to  the  temple  with  him  be  taken  to  denote  that  he  was  too  well  in- 
from  foreign  parts  ;  this  in  itself  would  have  formed  concerning  the  Christian  religion  to  re- 
been  not  unlikely,  but  it  seems  inconsistent  quire  any  further  information  that  might  be 
with  St.  James's  remarks  (Acts  xxi.  23,24).  elicited  by  the  trial:  it  was  only  needful  to 
The  present  is  only  a  condensation  for  "  I  wait  for  the  coming  of  Lysias. 
came  to  Jerusalem  to  bring  alms  to  my  nation,  ^  This  is  more  correct  than  the  A.  V. 
and  I  entered  the  t<  laple  to  make  offerings  to  ^  Not  "  a  centurion,"  as  in  A.  V.  A  natn- 
the  terai)le."  ral  inference  from  the  use  of  the  article  is,  that 

■^  If  these  event'!  took  place  in  the  yeai  58  it  was  the  same  centurion  who  had  brought  St. 

A   D.,  he  had  been  governor  six  years.  Paul  from   Antipatris   (see  above),  and  Mr. 

3  See  Acts  viii.  40.  Birks  traces  here  an  undersigned  coincidence. 

*  Acts  X.     Besides  other  means  of  infor-  But  no  stress  can  be  laid  on  this  view.     The 

mation,  we  must  remember  that  Drusilla,  his  officer  might  be  simply  the  centuron  who  was 

present  wife,  was  a  Jewess.  present  and  on  duty  at  the  time 

^  Such  is  the  turn  given  to  the  words  by 


QQ4:  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xxn, 

and  because  he  was  not  yet  acquitted  ;  but  orders  were  given  that  he 
should  have  every  relaxation  which  could  be  permitted  in  such  a  case,' 
and  that  any  of  his  friends  should  be  allowed  to  visit  him,  and  to  minister 
to  his  comfort.^ 

We  read  nothing,  however,  of  Lysias  coming  to  Caesarea,  or  of  any 
further. judicial  proceedings.  Some  few  days  afterwards'  Felix  came 
into  the  audience-chamber  *  with  his  wife  Drusilla,  and  the  prisoner  was 
summoned  before  them.  Drusilla,  "  being  a  Jewess"  (v.  24),  took  a 
lively  interest  in  what  Felix  told  her  of  Paul,  and  was  curious  to  hear 
something  of  this  faith  which  had  "  Christ "  for  its  object.'  Thus  Paul 
had  an  opportunity  in  his  bonds  of  preaching  the  Gospel,  and  suoh  an 
opportunity  as  he  could  hardly  otherwise  have  obtained.  His  audience 
consisted  of  a  Roman  libertine  and  a  profligate  Jewish  princess :  and  he 
so  preached,  as  a  faithful  Apostle  must  needs  have  preached  to  such  hear- 
ers. In  speaking  of  Christ,  he  spoke  of  "  righteousness  and  temperance, 
and  judgment  to  come ; "  and  while  he  was  so  discoursing,  "  Felix 
trembled."  Yet  still  we  hear  of  no  decisive  result.  "  Go  thy  way  for  this 
time  :  when  I  have  a  convenient  season,  I  will  send  for  thee,"  —  was  the 
response  of  the  conscience-stricken  but  impenitent  sinner,  —  the  response 
which  the  Divine  Word  has  received  ever  since,  when  listened  to  in  a 
like  spirit. 

We  are  explicitly  informed  why  this  governor  shut  his  ears  to  convic- 
tion, and  even  neglected  his  official  duty,  and  kept  his  prisoner  in  cruel 
suspense.  "  He  hoped  that  he  might  receive  from  Paul  a  bribe  for  his 
liberation."  He  was  not  the  only  governor  of  Judaea  against  whom  a 
similar  accusation  is  brought :  ®  and  Felix,  well  knowing  how  the  Chris- 
tians aided  one  another  in  distress,  and  possibly  having  some  information 
of  the  funds  with  which  St.  Paul  had  recently  been  intrusted,^  and 
ignorant  of  those  principles  which  make  it  impossible  for  a  true  Christian 
to  tamper  by  bribes  with  the  course  of  law,  —  might  naturally  suppose 
that  he  had  here  a  good  prospect  of  enriching  himself.     "  Hence  he 


'  See  below.  doubtless  familiarly  known  at  Csesa^-ea.    And 

2  V.  23.                                          •  V,  24.  a  Jewish  princess  must  necessarily  have  been 

*  We    must    understand    that    Felix  and  curious  to  liear  some  account  of  what  professed 

Drusilla  came  to  some  place  convenient  for  an  to    be    the    fulfilment  of  Jewish    prophecy. 

audience,  probably  the  hall  mentioned   below  Compare  xxv.  22. 

fxxv.  23)  where  the  Apostle  spoke  before  Fes-  •*  Albinus,  who  succeeded  Festus,  is  said  to 

tus  with  Drusilla's  brother  and  sister,  Agrippa  have  released  many  prisoners,  but  those  only 

and  Berenice.  from  whom  he  received  a  bribe.    Joseph.  Ant. 

5  Observe  the  force  of  being  a  Jeivess.     We  xx.  8,  5.     War,  ii.  14,  1. 

should  also  notice  the  phrase   by  which  the  "^  This  suggestion  is  made  by  Mr.  Birks. 

Gospel  is  here  described,  the  faith  in  Christ  or  For  the  contributions  which  St.  Paul  had  re* 

the    ^f^ssiah       The    name    "  Christian  "  was  cently  brought  to  Jerusalem,  see  above. 


<;hap.  XXII.  CONTINUED  IMPRISONMENT.  665 

frequently  sent  for  Paul,  and  had  many  conversations^  with  him."  But 
his  hopes  were  unfulfilled.  Paul,  who  was  ever  ready  to  claim  the  pro- 
tection of  the  law,  would  not  seek  to  evade  it  by  dishonorable  means :  ^ 
and  the  Christians,  who  knew  how  to  pray  for  an  Apostle  in  bonds  (Acts 
xii.),  would  not  forget  the  duty  of  "  rendering  unto  Caesar  the  things 
that  are  Cassar's."  Thus  Paul  remained  in  the  Praetorium  ;  and  the 
suspense  continued  "  two  years." 

Such  a  pause  in  a  career  of  such  activity,  —  such  an  arrest  of  the 
Apostle's  labors  at  so  critical  a  time, — two  years  taken  from  the  best 
part  of  a  life  of  such  importance  to  the  world,  —  would  seem  to  us  a 
mysterious  dispensation  of  Providence,  if  we  did  not  know  that  God  has 
an  inner  work  to  accomplish  in  those  who  are  the  chosen  instruments  for 
effecting  His  greatest  purposes.  As  Paul  might  need  the  repose  of  prep- 
aration in  Arabia,  before  he  entered  on  his  career,^  so  his  prison  at 
Ciesarea  might  be  consecrated  to  the  calm  meditation,  the  less  inter- 
rupted prayer,  —  which  resulted  in  a  deeper  experience  and  knowledge 
of  the  power  of  the  Gospel.  Nor  need  we  assume  that  his  active  exer- 
tions for  others  were  entirely  suspended.  "  The  care  of  all  the  churches  " 
might  still  be  resting  on  him :  many  messages,  and  even  letters,*  of 
which  we  know  nothing,  may  have  been  sent  from  Caesarea  to  brethren 
at  a  distance.  And  a  plausible  conjecture  fixes  this  period  and  place  for 
the  writing  of  St.  Luke's  Gospel  under  the  superintendence  of  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles. 

All  positive  information,  however,  is  denied  us  concerning  the  employ- 
ments of  St.  Paul  while  imprisoned  at  Csesarea.  We  are  the  more 
disposed,  therefore,  to  turn  our  thoughts  to  the  consideration  of  the 
nature  and  outward  circumstances  of  his  confinement ;  and  this  inquiry 
is  indeed  necessary  for  the  due  elucidation  of  the  narrative. 

When  an  accusation  was  brought  against  a  Roman  citizen,  the  magis- 
trate, who  had  criminal  jurisdiction  in  the  case,  appointed  the  time  for 
hearing  the  cause,  and  detained  the  accused  in  custody  during  the  inter- 
val. He  was 'not  bound  to  fix  any  definite  time  for  the  trial,  but  might 
defer  it  at  his  own  arbitrary  pleasure  ;  and  he  might  also  commit  the 
prisoner  at  his  discretion  to  any  of  the  several  kinds  of  custody  recognized 

1  We  may  contrast  the  verb  here  (v.  26)  of  moral   duty  in   the   Heathen    philosopher 

with  that  for  continuous  address  (v.  25),  as  we  with  the  clear  and  lofty  perception  of  eternal 

have  done  before  in  the  narrative  of  the  night-  realities  in  the  inspired  Apostle. 

''>rvicc  at  Troas,  xx.  9,  11.  ^  See  pp.  89,  90. 

'^  It  is  allowable  here  to  refer  to  the  words  *  It  is  well  known  that  some  have  thought 

m  which  Socrates  refused  the  aid  of  his  friends,  that  the  Ephesians,  Colossians,  and  Pliilemon 

who  urged  him  to  escape  from  prison  :  while  were  written  here.     Phis  question  will  be  cop- 

in   comparing   the   two  cases  we  cannot  but  sidered  hereafter, 
contrast  the  vague  though  overpowering  sense 


666  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  CHAP.ixn. 

by  the  Roman  law.  These  were  as  follows  :  —  First,  confinement  in  the 
public  jail  (eustodia  publioa),  which  was  the  most  severe  kind;  the 
common  jails  throughout  the  Empire  being  dungeons  of  the  worst 
description,  where  the  prisoners  were  kept  in  chains,  or  even  bound  in 
positions  of  torture.  Of  this  we  have  seen  an  example  in  the  confine- 
ment of  Paul  and  Silas  at  Philippi.  Secondly,  free  custody  (^custodia 
libera},  which  was  the  mildest  kind.  Here  the  accused  party  was  com- 
mitted to  the  charge  of  a  magistrate  or  senator,  who  became  responsible 
for  his  appearance  on  the  day  of  trial ;  but  this  species  of  detention  was 
only  employed  in  the  case  of  men  of  high  rank.  Thirdly,  military 
custody  (cusiodia  militarist,  which  was  introduced  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Imperial  regime.  In  this  last  species  of  custody,  the  accused  person  was 
given  in  charge  to  a  soldier,  who  was  responsible  with  his  own  life  for  the 
safe  keeping  of  his  prisoner.  This  was  further  secured  by  chaining  the 
prisoner's  right  hand  to  the  soldier's  left.  The  soldiers  of  course  relieved 
one  another  in  this  duty.  Their  prisoner  was  usually  kept  in  their  bar- 
racks, but  sometimes  allowed  to  reside  in  a  private  house  under  their 
charge. 

It  was  under  this  latter  species  of  custody  that  St.  Paul  was  now 
placed  by  Felix,  who  "  gave  him  in  charge  to  the  centurion,  that  he 
should  be  kept  in  custody  "  (Acts  xxiv.  23)  ;  but  (as  we  have  seen)  he 
added  the  direction,  that  he  should  be  treated  with  such  indulgence  ^  as 
this  kind  of  detention  permitted.  Josephus  tells  us  that,  when  the 
severity  of  Agrippa's  imprisonment  at  Rome  was  mitigated,  his  chain  was 
relaxed  at  meal  times.^  This  illustrates  the  nature  of  the  alleviations 
which  such  confinement  admitted  ;  and  it  is  obvious  that  the  centurion 
might  render  it  more  or  less  galling,  according  to  his  inclination,  or  the 
commands  he  had  received.  The  most  important  alleviation  of  St.  Paul's 
imprisonment  consisted  in  the  order,  which  Felix  added,  that  his  friends 
should  be  allowed  free  access  to  him. 

1  Acts  xxiv.  23.     Meyer  and  De  Wette  trating  that  of  St.  Paul  at  Rome.     There  web, 

have  understood  this  as  though  St.  Paul  was  indeed,    a   lighter  form   of    custodia   mi/itaris 

committed  to  the  cnstodia  libera  ;  but  we  have  sometimes  employed,  under  the  name  of  ol- 

seen  that  this  kind  of  detention  was  only  era-  servatio,  when  the  soldier  kept  guard  over  his 

ploycdin  thecase  of  men  of  rank,  and  moreover  prisoner,  and  accompanied  him  wherever   he 

the  mention  of  the  centurion  excludes  it.     But  went,  but  was  not  chained  to  him.     To   this 

besides  this,  it  is  expressly  stated  (Acts  xxiv.  we  might  have  supposed  St.  Paul  subjected, 

27)  that  Felix  left  Paul  chained.     The  same  both  at  Caesarea  and  at  Rome,  were  not  such 

(Jrcck  word  (meaning  relaxation)  is  applied  to  an  hypothesis  excluded  as  to  Caesarea  by  Acts 

the    mitigation    of    Agrippa's    imprisonment  xxiv.  27,  xxvi.  29,  and  as  to  Rome  by  Eph.  vi. 

(Jos.  Ant.  xviii.   6,  10)  on  the  accession  of  20,  Phil.  i.  13.     Compare  Acts  xxviii.  16,  31. 
Caligula,  although  Agrippa  was  still  left  under  -  Such  seems  the  meaning  of  "  relaxation  at 

custodia  militaris,  and  still  bound  with  a  chain.  to  eaiinrj "  in  the  passage  of  Josephus,  referred 

We  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  again  to  this  to  in  the  preceding  note, 
relaxation  of  Agrippa's  imprisonment  as  illus- 


CHAP.  XXII.  CONTINUED  IMPKISONilENT  6G7 

Meantime,  the  political  state  of  Judaea  grew  more  embarrassing.  The 
exasperation  of  the  people  under  the  mal-administration  of  Felix  became 
increasingly  implacable  ;  and  the  crisis  was  rapidly  approaching.  It  was 
during  tlie  two  years  of  St.  Paul's  imprisonment  that  the  disturbances, 
to  which  allusion  has  been  made  before,  took  place  in  the  streets  of 
Csesarea.  The  troops,  who  were  chiefly  recruited  in  the  province,  frater- 
nized with  the  Heathen  population,  while  the  Jews  trusted  chiefly  to  the 
influence  of  their  wealth.  In  the  end  Felix  was  summoned  to  Rome, 
and  the  Jews  followed  him  with  their  accusations.  Thus  it  was  that  he 
was  anxious,  even  at  his  depa'-'.ure,  "  to  confer  obligations  upon  them  " 
(v.  27),  and  one  effort  to  dimmish  his  unpopularity  was  "  to  leave  Paul 
in  bonds."  In  so  doing,  he  doubtless  violated  the  law,  and  trifled  with 
the  rights  of  a  Roman  citizen  ;  but  the  favor  of  the  provincial  Jews  was 
that  which  he  needed  ;  and  the  Christians  were  weak  in  comparison  with 
them  ;  nor  were  such  delays  in  the  administration  of  justice  unprece- 
dented, either  at  Rome  or  in  the  provinces.  Thus  it  was,  that,  as  another 
governor  of  Judaea^  opened  the  prisons  that  he  might  make  himself  popu- 
lar, Felix,  from  the  same  motive,  riveted  the  chains  of  an  innocent  man. 
The  same  enmity  of  the  world  against  the  Gospel,  which  set  Barabbas 
free,  left  Paul  a  prisoner. 

No  change  seems  to  have  taken  place  in  the  outward  circumstances  of 
the  Apostle  when  Festus  came  to  take  command  of  the  province.  He 
was  still  in  confinement  as  before.  But  immediately  on  the  accession  of 
the  new  governor,  the  unsleeping  hatred  of  the  Jews  made  a  fresh 
attempt  upon  his  life ;  and  the  course  of  their  proceedings  presently 
changed  the  whole  aspect  of  his  case,  and  led  to  unexpected  results. 

When  a  Roman  governor  came  to  his  province,  —  whether  his  character 
was  coarse  and  cruel,  like  that  of  Felix,  or  reasonable  and  just,  as  that  of 
Festus  seems  to  have  been,  —  his  first  step  would  be  to  make  himself 
acquainted  with  the  habits  and  prevalent  feelings  of  the  people  he  was 
come  to  rule,  and  to  visit  such  places  as  might  seem  to  be  more  peculiar- 
ly associated  with  national  interests.  The  Jews  were  the  most  remarka- 
ble people  in  the  whole  extent  of  the  Roman  provinces ;  and  no  city  was 
to  any  otlier  people  what  Jerusalem  was  to  the  Jews.  "We  are  not  sur- 
prised therefore  to  learn  that  "  three  days"  after  his  arrival  at  the  political 
metropolis,  Festus  "  went  up  to  Jerusalem."  Here  he  was  immediately 
met,  by  an  urgent  request  against  St.  Paul,^  preferred  by  the  chief  priests 

1  Albinus.     See  above,  p.  664.    Josephus  ^  gge  v.  2  and  v.  15.    We  should  compare 

8."\ys  tliat,  though  he  received  bribes  for  open-       St.  Luke's  statement  with   the  two  accounts 
ing  the  prisons,  he  wished  by  this  act  to  make       given  by  Festus  himself  to  Agrippa,  below. 
himself  popular,  when  he  found  he  was  to  be 
superseded  by  Gessius  Florus. 


668  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF    i3T.   PAUL.  chap,  xin 

and  leading  men  among  the  Jews,*  and  seconded,  as  it  seems,  by  a  general 
concourse  of  the  people,  who  came  round  him  with  no  little  vehemence 
and  clamor.^  They  asked  as  a  favor  ^  (and  they  had  good  reason  to 
hope  that  the  new  governor*  on  his  accession  would  not  refuse  it)  that 
he  would  allow  St.  Paul  to  be  brought  up  to  Jerusalem.  The  plea, 
doubtless,  was,  that  he  should  be  tried  again  before  the  Sanhedrin.  But 
the  real  purpose  was  to  assassinate  him  ^  on  some  part  of  the  road  over 
which  he  had  been  safely  brought  by  the  escort  two  years  before.  So  bit- 
ter and  so  enduring  was  their  hatred  against  the  apostate  Pharisee.  The 
answer  of  Festus  was  dignified  and  just,  and  worthy  of  his  office.  He  said 
that  Paul  was  in  custody  ®  at  Caesarea,  and  that  he  himself  was  shortly 
to  return  thither  (v.  4) ,  adding  that  it  was  not  the  custom  of  the  Romans 
to  give  up  an  uncondemned  person  as  a  mere  favor''  (v.  16).  The 
accused  must  have  the  accuser  face  to  face,^  and  full  opportunity  must 
be  given  for  a  defence  (ib.).  Those,  therefore,  who  were  competent  to 
undertake  the  task  of  accusers,®  should  come  down  with  him  to  Caesarea, 
and  there  prefer  the  accusation  (v.  6). 

Festus  remained  "  eight  or  ten  days  "  in  Jerusalem,  and  then  returned 
to  Csesarea  ;  and  the  accusers  went  down  the  same  day.*"  No  time  was 
lost  after  their  arrival.  The  very  next  day  "  Festus  took  his  seat  on  the 
judicial  tribunal,*'^  with  his  assessors  near  him  (v.  12),  and  ordered  Paul 
to  be  brought  before  him.  "  The  Jews  who  had  come  down  from  Jeru- 
salem" stood  round,  bringing  various  heavy  accusations  against  him 
(which,  however,  they  could  not  establish),'*  and  clamorously  asserting 
that  he  was  worthy  of  death.**  We  must  not  suppose  that  the  charges 
now  brought  were  different  in  substance  from  those  urged  by  Tertullus. 
The  prosecutors  were  in  fact  the  same  now  as  then,  namely,  delegates 
from  the  Sanhedrin ;  and  the  prisoner  was  still  lying  under  the  former 


^  Again  we  should  compare  t.  2  and  v.  15.  '  See  above,  v.  11.     Compare  the  case  of 

Thus  the  accusers  were  again  representatives  Pilate  and  Barabbas. 
of  the  Sanhedrin.  8  y    jg.    Compare  the  following  passages  • 

^  See  the  second  account  given  by  Festus  Acts  xxiii.  30,  xxiv.  19,  xxv.  5. 
himself  to  Agrippa,  below,  v.  24.     "  All  the  •  V.  5. 

multitude  of  the  Jews  dealt  with  me,  both  in  1°  The  course  of  the  narrative  shows  that 

jL-rusiilem  and  also  here,  crj'ing  that  he  ought  they  went  immediately.     This  is  also  asserted 

not  to  live  any  longer."  in  the  phrase  "  go  down  with  me,"  which  does 

3  V.  .3.     See  v.  16.  not  necessarily  imply  that  they  went  down  in 

*  Compare   the   conduct  of  Albinus   and  the  same  company  with  Festus. 
Agrippa  I.,  alluded  to  before.  Ji  "  The  next  day,"  v.  6. ;  "  without  any 

^  V.  3.  delay  on  the  morrow,"  v.  17. 

6  The  English  version  "should  be  kept"  12  gee  again  w.  6, 17.  ^»  V.  7. 

is  rather   too   peremptory.    Festus  doubtless  ^*  See  v.  24,  where  the  demand  for  hia 

expresses  this  decision,  but  in  the  most  con-  death  is  said  to  have  taken  place  both  at  Jem- 

ciliating  form.  salem  and  Casarea. 


CHAJ-.xxii.  APPEAL  TO  THE  EMPEROR.  669 

accusation,  which  had  never  been  withdrawn.^  We  see  from  what  is 
'^aid  of  Paul's  defence,  that  the  charges  were  still  classed  under  the  same 
three  heads  as  before ;  viz.  Heresy,  Sacrilege,  and  Treason.^  But  Festus 
saw  very  plainly  that  the  offence  was  really  connected  with  the  religious 
opinions  of  the  Jews,  instead  of  relating,  as  he  at  first  expected,  to  soiAe 
political  movement  (vv.  18,  19)  ;  and  he  was  soon  convinced  that  St. 
Paul  had  done  nothing  worthy  of  death  (v.  25).  Being,  therefore,  in 
perplexity  (v.  20),  and  at  the  same  time  desirous  of  ingratiating  himself 
with  the  provincials  (v.  9),  he  proposed  to  St.  Paul  that  he  should  go  up 
to  Jerusalem,  and  be  tried  there  in  his  presence,  or  at  least  under  his 
protection.^  But  the  Apostle  knew  full  well  the  danger  that  lurked  in 
tliis  proposal,  and,  conscious  of  the  rights  which  he  possessed  as  a  Roman 
citizen,  he  refused  to  accede  to  it,  and  said  boldly  to  Festus, — 

ACTB 
XXV. 

I  stand  before  Caesar's  tribunal,  and  there  ought  my  trial  to  be.     To   lo 
the  Jews  I  have  done  no  wrong,  as  thou  knowest  full  well.     If  I  am   u 
guilty,  and  have  done  any  thing  worthy  of  death,  I  refuse  not  to  die : 
but  if  the  things  whereof  these  men  accuse  me  are  nought,  no  man  can 
give  me  up  to  them.     I  APPEAL  UNTO  C^SAR. 

Festus  was  probably  surprised  by  this  termination  of  the  proceedings  ; 
but  no  choice  was  open  to  him.  Paul  had  urged  his  prerogative  as  a 
Roman  citizen,  to  be  tried,  not  by  the  Jewish,  but  by  the  Roman  law ;  * 
a  claim  which,  indeed,  was  already  admitted  by  the  words  of  Festus,  who 
only  proposed  to  transfer  him  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Sanhedrin  with 
his  own  consent.^  He  ended  by  availing  himself  of  one  of  the  most 
important  privileges  of  Roman  citizenship,  the  right  of  appeal.  By  the 
mere  pronunciation  of  these  potent  words,  "  I  appeal  unto  Caesar,"  ®  he 
instantly  removed  his  cause  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  magistrate 
before  whom  he  stood,  and  transferred  it  to  the  supreme  tribunal  of  the 
Emperor  at  Rome. 

To  explain  the  full  effect  of  this  proceeding,  we  must  observe  that,  in 
the  provinces  of  Rome,  the  supreme  criminal  jurisdiction  (both  under 
the  Republic  and  the  Empire)  was  exercised  by  the  Governors,  whether 

1  At  this  period,  an  accused  person  might  *  V.  10.  *  "  Wilt  thou,"  &c. 
be  kept  in  prison  indefinitely,  by  the  delay  of            ^  The  expression  here  used  (equivalent  to 
the  accuser,  or  the  procrastination  of  the  ma-  the  Latin  appellare)  was  the  regular  technical 
gistrate.     See  our  remarks  on  this  subject,  at  phrase  for  lodging  an  appeal.     The  Roman 
the  beginning  of  Ch.  XXV.  law  did  not  require  any  written  appeal  to  be 

2  Acts  XXV.  8,  (1)  "  the  Law,"  (2)  "the  lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  Court;  pronuncia- 
Temple,"  (3)  "  Caesar."  tion  of  the  single  word  Appclio  was  sufficient 

*  v.  9.     In  V.  20  this  is  omitted.  to  suspend  all  further  proceedings. 


670  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OE  ST.   PAUL.  cu.ij.xxi. 

they  were  Proconsuls,  Propraetors,  or  (as  in  the  case  of  Judasa)  Procii 
rators.  To  this  jurisdiction  the  provincials  were  subject  without  appeal, 
and  it  is  needless  to  say  that  it  was  often  exercised  in  the  most  arbitrary 
manner.  But  the  Roman  citizens  in  the  provinces,  though  also  liable  to 
be  brought  before  the  judgment-seat  of  the  Governor,  were  protected 
from  the  abuse  of  his  authority ;  for  they  had  the  right  of  stopping  his 
proceedings  against  them  by  appealing  to  the  Tribunes,  whose  interven- 
tion at  once  transferred  the  cognizance  of  the  cause  to  the  ordinary 
tribunals  at  Rome.*  This  power  was  only  one  branch  of  that  prerogative 
of  intercession  (as  it  was  called)  by  which  the  Tribunes  could  stop  the 
execution  of  the  sentences  of  all  other  magistrates.  Under  the  Imperial 
regime,  the  Emperor  stood  in  the  place  of  the  Tribunes ;  Augustus  and 
his  successors  being  invested  with  the  Tribunician  power,  as  the  most 
important  of  the  many  Eepublican  offices  which  were  concentrated  in 
their  persons.  Hence  the  Emperors  constitutionally  exercised  the  right 
of  intercession,  by  which  they  might  stop  the  proceedings  of  inferior 
authorities.  But  they  extended  this  prerogative  much  beyond  the  limits 
which  had  confined  it  during  the  Republican  epoch.  They  not  only 
arrested  the  execution  of  the  sentences  of  other  magistrates,  but  claimed 
and  exercised  the  right  of  reversing  or  altering  them,  and  of  re-hearing  ^ 
the  causes  themselves.  In  short,  the  Imperial  tribunal  was  erected  into 
a  supreme  court  of  appeal  from  all  inferior  courts  either  in  Rome  or  in 
the  provinces. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  St.  Paul  appealed  from  Festus  to 
Caesar.  If  the  appeal  was  admissible,  it  at  once  suspended  all  further 
proceedings  on  the  part  of  Festus.  There  were,  however,  a  few  cases 
in  which  the  right  of  appeal  was  disallowed ;  a  bandit  or  a  pirate,  for 
example,  taken  in  the  fact,  might  be  condemned  and  executed  by  the 
Proconsul,  notwithstanding  his  appeal  to  the  Emperor.  Accordingly,  we 
read  that  Festus  took  counsel  with  his  Assessors,^  concerning  the  admis- 
sibility of  Paul's  appeal.     But  no  doubt  could  be  entertained  on  this 

1  We  must  not  confound  this  right  of  Ap^-  case  as  early  as  the  time  of  Augustus.     It  may 

pcllatio    to   the   Tribunes  with   the  right  of  be    doubted    whether  the    Emperor    at    first 

appeal  (Provomtio)   to  the  Comitia,  which  be-  claimed  the  right  of  reversing   the  sentences 

longed  to  every  Roman  citizen.     This  latter  pronounced  by  the  judices  of  the  Qusestiones 

right  was  restricted,  even  in  the  Hepublican  Perpetuse,  which  were  exempt  from  the  Inter- 

cra,  by  the  institution  of  the  Qumstiones  Per-  cessio  of  the  Tribune.     But  this  question  is  of 

jjft.ucr  ;    because,   the    judices  appointed   for  less  importance,  because  the  system  of  Quaes- 

those  Quaestiones  being  regarded  as  representa-  tiones  PerpetuiK  was  soon  superseded  under 

tivcs  of  the  Comitia,  there  was  no  appeal  from  the  Empire,  as  we  shall  afterwards  have  an 

their  decisions.     In  the  time  of  the  Emperors,  opportunity  of  remarking. 

tiic   Comitia   themselves   being  soon    discon-  ^  For  a  notice  of  such  coiisiliarii  in  a  pro- 

tinuod,  this  right  of  Provocatio  could  be  no  vince,  see  Sueton.  Tib.  33.     Their  office  was 

longer  exercised.  called  assessura.     Sueton.    Galb.  14. 
■^  According  to  Dio,  this  was  already  the 


CHAP.  xxn. 


HEROD  AGRIPPA.  671 


head  ;  and  he  immediately  pronounced  the  decision  of  the  Court.  "  Thou 
hast  appealed  ^  unto  Caesar  :  to  Caesar  thou  shalt  be  sent." 

Thus  the  hearing  of  the  cause,  as  far  as  Festus  was  concerned,  had 
terminated.  There  only  remained  for  him  the  office  of  remitting  to  the 
supreme  tribunal,  before  which  it  was  to  be  carried,  his  official  report- 
upon  its  previous  progress.  He  was  bound  to  forward  to  Rome  all  the 
acts  and  documents  bearing  upon  the  trial,  tlie  depositions  of  the  wit- 
nesses on  both  sides,  and  the  record  of  his  own  judgment  on  the  case. 
And  it  was  his  furtlier  duty  to  keep  the  person  of  the  accused  in  safe 
custody,  and  to  send  him  to  Rome  for  trial  at  the  earliest  opportunity. 

Festus,  however,  was  still  in  some  perplexity.  Though  the  appeal 
had  been  allowed,  yet  the  information  elicited  on  the  trial  was  so  vague, 
that  he  hardly  knew  what  statement  to  insert  in  his  despatch  to  the 
Emperor  :  and  it  seemed  "  a  foolish  thing  to  him  to  send  a  prisoner  to 
Rome  without  at  the  same  time  specifying  tlie  charges  against  him  " 
(v.  27).  It  happened  about  this  time  that  Herod  Agrippa  H.,  King  of 
Chalcis,  with  his  sister  Berenice,  came  on  a  complimentary  visit  to  the 
new  governor,  and  staid  "  some  days  "  at  Caesarea.'  This  prince  had 
been  familiarly  acquainted  from  his  youth  with  all  that  related  to  the 
Jewish  law,  and  moreover  was  at  this  time  (as  we  have  seen)  *  superin- 
tendent of  the  Temple,  with  the  power  of  appointing  the  high  priest. 
Festus  took  advantage  of  this  opportunity  of  consulting  one  better  in- 
formed than  himself  on  the  points  in  question.  He  recounted  to  Agrippa 
what  has  been  summarily  related  above  ;  *  confessing  his  ignorance  of 
Jewish  theology,  and  alluding  especially  to  Paul's  reiterated  assertion  ® 
concerning  "  one  Jesus  who  had  died  and  was  alive  again."  This  can- 
not have  been  the  first  time  that  Agrippa  had  heard  of  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus,  or  of  the  Apostle  Paul.''  His  curiosity  was  aroused,  and  he 
expressed  a  wish  to  see  the  prisoner.  Festus  readily  acceded  to  the 
request,  and  fixed  the  next  day  for  the  interview. 

At  the  time  appointed,  Agrippa  and  Berenice  came  with  great  pomp  and 
display,  and  entered  into  the  audience-chamber,  with  a  suite  of  military 
officers  and  the  chief  men  of  Caesarea  ;  *  and  at  the  command  of  Festus, 
Paul  was  brought  before  them.     The  proceedings  were  opened  by  a  cere- 

1  The  sentence  is  not  interrogative,  as  in  the  lamented  Prof.  Blunt,  in  his  Scrtptural 
A.  v.,  but  the  words   express  a  solemn  de-        Coincidences,  pp.  358-360. 

cision  of  the  Procurator  and  his  Assessors.  *  See  above,  p.  653. 

2  This  report  was  termed  ApostoU,  or  literm  ^  Vv.  14-21. 

Jimissorim.  6  -j'Jjq  form  of  the  verb  implies  this  reitera- 

*  Some   illustrations   of   peculiar    interest  tion. 

from  Josephas,   as  regards  both  the  compli-  ''  The  tense  (v.  22)  might  seem  to   imply 

meutary  character  of  thi-:  visit  and  the  position  that  he  had  long  wished  to  see  St.  Paul, 

of  Berenice  in  the  matter,  are  pointed  out  by  *  For  the  audience-hall,   see  above      We 


672  THE   LIFE   AND    EPISTLES    OF    ST.    I'ALL.  cnAP.x.xd. 

monious  speech  from  Festus  himself/  describing  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  prisoner  had  been  brought  under  his  notice,  and  ending  with  a 
statement  of  his  perplexity  as  to  what  he  should  write  to  "  his  Lord  "  ^ 
the  Emperor.  This  being  concluded,  Agrippa  said  condescendingly  to  St. 
Paul,  that  he  was  now  permitted  to  speak  for  himself.  And  the  Apostle, 
"  stretching  out  the  hand  '*  which  was  chained  to  the  soldier  who  guarded 
^j^him,  spoke  thus  :  — 

xvi. 

2  I  think  myself  happy,  King  Agrippa,  that  I  shall  defend  complimenta- 

ry address  to 

myself  to-day,  before  thee,  against  all  the  charges  of  my  Jew-  -A^grippa- 

3  ish  accusers  ;  especially  because  thou  art  expert  in  all  Jewish  customs 
and  questions.     Wherefore,  I  pray  thee  to  hear  me  patiently. 

4  My^  life   and  conduct   from  my  youth,  as  it  was  at  first  He  defends 

.  HIT  himself 

amonsr  my  own  nation  at  Jerusalem,  is  known  to  all  the  Jews,  against  the 

=■        •'  '  charge  of 

5  They  know  me  of  old  *  (I  say)  from  the  beginning,  and  can  ^^'^^y. 
testify  (if  they  would)  that,  following  the  strictest  sect  of  our  religion,  I 

6  lived  a  Pharisee.     And  now  I  stand  here  to  be  judged,  for  the  hope  of  the 

7  promise*  made  by  God  unto  our  fathers.  Which  promise  is  the  end 
whereto,  in  all  their  zealous  worship,®  night  and  day,  our  twelve  tribes 
hope  to  come.     Yet  this  hope,  O  King  Agrippa,  is  charged  against  me  as 

8  a  crime,  and  that  by  Jews.'  What !  ^  is  it  judged  among  you  a  thing  in- 
credible that  God  should  raise  the  dead  ?' 

9  Now  I  myself^"  determined,  in  my  own  mind,  that  I  ought  He  describes 

•'  ^  J  i  o         his  former 

10   exceedingly  to  oppose  the  name  of  Jesus  the  Nazarene.     And  Bhrlstuns"**' 

may  remark  tliat  the  presence  of  several  Chil-  ®  This  properly  means  to  perform  the  out- 

iarchs  implies  that  the  military  force  at  Caesa-  ward  rites  of  worship :  see  note  on  Rom.  i.  19. 
rea  was  considerable.     The  five   resident  co-  ''  Here  again  the  best  MSS.  read  Jews  with- 

horts  mentioned  by  Josephus  have  been  noticed  out  the. 
above,  p.  657,  n.  5.                     ^  Vv.  24-27.  8  The  punctuation  adopted  is,  a  note  of  in- 

2  The  title  Lord  applied  here  to  the   Em-  terrogation  after  what.     Compare  the  use  of 

peror  should  be  noticed.     Augustus  and  Tibe-  the  same  word  by  St.  Paul  in  Rom.  iii.  3,  iii. 

rius  declined  a  title  which  implied  the  relation  9,  vi.  15,  Phil.  i.  18. 

of  master  and  slave,  but  their  successors  sane-  »  -phis  is  an  arpumentum  ad  homines  to  the 

tioned  the  use  of  it,  and  Julian  tried  in  vain  Jews,  whose  own  Scriptures  furnished   them 

to  break  through  the  custom.  with  cases  where  the  dead  had  been  raised,  as 

^  The  Greek  particles  here  are  rightly  left  for  example  by  Elisha.     The  Authorized  Ver- 

untranslated  in  A.  V.     They  form  a  conjunc-  sion  is  perfectly  correct,  notwithstanding  the 

tion,  denoting  that  the  speaker  is  beginning  a  objections  which  have  been  made  against  it.' 

new  subject,  used  where  no  conjunction  would  The  Greek  idiom  of  "  if"  with  an  indicative 

be  expressed  in  English.  cannot  be  better  represented  in  English  than 

*  The  tense  is  present.  by  "  that "  with  "should." 

^  The  promise  meant  is  that  of  the  Mes-  lo  The  pronoun,  from  its  position,  must  be 

siah.      Compare  what  St.  Paul   says  in   the  emphatic 
speech  at  AHtioch  in  Pisidia.     Acts  xiii.  32. 
Compare  also  Kom.  xv.  8 


CHAP.  xm.  SPEECH  BEFOKE  AGRIPPA.  673 

zzvi. 

this  I  did  in  Jerusalem,  and  many  of  the  saints '  I  myself  shut  up  in 

prison,  having  received  from  the  chief  priests  authority  so  to  do  ;  ^  and 
when  they  were  condemned '  to  death,  I  gave  my  vote  against  them.     And   11 
in  every  synagogue  I  continually  punished  them,  and  endeavored  *  to  com- 
pel them  to  blaspheme  ;  and  being  exceedingly  mad  against  them,  I  went 
even  to  foreign  cities  to  persecute  them. 
His  conver-  With  this  purposc  I  was  on  my  road  to  Damascus,  bearing   12 

Bion  and  divine 

commis6ion.     ^^y  authority  and  commission  from  the  chief*  priests,  when  I   13 
saw  in  the  way,  0  King,  at  mid-day,®  a  light  from  heaven,  above  the 
brightness  of  the  sun,  shining  round  about  me  and  those  who  journeyed 
with  me.     And  when  we  all  were  fallen  to  the  earth,  I  heard  a  voice   14 
speaking  to  me,  and  saying  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  Saul,  Saul,  why  perse- 
cutest  thou  me  f  it  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  goad.     And  I  said,   16 
Who  art  thou,  Lord  ?    And  the  Lord '  said,  /  am  Jesus  whom  thou  perse- 
cutest.     Bat  rise  and  stand  upon  thy  feet;  for  to  this  end  I  have  appeared  16 
unto  thee,  to  ordain  ^  thee  a  minister  and  a  witness  both  of  those  things  which 
thou  hast  seen,  and  of  those  things  wherein  I  shall  appear  unto  thee.     And   17 
thee  have  I  chosen^  from  the  house  of  Israel  ^^  and  from  among  the  Gentiles  ; 
unto  whom  now  I  send  thee,  to  open  their  eyes,  that  they  may  turn  ^^  from   18 
darJcness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  Crod ;  that  they  may 
receive  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  an  inheritance  among  the  sanctified,  hy  faith  in 


^  This  speech  should  be  carefully  compared  •  The  circumstance  of  the  light  overpower- 
with  that  in  chap,  xxii.,  with  the  view  of  ob-  ing  even  the  blaze  of  the  mid-day  sun  is  men- 
serving  St.  Paul's  judicious  adaptation  of  his  tioned  before  (Acts  xxii.  6). 
statements  to  his  audience.  Thus,  here  he  ''  All  the  best  MSS.  read"<Ae  Lord  said." 
calls  the  Christians  "  Saints,"  which  the  Jews  This  also  agrees  better  with  what  follows, 
in  the  Temple  would  not  have  tolerated.  See  where  St.  Paul  relates  all  which  the  Lord  had 
some  useful  remarks  on  this  subject  by  Mr.  revealed  to  him,  both  at  the  moment  of  his 
Birks.     Uor.  Ap.  vii.  viii,  conversion,  and,  subsequently,  by  the  voice  of 

2  "  The  authority,"  —  "  this  authority."  Ananias,  and  by  the  vision  at  Jerusalem.     See 

8  Literally,  when  they  were  being  destroyed.  Acts  xxii.  12-21. 

On  the  "  giving  his  vote,"  see  p.  72.  8  \yg  jj^ve  here  the  very  words  of  Ananias 

*  Imperfect.  (Acts  xxii.  14,  15).     The  same  very  nnusual 

'  By  Chief  Priests  here,  and  above,  verse  word  for  "  ordain  "  is  used  in  both  places. 

10,  is  meant  (as  in  Luke  xxii.  52,  Acts  v,  24)  »  "  Choosing,"  not  "delivering"  (A.  V.). 

the  presidents  of  the  24  classes  into  which  the  i'*  "  The   people."     See  on    the  speech   at 

priests  were  divided.     These   were  ex  officio  Antioch,  p.  158,  note  2. 

members  of  the  Sanhedrin.     In  the  speech  on  ii  Neuter,  not  active  as  in  A.  V.    Compare, 

the  stairs  accordingly  St.  Paul  states  that  he  for  the  use  of  this  word  by  St.  Paul  (to  signify 

had  received  his  commission  to  Damascus  from  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles),  1  Thess.  i.  9 

the  high-priest  and  Sanhedrin  (Acts  xxii.  5).  and  Acts  xiv.  15.     Also  below,  verse  20. 
43 


674  THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xxu 

rxvi. 

19  Whereupon,  0  King  Agrippa,  I  was  not  disobedient  to  the  ms  execution 

20  heavenly  vision.     But  first  Ho  those  at  Damascus  and  Jerusa-  h|Xfh^e°° 
lem,  and  throughout  all  the  land  of  Judaea,^  and  also  to  the  Jewl  ° 
Gentiles,  I  proclaimed  the  tidings,  that  they  should  repent  and  turn  to 
God,  and  do  works  worthy  of  their  repentance. 

21  For  these  causes  the  Jews,  when  they  caught  me  in  the  Temple, 
endeavored  to  kill  me. 

22  Therefore,^  through  the  succor  which  I  have  received  from  yet  his  teach- 
God,  I  stand  firm  unto  this  day,  and  bear  my  testimony  both  wuh  the*^  ^ 

Jewish  Scrip- 

to  small  and  great ;  but  I  declare  nothing  else  than  what  the  t^'^es- 

23  Prophets  and  Moses  foretold,  That*  the  Messiah  should  sufier,  and  that 
He  should  be  the  first'  to  rise  from  the  dead,  and  should  be  the  messen- 
ger* of  light  to  the  house  of  Israel,  and  also  to  the  Gentiles. 

Here  Festus  broke  out  into  a  loud  exclamation,'  expressive  of  ridicule 
and  surprise.  To  the  cold  man  of  the  world,  as  to  the  inquisitive  Athe- 
nians, the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  was  foolishness :  and  he  said, 
"  Paul,  thou  art  mad  :  thy  incessant  study  ^  is  turning  thee  to  madness." 
The  Apostle  had  alluded  in  his  speech  to  writings  which  had  a  mysteri- 
ous sound,  to  the  prophets  and  to  Moses  ^  (vv.  22,  23)  ;  and  it  is  reason 
able  to  believe  that  in  his  imprisonment,  such  "  books  and  parchments," 
as  he  afterwards  wrote  for  in  his  second  letter  to  Timotheus,^"  were  brought 
to  him  by  his  friends.  Thus  Festus  adopted  the  conclusion  that  he  had 
before  him  a  mad  enthusiast,  whose  head  had  been  turned  by  poring  over 

^  This  does  not  at  all  prove,  as  has  some-  onr  "  that  "("  if ,  as  they  assert").     Compare 

times  been  supposed,  that  Saul  did  not  preach  note  on  Acts  xxvi.  8  above. 
in  Arabia  when  he  went  there  soon  after  his  '  Compare  Col.  i.  18.    Also  1  Cor.  xv.  20. 

conversion  ;  see  pp.  89,  90.  ^  Something  more  than  merely  "  show  " 

^  How  are  we  to  reconcile  this  with   St.  (A.  V.). 
Paul's  statement  (Gal.  i.  22)  that  he  continued  ''  Observe  the  mention  of  the  "  loud  voice," 

personally  unknown  to  the  churches  of  Judaea  coupled  with  the  fact  that  Paul  "  was  speak- 

for  many  years   after   his  conversion  f     We  ing  for  himself"     Both  expressions  show  that 

must  either  suppose  that,  in  the  present  pas-  he  was  suddenly  interrupted  in  the  midst  of 

sage,  he  means  to  speak  not  in  the  order  of  his  discourse. 

time,  but  of  all  which  he  had  done  up  to  the  *  The  original  has  the  definite  article  here, 

present  date  ;  or  else  we  may  perhaps  suppose  ^  See  again  v.  27,  where  St.  Paul  appeals 

that  St.  Luke  did  not  think  it  neccessary  to  again  to  the  prophets,  the  writings  to  which  he 

attend  to  a  minute  detail  of  this  kind,  relating  had  alluded  before. 

to  a  period  of  St.  Paul's  life  with  which  he  ^'^  2  Tim.  iv.  13.  These,  we  may  well  bo- 
was  himself  not  personally  acquainted,  in  giv-  lieve,  would  especially  be  the  Old  Testament 
ing  the  general  outline  of  this  speech.  Scriptures,  —  perhaps    Jewish    commentaries 

'  The  conjunction  here  cannot  mean  "Aow-  on   them,   and    possibly  also    the   works    of 

ever."  Heathen  poets  and  philosophers. 

*  The  "  if  "  in  the  original  is  equivalent  to 


CHAP.  xxn.  SPEECH  BEFORE  AGKIPPA.  675 

strange  learning.     The  Apostle's  replj  was  courteous  and  self-possessed, 
but  intensely  earnest. 

zxvi 

I  am  not  mad,  most  noble  Festus,  but  speak  forth  the  words  of  truth   25 

and  soberness.    For  the  king  has  knowledge  of  these  matters  ;  and  more-  26 
over  I  speak  to  him  with  boldness  ;  because  I  am  persuaded  that  none 
of  these  things  is  unknown  to  him,  —  for  this  has  not  been  done  in  a 
corner. 

Then,  turning  to  the  Jewish  voluptuary  who  sat  beside  the  Governor, 
he  made  this  solemn  appeal  to  him :  — 

King  Agrippa,  believest  thou  the  prophets?     I  know  that  thou  be-  27 

lievest. 

The  King's  reply  was  :  "  Thou  wilt  soon  *  persuade  me  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian." The  words  were  doubtless  spoken  ironically  and  in  contempt: 
but  Paul  took  them  as  though  they  had  been  spoken  in  earnest,  and  made 
that  noble  answer,  which  expresses,  as  no  other  words  ever  expressed  them, 
that  union  of  enthusiastic  zeal  with  genuine  courtesy,  which  is  tlie  true 
characteristic  of  "  a  Christian." 

I  would  to  God,  that  whether  soon  or  late,  not  only  thou,  but  also  all  29 
who  hear  me  to-day,  were  such  as  I  am  ;  excepting  these  chains. 

This  concluded  the  interview.  King  Agrippa  had  no  desire  to  hear 
more  ;  and  he  rose  from  his  seat,^  with  the  Governor  and  Berenice  and 
those  who  sat  with  them.  As  they  retired,  they  discussed  the  case  with 
one  another,^  and  agreed  that  Paul  was  guilty  of  nothing  worthy  of  death 
or  even  imprisonment.  Agrippa  said  positively  to  Festus,  "  This  man  * 
might  have  been  set  at  liberty,*  if  he  had  not  appealed  to  the  Emperor." 
But  the  appeal  had  been  made.  There  was  no  retreat  either  for  Festus  or 
for  Paul.     On  the  new  Governor's  part  there  was  no  wish  to  continue  the 

1  The  phrase  here  cannot  mean  "  almost,"  present  tense,  and  that  the  title  "  Christian " 

as  it  is  in  the  Authorized  Version.     It  might  was  one  of  contempt.     See  1  Pet.  iv.  16. 

mean  either  "  in  few  words"  (Eph.  iii.  3),  or  ^  V.  30. 

"  in  a  small  measure"  or  "  in  a  small  time."  ^  V.  31. 

The  latter  meaning  agrees  best  with  the  fol-  *  Again  the  expression  is  contemptuoas. 

lowing,  "  in   little   or  in   much."     We  might  See   the  remarks  on   Acts  xvi.   35  (p.  268). 

render  the  passage  thus :  "  Thou  thinkest  to  Caludius  Lysias  uses  a  similar  expression  in 

make  me  a  Christian  with  little  persuasion."  his  letter  to  Felix,  xxiii.  27. 

We  should  observe   that   the  verb  is  io   the  ^  Compare  xxriii.  18. 


676 


THE  LLFE  AND  EPISTLES   OP   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  xxn. 


procrastination  of  Felix ;  and  nothing  now  remained  but  to  wait  for  a 
convenient  opportunity  of  sending  his  prisoner  to  Rome. 


Ooln  of  Nero  and  Herod  Agrippa  n.> 


1  From  the  British  Museum.  Mr.  Aker- 
man  describes  it  thus.  "  This  prince,  notwith- 
standing the  troubles  which  now  began  to  af- 
flict his  ill-fated  country,  spent  large  sums  in 
improving  and  beautifying  Jerusalem,  Bery- 
kas,  and  Csesarea  Philippi.     Of  the   latter 


there  is  a  coin  extant,  bearing  the  head  of 
Nero:  reverse  EIII  BA2IAE  ArPIIUIA  NE- 
PQNIE,  within  a  laurel  garland,  confirming  the 
account  of  Josephus  (Ant.  xx.  9,  8),  who  says 
Herod  enlarged  and  called  the  city  Neronias, 
ia  honor  of  the  Emperor."    Num.  III.  p.  57. 


CHAPTER    XXm. 


Ships  and  Navigation  of  the  Ancients.  —  Roman  Commerce  in  the  Mediterranean.  —  Coin- 
Trade  between  Alexandria  and  Puteoli.  —  Travellers  by  Sea.  —  St.  Paul's  Voyage  from 
Csesarea,  by  Sidon,  to  Myra.  —  From  Myra,  by  Cnidus  and  Cape  Salmone,  to  Fair  Havens.  — 
Phoenix.  —  The  Storm.  —  Seamanship  during  the  Gale.  —  St.  Paul's  Vision. — Anchoring  in 
the  Night.  —  Shipwreck.  —  Proof  that  it  took  Place  in  Malta.  —  Winter  in  the  Island. 
—  Objections  considered.  —  Voyage,  by  Syracuse  and  Rhegium,  to  Puteoli. 

BEFORE  entering  on  the  narrative  of  that  voyage  ^  which  brought  the 
Apostle  Paul,  through  manifold  and  imminent  dangers,  from 
Caesarea  to  Rome,  it  will  be  convenient  to  make  a  few  introductory 
remarks  concerning  the  ships  and  navigation  of  the  ancients.  By  fixing 
clearly  in  the  mind  some  of  the  principal  facts  relating  to  the  form  and 
structure  of  Greek  and  Roman  vessels,  the  manner  in  which  these  vessels 
were  worked,  the  prevalent  lines  of  traffic  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  the 
opportunities  afforded  to  travellers  of  reaching  their  destination  by  sea, 
—  we  shall  be  better  able  to  follow  this  voyage  without  distractions  or 
explanations,  and  with  a  clearer  perception  of  each  event  as  it  occurred. 

With  regard  to  the  vessels  and  seamanship  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
many  popular  mistakes  have  prevailed,  to  which  it  is  hardly  necessary  to 
allude,  after  the  full  illustration  which  the  subject  has  now  received.' 

1  The  nautical  difiSculties  of  this  narrative  subject  (Longmans,  1848)  has  already  obtained 
have  been  successfully  explained  by  two  inde-  a  European  reputation.  Besides  other  valua- 
pendent  inquirers ;  and,  so  far  as  we  are  ble  aid,  Mr.  Smith  has  examined  the  sheeta 
aware,  by  no  one  else.  A  practical  knowledge  of  this  chapter,  as  they  have  passed  through 
of  seamanship  was  required  for  the  elucida-  the  press.  We  have  also  to  express  our  ac- 
tion of  the  whole  subject ;  and  none  of  the  knowledgments  for  much  kind  assistance  re- 
ordinary  commentators  seem  to  have  looked  ceived  from  the  late  Admiral  Moorsom  and 
on  it  with  the  eye  of  a  sailor.     The  first  who  other  naval  officers. 

examined   St.   Paul's  voyage  in   a  practical  2  The  reference  here  is  to  the  Dissertation 

spirit  was  the  late  Admiral  Sir  Charles  Pen-  on   "  The   Ships   of   the  Ancients "   in   Mr. 

rose,   whose    life    has    been    lately   published  Smith's  work  on  the  Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of 

(Murray,  1851).     His  MSS.  have  been  kindly  St.  Paul,  pp.  140-202.     The  treatise  may  be 

placed  in  the  hands  of  the  writer  of  this  chap-  regarded  as  the  standard  work  on  the  subject, 

ter,  and  they  are  frequently  referred  to  in  the  not  only  ia  England,  but  in  Europe.     It  has 

notes.     A  similar  investigation  was  made  sub-  been  translated  into  German  by  H.  Thiersch, 

sequently,  but  independently,  and   more  mi-  and  it   is  adduced  in  Hermann's  well-known 

nutely  and  elaborately,  by  James  Smith,  Esq.,  work  on  Greek  Antiquities  as  the  decisive  au- 

of  Jordanhill,  whose  published  work  on  the  thority  on  the  difficult  points  connected  with 

677 


678 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OP   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  xxni. 


We  must  not  entertain  the  notion  that  all  the  commerce  of  the  ancients 
was  conducted  merely  by  means  of  small  craft,  which  proceeded  timidly 
in  the  day-time,  and  only  in  the  summer  season,  along  the  coast  from 
harbor  to  harbor,  —  and  which  were  manned  by  mariners  almost  ignorant 
of  the  use  of  sails,  and  always  trembling  at  the  prospect  of  a  storm.  We 
cannot,  indeed,  assert  that  the  arts  either  of  ship-building  or  navigation 
were  matured  in  the  Mediterranean  so  early  as  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  were  ignorant  of  the  use  of 
the  compass ;  ^  the  instruments  with  which  they  took  observations  must 
have  been  rude  compared  with  our  modern  quadrants  and  sextants ;  "^  and 
we  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  their  vessels  were  provided  with  nautical 
charts  ; '  and  thus,  when  "  neither  sun  nor  stars  appeared,"  and  the  sky 
gave  indications  of  danger,  they  hesitated  to  try  the  open  sea.*  But  the 
ancient  sailor  was  well  skilled  in  the  changeable  weather  of  the  Levant, 
and  his  very  ignorance  of  the  aids  of  modern  science  made  him  the  more 
observant  of  external  phenomena,  and  more  familiar  with  his  own 
coasts.*^  He  was  not  less  prompt  and  practical  than  a  modern  seaman  in 
the  handling  of  his  ship,  when  overtaken  by  stormy  weather  on  a  danger- 
ous coast. 

The  ship  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  mariner  was  comparatively  rude, 
both  in  its  build  and  its  rig.  The  hull  was  not  laid  down  with  the  fine 
lines  with  which  we  are  so  familiar  in  the  competing  vessels  of  England 
and  America,*  and  the  arrangement  of  the  sails  exhibited  little  of  that 


the  study  of  ancient  ship-building.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  refer  to  any  of  the  older 
works  on  the  subject.  A  full  catalogue  is 
given  in  Mr.  Smith's  Appendix. 

1  See  Humboldt's  Kosmos,  vol.  ii.,  for  the 
main  facts  relating  to  the  history  of  the  com- 
pass. 

2  We  have  no  information  of  any  nautical 
instruments  at  the  time  when  we  read  of 
Ptolemy's  mural  quadrant  at  Alexandria ;  nor 
is  it  likely  that  any  more  effectual  means  of 
taking  exact  observations  at  sea,  than  the  sim- 
ple quadrant  held  in  the  hand,  were  in  use  be- 
fore the  invention  of  the  reflecting  quadrants 
and  sextants  by  Mooke  and  Hadlcy  The 
want  of  exact  chronometers  must  also  be  borne 
in  mind. 

^  The  first  nautical  charts  were  perhaps 
those  of  Marinus  of  Tyre  (a.  d.  150),  whom 
Forbiger  regards  as  the  founder  of  mathema- 
tical geography.  See  the  life  of  Ptolemy  in 
Dr.  Smith's  Dictionary. 

*  See  Acts  xxvii.   9-12,  also  xxviii.   H. 


"  We  are  apt  to  consider  the  ancients  as  timid 
and  unskilful  sailors,  afraid  to  venture  out  of 
sight  of  land,  or  to  make  long  voyages  in  the 
winter.  I  can  see  no  evidence  that  this  was 
the  case.  The  cause  of  their  not  making 
voyages  after  the  end  of  summer  arose,  in  a 
great  measure,  from  the  comparative  obscurity 
of  the  sky  during  the  winter,  and  not  from 
the  gales  which  prevail  at  that  season.  With 
no  means  of  directing  their  course,  except  by 
observing  the  heavenly  bodies,  they  were  neces- 
sarily prevented  from  putting  to  sea  when  they 
could  not  depend  on  their  being  visible."  — 
Smith,  p.  180. 

*  See  again  what  is  said  below  in  reference 
to  Acts  xxvii.  12. 

^  "  As  both  ends  were  alike,  if  we  suppose 
a  full-built  merchant-ship  of  the  present  day, 
cut  in  two,  and  the  stern  half  replaced  by  one 
exactly  the  same  as  that  of  the  bow,  we  shall 
have  a  pretty  accurate  notion  of  what  these 
ships  were."  —  Smith,  p.  141. 


cnxp.xxni.  SHIPS    OF   THE   AifCIENTS.  GT9 

complicated  distribution  yet  efiective  combination  of  mechanical  forces 
which  we  admire  in  the  East-Indiaman  or  modern  frigate.  With  the 
war-ships^  of  the  ancients  we  need  not  here  occupy  ourselves  or  the 
reader :  but  two  peculiarities  in  the  structure  of  Greek  and  Roman  mer- 
chantmen must  be  carefully  noticed ;  for  both  of  them  are  much  con- 
cerned in  the  seamanship  described  in  the  narrative  before  us. 

The  ships  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  like  those  of  the  early  North- 
men,^ were  not  steered  by  means  of  a  single  rudder,  but  by  two  paddle- 
rudders,  one  on  each  quarter.  Hence  "  rudders  "  are  mentioned  in  the 
plural '  by  St.  Luke  (Acts  xxvii.  40)  as  by  Heathen  writers  ;  and  the  fact 
is  made  still  more  palpable  by  the  representations  of  art,  as  in  the  coins 
of  Imperial  Rome  or  the  tapestry  of  Bayeux :  nor  does  the  hinged-rud- 
der  appear  on  any  of  the  remains  of  antiquity  till  a  late  period  in  the 
Middle  Ages.* 

And  as  this  mode  of  steering  is  common  to  the  two  sources,  from  which 
we  must  trace  our  present  art  of  ship-building,  so  also  is  the  same  mode 
of  rigging  characteristic  of  the  ships  both  of  the  North  Sea  and  the 
Mediterranean.*  We  find  in  these  ancient  ships  one  large  mast,  with 
strong  ropes  rove  through  a  block  at  the  mast-head,  and  one  large  sail, 
fastened  to  an  enormous  yard.®  We  shall  see  the  importance  of  attend- 
ing to  this  arrangement  when  we  enter  upon  the  incidents  of  St.  Paul's 
voyage  (xxvii.  17,  19).  One  consequence  was,  that  instead  of  the  strain 
being  distributed  over  the  hull,  as  in  a  modern  ship,  it  was  concentrated 
upon  a  smaller  portion  of  it :  and  thus  in  ancient  times  there  must  have 
been  a  greater  tendency  to  leakage  than  at  present ;  ^  and  we  have  the 
testimony  of  ancient  writers  to  the  fact,  that  a  vast  proportion  of  the  ves- 
sels lost  were  by  foundering.     Thus  Virgil,^  whose  descriptions  of  every 

1  For  a  full  description  and  explanation  of  to  the  gold  nobles  of  oar  king  Edward  III., 
ancient  triremes,  &c.,  see  Mr.  Smith's  Dis-  and  infers  that  "  the  change  in  the  mode  of 
sertation.  steering  must  have  taken  place  about  the  end 

2  See  Vorsaee  on  the  Danes  and  Northmen  of  the  thirteenth,  or  early  in  the  fourteenth 
in  Enrjland.     He  does  not  describe  the  struc-  century." 

ture  of  their  ships  ;  but  this  peculiarity  is  evi-  ^  ggg  Vorsaee,  as  above,  and  the  representa- 

dent  in  the  drawing  given  at  p.  Ill,  from  the  tions  of  classical  ships  in  Mr.  Smith's  work. 
Bayeux  tapestry.  6  j^y  (.jjjs  it  is  not  meant  that  topsails  were 

^  "  The  fastenings  of  the  rudders."      The  not  used,  or  that  there  were  never  more  masts 

fact  of  "  rudders  "  being  in  the  plural  is  lost  than  one.    Topsails  (.s»/;)y)ar«)  are  frequently  al- 

sight  of  in  the  English  version ;  and  the  impres-  luded  to  :  and  we  shall  have  occasion  hereafter 

sion  is  conveyed  of  a  single   rudder,  worked  to  refer  particularly  to  a  second  mast,  besides 

by  tiller-ropes,  which,  as  we  shall  see,  is  quite  the  mainmast.     See  Mr.  Smith's  Dissertation, 

erroneous.      Compare  the  use  of  "guberna"  p.  151,  and  the  engraving  there  given  from 

in   Lucretius;   and  see  Smith,  p.  143,  and  Dr.  M.  Jal's  Arch^ologie  Navale. 
Smith's  Dictionary  of  Antiquities,  under  "  Gn-  ^  See  Smith,  p.  63. 

bemaculum."  '  Laxis  laterura  compagibas  omnes 

*  Smith,  p.  146.  He  traces  the  representa-  Accipiuntinimicuminibrem,  rimisquefatiscunt 
tion  of  ancient  rudders  from  Trajan's  column 


680  •      THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xxiii 

thing  which  relates  to  tlie  sea  are  peculiarly  exact,  speaks  of  the  ships  in 
the  fleet  of  -^neas  as  lost  in  various  ways,  some  on  rocks,  and  some  on 
quicksands,  but  "  all  with  fastenings  loosened ; "  and  Josephus  relates 
that  the  ship  from  which  he  so  narrowly  escaped  foundered  ^  in  "  Adria," 
and  that  he  and  his  companions  saved  themselves  by  swimming  ^  through 
the  night,  —  an  escape  which  found  its  parallel  in  the  experience  of  the 
Apostle,  who  in  one  of  those  shipwrecks,  of  which  no  particular  narra- 
tion lias  been  given  to  us,  was  "  a  night  and  a  day  in  +he  deep  "  (2  Cor. 
xi.  25).  The  same  danger  was  apprehended  in  the  ship  of  Jonah,  from 
which  "  they  cast  forth  the  wares  that  were  in  the  ship  into  the  sea  to 
lighten  it "  (i.  5)  ;  as  well  as  in  the  ship  of  St.  Paul,  from  which,  after 
having  "  lightened  "  it  the  first  day,  they  "  cast  out  the  tackling  "  on  the 
second  day,  and  finally  "  threw  out  the  cargo  of  wheat  into  the  sea  " 
(xx\di.  18,  19,  38). 

This  leads  us  to  notice  what  may  be  called  a  third  peculiarity  of  the 
appointments  of  ancient  ships,  as  compared  with  those  of  modern  times. 
In  consequence  of  the  extreme  danger  to  which  they  were  exposed  from 
leaking,  it  was  customary  to  take  to  sea,  as  part  of  tlieir  ordinary  gear, 
'-''  undergirders'"  (vTio^mfiuTo) ,  which  were  simply  ropes  for  passing  round 
the  hull  of  the  ship,  and  thus  preventing  the  planks  from  starting.^  One 
of  the  most  remarkable  proofs  of  the  truth  of  this  statement  is  to  be  found 
in  the  inscribed  marbles  dug  up  within  the  last  twenty  years  at  the 
Piraeus,  which  give  us  an  inventory  of  the  Attic  fleet  in  its  flourishing 
period  ;  *  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  accounts  of  the  application  of 

^  Life,  c.  3.  Mr.  Smith  remarks  here  (p.  62)  of  the  sea."  In  most  of  the  European  lan- 
that,  since  Josephus  and  some  of  his  compan-  guages  the  nautical  term  is,  like  the  Greek,  ex- 
ions  saved  themselves  by  swimming,  "  the  pressive  of  the  nature  of  the  operation.  Fr. 
ship  did  not  go  down  during  the  gale,  but  in  ceintrer;  Ital.  cingere  ;  Germ,  umgurten ;  Dutch 
consequence  of  the  damage  she  received  dur-  omgorden  :  Norw.  omgnrte ;  Portug.  cintrar.  In 
ing  its  continuance."  For  the  meaning  of  the  Spanish  the  word  is  tortorar :  a  circumstance 
word  "  Adria,"  see  below.  which  possesses  some  etymological   interest, 

'^  Probably  with  the  aid  of  floating  spars,  since  the  word  used  by  Isidore  of  Seville  for 

&c.     See  note  on  2  Cor.  xi.  2.5.  a  rope  used  in  this  way  is  tonnentum.     See  the 

*  This  is  what  is  called  "/rapping  "  by  sea-  next  note. 
men   in   the   English  navy,  who   are  always  *  The  excavations  were  made  in  the  year 

taught  how  to  frap  a  ship.     The  only  differ-  1834  ;  and  the  inscriptions  were  published,  in 

euce   is,  that   the   practice  is  now  resorted  to  1840,  at  Berlin,  by  A.  Bockh.     A  complete  ac- 

much  less  frequently,  and   that  modern  ships  count  is  given  of  every  thing  witli  which  the 

are  not  supplied  with  "  undergirders"  specially  Athenian  ships  were  supplied,  with  the  name 

prepared.     The  operation  and  its  use  are  thus  of  each  vessel,  &c. ;  and  we  find  that  they  all- 

described    in    Falconer's    Marine    Dictionary:  carried    "undergirders,"   which    are    classed 

"  To  frap  a  ship  is  to  pass  four  or  five  turns  of  among  the  hanging  gear,  as  opposed  to  what 

a  large  cable-laid  rope  round  the  hull  or  frame  was  constructed  of  timlier.    In  commenting  on 

of  a  ship,  to  support  her  in  a  great  storm,  or  one    passage    having  reference  to   the   shipa 

otherwise,  when  it  is  apprehended  that  she  is  which  were  on  service  in  the  Adriatic,  and 

not  strong  enough  to  resist  the  violent  efforts  which  carried  several  "  undergirders,"  Bockk 


CHAP.  xxm.  SHIPS  OF  THE  ANCIENTS.  681 

these  artificial  "  helps  "  (xxvii.  17)  in  a  storm  is  to  be  found  in  the  nar- 
rative before  us. 

If  these  differences  between  ancient  ships  and  our  own  are  borne  in 
mind,  the  problems  of  early  seamanship  in  the  Mediterranean  are  nearly 
reduced  to  those  with  which  the  modern  navigator  has  to  deal  in  the  same 
h'eas.  The  practical  questions  which  remain  to  be  asked  are  these,  What 
were  the  dimensions  of  ancient  ships  ?  how  near  the  wind  could  they 
sail  ?  and,  with  a  fair  wind,  at  what  rate  ? 

As  regards  the  first  of  these  questions,  there  seems  no  reason  why  we 
should  suppose  the  old  trading-vessels  of  the  Mediterranean  to  be  much 
smaller  than  our  own.  "We  may  rest  this  conclusion  both  on  the  character 
of  the  cargoes  with  which  they  were  freighted,^  and  on  the  number  of 
persons  we  know  them  to  have  sometimes  conveyed.  Though  the  great 
ship  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  ^  may  justly  be  regarded  as  built  for  osten- 
tation rather  than  for  use,  the  Alexandrian  vessel  which  forms  the  subject 
of  one  of  Lucian's  dialogues,^  and  is  described  as  driven  by  stress  of 
weather  into  the  Piraeus,  furnishes  us  with  satisfactory  data  for  the  calcu- 
lation of  the  tonnage  of  ancient  ships.  Two  hundred  and  seventy-six 
souls  *  were  on  board  the  ship  in  which  St.  Paul  was  wrecked  (xxvii.  37 ), 
and  the  "  Castor  and  Pollux  "  conveyed  them,  in  addition  to  her  own 
crew,  from  Malta  to  Puteoli  (xxviii.  11)  ;  while  Josephus  informs  us*  tliat 
there  were  six  hundred  on  board  the  ship  from  which  he,  with  about 
eighty  others,  escaped.  Such  considerations  lead  us  to  suppose  that  the 
burden  of  many  ancient  merchantmen  may  have  been  from  five  hundred 
to  a  thousand  tons. 

A  second  question,  of  greater  consequence  in  reference  to  the  present 
subject,  relates  to  the  angle  which  the  course  of  an  ancient  ship  could  be 
made  to  assume  with  the  direction  of  the  wind,  or,  to  use  the  language " 
of  English  sailors  (who  divide  the  compass  into  thirty-two  points),  within 

shows  that  these  were  ropes  passed  round  the  allow  at  the  rate  of  a  ton  and  a  half  to  each 

body  of  the  ship,  but  he  strangely  supposes  man,  and  as  the  ship  we  are  considering  was 

tliat  they  were  passed  from  stem  to  stern.  not  expressly  fitted  for  passengers,  we  may 

^  See  below  on    the    traffic   between   the  conclude  that  her  burden  was  fully,  or  at  least 

provinces  and  Rome.  nearly  double,  the  number  of  tons  to  the  souls 

■^  Described  in  Atlicnseus.  on  board,  or  upwards  of  500  tons."  —  Penrose, 

^  From  the  length  and  breadth  of  this  ship  MS. 
as  given  by  Liician,  Mr.  Smith  infers  that  her  ^  Life,  c.  3. 

burden  was  between  1,000  and  1,100  tons,  pp.  ^  As  it  is  essential,  for  the  purpose  of  eluci- 

147-150.  dating  the  narrative,  that  this  language  should 

*  "  The  ship  must  have  been  of  considera-  be  clearly  understood,  a  compass  has  been  in- 

ble  burden,  as  we  find  there  were  no  less  than  serted  at  p.  619,  and  some  words  of  ccplana- 

276  persons  embarked  on  board  her.     To  af-  tion  are  given,  both  here  and  below.     This  will 

ford  fair  accommodation  for  troops  in  a  trans-  be  readily  excused  by  those  who  are  familiar 

port  expressly  fitted  for  the  purpose,  we  should  with  nautical  phraseology 


682  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES    OF    ST.    PAL'L.  chap.  xxni. 

how  many  points  of  the  wind  she  would  sail.  That  ancient  vessels  could 
not  work  to  windward  is  one  of  the  popular  mistakes^  which  need  not  bo 
refuted.  They  doubtless  took  advantage  of  the  Etesian  winds,^  just  as 
the  traders  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago  sail  with  the  monsoons :  but  those 
who  were  accustomed  to  a  seafaring  life  could  not  avoid  discovering  that  a 
ship's  course  can  be  made  to  assume  a  less  angle  than  a  right  angle  with 
the  direction  of  the  wind,  or,  in  other  words,  that  she  can  be  made  to 
sail  within  less  than  eight  points  of  the  wind : '  and  Pliny  distinctly  says, 
that  it  is  possible  for  a  ship  to  sail  on  contrary  tacks.*  The  limits  of 
this  possibility  depend  upon  the  character  of  the  vessel  and  the  violence 
of  the  gale.  We  shall  find,  below,  that  the  vessel  in  which  St.  Paul  was 
wrecked  "  could  not  look  at  the  wind,"  —  for  so  the  Greek  word  (xxvii. 
15)  may  be  literally  translated  in  the  language  of  English  sailors, — 
though  with  a  less  violent  gale  an  English  ship,  well  managed,  could 
easily  have  kept  her  course.  A  modern  merchantman,  in  moderate 
weather,  can  sail  within  six  points  of  the  wind.  In  an  ancient  vessel  the 
yard  could  not  be  braced  so  sharp,  and  the  hull  was  more  clumsy  ;  and 
it  would  not  be  safe  to  say  that  she  could  sail  nearer  the  wind  than  within 
seven  points} 

To  turn  now  to  the  third  question,  the  rate  of  sailing^ — the  very 
nature  of  the  rig,  which  was  less  adapted  than  our  own  for  working  to 
windward,  was  peculiarly  favorable  to  a  quick  run  before  the  wind.  In 
the  China  seas,  during  the  monsoons,  junks  have  been  seen  from  the  deck 
of  a  British  vessel  behind  in  the  horizon  in  the  morning,  and  before  in 
the  horizon  in  the  evening.®  Thus  we  read  of  passages  accomplished  of 
old  in  the  Mediterranean,  which  would  do  credit  to  a  well-appointed 
modern  ship.  Pliny,  who  was  himself  a  seaman,  and  in  command  of  a 
fleet  at  the  time  of  his  death,  might  furnish  us  with  several  instances. 
We  might  quote  the  story  of  the  fresh  fig,  which  Cato  produced  in  the 
senate  at  Rome,  when  he  urged  his  countrymen  to  undertake  the  third 
Punic  war,  by  impressing  on  them  the  imminent  nearness  of  their  enemy. 
"  This  fruit,"  he  says, "  was  gathered  fresh  at  Carthage  three  days  ago."  ' 
Other  voyages,  which  he  adduces,  are  such  as  these,  —  seven  days  from 
Cadiz  to  Ostia,  —  seven  days  from  the  straits  of  Messina  to  Alexandria,  — 

1  Yet  we  sometimes  find  the  mistake  when  '  See  Smith,  p.  1 78. 

we  should   hardly  expect  it.     Thus,  Hemsen  *  "  lisdem  ventis  in  contrarium  navigatur 

says,  in  reference  to  Acts  xxvii.  7,  that  it  is  prolatis  pedibus." — //.  N.  ii.  48. 

"doubtful    whether    the    ancients    were    ac-  ^  Smith,  p.  178. 

quainted  with  the  way  of  sailing  against  the  ^  See  above,  p.  610,  n.  8. 

wind."  "^  Plin.  //.  N.  xv.  20.     We  may  observe 

■^  The  classical  passages  relating  to  these  that  the  interval  of  time  need  not  be  regarded 

windb  —  the  monsoons  of   the  Levant  —  are  as  so  much  as  three  entire  days, 
collected  111  Forbiger's  work  on  Ancient  Greog- 
raphy. 


CHAP..ixin.  NAVIGATION   OF  THE   ANCIENTS.  683 

nine  days  from  Puteoli  to  Alexandria.  These  instances  are  quite  in 
harmony  with  what  we  read  in  other  authors.  Thus  Rhodes  and  Cape 
Salmone,  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  Crete,  are  reckoned  by  Diodorus 
and  Strabo  as  four  days  from  Alexandria  :  Plutarch  tells  us  of  a  voyage 
within  the  day  from  Brundusium  to  Corcyra  :  Procopius  describes  Belisa- 
rius  as  sailing  on  one  day  with  his  fleet  from  Malta,  and  landing  on  the 
next  day  some  leagues  to  the  south  of  Carthage.*  A  thousand  stades 
(or  between  100  and  150  miles)  is  reckoned  by  the  geographers  a  com- 
mon distance  to  accomplish  in  the  twenty-four  hours.^  And  the  conclu- 
sion to  which  we  are  brought  is,  that  with  a  fair  wind  an  ancient 
merchantman  would  easily  sail  at  the  rate  of  seven  knots  an  hour,  —  a 
conclusion  in  complete  harmony  both  with  what  we  have  observed  in  a 
former  voyage  of  St.  Paul  (Ch.  XX.),  and  with  what  will  demand  our 
attention  at  the  close  of  that  voyage  which  brought  him  at  length  from 
Malta  by  Rhegium  to  Puteoli  (Acts  xxviii.  13). 

The  remarks  which  have  been  made  will  convey  to  the  reader  a  suffi- 
cient notion  of  the  ships  and  navigation  of  the  ancients.  If  to  the  above- 
mentioned  peculiarities  of  build  and  rig  we  add  the  eye  painted  at  the 
prow,  the  conventional  ornaments  at  stem  and  stern,  which  are  familiar 
to  us  in  remaining  works  of  art,'  and  the  characteristic  figures  of 
Heathen  divinities,*  we  shall  gain  a  sufiicient  idea  of  an  ancient  mer- 
chantman. And  a  glance  at  the  chart  of  the  Mediterranean  will  enable 
us  to  realize  in  our  imagination  the  nature  of  the  voyages  that  were  most 
frequent  in  the  ancient  world.  With  the  same  view  of  elucidating  the 
details  of  our  subject  beforehand,  we  may  now  devote  a  short  space  to  the 
prevalent  lines  of  traffic,  and  to  the  opportunities  of  travellers  by  sea,  in 
the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era. 

Tliough  the  Romans  had  no  natural  love  for  the  sea,  and  though  a 
commercial  life  was  never  regarded  by  them  as  an  honorable  occupation, 
and  thus  both  experience  of  practical  seamanship  and  the  business  of 
the  carrying-trade  remained  in  a  great  measure  with  the  Greeks,  yet  a 
vast  development  had  been  given  to  commerce  by  the  consolidation  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  Piracy  had  been  effectually  put  down  before  the  close 
of  the  Republic*  The  annexation  of  Egypt  drew  towards  Italy  the  rich 
trade  of  the  Indian  seas.     After  the  effectual  reduction  of  Gaul  and  Spain, 


1  This  is  one  of  the  passages  which  will  be  stern  or  prow,  in  the  form  of  the  neck  of  a 
referred  to  hereafter,  in  considering  thebounda-  water-fowl,  see  Smith,  p.  142,  and  the  Dictiona- 
ries of  the  sea  called  Adria  (Acts  xxvii.  27).  ry  of  Antiquities,  under  "  Aplustre." 

2  Herodotus  reckons  a  day  and  a  night's  *  "  WJiose  sign  was  Castor  and  Pollux," 
sail  in  the  summer  time,  and  with  a  favorable  Acts  xxviii.  11.  This  might  be  abundantly 
wind,  at  1,300  stadia,  or  162  Eoman  miles.  illustrated  from  classical  authors. 

^  For  the  xv^lan^,  a  tall  ornament  at  the  ^  Compare  pp.  19,  20. 


684  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xim. 

Roman  soldiers  and  Roman  slave-dealers  ^  invaded  the  shores  of  Britain. 
The  trade  of  all  tlie  countries  which  surrounded  the  Mediterranean  began 
to  flow  towards  Rome.  The  great  city  herself  was  passive,  for  she  had 
nothing  to  export.  But  the  cravings  of  her  luxury,  and  the  necessities 
of  her  vast  population,  drew  to  one  centre  the  converging  lines  of  a  busy 
traffic  from  a  wide  extent  of  provinces.  To  leave  out  of  view  what 
hardly  concerns  us  here,  the  commerce  by  land  from  the  North,^  some  of 
the  principal  directions  of  trade  by  sea  may  be  briefly  enumerated  as  fol- 
lows. The  harbors  of  Ostia  and  Puteoli  were  constantly  full  of  ships 
from  the  West,  which  had  brought  wool  and  other  articles  from  Cadiz : ' 
a  circumstance  which  possesses  some  interest  for  us  here,  as  illustrating 
the  mode  in  which  St.  Paul  might  hope  to  accomplish  his  voyage  to  Spain 
(Rom.  XV.  24).  On  the  South  was  Sicily,  often  called  the  Store-house 
of  Italy,  —  and  Africa,  which  sent  furniture-woods  to  Rome,  and  heavy 
cargoes  of  marble  and  granite.  On  the  East,  Asia  Minor  was  the  inter- 
mediate space  through  which  the  caravan-trade  *  passed,  conveying  silks 
and  spices  from  beyond  the  Euphrates  to  the  markets  and  wharves  of 
Ephesus.  We  might  extend  this  enumeration  by  alluding  to  the  fisheries 
of  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  wine-trade  of  the  Archipelago.  But  enough 
has  been  said  to  give  some  notion  of  the  commercial  activity  of  which 
Italy  was  the  centre  :  and  our  particular  attention  here  is  required  only 
to  one  branch  of  trade,  one  line  of  constant  traffic  across  the  waters  of 
the  Mediterranean  to  Rome. 

Alexandria  has  been  mentioned  already  as  a  city,  which,  next  after 
Athens,  exerted  the  strongest  intellectual  influence  over  the  age  in  which 
St.  Paul's  appointed  work  was  done  ;  and  we  have  had  occasion  to  notice 
some  indirect  connection  between  this  city  and  the  Apostle's  own  labors.' 
But  it  was  eminent  commercially  not  less  than  intellectually.  The  pro- 
phetic views  of  Alexander  were  at  that  time  receiving  an  ampler  fulfil- 
ment than  at  any  former  period.  The  trade  with  the  Indian  seas,  which 
had  been  encouraged  under  the  Ptolemies,  received  a  vast  impulse  in  the 
reign  of  Augustus  :  and  under  the  reigns  of  his  successors,  the  valley  of 
the  Nile  was  the  channel  of  an  active  transit  trade  in  spices,  dyes,  jewels, 

1  See  the  passage   in  Pitt's   speeches,  re-  of  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber.     See  the   article 

ferrecl  to  in  Milraan's  Gibbon,  i.  p.  70.  "  Ostia"  in  Dr.  Smith's  Diet,  of  Geography. 

-  For  example,   the   amber   trade  of   the  *  There  seem  to  have  been  two  great  lines 

Baltic,  and  the  importing  of  provisions  and  of  inland  trade  through  Asia  Minor,  one  near 

rough  cloths  from  Cisalpine  Gaul.  the  southern  shore  of  the  Black  Sea,  through 

^  We  may  refer  here,  in  illustration,  to  the  the  districts  opened  by  the  campaigns  of  Pom- 
coin  representing  Ostia  below,  p.  743.     It  was  pey,  and  the  other  through   the  centre  of  the 
aliout  this  time  that  the  new  harbor  of  Portus  country  from   Mazaca,  on  the  Euphrates,   tc 
'a  city  not  unconnected  with  ecclesiastical  his-  Ephesus. 
Loi-v>  was  completed  by  Nero  on  the  north  side  ^  See  pp.  8,  9,  33,  407. 


CHAT.  xxin.  FACILITIES  OFFERED  TO  TRAVELLERS.  685 

and  perfumes,  which  were  brought  by  Arabian  mariners  from  the  far 
East,  and  poured  into  the  markets  of  Italy.'  But  Egypt  was  not  only  the 
medium  of  transit  trade.  She  had  her  own  manufactures  of  linen, 
paper,  and  glass,  which  she  exported  in  large  quantities.  And  one 
natural  product  of  her  soil  has  been  a  staple  commodity  from  the  time  of 
Pharaoh  to  our  own.  We  have  only  to  think  of  the  fertilizing  inunda- 
tions of  the  Nile,  on  the  one  hand,  and,  on  the  other,  of  the  multitudes 
composing  the  free  and  slave  population  of  Italy,  in  order  to  comprehend 
the  activity  and  importance  of  the  Alexandrian  corn-trade.  At  a  later 
period  the  Emperor  Commodus  established  a  company  of  merchants  to 
convey  the  supplies  from  Egypt  to  Rome  ;  and  the  commendations  which 
he  gave  himself  for  this  forethought  may  still  be  read  in  the  inscription 
round  the  ships  represented  on  his  coins.^  The  harbor  to  which  the 
Egyptian  corn-vessels  were  usually  bound  was  Puteoli.  At  the  close  of 
this  chapter  we  shall  refer  to  some  passages  which  give  an  animated  pic- 
ture of  the  arrival  of  these  ships.  Meanwhile,  it  is  well  to  have  called 
attention  to  this  line  of  traffic  between  Alexandria  and  Puteoli ;  for  in  so 
doing  we  have  described  the  means  which  Divine  Providence  employed 
for  bringing  the  Apostle  to  Rome. 

The  transition  is  easy  from  the  commerce  of  the  Mediterranean  to  the 
progress  of  travellers  from  point  to  point  in  that  sea.  If  to  this  enume- 
ration of  the  main  lines  of  traffic  by  sea  we  add  all  the  ramifications  of 
the  coasting-trade  which  depended  on  them,  we  have  before  us  a  full 
view  of  the  opportunities  which  travellers  possessed  of  accomplishing 
their  voyages.  Just  in  this  way  we  have  lately  seen  St  Paul  completing 
the  journey,  on  which  his  mind  was  set,  from  Philippi,  by  Miletus  and 
Patara,  to  Caesarea  (Ch.  XX.).  We  read  of  no  periodical  packets  for 
the  conveyance  of  passengers  sailing  between  the  great  towns  of  the 
Mediterranean.  Emperors  themselves  were  usually  compelled  to  take 
advantage  of  the  same  opportunities  to  which  Jewish  pilgrims  and  Chris- 
tian Apostles  were  limited.  When  Vespasian  went  to  Rome,  leaving 
Titus  to  prosecute  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  ^  he  went  on  board  a  mer- 
chant-ship, and  sailed  from  Alexandria  to  Rhodes,"  and  thence  pursued 
his  way  through  Greece  to  the  Adriatic,  and  finally  went  to  Rome  through 
Italy  by  land.'  And  when  the  Jewish  war  was  ended,  and  when,  sus- 
picions having  arisen  concerning  the  allegiance  of  Titus  to  Vespasian,  the 
son  was  anxious  "  to  rejoin  his  father,"  he  also  left  Alexandria  *  in  a 
"  merchant-ship,"  and  "  hastened  to  Italy,"  touching  at  the  very  places 

1  See  the  history  of  this  trade  in  Dean  Vin-  '  Joseph.  War,  vii.  2, 1. 

cent's  Commerce  and  Navigation  of  the  Ancients.  *  Suet.  Tit.  c.  5. 

'■^  One  of  them  is  given  (from  Mr.  Smith's 
work)  on  the  titlepage. 


686  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.  PAUL.  CHAP.xxm. 

at  which  St.  Paul  touched,  first  at  Rhegium  (xxviii.  13),  and  then  at 
Puteoli  (lb.). 

If  such  was  the  mode  in  which  even  royal  personages  travelled  from 
the  provinces  to  the  metropolis,  we  must  of  course  conclude  that  those 
who  travelled  on  the  business  of  the  state  must  often  have  been  content 
to  avail  themselves  of  similar  opportunities.  The  sending  of  state 
prisoners  to  Rome  from  various  parts  of  the  Empire  was  an  event  of 
frequent  occurrence.  Thus  we  are  told  by  Josephus,^  that  Felix,  "  for 
some  slight  offence,  bound  and  sent  to  Rome  several  priests  of  his  ac- 
quaintance, honorable  and  good  men,  to  answer  for  themselves  to  Caesar." 
Such  groups  must  often  have  left  Caesarea  and  the  other  Eastern  ports,  in 
merchant-vessels  bound  for  the  West ;  and  such  was  the  departure  of  St. 
Paul,  when  the  time  at  length  came  for  that  eventful  journey,  which  had 
been  so  long  and  earnestly  cherished  in  his  own  wishes ;  '^  so  emphatically 
foretold  by  divine  revelation  ; '  and  which  was  destined  to  involve  such 
great  consequences  to  the  whole  future  of  Christianity. 

The  vessel  in  which  he  sailed,  with  certain  other  state  prisoners,  was 
"  a  ship  of  Adramyttium ''  apparently  engaged  in  the  coasting-trade,* 
and  at  that  time  (probably  the  end  of  summer  or  the  beginning  of  au- 
tumn) ^  bound  on  her  homeward  voyage.  Whatever  might  be  the  harbors 
at  which  she  intended  to  touch,  her  course  lay  along  the  coast  of  the 
province  of  Asia.^  Adramyttium  was  itself  a  seaport  in  Mysia,  which 
(as  we  have  seen)  was  a  subdivision  of  that  province :  and  we  have 
already  described  it  as  situated  in  the  deep  gulf  which  recedes  beyond 
the  base  of  Mount  Ida,  over  against  the  island  of  Lesbos,  and  as  connected 
by  good  roads  with  Pergamus  and  Troas  on  the  coast,  and  the  various 
marts  in  the  interior  of  the  peninsula.''     Since  St.  Paul  never  reached  the 

1  Joseph.  Li'fe,  c.  3.  the  New  Testament,  we  need  only  refer  a^*din 

^  Rom.  XV.  23.  to  p.  205,  &c.     It  is  of  the  utmost  consequence 

^  Acts  xix.  21  ;  xxiii.  U.     See  xxvii.  24.  to  bear  this  in  mind.     If  the  continent  of  Asia 

*  The  words  "  meaning  to  sail  by  the  coasts  were  intended,  the  passage  would  be  almost 

of  Asia"  (v.  2)  should  rather  be  applied  to  unmeaning.     Yet  Falconer  says  (Diss,  on  St. 

the  ship  ("about  to  sail,"  &c.).    They  seem  to  Paul's  Voyage,  on  the  wind  Euror-lydon,  and  the 

imply  that  she  was  about  to  touch  at  several  A/'Ost/e's  shipivreck  on  the  Is/and  Melita,  by  a 

places  on  her  way  to  Adramyttium.     Proba-  Layman.    Oxf.  1817),  "  They  who  conducted 

bly  she  was  a  small  coaster,  similar  to  those  the  ship  meant  to  sail  on  their  return  by  the 

of  the  modern  Greeks  in  the  same  seas :  and  coasts  of  Asia ;  accordingly,  the  next  day  after 

doubtless  the  Alexandrian  corn-ship  mentioned  they  set  sail,  they  touched   at   Sidon,"  p.  4. 

afterwards  was  much  larger.  Nor  are  we  to  suppose  Asia  Minor  intended, 

5  This  we  infer,  partly  because  it  is  reasona-  which  seems  to  be  the  supposition  even  of 

ble  to   suppose   that   they  expected  to   reach  some  of  the  most  careful  commentators. 

Italy  before  the  winter,  partly  because  of  the  '  P.  240 ;  and  see  p.  596.     We  need  hardly 

delays  which  are  expressly  mentioned  before  allude  to  the  error  of  Grotius,  who  supposed 

the  consultation  at  Fair  Havens.     See  p.  696.  Adrumetum;  on  the  African  coast,  to  be  meant. 

'  For  the  meaning  of  the  word  "Asia"  in  IVIr.  Lewin  assumes  that  the  intention  of  Julius 


CHAP.  xxm.  C^SAREA  TO   SIDOK  687 

place,  110  description  of  it  is  required.^  It  is  only  needful  to  observe  that 
wlieii  the  vessel  reached  the  coast  of  "  Asia,"  the  travellers  would  be 
brought  some  considerable  distance  on  their  way  to  Rome ;  and  there 
would  be  a  good  prospect  of  finding  some  other  westward-bound  vessel, 
in  which  they  might  complete  their  voyage,  —  more  especially  since  the 
Alexandrian  corn-ships  (as  we  shall  see)  often  touched  at  the  harbors  in 
that  neighborhood, 

St.  Paul's  two  companions  —  besides  the  soldiers,  with  Julius  their 
commanding  officer,  the  sailors,  the  other  prisoners,  and  such  occasional 
passengers  as  may  have  taken  advantage  of  this  opportunity  of  leaving 
Caesarea  —  were  two  Christians  already  familiar  to  us,  Luke  the  Evan- 
gelist, whose  name,  like  that  of  Timotheus,  is  almost  inseparable  from 
the  Apostle,  and  whom  we  may  conclude  to  have  been  with  him  since  his 
arrival  in  Jerusalem,'^ —  and  "  Aristarchus  the  Macedonian,  of  Thessalo- 
nica,"  whose  native  country  and  native  city  have  been  separately  men- 
tioned before  (Acts  xix.  29,  xx.  4),  and  who  seems,  from  the  manner  in 
which  he  is  spoken  of  in  the  Epistles  written  from  Rome  (Philem.  24,  Col. 
iv.  10),  to  have  been,  like  St.  Paul  himself,  a  prisoner  in  the  cause  of  the 
Gospel. 

On  the  day  after  sailing  from  Caesarea  the  vessel  put  into  Sidon  (v.  3). 
This  may  be  readily  accounted  for,  by  supposing  that  she  touched  there  for 
the  purposes  of  trade,  or  to  land  some  passengers.  Or  another  hypothesis 
is  equally  allowable.  Westerly  and  north-westerly  winds  prevail  in  the 
Levant  at  the  end  of  summer  and  the  beginning  of  autumn ;  ^  and  we 

was  to  proceed  (like  those  who  afterwards  from  the  journal  written  by  Lord  de  San- 
took  Ignatius  to  his  martyrdom)  by  the  Via  marez,  on  his  return  from  Aboukir,  in  the 
Ei^natia  through  Macedonia ;  but  the  narrative  months  of  August  and  September,  1798.  He 
gives  no  indication  of  such  a  plan  :  and  indeed  stood  to  the  north  towards  Cyprus,  and  was 
the  hypothesis  is  contradicted  by  the  word  in  compelled  to  run  to  the  south  of  Crete.  "  The 
xxvii.  1.  wind  continues  to  the  westward.     I  am  sorry 

1  A  short  notice  of  it  is  given  by  Sir.  C.  Fel-  to  find  it  almost  as  prevailing  as  the  trade- 
lows  (A.  M.  p.  39).  Mr.  Weston,  in  his  MS.  winds  (July  4).  .  .  .  We  have  just  gained 
journal,  describes  it  as  a  filthy  town,  of  about  sight  of  Cyprus,  nearly  the  track  we  followed 
1,500  houses,  150  of  which  are  inhabited  by  six  weeks  ago;  so  invariably  do  the  westerly 
Greeks,  and  he  saw  no  remains  of  antiquity.  winds  prevail  at  this  season  (Aug.  19).  .  .  .We 
It  W£vs  a  flourishing  seaport  in  the  time  of  the  are  still  oflF  the  island  of  Rhodes.  Our  pros- 
kings  of  Pergamus ;  and  Pliny  mentions  it  as  ent  route  is  to  the  northward  of  Candia 
the  seat  of  a  conventus  juridicus.  In  Pococke's  (Aug.  28).  .  .  .  After  contending  three  days 
Travels  (II.  ii.  16),  it  is  stated  that  there  is  against  the  adverse  winds  which  are  almost  in- 
much  boat-building  still  at  Adramyti.  variably  encountered  here,  and  getting   suffi- 

2  See  above.  •  ciently  to  the  northward  to   have   weathered 
»  See   the  quotation    already  given   from      the  small  islands  that  lie   more   immediately 

Norie's  Sailintj  Directions  in  this  volume,  p.  605,  between  the  Archipelago  and  Candia,  the  wind 

n.  4.    A  similar  statement  will  be  found  in  set  in  so  strong  from  the  westward,  that  I  waa 

Purdy,  p.  59.     Mr.  Smith  (pp.  22,  23,  27,41)  compelled  to  desist  from  that  passage,  and  to 

gives  very  copious  illustrations  of  this  point,  bear  up  between  Scarpanto  and  Saxo." 


688  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xiun. 

find  that  it  did  actually  blow  from  these  quarters  soon  afterwards,  in  the 
course  of  St.  Paul's  voyage.  Such  a  wind  would  be  sufficiently  fair  for  a 
passage  to  Sidon :  and  the  seamen  might  proceed  to  that  port  in  the  hope 
of  the  weather  becoming  more  favorable,  and  be  detained  there  by  th( 
wind  continuing  in  the  same  quarter.*  The  passage  from  Caesarea  to 
Sidon  is  sixty-seven  miles,  a  distance  easily  accomplished,  under  favora- 
ble circumstances,  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours.  In  the  course  of  the 
night  they  would  pass  by  Ptolemais  and  Tyre,  where  St.  Paul  had  visited 
the  Christians  two  years  before.'^  Sidon  is  the  last  city  on  the  Phoenician 
shore  in  which  the  Apostle's  presence  can  be  traced.  It  is  a  city  associ- 
ated, from  the  earliest  times,  with  patriarchal  and  Jewish  history.  The 
limit  of  "  the  border  of  the  Canaanites  "  in  the  description  of  the  peo- 
pling of  the  ^arth  after  the  Flood  (Gen.  x.  19),  —  "  the  haven  of  the  sea, 
the  haven  of  ships,"  in  the  dim  vision  of  the  dying  Patriarch  (lb.  xlix. 
13),  —  the  "great  Sidon"  of  the  wars  of  Joshua  (Josh.  xi.  8),  —  the 
city  that  never  was  conquered  by  the  Israelites  (Judg.  i.  31),  —  the  home 
of  the  merchants  that  "passed  over  the  sea"  (Isa.  xxiii.),  —  its  history 
was  linked  with  all  the  annals  of  the  Hebrew  race.  Nor  is  it  less  famil- 
iarly known  in  the  records  of  Heathen  antiquity.  Its  name  is  celebrated 
both  in  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey,  and  Herodotus  says  that  its  sailors 
were  the  most  expert  of  all  the  Phoenicians.  Its  strong  and  massive 
fortifications  were  pulled  down,  when  this  coast  fell  under  the  sway  of 
the  Persians ;  but  its  harbor  remained  uninjured  till  a  far  later  period. 
The  Prince  of  the  Druses,  with  whose  strange  and  brilliant  career  its  more 
recent  history  is  most  closely  connected,  threw  masses  of  stone  and  earth 
into  the  port,  in  order  to  protect  himself  from  the  Turks :  ^  —  and  houses 
are  now  standing  on  the  spot  where  the  ships  of  King  Louis  anchored  in 
the  last  Crusade,*  and  which  was  crowded  with  merchandise  in  that  age, 
when  the  geographer  of  the  Roman  Empire  spoke  of  Sidon  as  the  best 
harbor  of  Phcenicia.' 

-  Nor  is  the  history  of  Sidon  without  a  close  connection  with  those  years 
in  which  Christianity  was  founded.  Not  only  did  its  inhabitants,  with 
those  of  Tyre,  follow  the  footsteps  of  Jesus,  to  hear  His  words,  and  to 
be  healed  of  their  diseases  (Luke  vi.  17),  but  the  Son  of  David  Himself 
visited  thofcf^  coasts,  and  there  rewarded  the  importunate  faith  of  a  Gen- 
tile suppliant  (Matt,  xv.,  Mark  vii.)  ;  and  soon  the  prophecy  which  lay, 

1  "  They  probably  stopped  at  Sidon  for  the  »  A  compendious  account  of  Fakriddin  will 
purposes  of  trade."  —  Smith,  p.  23.     "  It  may      be  found  in  the  Modern  Traveller. 

be  concluded  that  they  put  in  because  of  con-  *  For  the  history  of  Sidon  during  the  Mid 

trary  winds."  —  Penrose  MS.  die  Ages,  see  Dr.  Robinson's  third  yolain«. 

2  See  what  has  been  said  above  on  these  ^  Strabo,  xvi. 
two  cities,  Ch.  XX.  p.  613,  &c. 


CHAP.  xxin.  SIDON  TO   MYKA.  uv^9 

as  it  were,  involved  in  this  miracle,  was  fulfilled  by  the  preaching  of 
Evangelists  and  Apostles.  Those  who  had  been  converted  during  the 
dispersion  which  followed  the  martyrdom  of  Stephen  were  presently 
visited  by  Barnabas  and  Saul  (Acts  xi.).  Again,  Paul  with  Barnabas 
passed  through  these  cities  on  their  return  from  the  first  victorious  jour- 
ney among  the  Gentiles  (lb.  xv.  3).  Nor  were  these  the  only  journeys 
which  the  Apostle  had  taken  tiirough  Phoenicia  ;  ^  so  that  he  well  knew, 
on  his  arrival  from  Caesarea,  that  Christian  brethren  were  to  be  found  in 
Sidon.  He,  doubtless,  told  Julius  that  he  had  "  friends  "  there,  whom  he 
wished  to  visit,  and,  either  from  special  commands  which  had  been  given 
by  Festus  in  favor  of  St.  Paul,  or  through  an  influence  which  the  Apostle 
had  already  gained  over  the  centurion's  mind,  the  desired  permission  was 
granted.  If  we  bear  in  our  remembrance  that  St.  Paul's  health  was 
naturally  delicate,  and  that  he  must  have  suffered  much  during  his  long 
detention  at  Caesarea,  a  new  interest  is  given  to  the  touching  incident,  with 
which  the  narrative  of  this  voyage  opens,  that  the  Roman  officer  treated 
this  one  prisoner  "  courteously,  and  gave  him  liberty  to  go  unto  his  friends 
to  refresh  himself."  We  have  already  considered  the  military  position  of 
this  centurion,  and  seen  that  there  are  good  grounds  for  identifying  him 
with  an  officer  mentioned  by  a  Heathen  historian.'^  It  gives  an  additional 
pleasure  to  such  investigations,  wlien  we  can  record  our  grateful  recollec- 
tion of  kindness  shown  by  him  to  that  Apostle,  from  whom  we  have 
received  our  chief  knowledge  of  the  Gospel. 

On  going  to  sea  from  Sidon,  the  wind  was  unfavorable.  Hence,  what- 
ever the  weather  had  been  before,  it  certainly  blew  from  the  westward 
now.  The  direct  course  from  Sidon  to  the  "  coasts  of  Asia  "  would  have 
been  to  the  southward  of  Cyprus,  across  the  sea  over  which  the  Apostle 
had  sailed  so  prosperously  two  years  before.^  Thus  when  St.  Luke  says 
that  "  they  sailed  under  the  lee*  of  Cyprus,  because  the  winds  were  eon- 
irary^''  he  means  that  they  sailed  to  the  north-east  and  north  of  the  island. 
If  there  were  any  doubt  concerning  his  meaning,  it  would  be  made  clear 
by  what  is  said  afterwards,  that  they  "  sailed  through^  the  sea  which  is  over 
against  C'dicia  and  Pamphylia.''^  The  reasons  why  this  course  was  taken 
will  be  easily  understood  by  those  who  have  navigated  those  seas  in  modern 

1  See  p.  370.  led  by  his  view  of  the  meaning  of  the  word 

2  See  the  preceding  chapter.  "  Asia."  They  sailed,  in  fact,  so  that  the 
^  See  Ch.  XX.  wind  blew  from  the  island  towards  the  ship. 
*  This  is  the  strict  meaning  of  the  term.       The  idea  of  sailing  near  the  coast  is  no  doubt 

So  it  is  used  below,  v.  7,  and  the  sense  is  the  included  :  but  the  two  things  are  distinct, 

name,  v.  16.     It  is  a  confusion  of  geographical  *  Tiirough  or  across.     The  meaning  is  simi- 

ideas  to  suppose  that  a  south  shore  is  neces-  lar  in  v.  27.     We  should  observe  the  order  ia 

Barily   meant.     Falconer,   who    imagines    the  which  the  following  words  occur.     Cilicia  ia 

Boatb  coast  of  Cyprus  to  be  intended,  was  mis-  mentioned  first. 
44 


690 


THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CUAP.  XXIU. 


times.  By  standing  to  the  north,  the  vessel  would  fall  in  with  the  cur- 
rent which  sets  in  a  north-westerly  direction  past  the  eastern  extremity 
of  Cyprus,  and  then  westerly  along  the  southern  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  till 
it  is  lost  at  the  opening  of  the  Archipelago.^  And  besides  this,  as  the 
land  was  neared,  the  wind  would  draw  off  the  shore,  and  the  water  would 
be  smoother  ;  and  both  these  advantages  would  aid  the  progress  of  the 
vessel.^  Hence  she  would  easily  work  to  windward,^  under  the  moun- 
tains of  Cilicia,  and  through  the  bay  of  Pamphylia,  —  to  Lycia,  which 
was  the  first  district  in  the  province  of  Asia/  Thus  we  follow  the  Apos- 
tle once  more  across  the  sea  over  which  he  had  first  sailed  with  Barnabas 
from  Antioch  to  Salamis,  —  and  within  sight  of  the  summits  of  Taurus, 
wliich  rise  above  his  native  city,  —  and  close  by  Perga  and  Attaleia,  — 
till  he  came  to  a  Lycian  harbor  not  far  from  Patara,  the  last  point  at 
which  he  had  touched  on  his  return  from  the  third  missionary  journey. 

The  Lycian  harbor,  in  which  the  Adramyttian  ship  came  to  anchor  on 
this  occasion,  after  her  voyage  from  Sidon,  was  Myra,  a  city  which  has 
been  fully  illustrated  by  some  of  those  travellers,  whose  researches  have, 
within  these  few  years,  for  the  first  time  provided  materials  for  a  detailed 
geographical  commentary  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.^  Its  situation 
was  at  the  opening  of  a  long  and  wonderful  gorge,  which  conducts  the 
traveller  from  the  interior  of  the  mountain-region  of  Lycia  to  the  sea.* 


1  "  From  Syria  to  the  Archipelago  there  is 
a  constant  current  to  the  westward,  slightly 
felt  at  sea,  but  very  perceptible  near  the  shore, 
along  this  part  of  which  [Lycia]  it  runs  with 
considerable  but  irregular  velocity  :    between 
Adratchan  Cape  and  the  small  adjacent  island 
we  found  it  one  day  almost  three  miles  an 
hour.  .  .  .  The    great  body  of   water,   as  it 
moves  to  the  westward,  is  intercepted  by  the 
western  coast  of  the  Gulf  of   Adalia ;   thus 
pent  up  and  accumulated,  it  rushes  with  aug- 
mented  violence    towards    Cape   Khelidonia, 
where,  diffusing  itself  in  the  open  sea,  it  again 
becomes  equalized."     Beaufort's   Karamania, 
p.   41.     See  pp.  127,606.     [Of  two  persons 
engaged    in   the    merchant-service,  one    says 
that  he  has  often  "  tricked  other  fruit-vessels  " 
in  sailing  westward,  by  standing  to  the  north 
to  get  this  current,  while  they  took  the  mid- 
channel  course ;  the  other,  that  the  current  is 
sometimes  so  strong  Ixitween  Cyprus  and  the 
main,  that  he  has  known  "  a  steamer  jammed  " 
thjpre,  in  going  to  the  East.] 

■'  It  is  said  in  the  Sailing  Directory  (p.  243), 
bat  "  at  night  the  great  northern  valley  con- 
lo'-f  the  land-wind  from  the  cold  mountains 


of  the  interior  to  the  sea ;  "  and  again  (p.  241 ), 
that  "  Capt.  Beaufort,  on  rounding  Cape  Khe- 
lidonia, found  the  land-breezes,  which  had 
generally  been  from  the  west,  or  south-west, 
coming  down  the  gulf  of  Adalia  from  the 
northward." 

^  The  vessel  would  [probably]  have  to  beat 
up  to  Myra.  This  is  indicated  in  the  map. 
The  wind  is  assumed  to  be  N.  W. :  and  the 
alternate  courses  marked  are  about  N.  N.  E. 
on  the  larboard  tack,  and  W.  S.  W.  on  the 
starboard  tack. 

*  Lycia  was  once  virtually  a  part  of  the 
province  of  Asia  (p.  207) ;  but  shortly  before 
the  time  of  St.  Paul's  voyage  to  Rome  it 
seems  to  have  been  united  under  one  jurisdic- 
tion with  Pamphylia  (p.  209).  The  period 
when  it  was  a  separate  province,  with  Myra 
for  its  metropolis,  was  much  later. 

^  The  two  best  accounts  of  Myra  will  be 
found  in  Fellows's  Asia  Minor,  pp.  194,  &c., 
and  Spratt  and  Forbes's  Lycia,  vol.  i.  ch.  iii. 

^  This  gorge  is  described  in  striking  lan- 
guage, both  by  Sir  C.  Fellows  ard  by  SpraW; 
and  Forbes. 


CHAP.  xxm.  MYEA  TO  CISTIDUS.  691 

A  wide  space  of  plain  intervened  between  the  city  and  the  port.  Strabo 
says  that  the  distance  was  twenty  stadia,  or  more  than  two  miles,^  If  we 
draw  a  natural  inference  from  the  magnitude  of  the  theatre,^  which 
remains  at  the  base  of  the  cliffs,  and  the  traces  of  ruins  to  some  distance 
across  the  plain,  we  should  conclude  that  Myra  once  held  a  considerable 
population  :  while  the  Lycian  tombs,  still  conspicuous  in  the  rocks,  seem 
to  connect  it  with  a  remote  period  of  Asiatic  history.'  We  trace  it,  on 
the  other  hand,  in  a  later  though  hardly  less  obscure  period  of  history : 
for  in  the  Middle  Ages  it  was  called  the  port  of  the  Adriatic,  and  was 
visited  by  Anglo-Saxon  travellers.*  This  was  the  period  when  St.  Nicho- 
las, the  saint  of  the  modern  Greek  sailors,  —  born  at  Patara,  and  buried 
at  Myra,  —had  usurped  the  honor  which  those  two  cities  might  more 
naturally  have  given  to  the  Apostle  who  anchored  in  their  harbors.^  lu 
the  seclusion  of  tne  deep  gorge  of  Dembra  is  a  magnificent  Byzantine 
church ,"-  — probably  the  cathedral  of  the  diocese,  when  Myra  was  the 
ecclesiastical  and  political  metropolis  of  Lycia.''  Another  building,  hard- 
ly less  conspicuous,  is  a  granary  erected  by  Trajan  near  the  mouth  of  the 
little  river  Andraki.*  This  is  the  ancient  Andriace,  which  Pliny  mentions 
as  the  port  of  Myra,  and  which  is  described  to  us  by  Appian,  in  his  nar- 
rative of  the  Civil  Wars  of  Rome,  as  closed  and  protected  by  a  chain.^ 

Andriace,  the  port  of  Myra,  was  one  of  the  many  excellent  harbors 
which  abound  in  the  south-western  part  of  Asia  Minor.  From  this  cir- 
cumstance, and  from  the  fact  that  the  coast  is  high,  and  visible  to  a  great 
distance,  —  in  addition  to  the  local  advantages  which  we  have  mentioned 
above,  the  westerly  current,  and  the  offshore  wind,  —  it  was  common  for 
ships  bound  from  Egypt  to  the  westward  to  be  found  in  this  neighborhood 


^  See  note  4.  St.  Petersburg  by  a  Rassian  frigate  during  the 

^  Mr.  Cockerell  remarks  that  we  may  infer  Greek  revolution,  and  a  gaudy  picture  sent  in- 

sometliing  in  reference  to  tlie  population  of  an  stead.     Sp.  &  F.     Compare  Fellows, 
ancient  city  from  the  size  of  its  theatre.     A  ^  See  the   description   of  this  grand  and 

plan  of  this  theatre  is  given  in  Leake's  Asia  solitary  building,  and  the  vignette,  in  Spratt 

Minor,  and  also  in  Texier's  Asie  Mineure.  and  Forbes.     They  remark  that  "  as  Myra  was 

^  It  is  well  known  that  there  is  much  differ-  the  capital  of  the  bishopric  of  Lycia  for  many 

ence  of   opinion   concerning   the    history  of  centuries  afterwards,  and  as  there  are  no  re- 

Lycian  civilization,  and  the  date  of  the  existing  mains  at  Myra  itself  indicating  the  existence 

remains.  of  a  cathedral,  we  probably  behold  in  this  ruin 

*  Eaili/  Travels  in  Palestine,  quoted  by  Mr.  the  head-church  of  the  diocese,  planted   here 

Lewin,  vol.  ii.  p.  716.     It  is  erroneously  said  from  motives  of  seclusion  and  security." — Vol. 

there  that  Myra  was  at  that  time  the  metropolis  i.  p.  107. 

of  Lycia,  on  the  authority  of  the  »S[ynec(/e»Jus,  ^  Hierocl.  ^^necrf.    See  Wesseling's  note,  p. 

which  belongs  to  a  period  much  later.     The  684. 

river   Andriaki  is   also  incorrectly   identified  ®  The  inscription  on  the  jranary  is  given 

with  the  Limyrus.  by  Beaufort. 

5  The  relics  of  St.  Nicholas  were  taken  to  ^  See  above  p.  608,  n.  7. 


692  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OP   ST.   PAUL,  chap.  xxji. 

when  the  wmds  were  contrary.'  It  was  therefore  a  natural  occurrence, 
and  one  which  could  have  caused  no  surprise,  when  the  centurion  met 
in  the  harbor  at  Myra  with  an  Alexandrian  corn-ship  on  her  voyage  to 
Italy  (v.  6).  Even  if  business  had  not  brought  her  to  this  coast,  she  was 
not  really  out  of  her  track  in  a  harbor  in  the  same  meridian  as  that  of 
her  own  port.^  It  is  probable  that  the  same  westerly  winds  which  had 
hindered  St.  Paul's  progress  from  Cassarea  to  Myra  had  caused  the  Alex- 
andrian ship  to  stand  to  the  north. 

Thus  the  expectation  was  fulfilled  which  had  induced  the  centurion  to 
place  his  prisoners  on  board  the  vessel  of  Adramyttium.^  That  vessel 
proceeded  on  her  homeward  route  up  the  coast  of  the  JEgean,  if  the 
weather  permitted  ;  and  we  now  follow  the  Apostle  through  a  more  event- 
ful part  of  his  voyage,  in  a  ship  which  was  probably  much  larger  than 
those  that  were  simply  engaged  in  the  coasting-trade.  From  the  total 
number  of  souls  on  board  (v.  87),  and  the  known  fact  that  the  Egyptian 
merchantmen  were  among  the  largest  in  the  Mediterranean,*  we  conclude 
tliat  she  was  a  vessel  of  considerable  size.  Every  thing  that  relates  to 
her  construction  is  interesting  to  us,  through  the  minute  account  which  is 
given  of  her  misfortunes  from  the  moment  of  her  leaving  Myra.  The 
weather  was  unfavorable  from  the  first.  They  were  "  many  days  "  before 
reaching  Cnidus  (v.  7)  :  and  since  the  distance  from  Myra  to  this  place 
is  only  a  hundred  and  thirty  miles,  it  is  certain  that  they  must  have 
sailed  '^  slowly"  (ib.).  The  delay  was  of  course  occasioned  by  one  of 
two  causes, —  by  calms  or  by  contrary  winds.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  latter  was  the  real  cause,  not  only  because  the  sacred  narrative 
states  that  they  reached  Cnidus*  ^^  with  difficulty,"  but  because  we  are 
informed  that,  when  Cnidus  was  reached,  they  could  not  make  good  their 
course''  any  farther,  ^^  the  wind  not   suffering   them"  (ibid.).     At  this 

1  See  the  references  to  Socrates,  Sozomen,  *  See  above,  p.  685. 

and   Philo,   in   Wetstein.     It  is  possible,   as  *  A  quotation   to   this  effect  is  given  by 

Kuinoel  suggests,  that  the  ship  might   have  Wetstein. 

brought  goods  from  Alexandria  to  Lycia,  and  ^  The  Greek  word  here  is  only  imperfectly 

then  taken  in  a  fresh  cargo  for  Italy  ;  but  not  rendered  by  "scarce  "in  the  English  version, 

very  probable,   since  she  was  full  of   wheat  It  is  the  same  word  which  is  translated  "  hard- 

when  the  gale  caught  her.     [A  captain  in  the  ly  "  in  v.  8,  and  it  occurs  again  in  v.  16. 

merchant-service  told  the  writer,  that,  in  com-  ®  Their  direct  course  was  about  W.  by  S.  : 

ing  from  Ah^xandria  in  August,  he  has  stood  to  and,  when  they  opened  the  point,  they  were 

the  north  towards  Asia  Minor  for  the  sake  of  untler  very  unfavorable  circumstances  even  for 

the  current,  and  that  this  is  a  very  common  beating.     The  words  "  the  wind  not  suffering 

course.]  us,"  Mr.  Smith  understands  to  mean  thiit  the 

^  Mr.  Lewin  supposes   that    the    plan  of  wind  would  not  allow  the  vessel  to  hold  on 

Julius  was  changed,  in  consequence  of  this  her  course  towards   Italy,  after   Cnidus  was 

ship  being  found  in  harbor  here.     "  At  Myra  passed.     So  Sir  C.  Penrose,  in  whose  JiIS.  we 

the    centurion    most   unluckily  changed    his  find  the  following :  "  The  course  from  Myra 

plan,"  &c.,  vol.  ii.  p.  716.  towards  Italy  was  to  pass  close  to  the  Island 


CHAP.  xxiu.  CNIDUS.  693 

point  they  lost  the  advantages  of  a  favoring  current,  a  weather-shora  and 
smooth  water,  and  were  met  by  all  the  force  of  the  sea  from  the  westward ; 
and  it  was  judged  the  most  prudent  course,  instead  of  contending  with  a 
liead  sea  and  contrary  winds,  to  run  down  to  the  southward,  and  after 
i-ounding  Cape  Salmone,  the  easternmost  point  of  Crete,  to  pursue  the 
voyage  under  the  lee  of  that  island.' 

Knowing,  as  we  do,  the  consequences  which  followed  this  step,  we  are 
inclined  to  blame  it  as  imprudent,  unless,  indeed,  it  was  absolutely 
necessary.  For  while  the  south  coast  of  Crete  was  deficient  in  good  har- 
bors, that  of  Cnidus  was  excellent,  —  well  sheltered  from  the  north-west- 
erly winds,  fully  supplied  with  all  kinds  of  stores,  and  in  every  way 
commodious,  if  needful,  for  wintering.^ 

And  here,  according  to  our  custom,  we  pause  again  in  the  narrative, 
that  we  may  devote  a  few  lines  to  the  history  and  description  of  the  place. 
In  early  times  it  was  the  metropolis  of  the  Asiatic  Dorians,  who  wor- 
shipped Apollo,  their  national  Deity,  on  the  rugged  headland  called  the 
Triopian  ^  promontory  (the  modern  Cape  Crio),  which  juts  out  beyond 
the  city  to  the  West.  From  these  heights  the  people  of  Cnidus  saw  that 
engagement  between  the  fleets  of  Pisander  and  Conon,  which  resulted  in 
the  maritime  supremacy  of  Atiiens.*  To  the  north-west  is  seen  the 
island  of  Cos  (p.  604)  ;  to  the  south-east,  across  a  wider  reach  of  sea, 
is  the  larger  island  of  Rhodes  (p.  606),  with  which,  in  their  weaker 
and  more  voluptuous  days,*  Cnidus  was  united  in  alliance  with  Rome,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  struggle  between  Italy  and  the  East.®  The  pc»si- 
tion  of  the  city  of  Cuidus  is  to  the  east  of  the  Triopian  headland,  where 
a  narrow  isthmus  unites  the  promontory  with  the  continent,  ind  separates 

of  Cythera  (Cerigo),  or  the  south  point  of  the  shore  could   not  come  to  and  warp  it."    If, 

Morea ;  the  Island  of  Rhodes  lying  in  the  di-  however,  it  were  true  that  they  could  not  get 

rect  track.     It  appears  that  the  ship  passed  to  into  Cnidus,  it  would  equally  follow  that  .he 

the  northward   of  that  island,  having   sailed  wind  was  blowing  hard  from  the  N.  W. 
slowly  many  days  from  the  light  and  baffling  ^  See  above. 

winds,  usual  in  those  seas  and  at  that  season.  2  jf  ^\^q  words  "  the  wind  not  suffering  u.i " 

Having  at  last  got  over  against  Cnidus  (C.  really  mean  that  the  wind  would  not  allow 

Crio),  the  wind  not  suffering  them  to  f/et  on  in  the  them  to  enter  the  harbor  of  Cuidus,  these  re 

direct  course,  it  having  become  steady  from  the  marks  become  unnecessary, 
west  or  north-west,  they  sailed   southwards,  ^  For  a  view  of  this  remarkable  promon 

till,  coming  near  to  the  east  end  of  Crete,  they  tory,  which  is  the  more  worthy  of  notice,  sinev. 

passed,"  &c.  St.  Paul  passed  it  twice  (Acts  xxi.  1,  xxvii.  7), 

The  words  at  first  sight  seem  to  mean  that  see  the  engraving  in  the  Admiralty  Chart,  No 

the  wind  would  not  allow  them  to  put  into  the  1604.  *  See  above,  p.  604. 

harbor  of  Cnidus :  and  so  they  are  understood  ^  We  can  hardly  avoid  making  some  allu 

by  Meyer,  De  Wctte,  Humphry,  and  Hackett.  sion  here  to  the  celebrated  Venus  of  Praxiteles 

But  in  a  case  of  this  kind  nautical  considera-  This  object  of  universal  admiration  was  at  Cni 

tions  must  be  taken  into  account.     A  friend  dus  when  St.  Paul  passed  by. 
remarks  in  a  letter  that  "  a  ship  on  a  weather-  ^  It  was  afterwards  made  "  a  free  city." 


694  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  cila^.  xxm 

the  two  barbjrs  which  Strabo  has  described.^  "  Few  places  bear  more 
incontestable  proofs  of  former  magnificence  ;  and  fewer  still  of  the  ruffian 
industry  of  their  destroyers.  The  whole  area  of  the  city  is  one  promis- 
cuous mass  of  ruins  ;  among  which  may  be  traced  streets'and  gateways, 
porticoes  and  theatres."  ^  But  the  remains  which  are  the  most  worthy 
to  arrest  our  attention  are  those  of  the  harbors  ;  not  only  because  Cnidus 
was  a  city  peculiarly  associated  with  maritime  enterprise,'  but  because 
these  remahis  have  been  less  obliterated  by  violence  or  decay.  "  The 
smallest  harbor  has  a  narrow  entrance  between  high  piers,  and  was  evi- 
dently the  closed  basin  for  triremes,  which  Strabo  mentions."  But  it 
was  the  soutliern  and  larger  port  which  lay  in  St.  Paul's  course  from 
Myra,  and  in  which  the  Alexandrian  ship  must  necessarily  have  come 
to  anchor,  if  she  had  touched  at  Cnidus.  "  This  port  is  formed  by  two 
trans  ^erse  moles ;  these  noble  works  were  carried  into  the  sea  to  a  depth 
of  nearly  a  hundred  feet ;  one  of  them  is  almost  perfect ;  the  other, 
which  is  more  exposed  to  the  south-west  swell,  can  only  be  seen  under 
water."*  And  we  may  conclude  our  description  by  quoting  from 
another  traveller,  who  speaks  of  "  the  remains  of  an  ancient  quay  on  the 
S.W.,  supported  by  Clycopean  walls,  and  in  some  places  cut  out  of  the 
steep  limestone  rocks,  which  rise  abruptly  from  the  water's  edge."  * 

This  excellent  harbor,  then,  from  choice  or  from  necessity,  was  left 
behind  by  the  seamen  of  the  Alexandrian  vessel.  Instead  of  putting 
back  there  for  shelter,  they  yielded  to  the  expectation  of  being  able  to 
pursue  their  voyage  under  the  lee  of  Crete,  and  ran  down  to  Cape  Sal- 
mone  :  after  rounding  which,  the  same  "  difficulty  "  would  indeed  recur 
(v.  8),  but  still  with  the  advantage  of  a  weather-shore.  The  statements 
at  this  particular  point  of  St.  Luke's  narrative  enable  us  to  ascertain,  with 
singular  minuteness,  the  direction  of  the  wind :  and  it  is  deeply  interest- 
ing to  observe  how  this  direction,  once  ascertained,  harmonizes  all  the 
inferences  which  we  should  naturally  draw  from  other  parts  of  the  con- 
text.    But  the  argument  has  been  so  well  stated  by  the  first  writer  who 

1  The  ruins  are  chiefly  on  the  east  side  of  Pharos  of  Alexandria.  The  same  place  gave 
the  Isthmus  (see  Hamilton,  as  referred  to  be-  birth  to  Ctesias  and  Agatharchides,  and  others 
low).  Pausanias  says  that  the  city  was  di-  who  have  conti-ibuted  much  to  geographical 
vidcd    into   two   parts   by   an  Euripus,  over  knowledge. 

which  a  bridge  was  thrown  ;  one  half  being  *  Here  and  above  we  quote  from  Beaufort, 

towards  the  Triopian   promontory,  the  other  Sec   his  Sketch  of  the   Harbor.     The  same 

towards  the  east.  maybe  seen  in  the  Admiralty  Chart,  No.  1533. 

2  Beaufort's  Karamania,  p.  81.  The  fullest  Another  chart  gives  a  larger  plan  of  the  ruins, 
iccount  of  the  ruins  will  be  found  in  the  third  &c.  Other  references  might  easily  be  given, 
volume  of  the  Transactions  ef  the  Dilettanti  Perhaps  there  is  no  city  in  Asia  Minor  which 
Society,  and  in  Hamilton's  Asia  Minor,  vol.  i  has  been  more  clearly  displayed,  both  by  de- 
i>p.  39-45.  scription  and  engravings. 

'  It  was  Sostratus  of  Cnidns  who  built  the  ^  Hamilton,  p.  39. 


ca,vp.  xxm.  FAIR  HAVENS.  695 

has  called  attention  to  this  question,  that  we  will  present  it  in  his  words 
rather  than  our  own.^  "  The  course  of  a  ship  on  lier  voyage  from  Myra 
to  Italy,  after  she  has  reached  Cnidus,  is  by  the  north  side  of  Crete, 
through  the  A.rchipelago,  W.  by  S.  Hence  a  ship  which  can  make  good  a 
course  of  less  than  seven  points  from  the  wind  would  not  have  been  pre- 
vented from  proceeding  on  her  course,  unless  the  wind  had  been  to  the 
west  of  N.N.W.  But  we  are  told  that  she  '  ran  under  Crete,  over  against 
Salmone,'  which  implies  that  she  was  able  to  fetch  that  cape,  which  bears 
about  S.W.  by  S.  from  Cnidus  ;  but,  unless  the  wind  had  been  to  tlie 
north  of  W.N.W.,  she  could  not  have  done  so.  The  middle  point 
between  N.N.W.  and  W.N.W.  is  north-west,  which  cannot  be  more  than 
two  points,  and  is  probably  not  more  than  one,  from  the  true  direction. 
The  wind,  therefore,  would  in  common  language  have  been  termed  north- 
west." ^  And  then  the  author  proceeds  to  quote,  what  we  have  quoted 
elsewhere  (p.  605,  n.  4),  a  statement  from  the  English  Sailing  Directions 
regarding  the  prevalence  of  north-westerly  winds  in  these  seas  during 
tlie  summer  months  ;  and  to  point  out  that  the  statement  is  in  complete 
harmony  with  what  Pliny  says  of  the  Etesian  monsoons. 

Under  these  circumstances  of  weather,  a  consideration  of  wlmt  has 
been  said  above,  with  the  chart  of  Crete  before  us,  will  show  that  the 
voyage  could  have  been  continued  some  distance  from  Cape  Salmone 
under  tlie  lee  of  the  island,  as  it  had  been  from  Myra  to  Cnidus,'  —  bul 
that  at  a  certain  point  (now  called  Cape  Matala),  where  the  coast  trends 
suddenly  to  the  north,  and  where  the  full  force  of  the  wind  and  sea  from 
the  westward  must  have  been  met,  this  possibility  would  have  ceased 
once  more,  as  it  had  ceased  at  the  south-western  corner  of  the  Peninsula. 
At  a  short  distance  to  the  east  of  Cape  Matala  is  a  roadstead,*  which  was 
then  called  "  Fair  Havens,"  and  still  retains  the  same  name,*  and  which 
the  voyagers  successfully  reached  and  came  to  anchor.  There  seems  to 
have  been  no  town  at  Fair  Havens  :  but  there  was  a  town  near  it  called 

1  For  what  may  be  necessary  to  explain  name  of  AifisovEg  Kdlcwg,  and  also  the  Calls- 
the  nautical  terms,  see  the  compass  on  p.  619.  mene  spoken  of  in  the  voyage  of  Rauwolf  (in 

2  Smith,  p.  35.  Ray's  Collection),  and  the  Cab's  Miniones  of 

3  See  above.  It  is  of  importance  to  observe  Fynes  Morison.  In  ancient  sailing  directions, 
here  that  the  pronoun  "  it  "  in  v.  8  refers,  not  Dutch  and  French,  it  is  described  as  "  een 
to  Salmone,  but  to  Crete.  With  the  wind  from  schoone  bay,  —  une  belle  baie."  See  all  these 
the  N.  W.  they  would  easily  round  the  point :  references  in  Smith,  pp.  30,  38,  44.  The  place 
but  after  this  they  would  "  heat  up  with  diffi-  was  visited  by  Mr.  Pashley,  but  is  not  described 
culty  along  the  coast  "  to  the  neighborhood  of  by  him.  Meyer  consid.-;rs  the  name  enphemis- 
Cape  Matala.  tic.     As  regards  wintei  ing,  the  place  was  cer 

•*  In   our  larger  editions,  a  view  is  given  tainly   "not   commodious;"  but   as   regards 

from  Schranz's  drawing,  in  Mr.  Smith's  work.  shelter  from  some  winds  (including  N.  W.^  ** 

*  It  is  no  doubt  the  same  place  which  is  was  a  good  anchorage. 
mentioned   by  Pococke    (ii.    250)   under  the 


696  THE  LIFE  AJ!^)  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  ixu 

Lasaea,'  a  circumstance  which  St.  Luke  mentions  (if  we  may  presume  to 
say  so),  not  with  any  view  of  fixing  the  locality  of  the  roadstead,  but 
simply  because  the  fact  was  impressed  on  his  memory.^  If  the  vessel 
was  detained  long  at  this  anchorage,  the  sailors  must  have  had  frequent 
intercourse  with  Lasaea,  and  the  soldiers  too  might  obtain  leave  to  visit 
it ;  and  possibly  also  the  prisoners,  each  witli  a  soldier  chained  to  his 
arm.  We  are  not  informed  of  the  length  of  the  delay  at  Fair  Havens : 
but  before  they  left  the  place,  a  "  considerable  time  "  had  elapsed  since 
they  had  sailed  from  Caesarea '  (v.  9)  ;  and  they  had  arrived  at  that 
season  of  the  year  when  it  was  considered  imprudent  to  try  the  open  sea. 
This  is  expressed  by  St.  Luke  by  saying  that  "  the  fast  was  already  past ;  " 
a  proverbial  phrase  among  the  Jews,  employed  as  we  should  employ  the 
phrase  "  about  Michaelmas,"  and  indicating  precisely  that  period  of  the 
year.'*  The  fast  of  expiation  was  on  the  tenth  of  Tisri,  and  corresponded 
to  the  close  of  September  or  the  beginning  of  October ;  ®  and  is  exactly 
the  time  when  seafaring  is  pronounced  to  be  dangerous  by  Greek  and 
Roman  writers.^  It  became,  then,  a  very  serious  matter  of  consultation 
whether  they  should  remain  at  Fair  Havens  for  the  winter,  or  seek  some 
better  harbor.  St.  Paul's  advice  was  very  strongly  given  that  they  should 
remain  where  they  were.  He  warned  them  that  if  they  ventured  to 
pursue  their  voyage,  they  would  meet  with  violent  weather,'  with  great 
injury  to  the  cargo  and  the  ship,  and  much  risk  to  the  lives  of  those  on 
board.     It  is  sufficient  if  we  trace  in  this  warning  rather  the  natural  pru- 

^  Mr.  Smith  says  that  Lassea  is  not  men-  ous  remains  of  a  considerable  town  were  dis- 

tioned  by  any  ancient  writer.    It  is,  however,  covered.     The  peasants  who  came  down  from 

probably  the  Lasia  of  the  Peutingerian  Tables,  the  hills  said  that  the  name  of  the  place  was 

stated  there  to  be  sixteen  miles  to  the  east  of  Lassea.     Cape  Leonda  lies  five  miles  east  of 

Gortyna.  Fair  Havens.     Mr.  Brown's  letter  has   been 

[We  are  now  able  with  great  satisfaction  to  placed  at  our  disposal  by  Mr.  Smith,  who  will 

state  that  the  city  of  Lassea  has  been  discov-  give  fuller  details  in  the  second  edition  of  his 

ered.     The  Rev.  G.  Brown,  with  some  com-  work  on  St.  Paul's  Shipwreck.     (This  edition 

panions,  has  recently  visited  this  coast  in  the  is  now  published.     1861.)] 
yacht  St.  Ursula;  and  a  letter  written  by  him  ^  The  allusion  is,  in  truth,  an  instance  of 

from   Fair   Havens  on    January   18th,   1856,  the  autoptic  style  of  St.  Luke,  on  which  we 

supplies  the  following  facts.     "When  the  party  have  remarked  in  the  narrative  of  what  took 

landed  at  Fair  Havens  the  question  was  asked,  place  at  Philippi. 

"  Where  is  Lasaja?  "  to  which  it  was  answered  ^  When  they  left  Csesarea  they  had  eveiy 

at  once,  that  it  was  now  a  deserted  place  about  reasonable  prospect  of  reaching  Italy  before 

two  hours  to  the  eastward,  close  to  Cape  Le-  the  stormy  season  ;  but  since  then  "  much  time 

onda.     On  receiving  this  information  they  lan  had  been  spent." 

along  the  coast  before   a  S.  W.  wind ;   and  *  Just   so   Theophrastus    reckons    from   a 

jnst  after  passing  the  Cape,  the  eye  of  one  of  Heathen  festival,  when  he  says  "  that  the  sea 

the  party  was  caught  by  "  two  white  pillars  is  navigable  after  the  Dionysia." 
standing  on  a  brae-side  near  the  shore."     On  ^  Levit.  xvi.  29,  xxiii.  27. 

approaching  and  landing,  the  beach  was  found  ^  Authorities  are  given  in  the  larger  editions, 

to  be  lined  with  masses  of  masonry,  and  vari-  ^  See  v.  10,  and  v.  21. 


CHAP.  Xilll. 


PHOENIX. 


697 


dence  and  judgment  of  St.  Paul  than  the  result  of  any  supernatural 
revelation  :  though  it  is  possible  that  a  prophetic  power  was  acting  ^  iu 
combination  with  the  insight  derived  from  long  experience  of  "  perils  in 
the  sea"  (2  Cor.  xi.  26).  He  addressed  such  arguments  to  his  fellow- 
voyagers  as  would  be  likely  to  influence  all :  the  master  ^  would  naturally 
avoid  what  might  endanger  the  ship:  the  owner'  (who  was  also  on 
board)  would  be  anxious  for  the  cargo :  to  the  centurion  and  to  all,  the 
risk  of  perilling  their  lives  was  a  prospect  that  could  not  lightly  be  re- 
garded. That  St.  Paul  was  allowed  to  give  advice  at  all  implies  that 
he  was  already  held  iu  a  consideration  very  unusual  for  a  prisoner  iu  the 
custody  of  soldiers  ;  and  the  time  came  when  his  words  held  a  command- 
ing sway  over  the  whole  crew :  yet  we  cannot  be  surprised  tliat  on  this 
occasion  the  centurion  was  more  influenced*  by  the  words  of  the  owner 
and  the  master  than  those  of  the  Apostle.  There  conld  be  no  doubt  that 
their  present  anchorage  was  "  incommodious  to  winter  iu  "  (v.  12),  and 
the  decision  of  "  the  majority  "  was  to  leave  it  so  soon  as  the  weather 
should  permit. 

On  the  south  coast  of  the  island,  somewhat  farther  to  the  west,  was  a 
harbor  called  Phoenix,'  with  which  it  seems  that  some  of  the  sailors  wove 
familiar.^    They  spoke  of  it  in  their  conversation  during  the  delay  at 


1  Observe  the  vagueness  of  the  words  "  a 
certain  island." 

^  The  same  word  is  translated  "  shipmas- 
ter "  in  Rev.  xviii.  17. 

'^  He  might  be  the  skipper,  or  little  more 
than  supercargo. 

*  The  imperfect  tense  is  used  here.  [It 
ap])ears  from  Mr.  Brown's  letter  that  St. 
Paul's  counsel  was  not  unwise  even  in  the 
nautical  sense.  For  further  details  we  must 
again  refer  to  Mr.  Smith's  second  edition. 
We  may  just  add  that  Mr.  Brown  was  told  at 
Lutro  that  the  "  Holy  Apostle  Paul "  had 
visited  Calolbnounias  and  baptized  many  people 
there ;  and  that  near  the  latter  place  he  saw  the 
ruins  of  a  monastery  bearing  the  Apostle's 
name.] 

^  So  the  name  is  written  by  St.  Luke  and 
by  Strabo.  See  below.  The  name  was  proba- 
bly derived  from  the  palm-trees,  which  are 
said  by  Theophrastus  and  Pliny  to  be  indige- 
nous in  Crete. 

^'  At  the  time  when  Mr.  Smith's  work  was 
published,  our  information  I'egarding  the  coast 
of  Crete  was  very  imperfect ;  and  he  found  it 
to  be  the  general  impression  of  several  officers 
acquainted  with  the  navigation  of  those  seas 


[and  the  writer  of  this  note  may  add  thai  ho 
has  received  the  same  impression  from  persons 
engaged  in  the  merchant-service,  and  familiar 
with  that  part  of  the  Levant],  that  there  are 
no  ship-harbors  on  the  south  side  of  the  island. 
Mr.  Smith's  conviction,  however,  was  that  at 
Lutro  there  was  a  harbor  satisfying  all  tho 
conditions,  and  the  writer  of  this  note  waa 
enabled,  in  April,  1852,  to  confirm  this  convic- 
tion in  a  very  satisfactory  manner.  The 
Admiralty  drawings  of  the  south  coast  of 
Crete  had  just  then  arrived,  and  the  soundings 
of  Lutro  were  decisive.  These  were  exhibited 
in  our  earlier  editions  from  a  tracing  made  at 
the  Admiralty.  The  position  of  the  harbor  is 
shown  by  the  anchor  in  the  chart  opposite 
p.  698. 

Previously,  however,  Mr.  Smith  had  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  Mr.  Urquhart,  M.P.,  allud- 
ing to  what  occurred  to  him,  wheu  on  board  a 
Greek  ship  of  war  and  chasing  a  pirate.  "Lu- 
tro is  an  admirable  harbor.  You  open  it  like 
a  box ;  unexpectedly,  the  rocks  stand  apart, 
and  the  town  appears  within.  .  .  .  We  thought 
we  had  cut  him  off,  and  that  we  were  driving 
him  right  upon  the  rocks.  Suddenly  he  dis- 
appeared ;  —  and,  rounding  m  after  him,  like  a 


69& 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAT.  XXOl. 


Fair  Havens,  ai.d  they  described  it  as  "  looking  ^  toward  the  south-west 
wind  and  the  north-west  wind."  If  they  meant  to  recommend  a  harbor, 
into  which  these  winds  blew  dead  on  shore,  it  would  appear  to  have  been 
unsailor-lilie  advice  :  and  we  are  tempted  to  examine  more  closely  whether 
the  expression  really  means  what  at  first  sight  it  appears  to  mean,  and  then 
to  inquire  further  whether  we  can  identify  this  description  witli  any  exist- 
ing harbor.  This  might  indeed  be  considered  a  question  of  mere  curiosity, 
—  since  the  vessel  never  reached  Phoenix,  —  and  since  tlie  description  of 
the  place  is  evidently  not  that  of  St.  Luke,  but  of  the  sailors,  whose  con- 
versation he  heard.^  But  every  thing  has  a  deep  interest  for  us  which 
tends  to  elucidate  this  voyage.  And,  first,  we  think  there  cannot  be  a 
doubt,  both  from  the  notices  in  ancient  writers  and  the  continuance  of 
ancient  names  upon  the  spot,  that  Phoenix  is  to  be  identified  with  the 
modern  Lutro.'    This  is  a  harbor  which  is  sheltered  from  the  winds  above 


change  of  scenery,  the  little  basin,  its  shipping 
and  the  town,  presented  themselves.  .  .  . 
Excepting  Lutro,  all  the  roadsteads  looking  to 
the  southward  are  perfectly  exposed  to  the 
south  or  cast."  For  a  view  of  Lutro,  see 
Pashlcj's  Travels  in  Crete. 

[The  earlier  part  of  this  note  remains  as  it 
was  in  the  first  edition.  It  is  confirmed  in 
every  particular  by  Mr.  Brown's  letter.  In 
the  first  place,  when  they  were  in  search  of 
Lutro,  they  ran  past  it,  partly  because  of  an 
error  in  the  chart,  and  partly  because  "  the 
port  in  question  makes  no  appearance  from  the 
sea."  Next,  on  reaching  the  place,  and  inquir- 
ing from  an  old  Greek  what  was  its  ancient 
name,  "  he  replied,  without  hesitation,  Phmiiki, 
but  that  the  old  city  exists  no  longer."  A 
Latin  inscription  relating  to  the  Emperor 
Nerva  (who  was  of  Cretan  extraction)  is 
mentioned  as  being  found  on  the  point  which 
defends  the  harbor  on  the  south.  The  harbor 
itself  is  described  thus:  "We  found  the  shores 
steep  and  perfectly  clean.  There  arc  fifteen 
fathoms  in  the  middle  of  the  harbor,  diminish- 
ing gradually  to  two  close  to  the  village.  As 
the  beach  is  extremely  narrow,  and  the  hills 
immediately  behind  steep  and  rocky,  the  har- 
bor cannot  have  altered  its  form  materially 
since  the  days  of  the  Apostle."  The  health- 
officer  said,  that  "  though  the  harbor  is  open 
to  the  East,  yet  the  easterly  gales  never  blow 
home,  being  lifted  by  the  high  land  behind ; 
and  that  even  in  storms  the  sea  rolls  in  gently 
(piano,  piano)  .  .  .  it  is  the  only  secure  harbor, 
in  all  winds,  on  the  sotUh  coast  of  Crete ;  and. 


during  the  wars  between  the  Venetians  and 
the  Turks,  as  many  as  twenty  and  twenty-five 
wai--galleys  have  found  shelter  in  its  waters. 

Further  interest  is  given  to  tiiis  narrative  by 
the  circumstance  that  this  yachting  party  was 
caught  by  the  Euroclydon  (see  below,  p.  700), 
so  that  some  of  them  who  landed  were  unable 
to  rejoin  the  vessel,  and  detained  a  night  on 
shore.  The  sailors  said  that  it  was  "  no  won- 
der that  St.  Paul  was  blown  off  the  coast  in 
such  weather"  (see  pp.  700,  701),  and  they 
added  that  "  no  boat  could  have  boarded  them 
in  such  a  sea  "  (see  p.  701). 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  this  same  part/,  on 
returning  from  Alexandria,  were  again  caught 
in  a  gale  on  this  coast,  on  February  19th,  1856, 
and  obliged  to  run  with  three-reefed  mainsail 
and  fore-staysail  into  the  harbor  of  Lutro, 
where,  the  writer  says,  "  we  spent  as  quiet  a 
night  as  if  we  were  in  a  mill-pond.  It  is  a 
small  place,"  he  continues,  "  and  it  was  queer, 
in  looking  up  the  after-companion,  to  see  olive- 
trees  and  high  rocks  overhanging  the  taffrail."] 

1  This  is  the  literal  meaning  of  the  origi- 
nal, which  is  inadequately  ti-anslated  in  the 
English  version. 

2  Observe  the  parenthetic  way  in  which  the 
description  of  Phoenix  is  introduced,  v.  12. 

8  The  details  are  given  in  the  larger  edi- 
tions. Moreover  Strabo  says  that  Phanix  is 
in  the  narrowest  part  of  Crete,  which  is  pre- 
cisely true  of  Lutro  ;  and  the  longitudes  of 
Ptolemy  harmonize  with  the  same  result.  See 
Smith,  p.  51. 

Tiie   chart  on   the  opposite  page  is  takea 


(II 


n 

^ 

o 

m 

H 

^ 

pi 

5» 

V 

V 

W 

^ 

w 

CHAP.  xxm. 


THE   STORM. 


699 


mentioned :  and,  without  entering  fully  into  the  discussions  which  have 
arisen  upon  this  subject,  we  give  it  as  our  opinion  that  the  difficulty  is  to 
be  explained,  simply  by  remembering  that  sailors  speak  of  every  thing 
from  their  own  point  of  view,  and  that  such  a  harbor  does  "  look  "  — 
from  the  water  towards  the  land  which  encloses  it  —  in  the  direction  of 
"  south-west  and  north-west."  * 

With  a  sudden  change  of  weather,  the  north-westerly  wind  ceasing,  and 
a  light  air  springing  up  from  the  south,  the  sanguine  sailors  "  thought 
tha<  their  purpose  was  already  accomplished  "  (v.  13).  They  weighed 
anchor:  and  the  vessel  bore  round  Cape  Matala.  The  distance  to  this 
point  from  Fair  Havens  is  four  or  five  miles  :  the  bearing  is  W.  by  S. 
With  a  gentle  southerly  wind  she  would  be  able  to  weather  the  cape  :  and 
then  the  wind  was  fair  to  Phoenix,  which  was  thirty-five  miles  distant 
from  the  cape,  and  bore  from  thence  about  W.N.W.  The  sailors  already 
saw  the  high  land  above  Lutro,  and  were  proceeding  in  high  spirits,  — 
perhaps  with  fair-weather  sails  set,^  —  certainly  with  the  boat  towing 
astern,^  —  forgetful  of  past  difficulties,  and  blind  to  impending  dangers. 

The  cliange  in  the  fortunes  of  these  mariners  came  without  a  moment's 
warning.*  Soon  after  weathering  Cape  Matala,  and  while  they  were 
pursuing  their  course  in  full  confidence,  close  by  the  coast  of  Crete '  (v. 
13),  a  violent  wind  came  down  ®  from  the  mountains,  and  struck  the  ship 


from  Mr.  Smith's  work,  with  some  modifica- 
tions. The  part  near  Lutro  is  corrected  from 
ihe  tracing  mentioned  above.  The  spot 
marked  "  Sprir^g  and  Church  of  St.  Paul "  is 
from  the  English  Admiralty  survey.  The 
cape  marked  "  C.  St.  Paul "  is  so  named  on  the 
authority  of  Lajjie's  map  and  last  French  gov- 
ernment chart  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  Med- 
iterranean. The  physical  features  are  after 
Lapie  and  Pashley.  For  a  notice  of  St. 
Paul's   fountain,   see  Pashley,  ii.  259. 

^  It  seems  strange  that  this  view  should  not 
have  occurred  to  the  commentators.  For  dis- 
cussion regarding  the  Greek  preposition  used 
here,  we  must  refer  to  the  larger  editions. 

Such  a  harbor  would  have  been  very  "  com- 
modious to  winter  in  ;  "  and  it  agrees  perfectly 
with  Lutro,  as  delineated  in  the  recent  survey. 
To  have  recommended  a  harbor  because  the 
south-west  and  north-west  winds  blew  into  it 
would  have  been  folly.  But,  whether  the  com- 
mentators felt  this  or  not,  they  have  generally 
assumed  that  the  harbor  was  open  to  these 
winds. 

■^  See  what  is  said  below  in  reference  to 
lowering  the  year,  v.  17. 


'  This  is  certain,  from  v.  16. 

*  Their  experience,  however,  might  have 
taught  them  that  there  was  some  cause  for 
fear.  Capt.  J.  Stewart,  R.  N.  (as  quoted  by 
Mr.  Smith,  p.  60),  observes,  in  his  remarks 
on  the  Archipelago  :  "  It  is  always  safe  to  an- 
chor utlder  the  lee  of  an  island  with  a  north- 
erly wind,  as  it  dies  away  gradually;  but  it 
would  be  extremely  dangerous  ivith  southerly 
tcinds,  as  they  almost  invariably  shift  to  a  violent 
northerly  wind."  [During  the  revision  of  these 
pages  for  the  press  (March  4,  1856),  the  fol- 
lowing communication  from  Capt.  Spratt  was 
received  in  a  letter  from  Mr.  Smith  :  "  We  left 
Fair  Havens  with  a  light  southerly  wind  and 
clear  sky  —  every  thing  indicative  of  a  fine  day, 
until  we  rounded  the  cape  to  haul  up  for  the 
head  of  the  bay.  Then  we  saw  Mount  Ida 
covered  with  a  dense  clond,  and  met  a  strong 
northerly  breeze  (one  of  the  summer  gales,  in 
fact,  so  frequent  in  the  Levant,  but  which  in 
general  are  accomplished  by  terrific  gusts 
and  squalls  from  those  high  mountains),  the 
wind  blowing  direct  from  Mount  Ida."] 

^  The  verb  is  in  the  imperfect. 

®  The  Greek  here  denotes  that  the  wind 


700 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXUl. 


(seizing  her,  according  to  the  Greek  expression,  and  whirling  her  round), 
so  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  helmsman  to  make  her  keep  her  course.^ 
The  character  of  the  wind  is  described  in  terms  expressive  of  the  utmost 
violence.  It  came  with  all  the  appearance  of  a  hurricane  :  ^  and  the 
name  "  Euroclydon,"  which  was  given  to  it  by  the  sailors,  indicates  the 
commotion  in  the  sea  which  presently  resulted.^  The  consequence 
was,  that,  in  the  first  instance,  they  were  compelled  to  scud  before  the 
gale.* 

If  we  wish  to  understand  the  events  which  followed,  it  is  of  the  utmost 
consequence  that  we  should  ascertain,  in  the  first  place,  the  direction  of 
this  gale.  Though  there  is  a  great  weight  of  opinion  in  favor  of  the 
reading  Euroaquilo^  in  place  of  Euroclydon,^  —  a  view  which  would  deter- 
mine, on  critical  grounds,  that  the  wind  was  E.N.E., —  we  need  not  con- 
sider ourselves  compelled  to  yield  absolutely  to  this  authority :  and  the 
mere  context  of  the  narrative  enables  us  to  determine  the  question  with 
great  exactitude.  The  wind  came  down  j[rom  the  island  and  drove  the 
vessel  off  the  island :  whence  it  is  evident  that  it  could  not  have  been 
southerly.^  If  we  consider  further  that  the  wind  struck  the  vessel  when 
she  was  not  far''  from  Cape  Matala  (v.  14),  —  that  it  drove  her  totoards 
Clauda^  (v.  16),  which  is  an  island  about  twenty  miles  to  the  S.W.  of 
that  point,  —  and  that  the  sailors  "  feared  "  lest  it  should  drive  them  into 


came  "  doimi  from  it,"  i.  e.  Crete,  not  "  against 
it,"  i.  e.  the  ship.  [Sir  C.  Penrose,  without 
reference  to  the  Greek,  speaks  of  the  wind  a3 
"  descending  from  the  loftj  hills  in  heavy  squalls 
and  eddies,  and  driving  the  now  almost  help- 
less ship  far  from  the  shore,  with  which  her 
pilots  vainly  attempted  to  close."] 

1  Literally,  "  to  look  at  the  wind."  See 
above,  p.  704.  We  see  the  additional  empha- 
sis in  the  expression,  if  we  remember  that  an 
eye  was  painted  on  each  side  of  the  bow,  as 
we  have  mentioned  above.  Even  now  the 
"  eyes  "  of  a  ship  is  a  phrase  used  by  English 
sailors  for  the  bow. 

2  "  A  typhonic  wind."  [See  above,  p.  699, 
n.  4] 

^  Whatever  we  may  determine  as  to  the 
etymology  of  the  word  Euroclydon,  it  seems 
clear  that  the  term  implies  a  violent  agitation 
of  the  water. 

*  "  We  let  her  drive." 

^  IMr.  Smith  argues  in  favor  of  another 
reading  which  denotes  a  N.  E.  wind.  But  we 
have  a  strong  impression  that  Euroclydon  is 
the  correct  reading.  The  addition  of  the 
words  "  which   was  called "  seems   to  us   to 


show  that  it  was  a  name  popularly  given  by 
the  sailors  to  the  wind;  and  nothing  is  more 
natural  than  that  St.  Luke  should  use  the 
word  which  he  heard  the  seamen  employ  on 
the  occasion.  Besides  it  is  the  more  difficult 
reading. 

•>  Falconer  supposes  that  the  wind  came 
from  the  southward,  and  clumsily  attempts  to 
explain  why  (on  this  supposition)  the  vessel 
was  not  driven  on  the  Cretan  coast. 

^  The  use  of  the  imjjerfect  shows  that  they 
were  sailing  near  the  shore  when  the  gale 
seized  the  vessel.  Thus  we  do  not  agree  with 
Mr.  Smith  in  referring  "  not  long  after  "  to 
the  time  when  they  were  passing  round  Cape 
Matala,  but  to  the  time  of  leaving  Fair  Ha- 
vens. The  general  result,  however,  is  the 
same.  [It  appears  from  Capt.  Spratt's  infor- 
mation that  a  ship  can  stand  quite  close  to 
Cape  Matala.] 

^  There    is    no    difficulty  in     identifying 
Clauda.    It  is   the   Claudos  of  Ptolemy  and 
the  Synecdemus,  and  the  Gaudus  of   Pompo- 
nius  Mela.      Hence  the  moi]em  Greek  Gau 
doncsi,  and  the  Italian  corruption  into  Goso. 


CHAP.  xxrn. 


THE   STOEM. 


701 


the  Si/rtis^  on  tlie  African  coast  (v.  17),  —  all  "which  facts  are  mentioned 
in  rapid  succession,  —  an  inspection  of  the  chart  will  suffice  to  show  us 
that  the  point  from  which  the  storm  came  must  have  been  N.E.,  or  rather 
to  the  East  of  N.E.,  —  and  thus  we  may  safely  speak  of  it  as  coming  from 
ihe  E.N.E.2 

We  proceed  now  to  inquire  what  was  done  with  the  vessel  under  these 
perilous  circumstances.  She  was  compelled  at  first  (as  we  have  seen)  to 
scud  before  the  gale.  But  three  things  are  mentioned  in  close  connection 
with  her  coming  near  to  Clauda,  and  running  under  ihe  lee  of  it.^  Here 
they  would  have  the  advantage  of  a  temporary  lull  and  of  comparatively 
smooth  water  for  a  few  miles  :  *  and  the  most  urgent  necessity  was  attend- 
ed to  first.  Tlie  boat  was  hoisted  on  hoard :  but  after  towing  so  long,  it 
must  have  been  nearly  filled  with  water :  and  under  any  circumstances 
the  hoisting  of  a  boat  on  board  in  a  gale  of  wind  is  a  work  accomplished 
"  with  difficulty.''^  So  it  was  in  this  instance,  as  St.  Luke  informs  us.  To 
effect  it  at  all,  it  would  be  necessary  for  the  vessel  to  be  rounded  to,  with 
her  head  brought  towards  the  wind ;  *  a  circumstance  which,  for  other 
reasons  (as  we  shall  see  presently),  it  is  important  to  bear  in  mind.  Tlie 
next  precaution  that  was  adopted  betrays  an  apprcliension  lest  the  vessel 


1  We  may  observe  here,  once  for  all,  that 
the  Authorized  Version,  "  the  quicksands," 
does  not  convey  the  accurate  meaning.  The 
word  denotes  the  notoriously  dangerous  bay 
between  Tunis  and  the  eastern  part  of  Tripoli. 

-  These  arguments  are  exhibited  with  the 
utmost  clearness  by  Mr.  Smith.  Adopting 
the  reading  'EhpaKv'kuv,  he  has  three  independ- 
ent arguments  in  proof  that  the  wiud  was  E.  N, 
E.  ^  N. ;  (1 )  the  etymological  meaning  of  the 
word  ;  (2)  the  fact  that  the  vessel  was  driven 
to  Clauda,  from  a  point  a  little  west  of  C. 
Matala ;  (3)  the  fear  of  the  sailors  lest  they 
might  be  driven  into  the  Syrtis. 

The  view  of  Admiral  Penrose  is  slightly 
different.  He  supposes  that  the  wind  began 
from  some  of  the  northern  points,  and  drew 
gradually  to  the  eastward,  as  the  ship  gained 
an  offing;  and  continued  nearly  at  East, 
varying  occasionally  a  point  or  two  to  the 
North  or  South.  He  adds  that  a  Levanter, 
when  it  blows  with  peculiar  violence  some 
points  to  the  North  of  East,  is  called  a  Grega- 
lia  [compare  "which  is  "nlled  Euroclydon "], 
and  that  he  had  seen  many  such. 

»  See  vv.  16,  17. 

*  "  The  ship,  still  with  her  boat  towing  at 
her  stern,  was,  however,  enabled  to  run  under 
the  lee  of  Clauda,  a  small  island  about  twenty 


miles  from  the  south  coast  of  Crete,  and  with 
some  rocks  adjacent,  affording  the  advantage 
of  smooth  water  for  about  twelve  or  fifteen 
miles,  while  the  ship  continued  under  their 
lee.  Advantage  was  taken  of  this  compara- 
tive smooth  water,  with  some  difficulty  to  hoist 
the  boat  into  the  ship,  and  also  to  take  the 
further  precaution  of  undergirding  her  by 
passing  cables  or  other  large  ropes  under  the 
keel  and  over  the  gunwales,  and  then  drawing 
them  tight  by  means  of  pulleys  and  levers."  — 
Penrose,  MS.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  the 
coincidence  of  this  passage  with  what  is  said 
by  Mr.  Smith. 

Sir  C.  Penrose  proceeds  to  mention  another 
reason  for  the  vessel  being  undergirdcd.  "  This 
wise  precaution  was  taken,  not  only  because 
the  ship,  less  strongly  built  than  those  in  mod- 
ern days,  might  strain  her  planks  and  tim- 
bers, and  become  leaky,  but  from  the  fears, 
that  if  the  gale  continued  from  the  north-cast, 
as  it  probalily  began,  they  might  be  driven 
into  the  deep  bight  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
where  were  situated  the  greater  and  lesser 
Syrtis,  so  much  dreaded  by  the  ancients,  and 
by  these  means  of  security  be  enabled  to  keep 
together  longer,  should  they  be  involved  iu 
the  quicksands." 

o  Smith,  p.  64. 


702 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP,  xxm. 


should  spring  a  leak,  and  so  be  in  danger  of  foundering  at  sea.^  They 
used  the  tackling,  which  we  have  described  above,  and  which  provided 
"  helps "  in  such  an  emergency.  They  "  undergirded "  the  ship  with 
ropes  passed  round  her  frame  and  tightly  secured  on  deck.^  And  after 
this,  or  rather  simultaneously  (for,  as  there  were  many  hands  on  board, 
these  operations  might  all  be  proceeding  together),  they  '■'■lowered  the 
geary  This  is  the  most  literal  translation  of  the  Greek  expression.^  In 
itself  it  is  indeterminate  :  but  it  doubtless  implies  careful  preparation  for 
weathering  out  the  storm.  What  precise  change  was  made  we  are  not 
able  to  determine,  in  our  ignorance  of  the  exact  state  of  the  ship's  gear 
at  the  moment.     It  might  mean  that  the  mainsail  was  reefed  and  set ; 


^  Trapping  would  be  of  little  use  in  stop- 
ping a  leak.  It  was  rather  a  precaution  to 
prevent  the  working  of  the  planks  and  tim- 
bers :  and  thus,  since  the  extensive  application 
of  iron  in  modern  ship-building,  this  contriv- 
ance has  rarely  been  resorted  to.  Besides  the 
modern  instances  adduced  by  Mr.  Smith,  the 
writer  has  heard  of  the  following:  (1)  A  Ca- 
nadian timber  vessel  in  the  year  1846  came 
Trapped  to  Aberdeen.  (2)  In  1809  or  1810, 
a  frigate  (the  Venus?)  came  home  from  India 
with  hawsers  round  her.  (3)  The  same  hap- 
pened to  a  merchant  vessel  which  came  from 
India,  apparently  in  the  same  convoy.  (4) 
Lord  Exmouth  (then  Captain  Pellew)  brought 
home  the  Arethusa  in  this  state  from  New- 
foundland. (5)  At  the  battle  of  Navarin,  the 
Albion  man-of-war  reoeived  so  much  damage 
during  the  action,  that  it  became  necessary 
to  have  recourse  to  frapping,  and  the  vessel  had 
chain  cables  passed  round  her  under  the  keel, 
which  were  tightened  by  others  passed  hori- 
zontally along  the  sides  interlacing  them ;  and 
she  was  brought  home  in  this  state  to  Ports- 
mouth.    See  the  next  note. 

[Since  the  publication  of  the  first  edition, 
two  other  instances  have  come  to  the  writer's 
knowledge.  One  is  that  of  the  bark  Highbury, 
which  is  stated  in  the  Royal  Cornwall  Gazette 
of  May  26,  1854,  to  have  just  arrived  in  this 
state,  i.  e.  "  with  a  chain  cable  round  the  ship's 
bottom,"  off  the  Lizard  Point,  after  a  voyage 
of  five  months,  from  Port  Adelaide,  with  a 
cargo  of  copper  ore,  wool,  and  gold.  The  other 
case  is  described  by  the  captain  of  the  ship,  as 
follows:  "I  sailed  from  St.  Stephen,  New 
'5iunswick,  on  the  12th  of  December,  1S37,  in 
T^.e  schooner  St.  Croix,  53  tons,  bound  for 
Kingston,  Jamaica,  with  cargo  of  boards  in  the 


hold  and  shingles  on  deck,  with  a  few  spars. 
On  the  20th  of  same  month  encountered  a  severe 
gale  from  S.W.,  and  lay  to  for  seven  days  [see 
below,  p.  703].  On  the  26th  shipped  a  heavy 
sea,  which  took  away  about  one-third  of  deck- 
load  ;  found  the  balance  shifting  from  side  to 
side,  top  of  vessel  spreading,  that  the  seams  ir 
water-ways  were  open  from  1  and  a  half  to  ? 
inches,  much  water  running  down  the  seams 
Found  it  necessary,  for  the  preservation  o/ 
crew  and  vessel,  and  balance  of  deck-load,  t« 
secure  top  of  ship ;  took  a  coil  of  four-inch 
Manilla  rope,  commenced  forward,  passing  it 
round  and  round  the  vessel,  after  which  cut  up 
some  spars,  made  heavers,  and  hove  the  warp 
as  tight  as  possible.  Fearing  the  warp  would 
chafe  off  and  part,  took  one  of  the  chains, 
passed  it  round  and  before  with  tackles  and 
heavers,  and  secured  the  top  of  the  vessel,  so 
that  the  leak  in  the  water-ways  was  partially 
stopped.  In  this  state  I  reached  Port  Royal, 
when  I  took  off  the  warp  and  chain,  and  ar- 
rived at  Kingston  on  the  12th  January,  1838. 
Had  I  not  taken  the  means  I  did,  I  am  of 
opinion  the  vesssel  could  not  have  been  got 
into  port."] 

2  Among  classical  instances  we  may  select 
Thucyd.  i.  29,  where  Dr.  Arnold  says,  in  his 
note,  that "  the  Russian  ships  taken  in  the 
Tagus  in  1808  were  kept  together  in  this  man- 
ner, in  consequence  of  their  age  and  unsound 
condition." 

3  The  same  verb  is  used  below  (v.  30)  in 
reference  to  lowering  the  boat  into  the  water. 

*  This  suggestion  is  partly  due  to  a  criti 
cism  in  the  English  Review  (June,  1850.  Notia 
of  Mr.  Smith's  work),  based  on  Isaiah  xxxiii 
23  (LXX.).  In  reference  to  which  passage,  we 
may  remark  that  the  verb  is  equally  applicable 


CHAP.  xxm. 


SEAMANSHIP  DUKING  THE   GALE. 


708 


or  that  the  great  yard  ^  was  lowered  upon  deck  and  a  small  storm-sail 
hoisted.  It  is  certain  that  what  English  seamen  call  the  top-hamper  ^  would 
be  sent  down  on  deck.  As  to  those  fair-weather  sails  themselves,  which 
may  have  been  too  hastily  used  on  leaving  Fair  Havens,  if  not  taken  in 
at  the  beginning  of  the  gale,  they  must  have  been  already  blown  to 
pieces. 

But  the  mention  of  one  particular  apprehension,  as  the  motive  of  this 
last  precaution,  informs  us  of  something  further.  It  was  because  they 
feared  lest  they  "  should  be  driven  into  the  Si/rtis"  that  they  "  lowered  the 
gear.''  Now,  to  avoid  this  danger,  the  head  of  the  vessel  must  necessarily 
have  been  turned  away  from  the  African  coast,  in  the  direction  (more  or 
less)  from  which  the  wind  came.  To  have  scudded  before  the  gale  under 
bare  poles,  or  under  storm-sails,  would  infallibly  have  stranded  them  in 
the  Syrtis,  —  not  to  mention  the  danger  of  pooping,  or  being  swamped 
by  the  sea  breaking  over  her  stern.  To  have  anchored  was  evidently  im- 
possible. Only  one  other  course  remained  :  and  this  was  what  is  techni- 
cally called  by  sailors  lying  to.  To  effect  this  arrangement,  the  head  of 
the  vessel  is  brought  as  near  to  the  wind  as  possible  :  a  small  amount  of 
canvas  is  set,  and  so  adjusted  as  to  prevent  the  vessel  from  falling 
off  into  the  trough  of  the  sea.''  This  plan  (as  is  well  known  to  all  who 
have  made  long  voyages)  is  constantly  resorted  to  when  the  object  is  not 
so  much  to  make  progress  as  to  weather  out  a  gale. 


to  the  spreading  of  a  sail  which  is  lowered 
from  a  yard,  and  to  the  lowering  of  a  yard 
with  whatever  belongs  to  it.  The  reviewer 
lays  stress  on  the  circumstance  that  St.  Paul's 
ship  had  probably  no  sail  set  when  she  reached 
Clauda  ;  and,  as  he  justly  remarks,  the  Alex- 
andrian origin  of  the  Septuagint  version  should 
be  recollected. 

^  Such  is  Mr.  Smith's  view. 

^  {.  e.  the  gear  connected  with  the  fair- 
weather  sails.  See  Smith,  p.  69.  We  are 
here  allowed  to  quote  from  a  letter  addressed 
to  Mr.  Smith  by  Capt.  Spratt,  R.N,  After 
saying  that  the  translation  of  the  word  into 
"  gear  "is  borne  out  by  its  application  among 
the  modern  Greek  sailors  to  the  ropes,  &c.,  he 
proceeds :  "  Ships  so  rigged  as  those  of  the 
ancients,  with  only  one  large  square  sail,  would 
require  very  heavy  masthead  gear ;  i.  e.  very 
large  ropes  rove  there,  to  support  the  yard  and 
sail ;  so  that,  even  when  the  latter  was  lowered, 
considerable  top-weight  would  remain,  to  pro- 
duce much  uneasiness  of  motion  as  well  as 
resistance  to  the  wind.  Two  such  combined 
evils  would  not  be  overlooked  by  sailors,  who 


had  a  thought  about  drifting  on  a  lee  shore. 
Presuming  the  main-sail  and  yard  to  be  down, 
and  the  vessel  snug  under  a  storm-sail,  the 
heavy  aKciij,  or  ropes,  being  no  longer  of  use 
aloft,  would  naturally  be  unrove  or  lowered,  to 
prevent  drift,  as  a  final  resource,  when  the 
sailors  saw  that  the  gale  was  likely  to  be  strong 
and  lasting." 

^  I.  e.  the  hull  of  the  vessel  is  in  a  direction 
oblique  to  the  length  of  the  wave.  The  fol- 
lowing extract  from  Falconer's  Marine  Diction- 
ary, under  the  article  Trying  (an  equivalent 
term),  may  be  useful  to  those  who  are  not 
familiar  with  sea-phrases  :  —  "  The  intent  of 
spreading  a  sail  at  this  time  is  to  keep  the  ship 
more  steady  ;  and,  by  pressing  her  side  down 
in  the  water,  to  prevent  her  from  rolling  vio- 
lently ;  and  also  to  turn  her  bow  towards  the 
direction  of  the  wind,  so  that  the  shock  of  the 
waves  may  fall  more  obliquely  on  her  flank 
than  when  she  lies  along  the  trough  of  the  sea. 
...  In  this  position  she  advances  very  lit- 
tle according  to  the  line  of  her  length,  but  ia 
driven  considerably  to  leeward." 


704  THE   LIFE   AND   EPlcJTLES   OF   ST.    PAL'L.  caxp.  xxiu 

We  are  Ijcre  brought  to  the  critical  point  of  the  -vvjiole  nautical  diffi- 
culty in  the  narrative  of  St.  Paul's  voyage  and  shipwreck,  and  it  is 
desirable  to  notice  very  carefully  both  the  ship's  position  in  reference  to 
the  wind  and  its  consequent  motion  through  the  water.  Assuming  that 
tlie  vessel  was  laid  to,  the  questions  to  be  answered  in  reference  to  its 
position  are  these :  How  near  the  wind  did  she  lie  ?  and  which  side  did 
she  present  to  the  wind  ?  The  first  question  is  answered  in  some  degree 
by  a  reference  to  what  was  said  in  the  early  part  of  this  chapter.^  If  an 
ancient  merchantman  could  go  ahead  in  moderate  weather,  when  within 
seven  points  of  the  wind,  we  may  assume  that  she  would  make  about  the 
same  angle  with  it  when  lying  to  in  a  gale.^  The  second  question  would 
be  practically  determined  by  the  circumstances  of  the  case  and  the  judg- 
ment of  the  sailors.  It  will  be  seen  very  clearly  by  what  follows,  that,  if 
the  ship  had  been  laid  to  with  her  left  or  port  side  to  the  wind,  she  must 
have  drifted  far  out  of  her  course,  and  also  in  the  direction  of  another 
part  of  the  African  coast.  In  order  to  make  sure  of  sea-room,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  drift  to  the  westward,  she  must  have  been  laid  to  with 
her  right  side  to  the  wind,  or  on  the  starboard  taek, —  the  position  which 
she  was  probably  made  to  assume  at  the  moment  of  taking  the  boat  on 
board.' 

We  have  hitherto  considered  only  the  ship's  position  in  reference  to 
the  wind.  We  must  now  consider  its  motion.  When  a  vessel  is  laid  to, 
she  does  not  remain  stationary,  but  drifts  ;  and  our  inquiries  of  course 
have  reference  to  the  rate  and  direction  of  the  drift.  The  rate  of  drift 
may  vary,  within  certain  limits,  according  to  the  build  of  the  vessel  and 
the  intensity  of  the  gale  ;  but  all  seamen  would  agree,  that,  under  the 
circumstances  before  us,  a  mile  and  a  half  in  the  hour,  or  thirty-six  miles 
in  twenty-four  hours,  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  average*  The  direction  in 
which  she  drifts  is  not  that  in  which  she  appears  to  sail,  or  t<  wards  which 

1  See  p.  682.  .  .  .  The  storm  came  on  het  starboard  side, 

'^  It  is  not  to  be  understood,  however,  that  and  in  this  manner,  with  her  head  to  the  West- 

the  same  absolute  position  in  reference  to  the  ward,  she  drifted,  first  to  the  South  West  under 

wind  is  continually  maintained.     When  a  ship  Clauda,  and  as  the  wind  drew  more  to  the 

is  laid  to  in  a  gale,  a  kind  of  vibration  takes  Eastward  her  head  pointed  more  towards  the 

place.      To  use  the  technical  expression,  she  North,  the  proper  tack  to  keep  farther  from 

comes  up  and  falls  off — oscillating  perhaps  be-  the  quicksands,  whether  adopted  from  necessity 

tween  five  points  and  nine  points.  or  from  choice."  —  Penrose  ]\IS. 

3  See  Smith,  pp.  64,  68,  and  compare  the  *  See  the  two  naval  authorities  quoted  by 

following  :  "  I  ought  to  assign  the  reason  why  Mr.  Smith,  p.  84.     The  same  estimate  is  given 

I  consider  the  ship  to  have  drifted  with  her  in  the  MS.  of  Admiral  Penrose.     "  Allowing 

starboard  side  toward  the  wind,  or  on  the  star-  the  degree  of  strength  of  the  gale  to  vary  a 

board  tack,  as  a  sailor  expresses  it.     When  the  little  occasionally,  I  consider  that  a  ship  would 

south  wind  blew  softly,  the  ship  was  slowly  drift  at  the  rate  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half  per 

sailing  along  the  coast  of  Crete,  with  her  s^ar-  hour." 
board  side  towards  the  land,  or  to  the  North. 


ciuu".  xxm. 


SEAMANSHIP  DURING  THE  GAXP; 


706 


her  bows  are  turned  :  but  she  falls  off  to  leeward :  and  to  the  angle 
formed  by  the  line  of  the  ship's  keel  and  the  line  in  which  the  wind  blows 
we  must  add  another,  to  include  what  the  sailors  call  lee-way  : '  and  this 
may  be  estimated  on  an  average  at  six  points  (67°).  Thus  we  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  direction  of  drift  would  make  an  angle  of  thirteen 
points  (147°)  with  the  direction  of  the  wind.  If  the  wind  was  E.N.E., 
the  course  of  the  vessel  would  be  W.  b)  N.'^ 

We  have  been  minute  in  describing  the  circumstances  of  the  ship  at 
this  moment ;  for  it  is  the  point  upon  which  all  our  subsequent  conclu- 
sions must  turn.'  Assuming  now  that  the  vessel  was,  as  we  have  said, 
laid  to  on  the  larboard  tack,  with  the  boat  on  board  and  the  hull  under- 
girded,  drifting  from  Clauda  in  a  direction  W.  by  N.  at  the  rate  of  thirty- 
six  miles  in  twenty-four  hours,  we  pursue  the  narrative  of  the  voyage, 
without  anticipating  the  results  to  which  we  shall  be  brought.  The  more 
marked  incidents  of  the  second  and  third  days  of  the  gale  are  related  to 
us  (vv.  18,  19).  The  violence  of  the  storm  continued  without  any  inter- 
mission.'* On  "  the  day  after  "  they  left  Clauda,  "  they  proceeded  to 
lighten  ^  the  ship  "  by  throwing  overboard  whatever  could  be  most  easily 
spared.  From  this  we  should  infer  that  the  precaution  of  undergirding 
had  been  only  partially  successful,  and  that  the  vessel  had  already  sprung 
a  leak.     This  is  made  still  more  probable  by  what  occurred  on  the  "  third 


i  A  reference  to  the  compass  on  p.  619,  with 
the  following  extracts  from  Falconer's  Marine 
Dictionary,  will  make  the  meaning  clear.  "  Leb- 
Wat  is  the  lateral  movement  of  a  ship  to  lee- 
ward of  her  course,  or  the  angle  which  the  line 
of  her  way  makes  with  the  keel,  when  she  is 
close-hauled.  This  movement  is  produced  by 
the  mutual  effort  of  the  wind  and  sea  upon  her 
side,  forcing  her  to  leeward  of  the  line  on  which 
she  appears  to  sail."  "  Close-hauled  (au 
plus  pres,  Fr.).  The  general  arrangement  of  a 
ship's  sails,  when  she  endeavors  to  make  a 
progress  in  the  nearest  direction  possible 
towards  that  point  of  the  compass  from  which 
the  wind  bloweth.  ...  In  this  manner  of 
sailing,  the  keel  commonly  makes  an  angle 
of  six  points  with  the  line  of  the  wind.  The 
angle  of  lee-way,  however,  enlarges  in  propor- 
tion to  the  increase  of  the  wind  and  sea." 

^  Again,  our  two  authorities  are  in  substan- 
tial agreement.  "  Supposing  the  Levanter  (as 
is  most  probable,  it  being  most  usual)  after  the 
heavy  Gregalia,  which  first  drove  the  ship  off 
t'ae  coast  of  Crete,  and  under  the  lee  of  Clauda, 
took  upon  the  average  the  direction  of  East,  — 
45 


the  mean  direction  of  the  drift  of  such  a  ship, 
lying  to,  as  before  described,  would  be  between 
W.N.W.  and  W.  by  N. ;  and  such  is  nearly 
the  bearing  of  the  North  coast  of  Malta  from 
the  South  side  of  Clauda."  —  Penrose  MS. 
Compare  Smith. 

^  It  is  at  this  point  especially  that  we  feel 
the  importance  of  having  St.  Paul's  voyage 
examined  in  the  light  of  practical  seamanship. 
The  two  investigators,  who  have  so  examined 
it,  have  now  enabled  us  to  understand  it  clearly, 
though  all  previous  commentators  were  at 
fault,  and  while  the  ordinary  charts  are  still 
full  of  error  and  confusion.  The  sinuosities 
in  this  part  of  the  voyage,  as  exhibited  in  the 
common  maps  of  St.  Paul's  Travels,  are  only 
an  indication  of  the  perplexity  of  the  com- 
pilers. The  course  from  Clauda  to  Malta  did 
not  deviate  far  from  a  straight  line. 

*  "  We  being  exceedingly  tossed  with  the 
tempest." 

5  We  should  observe  that  the  tense  is  im- 
perfect here,  as  contrasted  with  the  aorist  in 
the  next  verse.  It  denotes  "  they  began  to 
lighten ;  "  or  perhaps,  "  they  kept  lightening." 


7oe 


THE  i^lFE  JlSB  epistles   OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXllI. 


day."  Both  sailors  and  passengers  united^  in  throwing  out  all  the 
"  spare  gear  "  into  the  sea.'^  Then  followed  "  several  days  "  of  continued 
hardship  and  anxiety.'  No  one  who  has  never  been  in  a  leaking  ship  in 
a  continued  gale  *  can  know  what  is  suffered  under  such  circumstances. 
The  strain  both  of  mind  and  body  —  the  incessant  demand  for  the  labor 
of  all  the  crew  —  the  terror  of  the  passengers  —  the  hopeless  working  at 
the  pumps — the  laboring  of  the  ship's  frame  and  cordage  —  the  driving 
of  the  storm  —  the  benumbing  effect  of  the  cold  and  wet  —  make  up  a 
scene  of  no  ordinary  confusion,  anxiety,  and  fatigue.  But  in  the  present 
case  these  evils  were  much  aggravated  by  the  continued  overclouding  of 
the  sky  (a  circumstance  not  unusual  during  a  Levanter),  which  pre- 
vented the  navigators  from  taking  the  necessary  observations  of  the 
heavenly  bodies.  In  a  modern  ship,  however  dark  the  weather  might  be, 
there  would  always  be  a  light  in  the  binnacle,  and  the  ship's  course  would 
always  be  known  ;  but  in  an  ancient  vessel,  "  when  neither  sun  nor  stars 
were  seen  for  many  days,"  the  case  would  be  far  more  hopeless.  It  was 
impossible  to  know  how  near  they  might  be  to  the  most  dangerous  coast. 
And  yet  the  worst  danger  was  that  which  arose  from  the  leaky  state  of 
the  vessel.  This  was  so  bad,  that  at  length  they  gave  up  all  hope  of 
being  saved,  thinking  that  nothing  could  prevent  her  foundering.*  To 
this  despair  was  added  a  further  suffering  from  want  of  food,^  in  con- 


1  "  We  cast  out  with  our  own  hands." 
Observe  the  change  from  the  third  person  to 
the  first.  St.  Luke's  hands,  and  probably  St. 
Paul's,  aided  in  this  work. 

^  We  cannot  determine  precisely  what  is 
meant  here  by  the  "  tackle  "  or  "  gear  "  of  the 
ship.  Mr.  Smith  thinks  the  mainyard  is 
meant,  "  an  immense  spar,  probably  as  long  as 
the  ship,  and  which  would  require  the  united 
eflForts  of  passengers  and  crew  to  launch  over- 
board," —  adding  that  "  the  relief  which  a 
ship  would  experience  by  this,  would  be  of  the 
same  kind  as  in  a  modern  ship  when  the  guns 
are  thrown  overboard."  But  would  sailors  in 
danger  of  foundering  willingly  lose  sight  of 
such  a  spar  as  this,  which  would  be  capable  of 
supporting  thirty  or  forty  men  in  the  water  ? 

8  The  narrative  of  the  loss  of  the  "  Ramil- 
lies  "  supplies  a  very  good  illustration  of  the 
state  of  things  on  board  St.  Paul's  vessel  dur- 
ing these  two  days.  "  At  this  time  she  had 
six  feet  of  water  in  the  hold,  and  the  pumps 
would  not  free  her,  the  water  having  worked 
out  all  the  oakum.  The  admiral  therefore 
gave  orders  for  all  the  buckets  to  be  rcmanned, 
and  every  officer  to  kelp  towards  freeing  the  ship : 


this  enabled  her  to  sail  on.  .  .  .  In  the  even- 
ing it  was  found  necessary  to  dispose  of  the 
forecastle  and  aftermost  quarter-deck  guns,  to- 
gether with  some  of  the  shot  and  other  articles 
of  very  great  weight ;  and  the  frame  of  the  ship 
having  opened  during  the  night,  the  admiral  was 
next  morning  prevailed  upon,  by  the  renewed 
and  pressing  remonstrances  of  his  officers,  to 
allow  ten  guns  more  to  be  thrown  overboard. 
The  ship  still  continuing  to  open  very  much, 
the  admiral  ordered  tarred  canvas  and  hides  to 
be  nailed  fore  and  aft,  from  under  the  sills  of 
the  ports  on  the  main  deck  and  on  the  lower 
deck.  Her  increasing  damage  requiring  still 
more  to  be  done,  the  admiral  directed  all  the 
guns  on  the  upper  deck,  the  shot,  both  on  that 
and  the  lower  deck,  ivith  various  heavy  stores,  to 
be  thrown  overboard." 

*  "  No  small  tempest  lay  on  us." 
5  "  All  hope  that  we  should  be  saved  was 
then  taken  away." 

^  Mr.  Smith  illustrates  this  by  several  ex- 
amples. We  may  quote  an  instance  from  a 
very  ordinary  modern  voyage  between  Alexan- 
dria and  Malta,  v/hich  presents  some  points  of 
close  lesemblanoe  in  a  very  mitigated  foim  ;  — 


CHAP.  XXUl. 


ST.   PAUL'S   VISION. 


707 


sequence  of  the  injury  done  to  the  provisions,  and  the  impossibility  of 
preparing  any  regular  meal.  Hence  we  see  the  force  of  the  phrase ' 
which  alludes  to  what  a  casual  reader  might  suppose  an  unimportant 
part  of  the  suffering,  the  fact  that  there  was  "  much  abstinence."  It 
was  in  this  time  of  utter  weariness  and  despair  that  to  the  Apostle  there 
rose  up  "  light  in  the  darkness :  "  and  that  light  was  made  the  means  of 
encouraging  and  saving  the  rest.  While  the  Heathen  sailors  were  vainly 
struggling  to  subdue  the  leak,  Paul  was  praying ;  and  God  granted  to 
him  the  lives  of  all  who  sailed  with  him.  A  vision  was  vouchsafed  to 
him  in  the  night,  as  formerly,  when  he  was  on  the  eve  of  conveying  the 
Gospel  from  Asia  to  Europe,  and  more  recently  in  the  midst  of  those 
harassing  events,  which  resulted  in  his  voyage  from  Jerusalem  to  Rome. 
When  the  cheerless  day  came,  he  gathered  the  sailors  round  him^  on  the 
deck  of  the  laboring  vessel,  and,  raising  his  voice   above    the    storm, 

said,—  Acts 

xxviL 
Sirs,  ye  should  have  hearkened  to  my  counsel,  and  not  have  set  sail   21 

from  -Crete  :  thus  would  you  have  been  spared '  this  harm  *  and  loss. 


"  The  commander  came  down,  saying  the 
night  was  pitch  dark  and  rainy,  with  symptoms 
of  a  regular  gale  of  wind.  This  prediction 
was  very  speedily  verified.  A  violent  shower 
of  hail  was  the  precursor,  followed  by  loud 
peals  of  thunder,  with  vivid  flashes  of  forked 
lightning,  which  played  up  and  down  the  iron 
rigging  with  fearful  rapidity.  .  .  .  She  pres- 
ently was  struck  by  a  sea  which  came  over  the 
paddle-boxes,  soon  followed  by  another,  which, 
coming  over  the  forecastle,  effected  an  entrance 
through  the  skylights,  and  left  four  feet  of 
water  in  the  officers'  cabin.  The  vessel  seemed 
disabled  by  this  stannimj  blow  ;  the  bowsprit  and 
fore  part  of  the  ship  were  for  some  moments 
under  water,  and  the  officer  stationed  at  that 
part  of  the  ship  described  her  as  appearing 
during  that  time  to  be  evidently  sinking,  and 
declared  that  for  many  seconds  he  saw  only 
sea.  The  natural  buoyancy  of  the  ship  at  last 
allowed  her  to  right  herself,  and  during  the 
short  lull  (of  three  minutes)  her  head  was 
turned,  to  avoid  the  danger  of  running  too  near 
tJie  coast  of  Lijbia,  which  to  the  more  experienced 
was  the  principal  cause  of  alarm  ;  for  had  the 
wheels  given  way,  which  was  not  improbable 
from  the  strain  they  had  undergone,  nothing 
could  have  saved  us,  though  we  had  been 
spared  all  otlier  causes  for  apprehension.  .  .  . 
Wiih  daylight  the  fearful  part  of  the  hurricane 
gnve  way.  and  we  were  now  in  the  direction 


of  Candia,  no  longer  indeed  contending  against 
the  wind,  but  the  sea  still  surging  and  impetu- 
ous, and  no  lull  taking  place  during  twelve 
hours,  to  afford  the  opportunity  of  regaining 
our  tack,  from  which  we  had  deviated  about 
150  miles.  The  sea  had  so  complete!//  deluged 
the  lower  part  of  the  ship,  that  it  was  with  diffi- 
cult;/ that  sufficient  fire  could  be  made  to  afford  us 
even  coffee  for  breakfast.  Dinner  was  not  to  be 
thought  of."  —  Mrs.  Darner's  Diary  in  the  Holy 
Land,  vol.  ii. 

1  "  After  long  abstinence."  See  below,  the 
narrative  of  the  meal  at  daybreak,  w.  33,  44. 
The  commentators  have  done  little  to  elucidate 
t^is,  which  is  in  fact  no  difficulty  to  those 
who  are  acquainted  with  sea-voyages.  The 
strangest  comment  is  in  a  book,  which  devo- 
tionally  is  very  useful,  —  Lectures  on  St.  Paul, 
by  the  late  Rev.  H.  Blunt,  of  Chelsea,  —  who 
supposes  that  a  religious  fast  was  observed  by 
the  crew  during  the  storm. 

^  "  Paul  stood  forth  in  the  midst  of  them." 

^  The  verb  means  "  to  be  spared,"  not  "  to 
gain."  (A.  V.)  We  should  observe  that  St. 
Paul's  object  in  alluding  to  the  correctness  of 
his  former  advice  is  not  to  taunt  those  who 
had  rejected  it,  but  to  induce  them  to  give 
credit  to  his  present  assertions. 

*  The  harm  was  to  their  persons,  the  has  to 
their  property. 


708  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  cuap.  xxm 

xxvii. 

22  Aud  now  I  exhort  you  to  be  of  good  cheer :  for  there  shall  be  no  loss 

23  of  any  man's  life  among  you,  but  only  of  the  ship.     For  there  stood  by 
me  this  night  an  angel  of  God,  whose  I  am,  and  whom  I  serve ,^  saying, 

24  "jPear  not^  Paul ;  thou  must  stand  before  Ocesar :  and,  lo  !  Grod  hath  given 

25  thee  all  who  sail  with  thee.''     Wherefore,  sirs,  be  of  good  cheer  :  for  I 
believe  God,  that  what  hath  been  declared  unto  me  shall  come  to  pass. 

26  Nevertheless,  we  must  be  cast  upon  a  certain  island. 

We  are  not  told  how  this  address  was  received.  But  sailors,  however 
reckless  they  may  be  in  the  absence  of  danger,  are  peculiarly  open  to 
religious  impressions  :  and  we  cannot  doubt  that  they  gathered  anxiously 
round  the  Apostle,  and  heard  his  words  as  an  admonition  and  encourage- 
ment from  the  other  world  ;  that  they  were  nerved  for  the  toil  and 
diflBculty  which  was  immediately  before  them,  and  prepared  thencefor- 
ward to  listen  to  the  Jewish  prisoner  as  to  a  teacher  sent  with  a  divine 
commission. 

The  gale  still  continued  without  abatement.  Day  and  night  succeeded, 
and  the  danger  seemed  only  to  increase  :  till  fourteen  days  had  elapsed, 
during  which  they  had  been  "drifting  through  the  sea  of  Adria '"" 
(v.  27).  A  gale  of  such  duration,  though  not  very  frequent,  is  by  no 
means  unprecedented  in  that  part  of  the  Mediterranean,  especially 
towards  winter.'     At  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  day,  about  the  middle 

1  Compare  Rom.  i.  9,  and  note.  call  it,  a  Levanter)  in  full  force.  I  think  we 
^  By  this  is  meant,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  were  four  days  without  being  able  to  sit  down 
that  division  of  the  Mediterranean  which  lies  at  table  to  a  meal ;  during  which  time  wc  saw 
between  Sicily  and  Malta  on  the  west,  and  '  neither  sun  nor  stars.'  Happily  she  was  a 
Greece  with  Crete  on  the  east.  See  above,  p.  powerful  vessel,  and  we  forced  her  through  it, 
680,  n.  1 ;  and  p.  682,  n.  7.  being  charged  with  despatches,  though  with 
8  The  writer  has  heard  of  easterly  and  ranch  injury  to  the  vessel.  Had  we  been  a 
north-easterly  gales  lasting  for  a  still  longer  mere  log  on  the  water,  like  St.  Paul's  ship,  we 
period,  both  in  the  neighborhood  of  Gibraltar,  should  have  drifted  many  days." 
and  to  the  eastward  of  Malta.  A  captain  in  [Wc  extract  the  following  from  the  Chriti- 
the  merchant-service  mentions  a  fruit-vessel  tian  Observer  for  May,  1853,  pp.  324,  325 : 
near  Smyrna  hindered  for  a  fortnight  from  "Late  in  the  autumn  of  1848  we  were  return- 
loading  by  a  gale  from  the  N.E.  She  was  ing  from  Alexandria  to  Malta,  and  met  the 
two  days  in  beating  up  a  little  bay  a  mile  deep,  wild  Euroclydon.  The  sea  was  crested  with 
He  adds,  that  such  gales  are  prevalent  there  foam  over  all  the  wide  waste  of  waters,  and  a 
towards  winter.  Another  case  is  that  of  a  dull  impervious  canopy  of  misty  cloud  was 
vessel  bound  for  Odessa,  which  was  kept  three  drawn  over  the  sky.  A  vessel  which  preceded 
weeks  at  Milo  with  an  easterly  gale.  This,  us  had  been  Jifti/suc  dap  from  Alexandria  to 
also,  was  late  in  the  year  (October).  A  naval  Malta;  and  just  in  the  same  way  St.  Paul'8 
officer  writes  thus:  —  "About  the  same  time  vessel  was  reduced  to  lie  to  in  the  gale,  and 
of  the  year,  in  1839,  I  left  Malta  for  the  drifted  for  fourteen  days  across  the  sea  which 
Levant  in  the  '  Hydra,'  a  powerful  steam  fri-  separates  Crete  from  Malta.  .  .  .  Under  tlio 
gate,  and  encountered  Euroclydon  (o»,  as  we  modern   name  of  a  Levanter,  the  same  Fu 


CBAP.xxm.  MODE   OF  AI>CHOEING.  709 

of  the  night,  the  sailors  suspected  that  they  were  nearing  land.'  There  is 
little  doubt  as  to  what  were  the  indications  of  land.  The  roar  of  breakers 
is  a  peculiar  sound,  which  can  be  detected  by  a  practised  ear,^  though 
not  distinguishable  from  the  other  sounds  of  a  storm  by  those  who  have 
not  "  their  senses  exercised  "  by  experience  of  the  sea.  When  it  was 
reported  that  this  sound  was  heard  by  some  of  the  crew,  orders  were 
immediately  given  to  heave  the  lead,  and  they  found  that  the  depth  of 
the  water  was  "  twenty  fathoms."  After  a  short  interval,  they  sounded 
again,  and  found  "  fifteen  fathoms."  Though  the  vicinity  of  land  could 
not  but  inspire  some  hope,  as  holding  out  the  prospect  of  running  the 
ship  ashore^  and  so  being  saved,  yet  the  alarm  of  the  sailors  was  great 
when  they  perceived  how  rapidly  they  were  shoaling  the  water.  It  seems 
also  that  they  now  heard  breakers  ahead.*  However  this  might  be,  there 
was  the  utmost  danger  lest  the  vessel  should  strike  and  go  to  pieces.  No 
time  was  to  be  lost.  Orders  were  immediately  given  to  clear  the  anchors. 
But,  if  they  had  anchored  by  the  bow,  there  was  good  ground  for  appre- 
hending that  the  vessel  would  have  swung  round  and  gone  upon  the 
rocks.  They  therefore  let  go  "  four  anchors  bi/  the  stern.''''  For  a  time, 
the  vessel's  way  was  arrested  :  but  there  was  too  much  reason  to  fear 
that  she  might  part  from  her  anchors  and  go  ashore,  if  indeed  she  did 
not  founder  in  tlie  night :  and  "  they  waited  anxiously  for  the  day." 

The  reasons  are  obvious  why  she  anchored  by  the  stern  rather  than 
in  the  usual  mode.  Besides  what  has  been  said  above,  her  way  would 
be  more  easily  arrested,  and  she  would  be  in  a  better  position  for  being 
jun  ashore '  next  day.     But  since  this  mode  of  anchoring  has  raised  some 


roclydon,  which  dashed  down  from  the  gnlleys  for  a  sinking  ship,  and  ruu  her  ashore ;  but  to 

of  the  Cretan  Ida  in  the  autumn  of  60  a.  d.,  do  so  before  it  was  day  would  have  been  to 

swept  the  sea  in  the  autumn   of  1848,  .  .  .  have  rushed  on  certain  destruction :  they  must 

just  in   the   same   way  veering  round   from  bring  the  ship,  if  it  be  possible,  to  anchor, 

north   to    easterly.   .   .   .  Just    in    the    same  and    hold    on   till   daybreak,"   &c.  —  Smith, 

way,  likewise,   did  our  Enroclydon   exhaust  p.  88. 
itself  in  a  violent  fall  of  rain."]  *  Mr.   Smith  (p.   91)   seems   to   infer  this 

1  This  might  be  translated  literally  :  "  The  from  the  words  "  fearing  lest  we  should  have 

sailors  thought  they  were  about  to  fetch  some  fallen   upon   rocks."      But    the   words  would 

land."     Mr.  Smith  (p.  78)  truly  remarks,  that  rather  imply  that  the  fear  was  a  general  one. 
this  is  an  instance  of  "  the  graphic  language  ^  We    must    carefully    observe     that,    in 

of  seamen,  to  whom  the  ship  is  the  principal  anchoring,  — besides  the  proximate  cause,  viz., 

object."  the  fear  of  falling  on  rocks    to    leeward, — 

'^  It  is    hardly  likely   that   they  saw   the  "  they  had   also  an  ulterior  object  in   view, 

breakers.     To  suppose  that  they  became  aware  which  was  to  run  the  ship  ashore  as  soon  as 

of  the  land  by  the  smell  of  fragrant,  gardens  daylight  enabled  them  to  select  a  spot  where 

(an  srror  found  in  a  recent  work)  is  absurd;  it  could  be  done  with  a  prospect  of  safety: 

for  the  wind  blew  from  the  ship  towards  the  for  this  purpose  the  very  best  position  in  which 

land.  the  ship  could  be  was  to  be  anchored  by  the 

•  "  They  can  now  adopt  the  last  resource  stem."  —  Smith,  p.  92. 


7t0  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xxm. 

questions,  it  may  be  desirable,  in  passing,  to  make  a  remark  on  the  sub- 
ject. That  a  vessel  can  anchor  by  the  stern  is  sufficiently  proved  (if 
proof  were  needed)  by  the  history  of  some  of  our  own  naval  engagements. 
So  it  was  at  the  battle  of  the  Nile.  And  when  ships  are  about  to  attack 
batteries,  it  is  customary  for  them  to  go  into  action  prepared  to  anchor 
in  this  way.  This  was  the  case  at  Algiers.  There  is  still  greater  interest 
in  quoting  the  instance  of  Copenhagen,  not  only  from  the  accounts  we 
have  of  the  precision  with  which  each  ship  let  go  her  anchors  astern  as 
she  arrived  nearly  opposite  her  appointed  station,^  but  because  it  is  said 
that  Nelson  stated  after  the  battle,  that  he  had  that  morning  been  read- 
ing the  twenty-seventh  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.^  But, 
though  it  will  be  granted  that  this  manoeuvre  is  possible  with  due  prepara- 
tion, it  may  be  doubted  whether  it  could  be  accomplished  in  a  gale  of 
wind  on  a  lee  shore,  without  any  previous  notice.  The  question  in  fact 
is,  whether  ancient  ships  in  the  Mediterranean  were  always  prepared  to 
anchor  in  this  way.  Some  answer  to  this  doubt  is  supplied  by  the  present 
practice  of  the  Levantine  caiques,  which  preserve  in  great  measure  the 
traditionary  build  and  rig  of  ancient  merchantmen.  These  modern 
Greek  vessels  may  still  be  seen  anchoring  by  the  stern  in  the  Golden 
Horn  at  Constantinople,  or  on  the  coast  of  Patmos.'  But  the  best  illus- 
tration is  afforded  by  one  of  the  paintings  of  Herculaneum,  which  repre- 
sents "  a  ship  so  strictly  contemporaneous  with  that  of  St.  Paul,  that 
there  is  nothing  impossible  in  the  supposition,  that  the  artist  had  taken 
his  subject  from  that  very  ship,  on  loosing  from  the  pier  at  Puteoli."  * 
There  is  this  additional  advantage  to  be  obtained  from  an  inspection  of 
this  rude  drawing,  that  we  see  very  clearly  how  the  rudders  would  be 
in  danger  of  interfering  with  this  mode  of  anchoring,  —  a  subject  to 
which  our  attention  will  presently  be  required.'  Our  supposed  objector, 
if  he  had  a  keen  sense  of  practical  difficulties,  might  still  insist  that  to 
have  anchored  in  this  way  (or  indeed  in  the  ordinary  way)  would  have 
been  of  little  avail  in  St.  Paul's  ship :  since  it  could  not  be  supposed 
that  the  anchors  would  have  held  in  such  a  gale  of  wind.  To  this  we 
can  only  reply,  that  this  course  was  adopted  to  meet  a  dangerous  emer- 
gency.    The  sailors  could  not  have  been  certain   of  the  result.     Tliey 

1  See  Southey's  Ljfe  of  Nelson :  "  All  the  ^  The  first  of  these  instances  is  supplied  by 

line-of-battle  ships  were  to  anchor  by  the  stern,  a  naval  officer  ;  the  second  by  a  cnptain  who 

abreast  of  the  different  vessels  composing  the  has  spent  a  long  life  in  the  merchant-service, 
enemy's  line ;   and  for  this  purpose  they  had  *  A  drawing  of  this  is  given  by  Mr.  Smith 

already  prepared  themselves  with  cables  out  of  (p.  94),  and  from  him  in  our  larger  editions, 
their  stern  ports."  *  See  v.  40. 

^  This  anecdote  is  from  a  private  source, 
and  does  not  appear  in  any  of  the  printed 
narratives  of  the  battle 


CHAP,  xxiii.  THE  PLACE  OF   SHIPWKECK.  711 

might  indeed  have  had  confidence  in  their  cables  :  but  they  could  not  be 
sure  of  their  holding  ground. 

Tliis  is  one  of  the  circumstances  which  must  be  taken  into  account, 
when  we  sum  up  the  evidence  in  proof  that  the  place  of  shipwreck  was 
Malta.  At  present  we  make  no  such  assumption.  We  will  not  anticipate 
the  conclusion  till  we  have  proceeded  somewhat  farther  with  the  narra- 
tive. We  may,  however,  ask  the  reader  to  pause  for  a  moment,  and 
reconsider  what  was  said  of  the  circumstances  of  the  vessel  when  we 
described  what  was  done  under  the  lee  of  Clauda.  We  then  saw  that 
the  direction  in  which  sliQ  was  drifting  was  W.  by  N.  Now  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  chart  will  show  us  that  this  is  exactly  the  bearing  of  the 
northern  part  of  Malta  from  the  south  of  Clauda.  We  saw,  moreover, 
that  she  was  drifting  at  the  rate  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  every 
hour,  or  thirty-six  miles  in  the  twenty-four  hours.  Since  that  time, 
thirteen  days  had  elapsed :  for  the  first  of  the  "  fourteen  days  "  would 
be  taken  up  on  the  way  from  Fair  Havens  to  Clauda.^  The  ship  there- 
fore had  passed  over  a  distance  of  about  468  'miles.  The  distance  be- 
tween Clauda  and  Malta  is  rather  less  than  480  miles.  The  coincidence' 
is  so  remarkable,  that  it  seems  hardly  possible  to  believe  that  the  land,  to 
which  the  sailors  on  the  fourteenth  night  "  deemed  that  they  drew  nigh," 
—  the  "  certain  island  "  on  which  it  was  prophesied  that  they  should  be 
cast,  —  could  be  any  other  place  than  Malta.  The  probability  is  over- 
whelming. But  we  must  not  yet  assume  the  fact  as  certain :  for  we 
shall  find,  as  we  proceed,  that  the  conditions  are  very  numerous  which 
the  true  place  of  shipwreck  will  be  required  to  satisfy. 

We  return,  then,  to  the  ship,  which  we  left  laboring  at  her  four  anchors. 
The  coast  was  invisible,  but  the  breakers  were  heard  in  every  pause  of  the 
storm.     The  rain  was  falling  in  torrents  ; '  and  all  hands  were  weakened 


^  All   that   happened     after  leaving    Fair  which,  at  the  end  of  fourteen  complete  days. 

Havens  before  the  ship  was  undergirded  and  would  amount  to  504  miles ;  but  it  does  not 

laid  to  must  evidently  have  occupied  a  great  appear  that  the  calculation  is  to  be  made  for 

part  of  a  day.  fourteen  entire  days  :  it  was  on  the  fourteenth 

^  In  the  general  calculation,  Mr.  Smith  night  the  anchors  were  cast  off  the  shores  of 
and  Sir  C.  Penrose  agree  with  one  another;  Melita.  The  distance  from  the  S.  of  Clauda 
and  the  argument  derives  great  force  from  the  to  the  N.  of  Malta,  measured  on  the  best  chart 
slight  difference  between  them.  Mr.  Smith  I  have,  is  about  490  miles ;  and  is  it  possible 
(pp.  83-89)  makes  the  distance  476.6  miles,  for  coincident  calculations,  of  such  a  nature, 
and  tlie  time  occu])ied  thirteen  days,  one  to  be  more  exact  1  In  fact,  on  one  chart,  after 
hour,  and  twenty-one  minutes.  With  this  I  had  calculated  the  supposed  drift,  as  a  sea- 
compare  the  following :  "  Now,  with  respect  man,  to  be  504  miles,  I  measured  the  distance 
to    the    distance,    allowing    the    degree    of  to  be  503." 

strength   of  the   gale    to  vary  a   little   occa-  '  See  xxviii.   2,  "because  of   the  present 

sionally  I  consider  that  a  ship  would  drift  at  rain." 
the  ra.e  of  about  one  mile  and  a  half  per  hoar  , 


712  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xxm. 

by  want  of  food.  But  the  greatest  danger  was  lest  the  vessel  should 
founder  before  daybreak.  The  leak  was  rapidly  gaining,  and  it  was 
expected  that  each  moment  might  be  the  last.  Under  these  circum- 
stances we  find  the  sailors  making  a  selfish  attempt  to  save  themselves, 
and  leave  the  ship  and  the  pasengers  to  their  fate.  Under  tlie  pretence  of 
carrying  out  some  anchors  from  the  bow,  they  lowered  the  boat  over  the 
ship's  side  (v.  30).  The  excuse  was  very  plausible,  for  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  vessel  would  have  been  more  steady  if  this  had  been  done  ;  and, 
in  order  to  effect  it,  it  would  be  necessary  to  take  out  anchors  in  the  boat. 
But  their  real  intention  was  to  save  their  own  lives  and  leave  the  passen- 
gers.^ St.  Paul  penetrated  their  design,  and  either  from  some  divine 
hitimation  of  the  instruments  wliich  were  to  be  providentially  employed 
for  the  safety  of  all  on  board,  —  or  from  an  intuitive  judgment,  which 
showed  him  that  those  who  would  be  thus  left  behind,  the  passengers  and 
soldiers,  would  not  be  able  to  work  the  ship  in  any  emergency  that  might 
arise,  —  he  saw  that,  if  the  sailors  accomplished  their  purpose,  all  hope  of 
being  saved  would  be  gone.'^  With  his  usvial  tact,  he  addressed  not  a 
word  to  the  sailors,  but  spoke  to  the  soldiers  and  his  friend  the  centurion  ; ' 
and  they,  with  military  promptitude,  held  no  discussion  on  the  subject, 
but  decided  the  question  by  immediate  action.  With  that  short  sword. 
with  which  the  Roman  legions  cleft  their  way  through  every  obstacle  to 
universal  victory,  they  "  cut  the  ropes ;  "  and  the  boat  fell  off,*  and,  if  not 
instantly  swamped,  drifted  off  to  leeward  into  the  darkness,  and  was 
dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks. 

Thus  the  prudent  counsel  of  the  Apostle,  seconded  by  the  prompt 
action  of  the  soldiers,  had  been  the  means  of  saving  all  on  board.  Each 
successive  incident  tended  to  raise  him,  more  and  more,  into  a  position  »  f 
overpowering  influence.'^  Not  the  captain  or  the  ship's  crew,  but  the  pas- 
senger and  the  prisoner,  is  looked  to  now  as  the  source  of  wisdom  and 
safety.  We  find  him  using  this  influence  for  the  renewal  of  their  bodily 
strength,  while  at  the  same  time  he  turned  their  thoughts  to  the  provi- 

1  "  Abont  to  (seeking  to)  flee  out  of  the  usually  see  only  the  instrumentality  em- 
ship."  ployed. 

2  "  Unless  these  remain  in  the  ship,  ye  can-  ^  "  To  the  centurion  and  to  the  soldiers." 
not  be  saved."  We  observe  that  in  the  "ye"  *  "Let  her  fall  off."  In  the  words  above 
the  soldiers  are  judiciously  appealed  to  on  the  ("when  they  had  lowered  the  boat  into  the 
source  of  their  own  safety.  Much  has  been  sea ")  it  is  clear  that  the  boat,  which  was 
very  unnecessarily  written  on  the  mode  in  hoisted  on  deck  at  the  bcginninsj  of  the  gale, 
which  this  verse  is  to  be  harmonized  with  the  had  been  half  lowered  from  the  davits. 
unconditional  assurance  of  safety  in  ver.  22-  ^  The  commanding  attitude  of  St.  Paul  in 
24.  The  same  difficulty  is  connected  with  this  aad  other  scenes  of  the  narrative  is  forci- 
every  action  of  our  lives.  The  only  difference  bly  |)ointed  out  by  the  reviewer  of  Mr.  Smith's 
is,  that,  in  the  narrative  before  us,  the  Divine  work  in  the  North  British  Review  for  May, 
purpose  i?  mo»e  clearly  indicated,  whereas  we  1849. 


CHAP.  xxra.  THE  SHIPWRECK.  713 

dential  care  of  God.  By  this  time  the  dawn  of  day  was  approaching.' 
A  faint  light  showed  more  of  the  terrors  of  the  storm,  and  the  objects  on 
board  the  ship  began  to  be  more  distinctly  visible.  Still,  towards  the 
laud,  all  was  darkness,  and  their  eyes  followed  the  spray  in  vain  as  it  drifted 
off  to  leeward.  A  slight  effort  of  imagination  suffices  to  bring  before  us  an 
impressive  spectacle,  as  we  think  of  the  dim  light  just  showing  the  hag- 
gard faces  of  the  276  persons,^  clustered  on  the  deck,  and  holding  on  bv 
the  bulwarks  of  the  sinking  vessel.  In  this  hour  of  anxiety  the  Aposti 
stands  forward  to  give  them  courage.  He  reminds  them  that  they  liac 
"  eaten  nothing"  for  fourteen  days ;  and  exhorts  them  now  to  partake  of 
a  hearty  meal,  pointing  out  to  them  that  this  was  indeed  essential  to  their 
safety,'  and  encouraging  them  by  the  assurance  that  "  not  a  hair  *  of  their 
head  "  should  perish.  So  speaking,  he  set  the  example  of  the  cheerful 
use  of  God's  gifts,  and  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  Giver,  by  taking 
bread,  "  giving  thanks  to  God  before  all,"  and  beginning  to  eat.  Thus 
encouraged  by  his  calm  and  religious  example,  they  felt  their  spirits 
revive,*  and  "  they  also  partook  of  food,"  and  made  themselves  ready  for 
tlie  labor  which  awaited  them.® 

Instead  of  abandoning  themselves  to  despair,  they  proceeded  actively 
to  adopt  the  last  means  for  relieving  the  still  sinking  vessel.  The  cargo 
of  wheat  was  now  of  no  use.  It  was  probably  spoilt  by  the  salt  water. 
And  however  this  might  be,  it  was  not  worth  a  thought ;  since  it  was  well 
known  that  the  vessel  would  be  lost.  Their  hope  now  was  to  run  her  on 
shore,  and  so  escape  to  land.  Besides  this,  it  is  probable  that,  the  ship 
having  been  so  long  in  one  position,  the  wheat  had  shifted  over  to  the 
port  side,  and  prevented  the  vessel  from  keeping  that  upright  position, 
which  would  be  most  advantageous  when  they  came  to  steer  her  towards 
the  shore.''    The  hatchways  were  therefore  opened,  and  they  proceeded  to 

^  "  While  the  day  was  coming  on,"  v.  39.  meal,  in  order  to  refresh  them  after  having  so 

*  It  is  at  this  point  of  the  narratiye  that  long  taken  their  precarious  repasts,  probably 
the  total  number  of  souls  on  board  is  men-  without  fire  or  any  kind  of  cooking.  He 
tioned.  begins  by  example,  but  first  by  giving  God 

*  "  This  is  for  your  safety."  thanks   for  their    preservation    hitherto,   and 

*  Our  Lord  uses  the  same  proverbial  expres-  hopes  of  speedy  relief.  Having  thus  refreshed 
sion,  Luke  xxi.  1 8.  themselves,   they  cast    out    as   much   of   the 

^  "  Then  were  they  all  of  good  cheer."  remaining  part  of  the  cargo  (wheat)  as  they 

^  "  All  hands  now,  crew  and   passengers,  could,  to  enable  them  by  a  lighter  draught  of 

bond  or  free,  are  assembled  on  the  deck,  anx-  water  either  to  run  into  any  small  harbor,  or 

lously   wishing  for  day,   when  Paul,   taking  at  least  dofer  in  with  dry  land,  should  they  be 

advantage  of   a    smaller    degree    of   motion  obliged  to  run  the  ship  on  the  rocks  or  beach." 

[would  this  necessarily  be  the  case  ?]  in  the  —  Penrose,  MS. 

ship  than  when  drifting  with  her  side  to  the  '^  The  following  extract  from  Sir  C.Pen- 
waves,  recommends  to  them  to  make  use  of  rose's  papers  supplies  an  addition  to  Jlr. 
this  time,  before  the  dawn  would  require  fresh  Smith's  remarks  :  "  With  respect  to  throwing 
exertions,  in  making  a  regular  and  comfortable  the  yheat  into  the  sea  after  anchoring,  it  may 


714 


THE  LIFE   AND  EPISTLES    OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXID, 


throw  the  graui  into  the  sea.  This  work  would  occupy  some  time ;  and 
when  it  was  accomplished,  the  day  had  dawned,  and  the  land  was  visihle.' 
The  sailors  looked  hard  at  the  shore,  but  they  could  not  recognize  it." 
Though  ignorant,  however,  of  the  name  of  the  coast  off  which  they  were 
anchored,  they  saw  one  feature  in  it  which  gave  them  a  hope  that  they 
might  accomplish  their  purpose  of  running  the  ship  aground.  They  per- 
ceived a  small  bay  or  indentation,  with  a  sandy  or  pebbly  beach  :  ^  and 
their  object  was,  "  if  possible,"  so  to  steer  the  vessel  that  she  might  take 
the  ground  at  that  point.  To  effect  this,  every  necessary  step  was  care- 
fully taken.  While  cutting  the  anchors  adrift,  they  unloosed  the  lash- 
ings with  which  the  rudders  had  been  secured,*  and  hoisted  the  foresail.* 
These  three  things  would  be  done  simultaneously ,**  as  indeed  is  implied 
by  St.  Luke  ;  and  there  were  a  sufficient  number  of  hands  on  board  for 
the  purpose.  The  free  use  of  the  rudders  would  be  absolutely  necessary ; 
nor  would  this  be  sufficient  without  the  employment  of  some  sail.''  It 
does  not  appear  quite  certain  whether  they  exactly  hit  the  point  at  which 
they  aimed.^  We  are  told  that  they  fell  into  "  a  place  between  two  seas" 
(a  feature  of  the  coast,  which  will  require  our  consideration  presently), 
and  there  stranded  the  ship.     The  bow  stuck  fast  in  the  shore,  and  re- 


be  remarked  that  it  was  not  likely  that,  while 
drifting,  the  hatchways  could  have  been  opened 
for  that  purpose  ;  and,  when  anchored  by  the 
stern,  I  doubt  not  that  it  was  found,  that,  from 
the  ship  having  been  so  long  pressed  down  on 
one  side,  the  cargo  had  shifted,  i.  e.  the  wheat 
had  pressed  over  towards  the  larboard  side,  so 
that  the  ship,  instead  of  being  upright,  heeled 
to  the  larboard,  and  made  it  useful  to  throw 
out  as  much  of  the  wheat  as  time  allowed,  not 
only  to  make  her  specifically  lighter,  but  to 
bring  her  upright,  and  enable  her  to  be  more 
accurately  steered  and  navigated  towards  the 
land  at  daybreak." 

1  "  When  it  was  day." 

'^  The  tense  is  imperfect  (v.  39).  "They 
tried  to  recognize  it,  but  could  not."  The 
aorist  is  used  below  in  xxviii.  1,  from  which  it 
appears  that  tiie  island  wa.s  recognized  imme- 
diately on  landing. 

^  It  is  important  to  observe  that  the  word 
for  "shore  "  here  has  this  meaning,  as  ojjposed 
to  a  rocky  coast.  We  may  refer  in  illustration 
to  Matt.  xiii.  2 ;  Acts  xxi.  5. 

*  When  they  anchored,  no  doubt  the  paddle 
rudders  had  been  hoisted  up  and  lashed,  lest 
they  should  foul  the  anchors. 

^  For  the  proof  that  upvauv  is  the  foresail. 


we  must  refer  to  the  able  and  thorough  inves- 
tigation in  Mr.  Smith's  Dissertation  on  An- 
cient Ships,  pp.  153-162.  The  word  does  not 
occur  in  any  other  Greek  writer,  but  it  is  found 
in  the  old  nautical  phraseology  of  the  Vene- 
tians and  Genoese,  and  it  is  used  by  Dante 
and  Ariosto.  The  French  still  employ  the 
word,  but  with  them  it  has  become  the  mizzen- 
sail,  while  the  mizzcn  has  become  the  foresail. 
[See  the  woodcut  on  the  titlepage.] 

^  The  word  which  implies  this  in  the  origi- 
nal is  omitted  in  A.  V. 

■^  The  mainsail  [foresail]  being  hoisted 
showed  good  judgment,  though  the  distance 
was  so  smsill.  as  it  would  not  only  enable  them 
to  steer  ;iicre  correctly  tlian  without  it,  but 
would  press  the  ship  fartiier  on  upon  the  land, 
and  thus  enable  them  the  more  easily  to  get  to 
the  shore."  —  Penrose,  M.S.  [Seethe  follow- 
ing passage  in  a  naval  officer's  letter,  dated 

"  H.M.S. ,  off  tlie  Katclia,  Nov.  15,"  ia  the 

Times  of  Dec.  5,  1855.  "The  Lord  Raglan 
(merchant-ship)  is  on  shore,  but  taken  there 
in  a  most  sailor-like  manner.  Directly  her 
captain  found  he  could  not  save  her,  he  cut 
away  his  mainmast  and  mizzen,  and,  settiny  a 
topsail  on  her  foremast,  ran  her  ashore  stem  on.''] 

'  See  below. 


«THAP.  xxm.  PROOF  THAT   THE  PLACE  WAS  MALTA.  715 

mained  unmoved  ;  but  the  stern  began  immediately  to  go  to  pieces ' 
under  the  action  of  the  sea. 

And  now  another  characteristic  incident  is  related.  The  soldiers,  who 
were  answerable  with  their  lives  for  the  detention  of  their  prisoners,  were 
afraid  lest  some  of  them  should  swim  out  and  escape :  and  therefore,  in 
the  spirit  of  true  Roman  cruelty,  they  proposed  to  kill  them  at  once. 
Now  again  the  influence  of  St.  Paul  over  the  centurion's  mind^  was  made 
the  means  of  saving  both  his  own  life  and  that  of  his  fellow-prisoners. 
For  the  rest  he  might  care  but  little  ;  but  he  was  determined  to  secure 
Paul's  safety.*  He  therefore  prevented  the  soldiers  from  accomplishing 
their  heartless  intention,  and  directed*  those  who  could  swim  to  "cast 
themselves  into  the  sea "  first,  while  the  rest  made  use  of  spars  and 
broken  pieces  of  the  wreck.  Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  all  escaped  safely  * 
through  the  breakers  to  the  shore. 

When  the  land  was  safely  reached,  it  was  ascertained  that  the  island 
on  which  they  were  wrecked  was  Melita.  The  mere  word  does  not  abso- 
lutely establish  the  identity  of  the  place  ;  for  two  islands  were  anciently 
called  alike  by  this  name.  This,  therefore,  is  the  proper  place  for  sum- 
ming up  the  evidence  which  has  been  gradually  accumulating  in  proof 
that  it  was  the  modern  Malta.  We  have  already  seen  (p.  711)  the  al- 
most irresistible  inference  which  follows  from  the  consideration  of  the 
direction  and  rate  of  drift  since  the  vessel  was  laid  to  under  the  lee  of 
Clauda.  But  we  shall  find  that  every  succeeding  indication  not  only  tends 
to  bring  us  to  the  shore  of  this  island,  but  to  the  very  bay  (the  Cala 
di  San  Paolo)  which  has  always  been  the  traditionary  scene  of  the 
wreck. 

In  the  first  place  we  are  told  that  they  became  aware  of  land  by  the 
presence  of  breakers,  and  yet  without  striking.  Now  an  inspection  of  the 
chart  will  show  us  that  a  ship  drifting  W.  by  N.  might  approach  Koura 
Point,  the  eastern  boundary  of  St.  Paul's  Bay,  without  having  fallen  in 
previously  with  any  other  part  of  the  coast ;  for,  towards  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Valetta,  the.  shore  trends  rapidly  to  the  southward.^  Again,  the 
character  of  this  point,  as  described  in  the  Sailing  Directions,  is  such  that 
there  must  infallibly  have  been  violent  breakers  upon  it  that  night.''  Yet 
a  vessel  drifting  W.  by  N.  might  pass  it,  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 

1  Imperfect.  ^  The  same  strong  verb  is  used  in  xxvii 

'•*  See  V.  43.  44,  xxviii.  1,  4,  as  in  xxvii.  43. 

8  "  To  save  Paul  to  the  end,"  literally.  ^  See  the  Chart  opposite  this  page. 

*  The  military  officer  gives  the  order.    The  "  Smith,  pp.  79,  89.     "  With  north-easterly 

ship's  company  are  not  me».tioned.    Are  we  to  gales,  the  sea  breaks  upon  this  point  with  such 

infer  that  they  fell  into    „he  background,  in  violence,  that  Capt.  Smyth,  in  his  view  of  the 

consequence  of  their  cowardly  attempt  to  save  headland,  has  made  the  breakers  its  distinctive 

themselves  ?  character." 


716  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  ciL».t.  xxm. 

without  striking  on  the  rocks.  But  what  are  the  soundings  at  this  point  ? 
They  are  now  twenty  fathoms.  If  we  proceed  a  little  farther,  we  find 
fifteen  fathoms.  It  may  be  said  that  this,  in  itself,  is  nothing  remarkable. 
Eut  if  we  add,  that  the  fifteen-fathom  depth  is  in  the  direction  of  the  vesseVs 
drift  (W.  by  N.)  from  the  twenty-fathom  depth,  the  coincidence  is  star- 
cling.^  But  at  this  point  we  observe,  on  looking  at  the  chart,  that  now 
chore  would  be  breakers  ahead,  —  and  yet  at  such  a  distance  ahead,  that 
there  would  be  time  for  the  vessel  to  anchor  before  actually  striking  on  the 
rocks.'^  All  these  conditions  must  necessarily  be  fulfilled  ;  and  we  see 
that  they  are  fulfilled  without  any  attempt  at  ingenious  explanation.  But 
we  may  proceed  farther.  The  character  of  the  coast  on  the  farther,  side 
of  the  bay  is  such,  that,  though  the  greater  part  of  it  is  fronted  with 
mural  precipices,  there  are  one  or  two  indentations,^  which  exhibit  the 
appearance  of  "  a  creek  ivith  a  [sandy  or  pebbly  J  shore.^^  And  again  we 
observe  that  the  island  of  Salmonetta  is  so  placed,  that  the  sailors,  looking 
from  the  deck  when  the  vessel  was  at  anchor,  could  not  possibly  be  aware 
that  it  was  not  a  continuous  part  of  the  mainland  ;  whereas,  while  they 
were  running  her  aground,  they  could  not  help  observing  the  opening  of 
the  channel,  which  would  thus  appear  (like  the  Bosphorus)  *  "  a  place 
between  two  seas,^^  and  would  be  more  likely  to  attract  their  attention  if 
some  current  resulting  from  this  juxtaposition  of  the  island  and  the  coast 
interfered  with  the  accuracy  of  their  steering.*  And  finally,  to  revert  to 
the  fact  of  the  anchors  holding  through  the  night  (a  result  which  could 
not  confidently  be  predicted),  we  find  it  stated,  in  our  English  Sailing 
Directions,^  that  the  ground  in  St.  Paul's  Bay  is  so  good,  that,  "  while  the 
cables  hold,  there  is  no  danger,  as  the  anchors  will  never  start." 

Malta  was  not  then  the  densely-crowded  island  which  it  has  become 
during  the  last  half-century  J     Though  it  was  well  known  to  the  Romans 

1  Smith,  p.  91.  two  opposite  currents,  are  meant,  yet  it  is  very 

2  Smith,  p.  91.  possible  that  there  might  be  a  current  between 

3  One  place  at  the  opening  of  the  Mestara  Salmonetta  and  the  coast,  knd  that  this  affect- 
Valley  (see  Chart)    has   still   this  character.  ed  the  steering  of  tlje  vessel. 

At  another  place  there  has  been  a  beach,  ^  purdy,  p.  180.  In  reference  to  what  hap- 
though  it  is  now  obliterated.  See  the  remarks  pened  to  tht-  ship  when  she  came  aground 
of  Mr.  Smith,  who  has  carefully  examined  the  (ver.  4),  Mr.  Smith  lays  stress  upon  the  char- 
bay,  and  whose  authority  in  any  question  acter  of  the  deposits  on  the  Maltese  coast 
relating  to  the  geology  of  coasts  is  of  great  The  ship  "  would  strike  a  bottom  of  mud, 
^-ei.rht.  graduating  into  tenacious  clay,  into  which  the 

*  This   illustration    is    from   Strabo,   who  fore-part  would  fix   itself,  and   be   held   fast, 

uses   the  very  word  of   the  Bosphorus.      It  whilst  the  stern  was  exposed  to  the  force  of 

would,  of  course,  be  equally  applicable  to  a  the  waves."  —  p.  104. 

ncc-k  of  land  between  two  seas,  like  the  Isth-  "^  The  density  of  the  Maltese  population, 

inus  of  Corinth.  at  the  present  day,  is  extraordinary  ;  but  this 

^  Though  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  by  state  of  things  is  quite  reoent.     In  Boisgelin 

'  two   seas  "  two  moving  bodies  of  water,  or  (Ancient  and  Modern  Malta,  1805)   we  find  it 


CHAP.  xxin.  ST.   PAUL  WORKS   MIRACLES.  717 

as  a  dependency  of  the  province  of  Sicily,^  and  though  the  harbor  now 
called  Valetta  must  have  been  familiar  to  the  Greek  mariners  who  traded 
between  the  East  and  the  West,^  —  much  of  th(i  island  was  doubtless  un- 
cultivated and  overrun  with  wood.  Its  population  was  of  Phoenician 
origin,  —  speaking  a  language  which,  as  regards  social  intercourse,  had 
the  same  relation  to  Latin  and  Greek  which  modern  Maltese  has  to  Eng- 
lish and  Italian.^  The  inhabitants,  however,  though  in  this  sense* 
"  l)arbarians,"  were  favorably  contrasted  with  many  Christian  wreckers 
in  their  reception  of  those  who  had  been  cast  on  their  coast.  They 
showed  them  no  "  ordinary  kindness ;  "  for  they  lighted  a  fire  and  wel- 
comed them  all  to  the  warmth,  drenched  and  shivering  as  they  were  in 
the  rain  and  the  cold.  The  whole  scene  is  brought  very  vividly  before  us 
in  the  sacred  narrative.  One  incident  has  become  a  picture  in  St.  Paul's 
life,  with  which  every  Christian  child  is  familiar.  The  Apostle  had  gathered 
with  his  own  hand  a  heap  of  sticks,  and  placed  them  on  the  fire,  when  a 
viper  came  "  out  of  the  heat "  and  fastened  on  his  hand.  The  poor  super- 
stitious people,  when  they  saw  this,  said  to  one  another,  "  This  man  must 
be  a  murderer  :  he  has  escaped  from  the  sea  :  but  still  vengeance  suffers 
him  not  to  live."  But  Paul  threw  off  the  animal  into  the  fire  and  suf- 
fered no  harm.  Then  they  watched  him,  expecting  that  his  body  would 
become  swollen,  or  that  he  would  suddenly  fall  down  dead.  At  length, 
after  they  had  watched  for  a  long  time  in  vain,  and  saw  nothing  happen 
to  him,  their  feelings  changed  as  violently  as  those  of  the  Lystrians  had 
done  in  an  opposite  direction ; '  and  they  said  that  he  was  a  god.  "We 
are  not  told  of  the  results  to  which  this  occurrence  led,  but  we  cannot 
doubt  that  while  Paul  repudiated,  as  formerly  at  Lystra,®  all  the  homage 
whiQli  if^clatry  would  pay  to  him,  he  would  make  use  of  the  influence 
vicquirod  by  ihL'  miracle,  for  making  the  Saviour  known  to  his  uncivilized 
•benefactors. 

St.  Paul  svau  \..ii2Lled  to  work  many  miracles  during  his  stay  in  Malta. 
The  first  which  is  reoOitJed  is  the  healing  of  the  father  of  Publlus,  the 

«!tated  that  in  1530  the  island  oi'i  not  contain  and  of  its  handsome  buildings,  such  as  those 

>(uite  15,000  inhabitants,  and  th>.t  vney  were  which  are  now  characteristic    of   tne  place, 

reduced  to  10,000  at  the  raising  oi  iKe  siege  We  might  also  refer  to  Ovid  and  Cicero, 
in  the  grand-mastership  of  La  "ValeJta.     Not-  ^  See  the  Essay  on  Mr.  Smith's  work  in 

>rithstanding  the   subsequent  wars,   anJ    the  the  North  British   Review  (p.    208)    for  some 

jiagucs  of  1592   and   1676,  the  numborsi  in  remarks  on  the  Maltese  language,  especially 

i798   were   90,000.      (Vol.   1.   pp.   i07,   i08.)  on  the  Arabic  name  of  what  is  still  called  the 

oimilar  statements  are  in  Miege,  Histoire  de  Apostle's  fountain  [Ayn-tal-Ruzzul). 
Make.  *  It  is  sufficient  to  refer  to  Kom.  i.  14, 

^  The   mention  of   it  in  Cicero's   Vewmt  1  Cor.  xiv.  11,  Col.  iii.  11,  fo*  the  meaning 

orations  is  well  known.  of  the  word  in  the  N.  T. 

-  Diodorus  Siculus  speaks  of  the  manufao>  ^  P.  173. 

tures  of  Malta,  of  the  wealth  of  its  inhabitants,  *  P.  171. 


718  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  CHAP.xxra, 

governor  of  the  island,^  who  had  some  possessions^  near  the  place  where 
the  vessel  was  lost,  and  who  had  given  a  hospitable  reception  to  the 
shipwrecked  strangers,  and  supplied  their  wants  for  three  days.  The 
disease  under  which  the  father  of  Publius  was  suffering  was  dysentery 
in  an  aggravated  form.'  St.  Paul  went  in  to  him  and  prayed,  and  laid 
his  hands  on  him  ;  and  he  recovered.  This  being  noised  through  the 
island,  other  sufferers  came  to  the  Apostle,  and  were  healed.  Thus  he 
was  empowered  to  repay  the  kindness  of  these  islanders  by  temporal 
services  intended  to  lead  their  minds  to  blessings  of  a  still  higher  kind. 
And  they  were  not  wanting  in  gratitude  to  those  whose  unexpected  visit 
had  brought  so  much  good  among  them.  They  loaded  them  with  every 
honor  in  their  power,  and,  when  they  put  to  sea  again,  supplied  them 
with  every  thing  that  was  needful  for  their  wants  (ver.  10). 

Before  we  pursue  the  concluding  part  of  the  voyage,  which  was  so 
prosperous  that  hardly  any  incident  in  the  course  of  it  is  recorded,  it 
may  be  useful  to  complete  the  argument  by  which  Malta  is  proved  to  be 
the  scene  of  St.  Paul's  shipwreck,  by  briefly  noticing  some  objections 
which  have  been  brought  against  this  view.  It  is  true  that  the  positive 
evidence  already  adduced  is  the  strongest  refutation  of  mere  objections  ; 
but  it  is  desirable  not  to  leave  unnoticed  any  of  the  arguments  which 
appear  to  have  weight  on  the  other  side.  Some  of  them  have  been 
carelessly  brought  together  by  a  great  writer,  to  whom,  on  many  sub- 
jects, we  might  be  glad  to  yield  our  assent.*  Thus  it  is  argued,  that, 
because  the  vessel  is  said  to  have  been  drifting  in  the  Adriatic,  the  place 
of  shipwreck  must  have  been,  not  Malta  to  the  south  of  Sicily,  but 
Meleda  in  the  Gulf  of  Venice.     It  is  no  wonder  that  the  Benedictine  of 


1  We  observe  that  the  name  is  Boman.     In  conclusive  facts  :  —  The  narrative  speaks  of 

the  phrase  used  here  there  is  every  appearance  the   '  barbarous  people,'  and  '  barbarians,'  of 

of  an  official  title,  more  especially  as  the  father  the  island.     Now,  our  Malta  was  at  that  time 

of  the  person  called  "  first  of  the  island  "  was  fully  peopled  and  highly  civilized,  as  we  may 

alive.     And  inscriptions  containing  this  exact  surely  infer  from  Cicero  and  other  writers.     A 

title  are  said  to  have  been  found  in  the  island.  viper  comes  out  from  the  sticks  upon  the  fire 

-  Acts  xxviii.  7..   These  possessions  must  being  lighted:  the  men  are  not  surprised  at 

therefore    have  been   very  near   the    present  the  appearance  of  the  snake,  but  imagine  first 

country  residence  of  the  English  Governor,  a  murderer,  and  then  a  god  from  the  harmless 

near  Citta  Vecchia.  attack.    Now,  in  our  Malta,  there  are,  I  may 

■^  xxviii.  8.  say,  no  snakes  at  all;  which,  to  be  sure,  the 

*  "  The  belief  that  Malta  is  the  island  on  Maltese  attribute  to  St.  Paul's  having  cursed 

which  St.  Paul  was  wrecked  is  so  rooted  in  the  them   away.      Melita  in   the   Adriatic  was  a 

common  Maltese,  and  is  cherished  with  such  perfectly   barbarous    island    as    to   its   native 

a  superstitious  nationality,  that  the  government  population,  and  was,  and  is  now,  infested  with 

would  run  the  chance  of  exciting  a  tumult  if  serpents.     Besides,  the  context  shows  that  tho 

it,  or  its  representatives,  unwarily  ridiculed  it.  scene  is  in  the  Adriatic."  —  Coleridge's  TahU 

The  supposition  itself  is  quite  absurd.     Not  to  Talk,  p.  185. 
argue  the  matter  at  length,  consider  these  few 


CHAP.  xxni.  OBJECTIONS    CONSIDEKED.  719 

Ragusa '  should  have  been  jealous  of  the  honor  of  his  order,  which  had 
a  convent  on  that  small  island.  But  it  is  more  surprising  that  the  view 
should  have  been  maintained  by  other  writers  since.'^  For  not  only  do 
the  classical  poets '  use  the  name  "  Adria  "  for  all  that  natural  division 
of  the  Mediterranean  which  lies  between  Sicily  and  Greece,  but  the  same 
phraseology  is  found  in  historians  and  geographers.  Thus  Ptolemy  dis- 
tinguishes clearly  between  the  Adriatic  Sea  and  the  Adriatic  Gulf. 
Pausanias  says  that  the  Straits  of  Messina  unite  the  Tyrrhene  Sea  with 
the  Adriatic  Sea ;  and  Procopius  *  considers  Malta  as  lying  on  the 
boundary  of  the  latter.  Nor  are  the  other  objections  more  successful. 
It  is  argued  that  Alexandrian  sailors  could  not  possibly  have  been  igno- 
rant of  an  island  so  well  known  as  Malta  was  then.  But  surely  they 
might  have  been  very  familiar  with  the  harbor  of  Valetta,  without  being 
able  to  recognize  that  part  of  the  coast  on  which  they  came  during  the 
storm.  A  modern  sailor  who  had  made  many  passages  between  New 
York  and  Liverpool  might  yet  be  perplexed  if  he  found  himself  in  hazy 
weather  on  some  part  of  the  coast  of  Wales.*  Besides,  we  are  told  that 
the  seamen  did  recognize  the  island  as  soon  as  they  were  ashore.*  It  is 
contended  also  that  the  people  of  Malta  would  not  have  been  called 
barbarians.  But,  if  the  sailors  were  Greeks  (as  they  probably  were), 
they  would  have  employed  this  term,  as  a  matter  of  course,  of  those  who 
spoke  a  different  language  from  their  own.'  Again  it  is  argued  that 
there  are  no  vipers  —  that  there  is  hardly  any  wood  —  in  Malta.  But 
who  does  not  recognize  here  the  natural  changes  which  result  from  the 
increase  of  inhabitants  ^  and  cultivation  ?  Within  a  very  few  years  there 
was  wood  close  to  St.  Paul's  Bay  ; '  and  it  is  well  known  how  the  Fauna 

^  Padre  Georgi,  however,  was  not  the  first  the  two  shipwrecks ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  har- 

who  sugr^ested  that  the  Apostle  was  wrecked  monize  the  narratives. 

on  Melida  in  the  Adriatic.     We  find  this  mis-  ^  Even  with  charts  he  might  have  a  diffi- 

taken  theory  in  a  Uyzaniine  writer  of  the  tenth  culty  in  recognizing  a  part  of  the  coast  which 

century.     [Very  recently  the   same  view  has  he  had  never  seen  before.     And  we  must  recol- 

been   advocated,  but  quite   inconclusively,  in  lect  that  the  ancient  mariner  had  no  charts. 
Mr.  Neale's  Ecclesiolorjical   notes  on  Dalmatia,  ®  xxviii.  1. 

1861.]  ^  See  above,  p.  717,  n.  4. 

-  Mr.  Smith  has  effectually  disposed  of  all  '  See   above,  note  on   the  population    of 

Bryant's  arguments,  if  such  they  can  be  called.  Malta.     Sir  C.  Penrose  adds  a  circumstance 

See  especially  his  Dissertation  on  the  island  which  it  is  important  to  take  into  account  in 

Melita.       Among    those   who    have    adopted  considering  this  question,  viz.  that,  in  the  time 

Bryant's  view,  we  have  referred  by  name  only  of   the   Knights,   the  bulk  of  the  papulation 

to  Falconer.  was  at  the  east  end  of  the  island,  and  that  the 

*  Ovid,  for  instance,  and  Horace.  neighborhood  of  St.  Paul's  Bay  was  separated 

*  Thucydides  speaks  of  the  Adriatic  Sea  in  off  by  a  line  of  fortification  built  for  fear  of 
the  same  way.     We  should  also  bear  in  mind  descents  from  Barbary  cruisers. 

the  shipwreck  of  Josephus,  which  took  place  ^  This  statement  rests  on  the  authority  of 

in  "  Adria."      Some  (c.  g.,  Mr.  Sharpe,  the      an  English  resident  on  the  island, 
author  of  the  History  of  Egypt)  have  identified  / 


720 


THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PATJXi. 


CHAP.  xxm. 


of  any  country  varies  with  tlie  vegetation.^  An  argument  has  even  been 
built  on  the  supposed  fact  that  the  disease  of  Pubhus  is  unknown  in  the 
island.  To  this  it  is  sufficient  to  reply  by  a  simple  denial.^  Nor  can  we 
close  this  rapid  survey  of  objections  without  noticing  the  insuperable 
difficulties  which  lie  against  the  hypothesis  of  the  Venetian  Meleda,  from 
the  impossibility  of  reaching  it,  except  by  a  miracle,  under  the  above- 
related  circumstances  of  weather,*  —  from  the  disagreement  of  its  sound- 
ings with  what  is  required  by  the  narrative  of  the  shipwreck,*  —  and 
from  the  inconsistency  of  its  position  with  what  is  related  of  the  sab- 
sequent  voyage.* 

To  this  part  of  the  voyage  we  must  now  proceed.  After  three  months 
they  sailed  again  for  Italy  in  a  ship  called  the  Castor  and  Pollux.®  Syra- 
cuse was  in  their  track,  and  the  ship  put  into  that  famous  harbor,  and  staid 
there  three  days.  Thus  St.  Paul  was  in  a  great  historic  city  of  the 
West,  after  spending  much  time  in  those  of  greatest  note  in  the  East. 
We  are  able  to  associate  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  and  the  thoughts  of 
Christianity  with  the  scenes  of  that  disastrous  expedition  which  closed  the 
progress  of  the  Athenians  towards  our  part  of  Europe,  —  and  with  those 
Punic  Wars,  which  ended  in  bringing  Africa  under  the  yoke  of  Rome. 


1  Some  instances  are  given  by  Mr.  Smith. 

^  It  happens  that  the  writer  once  spent  an 
anxious  night  in  Malta  with  a  fellow-travel- 
ler, who  was  suffering  precisely  in  the  same 
way. 

^  "  If  Euroclydon  blew  in  such  a  direction 
as  to  make  the  pilots  afraid  of  being  driven  on 
the  quicksands  (and  there  were  no  such  dan- 
gers but  to  the  south-west  of  them),  how  could 
it  be  supposed  that  they  could  be  driven  north 
towards  the  Adriatic  ■?  In  truth,  it  is  very 
difficult  for  a  well-appointed  ship  of  modern 
days  to  get  from  Crete  into  and  up  the  Adri- 
atic at  the  season  named  in  the  narrative,  the 
north  winds  being  then  prevalent  and  strong. 
We  find  the  shij)  certainly  driven  from  the 
south  coast  of  Crete,  from  the  Fair  Havens 
towards  Clauda  (now  Gozzi),  ou  the  south- 
west; and  during  the  fourteen-days'  continu- 
ance of  the  gale,  we  are  never  told  that  Euroc- 
lydon ceased  tO  blow;  and  with  either  a 
Gregalia  or  Levanter  blowing  hard,  St.  Paul's 
sliip  could  not  possibly  have  proceeded  up  the 
Adriatic."  —  Penrose,  MS.  He  s.iys  again: 
"  How  is  it  possible  that  a  ship  at  that  time, 
and  so  circumstanced,  could  have  got  np  the 
difficult  navigation  of  the  Adriatic  ?  To  have 
drifted  up  the  Adriatic  to  the  island  of  Melita 


or  Melida,  in  the  requisite  curve,  and  to  have 
passed  so  many  islands  and  other  dangers  in 
the  route,  would,  humanly  speaking,  have  been 
impossible.  The  distance  from  Clauda  to  this 
Melita  is  not  less  than  780  geographical  miles, 
and  the  wind  must  have  long  been  from  the 
south  to  make  this  voyage  in  fourteen  days. 
Now,  from  Clauda  to  Malta,  there  is  not  any 
one  danger  in  a  direct  line,  and  we  see  that 
the  distance  and  direction  of  drift  will  both 
agree." 

*  This  is  clearly  shown  on  the  Austrian 
chart  of  that  part  of  the  Adriatic. 

^  From  the  Adriatic  Melida  it  would  have 
been  more  natural  to  have  gone  to  Brundusium 
or  Ancona,  and  thence  by  land  to  Rome  ;  and, 
even  in  going  by  sea,  Syracuse  would  have 
been  out  of  the  course,  whereas  it  is  in  the 
direct  track  from  Malta. 

^  It  is  natural  to  assume  that  such  was  its 
name,  if  such  was  its  "  sign,"  i.  e.  the  sculp- 
tured or  painted  figures  at  the  prow.  It  was 
natural  to  dedicate  ships  to  the  Dioscuri,  who 
were  the  hero-patrons  of  sailors.  They  were 
supposed  to  appear  in  those  lights  which  are 
called  by  modern  sailors  the  fires  of  St.  Elmo ; 
and  in  art  they  arc  represented  as  stars.  See 
below  on  the  coins  of  Rhegium. 


C11A.I .  xxui.  PUTEOLI.  7l>l 

We  are  not  told  whether  St.  Paul  was  permitted  to  go  on  shore  at  Syra- 
cuse ;  but  from  the  courtesy  shown  him  by  Julius,  it  is  probable  that  this 
permission  was  not  refused.  If  he  landed,  he  would  doubtless  find  Jews 
and  Jewisli  proselytes  in  abundance,  in  so  great  a  mercantile  emporium ; 
and  would  announce  to  tliem  the  Glad  Tidings  wliicb  he  was  commis- 
sioned to  proclaim  "  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  tlie  Gentile."  Heuce 
we  may  without  difficulty  give  credit  to  the  local  tradition,  which  regards 
St.  Paul  as  the  first  founder  of  tlie  Sicilian  clmrch. 

Sailing  out  of  that  beautiful  land-locked  basin,  and  past  Ortygia,  once 
an  island,'  but  then  united  in  one  continuous  town  with  the  buildings 
under  tlie  ridge  of  Epipolae, —  the  ship  wliich  carried  St.  Paul  to  Rome 
shaped  her  course  northwards  towards  the  straits  of  Messina.  The 
weather  was  not  favorable  at  first :  they  were  compelled  to  take  an  indi- 
rect course,^  and  they  put  into  Rhegium,  a  city  whose  patron  divinities 
were,  by  a  curious  coincidence,  the  same  hero-protectors  of  seafaring 
men,  "  the  Great  Twin  Brethren,"  to  whom  the  ship  itself  was  dedicated.' 

Here  they  remained  one  day  (ver.  13),  evidently  waiting  for  a  fair 
wind  to  take  them  through  the  Faro ;  for  the  springing-up  of  a  wind 
from  the  south  is  expressly  mentioned  in  the  following  words.  This  wind 
would  be  favorable,  not  only  for  carrying  the  ship  through  the  straits,  but 
for  all  the  remainder  of  tlie  voyage.  If  the  vessel  was  single-masted,* 
with  one  large  square-sail,  this  wind  was  the  best  that  could  blow :  for  to 
such  a  vessel  the  most  advantageous  point  of  sailing  is  to  run  right 
before  the  wind  ;  *  and  Puteoli  lies  nearly  due  north  from  Rhegium. 
The  distance  is  about  182  miles.  If,  then,  we  assume,  in  accordance  with 
what  has  been  stated  above  (p.  683),  that  she  sailed  at  the  rate  of  seven 
knots  an  hour,®  the  passage  would  be  accomplished  in  about  twenty-six 
hours,  which  agrees  perfectly  with  the  account  of  St.  Luke,  who  says 
that,  after  leaving  Rhegium,  they  came,  "  the  next  day^"*  to  Puteoli. 

1  The  city  has  now  shrunk  to  its  old  limit.  '  Macaulay's  Lays  of  Rome  (Battle  of  Lake 

^  Mr.    Smith's   view   that  the  word    here  Regillus).     One  of  these  coins,  exhibiting  the 

(rendered  in  A.  V.  "  fetching  a  compass,"  i.  e.  heads  of  the  twin-divinities  with  the  stars,  is 

"  going  round  ")  means  simply  "  beating"  is  given  at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 
more  likely  to   be  correct  than  that  of  Mr.  *  We  cannot  assume  this  to  have  been  the 

Lewin,  who  supposes  that  "  as  the  wind  was  case,  but   it   is  highly  probable.     See  above, 

westerly,  and  they  were  under  shelter  of  the  We  may  refer  here  to  the  representation  of  the 

high  mountainous  range  of  ^tna  on  their  left,  harbor  of  Ostia  on  the  coin  of  Nero,  given 

they  were  obliged  to  stand  out  to  sea  in  order  below,  p.  743.     It  will  be  observed  that  all  the 

to  fill  their  sails,  and  so  come  to  Rhegium  by  ships  in  the  harbor  are  single-masted. 
a  circuitouG  sweep."     lie  adds  in  a  note,  that  ^  Smith,  p.  180. 

he  "  was  informed  by  a  friend  that  when  he  ^  We  cannot  agree  with  the  N.  Brit'  Re- 
made the  voyage  from  Syracuse  to  Rhegium,  viewer   in   doubting   the  correctness   of   Mr 
the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed  took  a  similar  Smith's  conclusion  on  this  point 
circuit  for  a  similar  reason." 
46 


722  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap,  xxm 

Before  the  close  of  the  first  day  they  would  see  on  the  left  the  volcanic 
cone  and  smoke  of  Stromboli,  the  nearest  of  the  Liparian  islands.  In 
the  course  of  the  night  they  would  have  neared  that  projecting  part  of 
the  mainland,  which  forms  the  southern  limit  of  the  bay  of  Salerno.* 
Sailing  across  the  wide  opening  of  this  gulf,  they  would,  in  a  few  hours, 
enter  that  other  bay,  the  bay  of  Naples,  in  the  northern  part  of  which 
Puteoli  was  situated.  No  long  description  need  be  given  of  that  bay, 
which  has  been  made  familiar,  by  every  kind  of  illustration,  even  to  those 
who  liave  never  seen  it.  Its  south-eastern  limit  is  the  promontory  of 
Minerva,  with  the  island  of  Capreae  opposite,  which  is  so  associated  with 
the  memory  of  Tiberius,  that  its  cliSs  still  seem  to  rise  from  the  blue 
waters  as  a  monument  of  hideous  vice  in  the  midst  of  the  fairest  scenes 
of  nature.  The  opposite  boundary  was  the  promontory  of  Misenum, 
where  one  of  the  imperial  fleets  ^  lay  at  anchor  under  the  shelter  of  the 
islands  of  Ischia  and  Procida.  In  the  intermediate  space  the  Campanian 
coast  curves  round  in  the  loveliest  forms,  with  Vesuvius  as  the  prominent 
feature  of  the  view.  But  here  one  difference  must  be  marked  between 
St.  Paul's  day  and  our  own.  The  angry  neighbor  of  Naples  was  not 
then  an  unsleeping  volcano,  but  a  green  and  sunny  background  to  the 
bay,  with  its  westward  slope  covered  with  vines.^  No  one  could  have 
suspected  that  the  time  was  so  near,  when  the  admiral  of  the  fleet  at 
Misenum  would  be  lost  in  its  fiery  eruption  ;  *  and  little  did  the  Apostle 
dream,  when  he  looked  from  the  vessel's  deck  across  the  bay  to  the  right, 
that  a  ruin,  like  that  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  hung  over  the  fair  cities 
at  the  base  of  the  mountain,  and  that  the  Jewish  princess,  who  had  so 
lately  conversed  with  him  in  his  prison  at  Caesarea,  would  find  her  tomb 
in  that  ruin,  with  the  child  she  had  borne  to  Felix.^ 

By  this  time  the  vessel  was  well  within  the  island  of  Capreae  and  the 
promontory  of  Minerva,  and  the  idlers  of  Puteoli  were  already  crowding 
to  the  pier  to  watch  the  arrival  of  the  Alexandrian  corn-ship  ;  so  we  may 
safely  infer  from  a  vivid  and  descriptive  letter  preserved  among  the  corre- 
spondence of  the  philosopher  Seneca.  He  say  that  all  ships,  on  rounding 
into  the  bay  within  the  above-mentioned  island  and  promontory,  were 
obliged  to  strike  their  topsails,  with  the  exception  of  the  Alexandrian 
corn-vessels,  which  were  thus  easily  recognized  as  soon  as  they  hove  in 

1  See  the  Sailing  Directions,  129-133,  with  Strabo  describes  the  mountain  as  very  fertile  at 
the  Admiralty  charts,  for  the  appearance  of  its  base,  though  its  summi*  was  barren,  and 
the  coast  between  Ca])e  Spartivento  (Pr.  Pali-  full  of  apertures,  which  showed  the  traces  of 
nurum)  and  Cape  Campanella  (Pr.  Minervae).  earlier  volcanic  action. 

2  The  fleet  of  the  "  Upper  Sea  "  was  sta-  ■•  See  the  younger  Pliny's  description  of  his 
tioned  at  Ravenna,  of  the  "  Lower"  at  Mise-  uncle's  death,  Ep.  vi.  16. 

num.  6  Josephus.     See  above,  p.  652. 

^  So  it  is  described  by  Martial  and  others. 


cu.vp.  xxm. 


PUTEOLI.  723 


sight ;  and  theu  be  proceeds  to  moralize  oii  the  gathering  and  crowding 
of  the  people  of  Puteoli  to  watch  these  vessels  coming  in.  Thus  we  are 
furnished  with  new  circumstances  to  aid  our  eflforts  to  realize  the  arrival 
of  the  Castor  and  Pollux,  on  the  coast  of  Italy,  with  St.  Paul  on  board. 
And  if  we  wish  still  further  to  associate  this  event  with  the  history  and 
the  feeling  of  the  times,  we  may  turn  to  an  anecdote  of  the  Emperor 
Augustus  which  is  preserved  to  us  by  Suetonius.  The  Emperor  had  been 
seized  with  a  feverish  attack,  —  it  was  the  beginning  of  his  last  illness, — 
and  was  cruising  about  the  bay  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  when  an 
Alexandrian  corn-ship  was  coming  to  her  moorings,  and  passed  close  by. 
The  sailors  recognized  the  old  man,  whom  the  civilized  world  obeyed  as 
master,  and  was  learning  to  worship  as  God ;  and  they  brought  out  gar- 
lands and  incense,  that  they  might  pay  him  divine  honors,  saying  that  it 
was  by  his  providence  that  their  voyages  were  made  safe  and  that  their 
trade  was  prosperous.  Augustus  was  so  gratified  by  this  worship,  that  he 
immediately  distributed  an  immense  sum  of  gold  among  his  suite,  exact- 
ing from  them  the  promise  that  they  would  expend  it  all  in  the  pur- 
ch;vse  of  Alexandrian  goods.  Such  was  the  interest  connected  in  the 
first  century  with  the  trade  between  Alexandria  and  Puteoli.  Such  was 
the  idolatrous  homage  paid  to  the  Roman  Emperor.  The  only  difference, 
when  the  Apostle  of  Christ  came,  was  that  the  vice  and  corruption  of  the 
Empire  had  increased  with  the  growth  of  its  trade,  and  that  the  Emperor 
now  was  not  Augustus,  but  Nero. 

In  this  wide  and  sunny  expanse  of  blue  waters,  no  part  was  calmer  or 
more  beautiful  than  the  recess  in  the  northern  part  of  the  bay  between 
Baiae  and  Puteoli.  It  was  naturally  sheltered  by  the  surrounding  coasts, 
and  seemed  of  itself  to  invite  both  the  gratification  of  luxurious  ease, 
and  the  formation  of  a  mercantile  harbor.  Baiae  was  devoted  to  the  for- 
mer purpose  ;  it  was  to  the  invalids  and  fashionable  idlers  of  Rome  like  a 
combination  of  Brighton  and  Cheltenham.  Puteoli,  on  the  opposite  side 
of  this  inner  bay,  was  the  Liverpool  of  Italy.  Between  them  was  that 
enclosed  reach  of  water  called  the  Lucrine  Lake,  which  contained  the 
oyster-beds  for  the  luxurious  tables  of  Rome,  and  on  the  surface  of  which 
the  small  yachts  of  fashionable  visitors  displayed  their  colored  sails. 
Still  farther  inland  was  that  other  calm  basin,  the  Lacus  Avernus,  which 
an  artificial  passage  connected  with  the  former,  and  thus  converted  into 
a  harbor.  Not  far  beyond  was  Cumae,  once  a  flourishing  Greek  city,  but, 
when  the  Apostle  visited  this  coast,  a  decayed  country  town,  famous  only 
for  the  recollections  of  the  Sibyl.^ 

We  must  return  to  Puteoli.  We  have  seen  above  (p.  684)  how  it 
divided  with  Ostia  the  chief  commerce  by  sea  between  Rome  and  the 

^  See  Juv.  Sat.  iii.  1 . 


724  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PATJL.  chap,  xim 

provinces.  Its  early  name,  when  the  Campanian  shore  was  Greek  rather 
than  Italian,  was  Dicaaarchia.  Under  its  new  appellation  (which  seems 
to  have  had  reference  to  the  mineral  springs  of  the  neighborhood)  ^  it 
first  began  to  have  an  important  connection  with  Rome  in  the  second 
Punic  war.  It  was  the  place  of  embarkation  for  armies  proceeding  to 
Spain,  and  the  landing-place  of  ambassadors  from  Carthage.  Ever  after- 
wards it  was  an  Italian  town  of  the  first  rank.  In  the  time  of  Vespasian 
it  became  the  Flavian  Colony,  like  the  city  in  Palestine  from  which  St. 
Paul  had  sailed ;  ^  but  even  from  an  earlier  period  it  had  colonial  privi- 
leges, and  these  had  just  been  renewed  under  Nero.  It  was  intimately 
associated  both  with  this  Emperor  and  with  two  others  who  preceded 
him  in  power  and  in  crime.  Close  by  Baiae,  across  the  bay,  was  Bauli, 
where  the  plot  was  laid  for  the  murder  of  Agrippina.^  Across  these 
waters  Caligula  built  his  fantastic  bridge ;  and  the  remains  of  it  were 
probably  visible  when  St.  Paul  landed:*  Tiberius  had  a  more  honorable 
monument  in  a  statue  (of  which  a  fragment  is  still  seen  by  English 
travellers  at  Pozzuoli)  erected  during  St.  Paul's  life  to  commemorate 
the  restitution  of  the  Asiatic  cities  overthrown  by  an  earthquake.*  But  the 
ruins  which  are  the  most  interesting  to  us  are  the  seventeen  piers  of  the 
ancient  mole  on  which  the  lighthouse  stood,  and  within  which  the  mer- 
chant-men were  moored.  Such  is  the  proverbial  tenacity  of  the  concrete 
which  was  used  in  this  structure,®  that  it  is  the  most  perfect  ruin  exist- 
ing of  any  ancient  Roman  harbor.  In  the  earlier  part  of  this  chapter,  we 
spoke  of  the  close  mercantile  relationship  which  subsisted  between  Egypt 
and  this  city.  And  this  remains  on  our  minds  as  the  prominent  and  sig- 
nificant fact  of  its  history,  —  whether  we  look  upon  the  ruins  of  the  mole, 
and  think  of  such  voyages  as  those  of  Titus  and  Vespasian,'  or  wander 
among  the  broken  columns  of  the  Temple  of  Serapis,^  or  read  the  account 
which  Philo  gives  of  the  singular  interview  of  the  Emperor  Caligula  with 
the  Jewish  ambassadors  from  Alexandria.^ 

Puteoli,  from  its  trade  with  Alexandria  and  the  East,  must  necessarily 
have  contained  a  colony  of  Jews,  and  they  must  have  had  a  close  con- 
nection with  the  Jews  of  Rome.  What  was  true  of  the  Jews  would 
probably  find  its  parallel  in  the  Christians.     St.  Paul  met  with  disciples 

1  It  was  namod  either  from  the  springs  gorical  representations  of  the  towns,  is  still 
(a  puteis),  or  from  their  stench  (a  putetido).  extant. 

2  See  above  on  Caesarea,  p.  658.  «  The  well-known  Pozzolana,  which  is  men- 
8  Nero  had  murdered  his  mother  ahout  two      tioned  by  Pliny. 

years  before  St.  Paul's  coming.  ''  See  p.  685. 

*  Some  travellers  have  mistaken  the  remains  *  This  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  ruins 
of  the  mole  for  those  of  Caligula's  bridge.  at  Pozzuoli.  It  is  described  in  the  gnide-books. 
But  that  was  only  a  wooden  structure.  *  PhQo  Leg.  ad  Caium. 

*  The  pedestal  of  this  statue,  with  the  alle- 


CHAP.  xxm. 


COIN  OF  RHEGIUM, 


725 


liore ;  ^  and,  as  soon  as  he  was  among  them,  they  were  in  prompt  commu- 
nication on  the  subject  with  their  brethren  in  Rome.'^  The  Italian  Chris- 
tians had  long  been  looking  for  a  visit  from  the  famous  Apostle,  though 
they  had  not  expected  to  see  him  arrive  thus,  a  prisoner  in  chains,  hardly 
saved  from  shipwreck.  But  these  sufferings  would  only  draw  their  hearts 
more  closely  towards  him.  They  earnestly  besought  him  to  stay  some 
days  with  them,  and  Julius  was  able  to  allow  this  request  to  be  complied 
with.'  Even  when  the  voyage  began,  we  saw  that  he  was  courteous  and 
kind  towards  his  prisoner  ;  and,  after  all  the  varied  and  impressive  inci- 
dents which  have  been  recounted  in  this  chapter,  we  should  indeed  be 
surprised  if  we  found  him  unwilling  to  contribute  to  the  comfort  of  one 
by  whom  his  own  life  had  been  preserved. 


Coin  of  Bhegtom.* 


*  Acts  xxviiL  14.  '  See  ver.  15. 

•  It  is  not  clearly  stated  who  urged  this  stay. 
Possibly  it  was  Julias  himself.  It  is  at  all 
events  evident  from  ver.  15  that  they  did  stay; 
otherwise  there  would  not  have  been  time  for 


the  intelligence  of  St.  Paul's  landing  to  reach 
Rome  so  long  before  his  own  arrival  there. 

*  From  the  British  Museum.  The  head* 
and  stars  are  those  of  Castbr  and  Pollux.  See 
p.  720,  n.  6 ;  and  721,  n.  3. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 


The  Appian  Way. — Appii  Forum  and  the  Three  Taverns. — Entrance  into  Rome. — The 
Praetorian  Prefect.  —  Description  of  the  City.  —  Its  Population.  —  The  Jews  in  Rome.  —  The 
Roman  Church. —  St.  Paul's  Interview  with  the  Jews.  —  His  Residence  in  Rome. 

THE  last  chapter  began  with  a  description  of  the  facilities  possessed 
by  the  ancients  for  travelling  by  sea :  this  must  begin  with  a  refer- 
ence to  their  best  opportunities  of  travelling  by  land.  We  have  before 
spoken  of  some  of  the  most  important  roads  through  the  provinces  of  the 
Empire :  now  we  are  about  to  trace  the  Apostle's  footsteps  along  that 
road,  which  was  at  once  the  oldest  and  most  frequented  in  Italy,*  and 
which  was  called,  in  comparison  with  all  others,  the  "  Queen  of  Roads." 
We  are  no  longer  following  the  narrow  line  of  compact  pavement  across 
Macedonian  plains  and  mountains,'^  or  through  the  varied  scenery  in  the 
interior  of  Asia  Minor :  ^  but  we  are  on  the  most  crowded  approach  to 
the  metropolis  of  the  world,  in  the  midst  of  praetors  and  proconsuls, 
embassies,  legions,  and  turms  of  horse,  "  to  their  provinces  hasting  or 
on  return,"  which  Milton*  —  in  his  description  of  the  City  enriched  with 
the  spoils  of  nations  —  has  called  us  to  behold  "  in  various  habits  on 
the  Appian  road." 

Leaving,  then,  all  consideration  of  Puteoli,  as  it  was  related  to  the  sea 
and  to  the  various  places  on  the  coast,  we  proceed  to  consider  its  com- 
munications by  land  with  the  towns  of  Campania  and  Latium.  The 
great  line  of  communication  between  Rome  and  the  southern  part  of  the 
peninsula  was  the  Way  constructed  by  Appius  Claudius,  which  passed 
through  Capua,*  and  thence  to  Brundusium  on  the  shore  of  the  Adri- 

^  "Appia  longarum  teritur  Regina  viarum."  brated  of  Roman  roads,  was  constructed  as  far 

—  Stat.  Silv.  ii.  2.     See  below.  as  Capua,  a.  u.  c.  442,  by  the  censor  Appius 

*  For  the  Via  Egnatia,  see  pp.  274,  275.  Claudius.      Eight  hundred  years  afterwards, 

*  In  making  our  last  allusion  to  Asia  Minor,  Procopius  was  astonished  at  its  appearance. 
we  may  refer  to  the  description  which  Basil  He  describes  it  as  broad  enough  for  two  car- 
gives  of  the  scenery  round  his  residence,  a  little  riages  to  pass  each  other,  and  as  made  of  stones 
to  the  east  of  the  inland  region  thrice  traversed  brought  from  some  distant  quarry,  and  so  fit- 
by  St.  Paul.  See  Humboldt's  Kosmos,  vol.  ii.  ted  to  each  other,  that  they  seemed  to  be  thus 
p.  26.     (Sabine's  Eng.  Trans.)  formed  by  nature  rather  than  cemented  by  art. 

*  Paradise  Regained,  book  iv.  He  adds  that,  notwithstanding  the  traflBc  of  sc 
'  The  Via  Appia,  the  oldest  and  most  cele-      many  ages,  the  stones  were  not  displaced,  nor 

726 


CHXP.  XXIV. 


CAPUA.  727 


atic.^  Puteoli  and  its  neighborhood  lay  some  miles  to  the  westward  of  this 
main  road,  but  communicated  with  it  easily  by  well-travelled  cross-roads. 
One  of  them  followed  the  coast  from  Puteoli  northwards,  till  it  joined  the 
Appian  Way  at  Sinuessa,  on  the  borders  of  Latium  and  Campania.^  It 
appears,  however,  that  this  road  was  not  constructed  till  the  reign  of 
Domitian.'  Our  attention,  therefore,  is  called  to  the  other  cross-road 
which  led  directly  to  Capua.  One  branch  of  it  left  the  coast  at  Cumae, 
another  at  Puteoli.  It  was  called  the  "  Campaniau  Way,"  and  also  the 
"  Consular  Way."  It  seems  to  have  been  constructed  during  the  Repub- 
lic, and  was  doubtless  the  road  which  is  mentioned,  in  an  animated 
passage  of  Horace's  Epistles,  as  communicating  with  the  baths  and  villas 
of  Baiae.* 

The  first  part,  then,  of  the  route  which  Julius  took  with  his  prisoners 
was  probably  from  Puteoli  to  Capua.  All  the  region  near  the  coast,  how- 
ever transformed  in  the  course  of  ages  by  the  volcanic  forces  which  are 
still  at  work,  is  recognized  as  the  scene  of  the  earliest  Italian  mythology, 
and  must  ever  be  impressive  from  the  poetic  images,  partly  of  this  world, 
and  partly  of  the  next,  with  which  Virgil  has  filled  it.  From  Cumae  to 
Capua,  the  road  traverses  a  more  prosaic  district : '  the  "  Phlegraean 
fields  "  are  left  behind,  and  we  pass  from  the  scene  of  Italy's  dim  my- 
thology to  the  theatre  of  the  most  exciting  passages  of  her  history.  The 
whole  line  of  the  road  can  be  traced  at  intervals,  not  only  in  the  close 
neighborhood  of  Puteoli  and  Capua,  but  through  the  intermediate  vil- 
lages, by  fragments  of  pavement,  tombs,  and  ancient  milestones.® 

Capua,  after  a  time  of  disgrace  had  expiated  its  friendship  with  Han- 
nibal, was  raised  by  Julius  Caesar  to  the  rank  of  a  colony:  in  the  reign 
of  Augustus  it  had  resumed  all  its  former  splendor ;  and  about  the  very 
time  of  which  we  are  writing,  it  received  accessions  of  dignity  from  the 
Emperor  Nero.     It  was  the  most  important  city  on  the  whole  line  of  the 

had  they  lost  their  original  smoothness.    There  distances  are  slightly  different.    A  direct  road 

is  great  doubt  as  to  the  date  of  the  continuation  from  Capua  to  Neapolis,  by  Atella,  is  men- 

by  Beneventum   to  Brundusium,  nor  is   the  tioned  in  the  Tab.  Pent. 

course  of  it  absolutely  ascertained.  ^  This  is  the  road  which  is  the  subject  of 

1  Here  it  came  to  the  customary  ferry  be-  the  pompous  yet  very  interesting  poem  of 
tween  the  Greek  aud  Italian  peninsulas,  and  Statins,  Silv.  iv. 

•was  succeeded  on  the  other  side  by  the  Via  *  See  the  vivid  passage  in  the  beginning  of 

Egnatia.    Strabo,  v.  3 ;  vi.  3.    Compare  p.  2l4.  Ep.  i.  xv.,  where  we  see  that  the  road  was  well 

2  The  stages  of  this  road  from  Sinuessa  travelled  at  that  period,  and  where  its  turning 
appear  as  follows  in  the  Peutingerian  Table :  —  out  of  the  Via  Appia  is  clearly  indicated. 
Savonem  Fl.  III.  ;  Vulturnum,  VII. ;  Liter-  ^  On  the  left  was  a  district  of  pine-woods, 
num,  VII. ;  Cumas,  VI.;  Lacum  Avemum,  notorious  for  banditti  (Ga//inana  piKus),  Juv. 
II. ;  Puteolos,  III.  Thence  it  proceeds  by  iii.  305  ;  now  Pineta  di  Castel  Volturno. 
Naples  to  Herculaneum,  Pompeii,  Stabiae,  and  ®  The  road  seems  to  have  left  Pnteoli  by 
Surrentum.  In  the  Anlonine  Itinerary  it  is  en-  the  Solfatara,  where  Komanelli  says  that  the 
titled,  "  Iter  a  Terracina  Neapolim,"  and  the  old  pavement  is  visible. 


V28  THE  LIFE  AITO   EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xnr 

Appiaii  Way,  between  Rome  and  Brundusium.  That  part  of  the  line 
with  which  we  are  concerned  is  the  northerly  and  most  ancient  portion. 
The  distance  is  about  125  miles :  and  it  may  be  naturally  divided  into 
two  equal  parts.  The  division  is  appropriate,  whether  in  regard  to  the 
physical  configuration  of  the  country,  or  the  modern  political  boundaries. 
The  point  of  division  is  where  Terracina  is  built  at  the  base  of  those 
cliffs,'  on  which  the  city  of  Anxur  was  of  old  proudly  situated,  and  where 
a  narrow  pass,  between  the  mountain  and  the  sea,  unites  (or  united  re- 
cently) the  Papal  States  to  the  kingdom  of  Naples. 

The  distance  from  Capua  to  Terracina^  is  about  seventy  Roman  miles. 
At  the  third  mile  the  road  crossed  the  river  Yulturnus  at  Casilinum,  a 
town  then  falling  into  decay .^  Fifteen  miles  farther  it  crossed  the  river 
Savo,  by  what  was  then  called  the  Campanian  Bridge.*  Thence,  after 
three  miles,  it  came  to  Sinuessa  on  the  sea,®  which  in  St.  Paul's  day  was 
reckoned  the  first  town  in  Latium.  But  the  old  rich  Campania  extended 
farther  to  the  northward,  including  the  vine-clad  hills  of  the  famous 
Falernian  district  through  which  we  pass,  after  crossing  the  Savo.^  The 
last  of  these  hills  (where  the  vines  may  be  seen  trained  on  elms,  as  of 
old)  is  the  range  of  Massicus,  which  stretches  from  the  coast  towards  the 
Apennines,  and  finally  shuts  out  from  the  traveller,  as  he  descends  on 
the  farther  side,  all  the  prospect  of  Vesuvius  and  the  coast  near  Puteoli.^ 
At  that  season,  both  vines  and  elms  would  have  a  winterly  appearance. 
But  the  traces  of  spring  would  be  visible  in  the  willows  ;  ^  among  which 
the  Liris  flows  in  many  silent  windings  —  from  the  birthplace  of  Marius 
in  the  mountains  *  —  to  the  city  and  the  swamps  by  the  sea,  which  the 
ferocity  of  his  mature  life  has  rendered  illustrious.  After  leaving  Min- 
turnae,  the  Appian  Way  passes  on  to  another  place,  which  has  different 

1  The  modern  TeiTacina  is  by  the  sea  at  '  Pliny  extends  Campania  to  the  Liris  or 

the  base  of  the  cliffs,  and  the  present  road  Garigliano.    It  is  difficult  to  fix  the  limits  of 

passes  that  way.     The  ancient  road  ascended  the  Falernus  ager,  which  extended   from   th* 

to  Anxur,  which  was  on  the  summit.  Massic  Hills  towards  the  Volturnus. 

^  The  stages    are    as    follows   (reckoning  ''  The  ancient  road,  however,  seems  to  have 

from   Terracina)    in   the   Antonine   Itinerary :  followed  the  coast. 

FUNDis.  XVI.  FoRMis.  XIII.  MiNTURNis.  IX.  "  "  March  22.     We  crossed  the  Liris  by  a 

8INDES8A.  IX.  CAPUA.  XXVI.     The  distances  suspension-bridge.      It  is  a  large    stream  — 

are  rather  smaller  in  the  Jerusalem  Itinerary,  truly  a  taciturnus  amnis  —  winding  like   the 

where  a.  mutatio  Ponte  Campajio  and  &  mutatio  Trent    among    willow- trees,    which    showed 

ad  octaimm  are  here  inserted  between  Sinuessa  nearly  the  first  symptoms  of  spring  we  had 

and  Capua.     Casilinum  is  mentioned  only  in  seen."      (Extract  from    a    private   journal.) 

the  Peutingcrian  Table.  We  have  already  seen  that  St.  Paul's  journey 

^  The  operations  on  the  Volturno  in  Gari-  through  Campania  and  Latium  was  very  early 

baldi's  recent  campaign  are  very  fresh  in  our  in  the  spring, 
recollection.  '  The  Garigliano  rises  near  Arpinum,  which 

*  Campano  Ponti.  Hor.  Sat.  i.  r.  45.  was  also  the  birthplace  of  Cicero. 

*  "  Plotius  et  Varirp  Sinues.s«,  Virgiliusqne 

Occurrunt."  lb.  40. 


CHAP.  XXIV.  AKXUR  TO   APPII  FOEUM.  729 

associations  with  the  later  years  of  the  Republic.  We  speak  of  Formiae,' 
with  its  long  street  by  the  shore  of  its  beautiful  bay,  and  with  its  villas 
on  the  seaside,  and  above  it ;  among  which  was  one  of  Cicero's  favorite 
retreats  from  the  turmoil  of  the  political  world,  and  where  at  last  he  fell 
by  the  hand  of  assassins.^  Many  a  lectica^  or  palanquin,  such  as  that  in 
which  he  was  reclining  when  overtaken  by  his  murderers,  may  have  been 
met  by  St.  Paul  in  his  progress,  —  with  other  carriages,  with  which  the 
road  would  become  more  and  more  crowded,  —  the  cisium,*  or  light  cab- 
riolet, of  some  gay  reveller,  on  his  way  to  Baiae,  —  or  the  four-wheeled 
rheda,^  full  of  the  family  of  some  wealthy  senator  quitting  the  town  for 
the  country.  At  no  great  distance  from  Formiae  the  road  left  the  sea 
again,  and  passed,  where  the  substructions  of  it  still  remain,  through  the 
defiles  ®  of  the  Caecuban  hills,  with  their  stony  but  productive  vineyards. 
Thence  the  traveller  looked  down  upon  the  plain  of  Fundi,  which  retreats 
like  a  bay  into  the  mountains,  with  the  low  lake  of  Amyclas  between 
the  town  and  the  sea.  Through  the  capricious  care,  with  which  time 
has  preserved  in  one  place  what  is  lost  in  another,  the  pavement  of 
the  ancient  way  is  still  the  street  of  this,  the  most  northerly  town  of 
the  Neapolitan  kingdom  in  this  direction.  We  have  now  in  front  of  us  the 
mountain  line,  which  is  both  the  frontier  of  the  Papal  States,'  and  the 
natural  division  of  the  Apostle's  journey  from  Capua  to  Rome.  Where 
it  reaches  the  coast,  in  bold  limestone  precipices,  there  Anxur  was  situated, 
with  its  houses  and  temples  high  above  the  sea.^ 

After  leaving  Anxur,^  the  traveller  observes  the  high  land  retreating 
again  from  the  coast,  and  presently  finds  himself  in  a  wide  and  remark- 
able plain,  enclosed  towards  the  interior  by  the  sweep  of  the  blue 
Volscian  mountains,  and  separated  by  a  belt  of  forest  from  the  sea. 
Here  are  the  Pomptine  marshes,  —  "  the  only  marshes  ever  dignified  by 

1  This  is  Afola  di  Gaeta,  just  opposite  the  ^  Itri  is  in  one  of  these  defiles.  The  sub- 
fortress  which  has  been  so  notorious  in  recent  structions  of  the  ancient  way  show  that  it 
passages  of  Italian  history.  nearly  followed  the  line  of  the  modem  road 

^  See  Plutarch's  description  of  his  death.  between  Rome  and  Naples. 

^  The  lecticce,  or  couches  carried  by  bear-  '  Or  of  what  were  till  lately   the  Papal 

ers,  were  in  constant  use  both  for  men  and  States. 

women  ;  and  a  traveller  could  hardly  go  from  8  ggg  jJqj^  ^'^j^    j^  y    25,   26,   and   many 

Puteoli  to  Rome  without  seeing  many  of  them.  other  passages  in   Roman   poets.     There  are 

*  Seneca  says  you  could  write  in  the  cisium,  here  still  the  substructions  of  large  temples, 

whence  we  must  infer  that  such  carriages  [if  one  of  them  probably  that  of  Jupiter,  to  whom 

they  had  springs]  were  often  as  comfortable  as  the  town  was  dedicated, 
those  of  modern  times.  ^  The  stages  during  the  latter  half  of  the 

^  "  Tota  domus  rheda  componitur  una."  journey,  reckoning  from  Rcme,  appear  thus 

(Juv.  iii.  10.)     The  remark  just  made  on  the  in    the    Antonine    Itinerary:    ariciam.    xvi. 

clsiura  is  equally  applicable  to  the  larger  car-  tres  tabernas.  xvii.  appi  fobo.  x.  taera- 

riage.     Cicero  jays  in  one  of  his  Cilician  let-  cina.  xviii.     The  other  Itineraries  give  some 

ters  that  he  dictated  it  while  seated  in  his  rheda.  intermediate  details. 


730  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xxrv. 

classic  celebrity."  The  descriptive  lines  of  the  Roman  satirist  have 
wonderfully  concurred  with  the  continued  unhealthiness  of  the  half- 
drained  morass,  in  preserving  a  living  commentary  on  that  fifteenth  verse 
in  the  last  chapter  of  the  Acts,  which  exhibits  to  us  one  of  the  most 
touching  passages  in  the  Apostle's  life.  A  few  miles  beyond  Terracina, 
where  a  fountain,  grateful  to  travellers,  welled  up  near  the  sanctuary  of 
Feronia,^  was  the  termination  of  a  canal,  wliich  was  formed  by  Augustus 
for  the  purpose  of  draining  the  marshes,  and  which  continued  for  twenty 
miles  by  the  side  of  the  road.'^  Over  this  distance,  travellers  had  their 
choice,  whether  to  proceed  by  barges  dragged  by  mules,  or  on  the  pave- 
ment of  the  way  itself.^  It  is  impossible  to  know  which  plan  was  adopted 
by  Julius  and  his  prisoners.  If  we  suppose  the  former  to  have  been 
chosen,  we  have  the  aid  of  Horace's  Satire  to  enable  us  to  imagine  the 
incidents  and  the  company,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  Apostle  came, 
unknown  and  unfriended,  to  the  corrupt  metropolis  of  the  world.  And 
yet  he  was  not  so  unfriended  as  he  may  possibly  have  thought  himself 
that  day,  in  his  progress  from  Anxur  across  the  watery,  unhealthy  plain. 
On  the  arrival  of  the  party  at  Appii  Forum,  which  was  a  town  where  the 
mules  were  unfastened,  at  the  otlier  end  of  the  canal,  and  is  described 
by  the  satirist  as  full  of  low  tavern-keepers  and  bargemen,^  —  at  that 
meeting-place  where  travellers  from  all  parts  of  the  Empire  had  often 
crossed  one  another's  path,  —  on  that  day,  in  the  motley  and  vulgar 
crowd,  some  of  the  few  Christians  who  were  then  in  the  world  suddenly 
recognized  one  another,  and  emotions  of  holy  joy  and  thanksgiving 
sanctified  the  place  of  coarse  vice  and  vulgar  traffic.  Tlie  disciples  at 
Rome  had  heard  of  tlie  Apostle's  arrival  at  Puteoli,  and  hastened  to  meet 
him  on  the  way  ;  and  the  prisoner  was  startled  to  recognize  some  of 
those  among  whom  he  had  labored,  and  whom  he  had  loved,  in  the 
distant  cities  of  the  East.  Whether  Aquila  and  Priscilla  were  there  it  is 
needless  to  speculate.  Wlioever  might  be  the  persons,  they  were  brethren 
in  Christ,  and  their  presence  would  be  an  instantaneous  source  of  com- 
fort and  strength.  We  have  already  seen,  on  other  occasions  of  his  life,' 
how  the  Apostle's  heart  was  lightened  by  the  presence  of  his  friends. 

About  ten  miles  farther  he  received  a  second  welcome  from  a  similar 
group  of  Christian  brethren.  Two  independent  companies  had  gone  to 
meet  him ;  or  the  zeal  and  strength  of  one  party  had  outstripped  the 

1  Hor.  Sat.  i.  24.  *  This  place  is  also  mentioned  by  Cicero 

'  "  Qua  Pomptinas  yia  dividit  uda  palu-  Att.  ii.  10.    Its  situation  was  near  the  present 

des."     (Lucan,  iii.  85.)     The  length  of  the  Treponti. 
canal  was  nineteen  miles.  ^  See  especially  p.  313. 

^  With    Horace's    account    of   his    night- 
journey  on  the  canal  we  may  compare  Strabo. 


OHAP.xxrv.  APPROACH  TO   ROME.  731 

other.  At  a  place  called  the  Three  Taverns,^  where  a  cross-road  from 
the  coast  at  Antium  came  in  from  the  left,  this  second  party  of  Chris- 
tians was  waiting  to  welcome  and  to  honor  "  the  ambassador  in  bonds." 
With  a  lighter  heart  and  a  more  cheerful  countenance,  he  travelled  the 
remaining  seventeen  miles,  which  brought  him  along  the  base  of  the 
Alban  hills,  in  the  midst  of  places  well  known  and  famous  in  early 
Roman  legends,  to  the  town  of  Aricia.  The  Great  Apostle  had  the 
sympathies  of  human  nature  ;  he  was  dejected  and  encouraged  by  the 
same  causes  which  act  on  our  spirits  ;  he  too  saw  all  outward  objects  in 
"  hues  borrowed  from  the  heart."  The  diminution  of  fatigue  —  the 
more  hopeful  prospect  of  the  future  —  the  renewed  elasticity  of  religious 
trust  —  the  sense  of  a  brighter  light  on  all  the  scenery  round  him  —  on 
the  foliage  which  overshadowed  the  road  —  on  the  wide  expanse  of  the 
plain  to  the  left  —  on  the  high  summit  of  the  Alban  Mount,  —  all  this, 
and  more  than  this,  is  involved  in  St.  Luke's  sentence,  —  "  When  Paul 
saw  the  brethren,  he  thanked  God,  and  took  courage. ^^ 

The  mention  of  the  Alban  Mount  reminds  us  that  we  are  ap})roaching 
the  end  of  our  journey.  The  isolated  group  of  hills  which  is  called  by 
this  collective  name  stands  between  the  plain  which  has  just  been  trav- 
ersed and  that  other  plain  which  is  the  Campagna  of  Rome.  All  the 
bases  of  the  mountain  were  then  (as  indeed  they  are  partially  now) 
clustered  round  with  the  villas  and  gardens  of  wealthy  citizens.  The 
Appian  Way  climbs  and  then  descends  along  its  southern  slope.  After 
passing  Lanuvium,^  it  crossed  a  crater-like  valley  on  immense  substruc- 
tions, which  still  remain.'  Here  is  Aricia,  an  easy  stage  from  Rome.^ 
The  town  was  above  the  road ;  and  on  the  hill-side  swarms  of  beggars 
beset  travellers  as  they  passed.^  On  the  summit  of  the  next  rise,  Paul 
of  Tarsus  would  obtain  his  first  view  of  Rome.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  prospect  was,  in  many  respects,  very  different  from  the  view  which 


1  This  place  is  mentioned  by  Cicero  when  See  Sir  W.  Cell's  Campagna,  under  Aricia 
on  a  journey  from  Antium  to  Rome.  Att.  ii.  and  Laricia  :  see  also  an  article  entitled  "  Ex- 
12.  From  the  distances  in  the  Itineraries  it  cursions  from  Rome  in  1843,"  in  the  first  vol- 
seems  to  have  been  not  very  far  from  the  mod-  ume  of  the  Classical  Museum,  p.  322.  The 
em  Cistema.  magnificent  causeway  or  viaduct,  mentioned 

2  Sub  Lanuvio  is  one  of  the  stations  in  the  in  the  text,  is  700  feet  long,  and  in  some 
Tab.  Pent.  (See  above.)  The  ancient  Lanu-  places  70  feet  high.  It  is  built  of  enormous 
rium  was  on  a  hill  on  the  left,  near  where  squared  blocks  of  peperino,  with  arches  for  the 
the  Via  Appia  (which  can  be  traced  here,  by  water  of  the  torrents  to  pass  through, 
means  of  the  tombs,  as  it  ascends  from  the  *  It  was  Horace's  first  halting-i)lace.  The 
plain)  strikes  the  modern  road  by  Velletri.  distance  from  Rome  was  sixteen  miles. 

^  The  present  road  is  carried  through  the  ^  The  clivus  Aricinus  is   repeatedly  men- 
modem  town  of  Laricia,  which  occupies  the  tioned  by  the  Roman  satirists  as   swarming 
Bite  of   the  citadel  of  ancient  Aricia.     The  with  beggars. 
Appian   Way  went  across   the  valley  below. 


732  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xiir 

is  now  obtained  from  the  same  spot.  It  is  true  that  the  natural  features 
of  the  scene  are  unaltered.  The  long  wall  of  blue  Sabine  mountains, 
with  Soracte  in  the  distance,  closed  in  the  Campagna,  which  stretched 
far  across  to  the  sea  and  round  the  base  of  the  Alban  hills.  But  ancient 
Rome  was  not,  like  modern  Rome,  impressive  from  its  solitude,  standing 
alone,  with  its  one  conspicuous  cupola,  iu  the  midst  of  a  desolate  though 
beautiful  waste.  St.  Paul  would  see  a  vast  city,  covering  the  Campagna, 
and  almost  continuously  connected  by  its  suburbs  with  the  villas  on  the 
hill  where  he  stood,  and  with  the  bright  towns  which  clustered  on  the 
sides  of  the  mountains  opposite.  Over  all  the  intermediate  space  were 
the  houses  and  gardens,  through  which  aqueducts  and  roads  might  be 
traced  in  converging  lines  towards  the  confused  mass  of  edifices  which 
formed  the  city  of  Rome.  Here  no  conspicuous  building,  elevated  above 
the  rest,  attracted  the  eye  or  the  imagination.  Ancient  Rome  had  neither 
cupola  ^  nor  campanile.  Still  less  had  it  any  of  those  spires,  which  give 
life  to  all  the  landscapes  of  Northern  Christendom.  It  was  a  widespread 
aggregate  of  buildings,  which,  though  separated  by  narrow  streets  and 
open  squares,  appeared,  when  seen  from  near  Aricia,  blended  into  one 
indiscriminate  mass :  for  distance  concealed  the  contrasts  ^  which  divided 
the  crowded  habitations  of  the  poor,  and  the  dark  haunts  of  filth  and 
misery, — from  the  theatres  and  colonnades,  the  baths,  the  temples  and 
palaces  with  gilded  roofs,  flashing  back  the  sun. 

The  road  descended  into  the  plain  at  Bovillae,  six  miles  from  Aricia,' 
and  thence  it  proceeded  in  a  straight  line,*  with  the  sepulchres  of  illus- 
trious families  on  either  hand.^  One  of  these  was  the  burial-place  of  the 
Julian  gens,^  with  which  the  centurion  who  had  charge  of  the  prisoners 
was  in  some  way  connected.'^  As  they  proceeded  over  the  old  pavement, 
among  gardens  and  modern  houses,^  and  approached  nearer  the  busy 
metropolis,    the   "  conflux   issuing   forth   or   entering  in "  ^  on   various 

1  The  Pantheon  was  indeed  built ;  but  the  Cecilia  Metella  is  familiar  to  all   travellers, 

world  had  not  seen  any  instance  of  an  elevat-  Pompey's  tomb  was  also  on  the  Appian  Way, 

ed  dome,  like  that  of  St.  Sophia,  St.  Peter's,  but  nearer  to  Aricia. 
or  St.  Paul's.  ^  Sir  W.  Gell,  on  what  appears  to  be  a  me- 

*  See  below,  p.  735,  and  the  reference  to  morial  of  the  burying-place  of  the  Gens  Julia, 
1  Cor.  near  Bovillae.     See  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  41,  xv.  33. 

^  Bovillae  (not  far  from  Fratocchie)  is  mem-  ^  He  might  baa  free-born  Italian  (like  Cor- 

orable  as  the  place  where  Clodius  was  killed.  nelius,  see  p.  108),  or  he  might  be  a  freedman, 

*  The  modern  road  deviates  slightly  from  or  the  descendant  of  a  freedman,  manumitted 
the  Via  Appia  ;    but  by  aid  of   the    tombs  by  some  members  of  the  Julian  house. 

the  eye  can  easily  trace   the  course  of   the  ^  Much  building  must  have  been  continu- 

ancient  way.    Recent  excavations  have  brought  ally  going  on.    Juvenal  mentions  the  carrying 

the  wliole  line  of  the  Via  Appia  more  clearly  of  building  materials  as  one  of  the  annoyuice^ 

into  view  than  formerly.  of  Rome. 

*  There  is  a  well-known  sentence  in  Cicero  ^  Paradise  Regained,  iv.  62. 
having  reference  to  these  sepulchres.     That  of 


CHAP.  XXIV.  ENTRANCE  INTO  ROME.  733 

errands  and  in  various  costumes  —  vehicles,  horsemen,  and  foot-passen- 
gers, soldiers  and  laborers,  Romans  and  foreigners  —  became  more 
crowded  and  confusing.  The  houses  grew  closer.  They  were  already  in 
Rome.  It  was  impossible  to  define  the  commencement  of  the  city.  Its 
populous  portions  extended  far  beyond  the  limits  marked  out  by  Servius. 
The  ancient  wall,  with  its  once  sacred  pomcerium,  was  rather  an  object 
for  antiquarian  interest,  like  the  walls  of  York  or  Chester,  than  any  pro- 
tection against  the  enemies,  who  were  kept  far  aloof  by  the  legions  on  the 
frontier. 

Yet  the  Porta  Capena  is  a  spot  which  we  can  hardly  leave  without 
lingering  for  a  moment.  Under  this  arch  —  which  was  perpetually  drip- 
ping ^  with  the  water  of  the  aqueduct  that  went  over  it  ^  —  had  passed  all 
those  who,  since  a  remote  period  of  the  Republic,  had  travelled  by  the 
Appian  Way,  —  victorious  generals  with  their  legions  returning  from 
foreign  service,  —  emperors  and  courtiers,  vagrant  representatives  of  every 
form  of  Heathenism,  Greeks  and  Asiatics,  Jews  and  Christians.'  From 
this  point  entering  within  the  city,  Julius  and  his  prisoners  moved  on, 
with  the  Aventine  on  their  left,  close  round  the  base  of  the  Ccelian,  and 
through  the  hollow  ground  which  lay  between  this  hill  and  the  Palatine ; 
thence  over  the  low  ridge  called  Velia,*  where  afterwards  was  built  the 
ai'ch  of  Titus  to  commemorate  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem ;  and  then 
descending,^  by  the  Sacra  Via,  into  that  space  which  was  the  centre  of 
imperial  power  and  imperial  magnificence,  and  associated  also  witli  the 
most  glorious  recollections  of  the  Republic.  The  Forum  was  to  Rome 
what  the  Acropolis  ^  was  to  Athens,  the  heart  of  all  the  characteristic 
interest  of  the  place.  Here  was  the  Milliarium  Aureum,  to  -which  the 
roads  of  all  the  provinces  converged.  AH  around  were  the  stately  build- 
ings, which  were  raised  in  the  closing  years  of  the  Republic,  and  by  the 

1  Mart.   iii.  47.     Hence  called   the  moist  *  "  The  ridge  on  which  the  arch  of  Titus 

gate  by  Juvenal,  iii.   10.     Compare  Mart.  iv.  stands  was  much  more  considerable  than  the 

1 8.     It  was  doubtless  called  Capena,  as  being  modern   traveller  would   suppose  :    the  pave- 

the  gate  of  Capua.     Its  position  is  fully  ascer-  ment,  which  has  been  excavated  at  this  point,  is 

tained  to  have  been  at  the  point  of  union  of  fifty-three  feet  above  the  level  of  the  pavement  in 

the  valleys  dividing  the  Aventine,  Ccelian,  and  the  Forum.    This  ridge  ran  from  the  Palatine  to 

Palatine.     Both  the  Via  Latina  and  Via  Appia  the  Esquiline,  dividing  the  basin  in  which  the 

issued  from  this  gate.     The  first  milestone  on  Colosseum  stands  from  that  which  contained 

the  latter  was  found  in  the  first  vineyard  be-  the  Forum :  it  was  called  Velia.     Publicola 

yond  the  Porta  S.  Sebastiano  (see  Map).  excited  popular  suspicion  and  alarm  by  build- 

-  This  was  a  branch  of  the  Marcian  aqne-  ing  his   house   on    the   elevated   part   of  this 

duct.  ridge." — Companion  Volume  to  Mr.  Cookes- 

^  We  must  not   forget   that  close   by  this  ley's  Map  of  Rome,  p.  30. 
gate  was  the  old  sanctuary  of  Egeria,  which  ^  This  slope,  fi*om  the  arch  of  Titus  down 

in  Juvenal's  time  was  occupied  by  Jewish  beg-  to  the  Forum,  was  called  the  Sacer  Clivus. 
gars.     See  Sat.  iii.  13,  vi.  542,  already  referred  ^  See  p.  308. 

to  in  p.  133. 


734  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.  PAUL.  chap.xxiv. 

earlier  Emperors.  lu  front  was  the  Capitoline  Hill,  illustrious  long  before 
the  invasion  of  the  Gauls.  Close  on  the  left,  covering  that  hill,  whose 
name  is  associated  in  every  modern  European  language  with  the  notion  of 
imperial  splendor,  were  the  vast  ranges  of  the  palace — the  "  house  of 
Caesar"  (Phil.  iv.  22).  Here  were  the  household  troops  quartered  in  a 
■prcetorium  ^  attached  to  the  palace.  And  here  (unless,  indeed,  it  was  in 
the  great  Praetorian  camp  "^  outside  the  city  wall)  Julius  gave  up  his 
prisoner  to  Burrus,  the  Praetorian  Prcefeet^  whose  official  duty  it  was  to 
keep  in  custody  all  accused  persons  who  were  to  be  tried  before  the 
Emperor.* 

This  doubt,  which  of  two  places,  somewhat  distant  from  each  other,  was 
the  scene  of  St.  Paul's  meeting  with  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Praetorian  guards,  gives  us  the  occasion  for  entering  on  a  general  descrip- 
tion of  the  different  parts  of  the  city  of  Rome.  It  would  be  nugatory  to 
lay  much  stress,  as  is  too  often  done,  on  its  "  seven  hills :  "  for  a  great 
city  at  length  obliterates  the  original  features  of  the  ground,  especially 
where  those  features  were  naturally  not  very  strongly  marked.  The 
description,  which  is  easy  in  reference  to  Athens  or  Edinburgh,  is  hard 
in  the  instance  of  modern  London  or  ancient  Rome.  Nor  is  it  easy,  in 
the  case  of  one  of  the  larger  cities  of  the  world,  to  draw  any  marked 
lines  of  distinction  among  the  different  clases  of  buildings.  It  is  true, 
the  contrasts  are  really  great ;  but  details  are  lost  in  a  distant  view  of  so 
vast  an  aggregate.  The  two  scourges  to  which  ancient  Rome  was  most 
exposed  revealed  very  palpably  the  contrast,  both  of  the  natural  ground 
and  the  human  structures,  which  by  the  general  observer  might  be  unno- 
ticed or  forgotten.  When  the  Tiber  was  flooded,  and  the  muddy  waters 
converted  all  the  streets  and  open  places  of  the  lower  part  of  the  city 
into  lakes  and  canals,*  it  would  be  seen  very  clearly  how  much  lower 
were  the  Forum  and  the  Campus  Martins  than  those  three  detached  hills 
(the  Capitoline,  the  Palatine,  and  the  Aventine)  which  rose  near   the 

1  We  think  that  Wieseler  has  proved  that  peror,  though  he  had  not  yet  acquired  all  that 
the  npaiTupLov  in  Phil.  i.  13  denotes  the  quar-  extensive  jurisdiction  which  was  suhsequently 
ters  of  the  household  troops  attached  to  the  conferred  upon  him.  At  this  time  (a.d.  61) 
Emperor's  residence  on  the  Palatine.  See  the  Burrus,  one  of  the  best  of  Nero's  advisers,  was 
beginning  of  Ch.  XXVI.  Praetorian  Prefect. 

2  The  establishment  of  this  camp  was  the  *  Trajan  says  (Plin.  Ep.  x.  6.5)  of  such  a 
work  of  Tiberius.  Its  place  is  still  clearly  prisoner,  "  vinctus  mitti  ad  Praefectos  Prisetorii 
visible  in  the  great  rectangular  projection  in  mci  debet."  Compare  also  Joseph.  Ant.  xviii.  6, 
the  walls,  on  the  north  of  the  city.     In   St.  quoted  by  Wieseler,  p.  393. 

Paul's  time  it  was  strictly  outside  the  city.   The  ^  The  writer  has  known  visits  paid  in  the 

inner  w;ill  was  pulled  down  by  Constantine.  Ripetta  (in  the  Campus  Martins)  by  means  of 

^  This  is  the  accurate  translation  of  Acts  boats  brought   to   the  windows   of   the  first 

xxviii.   16.     The  Prcpfcctus  Prcetorio  was  al-  story.     Dio  Cassius  makes  three  distinct  refcr- 

ready  the  most  important  subject  of  the  Em-  ences  to  a  similar  state  of  things. 


CHAP.  xjnv.  DESCRIPTION  OF  ROME.  735 

river,  and  those  four  ridges  (the  Ccelian,  the  Esquiliiie,  the  Viminal,  and 
the  Quirinal)  which  ascended  and  united  together  in  the  higher  ground 
on  which  the  Prastorian  camp  was  situated.  And  when  fires  swept 
rapidly  from  roof  to  roof/  and  vast  ranges  of  buildings  were  in  tlie  ruins 
of  one  night,  that  contrast  between  the  dwellings  of  the  poor  and  the 
palaces  of  the  rich,  which  has  supplied  the  Apostle  with  one  of  his  most 
forcible  images,  would  be  clearly  revealed,  —  the  difference  between  struc- 
tures of  "  sumptuous  marbles  with  silver  and  gold,"  which  abide  after 
the  fire,  and  the  hovels  of  "  wood,  hay,  stubble,"  which  are  burnt  (1 
Cor.  iii.  10-15). 

If  we  look  at  a  map  of  modern  Rome,  with  a  desire  of  realizing  to 
ourselves  the  appearance  of  the  city  of  Augustus  and  Nero,  we  must  in 
the  first  place  obliterate  from  our  view  that  circuit  of  walls,  which  is  due, 
in  various  proportions,  to  Aurelian,  Belisarius,  and  Pope  Leo  IV.^  The 
wall  through  which  the  Porta  Capena  gave  admission  was  the  old 
Servian  enclosure,  which  embraced  a  much  smaller  area ;  though  we 
must  bear  in  mind,  as  we  have  remarked  above,  that  the  city  had  extend- 
ed itself  beyond  this  limit,  and  spread  through  various  suburbs,  far  into 
the  country.  In  the  next  place,  we  must  observe  that  the  hilly  part  of 
Rome,  which  is  now  half  occupied  by  gardens,  was  then  the  most  popu- 
lous, while  the  Campus  Martins,  now  covered  with  crowded  streets,  was 
comparatively  open.  It  was  only  about  the  close  of  the  Republic  that 
many  buildings  were  raised  on  the  Campus  Martins,  and  these  were 
chiefly  of  a  public  or  decorative  character.  One  of  these,  the  Pantheon, 
still  remains,  as  a  monument  of  the  reign  of  Augustus.  This,  indeed,  is 
the  period  from  which  we  must  trace  the  beginning  of  all  the  grandeur 
of  Roman  buildings.  Till  the  civil  war  between  Pompey  and  Caesar,  the 
])rivate  houses  of  the  citizens  had  been  mean,  and  the  only  public  struc- 
tures of  note  were  the  cloacae  and  the  aqueducts.  But  in  proportion  as 
the  ancient  fabric  of  the  constitution  broke  down,  and  while  successful 
generals  brought  home  wealth  from  provinces  conquered  and  plundered 
on  every  shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  city  began  to  assume  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  new  and  imperial  magnificence.  To  leave  out  of  view  the 
luxurious  and  splendid  residences  which  wealthy  citizens  raised  for  their 
own  uses,^  Pompey  erected  the  first  theatre  of  stone,*  and  Julius  Caesar 

1  Suetonius  mentions  floods  and  fires  to-  word  burgh,  used  by  Anglo-Saxon  pilgrims) 

gether,  Aug.  29,  30.     The  Jire-police  of  Angus-  where  St.  Peter's  and  the  Vatican  are  situated, 
tus  seems  to  have  been  organized  with  great  ^  Till  the  reign  of  Augustus,  the  houses  of 

care.     The  care  of  the  river,  as  we  learn  from  private  citizens  had  been  for   the   most   part 

inscriptions,  was  committed  to  a  Curator  alvet  of  sun-dried  bricks,  on  a  basement  of  stone. 

Tiberis.  The   houses  of   Crassus   and    Lepidus   were 

'  The  wall  of  Leo  IV.  is  that  which  en-  among  the  earlier  exceptions. 
'loses  the  Borgo  (said  to  be  so  called  from  the  *  This  theatre  was  one  of  the  principal  oi> 


736  THE  LIFE  Al^^D   EPISTLES   OP   ST.    PACL.  '■p,\r.  xxit. 

surrounded  the  great  Circus  with  a  portico.  From  this  time  thn  change 
went  on  rapidly  and  incessantly.  The  increase  of  public  business  led  to 
the  erection  of  enormous  Basilicas.^  The  Forum  was  embellished  on  all 
sides.'-^  The  Temple  of  Apollo  on  the  Palatine,  and  those  other  temples 
the  remains  of  which  are  still  conspicuous  at  the  base  of  the  Capitoline,' 
were  only  a  small  part  of  similar  buildings  raised  by  Augustus.  The 
triumphal  arch  erected  by  Tiberius  near  the  same  place  *  was  only  one  of 
many  structures,  which  rose  in  rapid  succession  to  decorate  that  busy 
neighborhood.  And  if  we  wish  to  take  a  wider  view,  we  have  only  to 
think  of  the  aqueducts,  which  were  built,  one  by  one,  between  (he  pri- 
vate enterprises  of  Agrippa  in  the  reign  of  Augustus,  and  the  recent 
structures  of  the  Emperor  Claudius,  just  before  the  arrival  of  the  Apostle 
Paul.  We  may  not  go  farther  in  the  order  of  chronology.  We  must 
remember  that  the  Colosseum,  the  Basilica  of  Constantine,  and  the  baths 
of  other  emperors,  and  many  other  buildings  whitih  are  now  regarded  as 
the  conspicuous  features  of  ancient  Rome,  did  not  then  exist.  We  are 
describing  a  period  which  is  anterior  to  the  time  of  Nero's  fire.  Even 
after  the  opportunity  which  that  calamity  afibrded  for  reconstructing  the 
city,  Juvenal  complains  of  the  narrowness  of  the  streets.  Were  we  to 
attempt  to  extend  our  description  to  any  of  these  streets,  —  whether  the 
old  Vicus  Tuscus,  with  its  cheating  shopkeepers,  which  led  round  tl^e 
base  of  the  Palatine,  from  the  Forum  to  the  Circus,  —  or  the  aristocratic 
Carinas  along  the  slope  of  the  Esquiline,  —  or  the  noisy  Suburra,  in  the 
hollow  between  the  Viminal  and  Quirinal,  which  had  sunk  into  disrepute, 
though  once  the  residence  of  Julius  Caesar,  —  we  should  only  wander 
into  endless  perplexity.  And  we  should  be  equally  lost  if  we  were  to 
attempt  to  discriminate  the  mixed  multitude,  which  were  crowded  on 
the  various  landings  of  those  insulce,^  or  piles  of  lodging-houses,  which 
are,  perhaps,  best  described  by  comparing  them  to  the  houses  in  the  old 
town  of  Edinburgh. 

If  it  is  difficult  to  describe  the  outward  appearance  of  the  city,  it  is 

naments  of  the  Campus  Martins.     Some  parts  are  popularly  called  the  remains  of  the  Tem- 

of  it  still  remain.  pie  of  Jupiter  Stator  :  perhaps  they  are  part 

1  The  Roman  Basilica  is  peculiarly  interest-  of  the  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux, 
ing  to  us,  since  it  contains  the  germ  of  the  Chris-  ^  The  larger  ruin,  on  the  lower  side  of  the 

tian  cathedral.    Originally  these  Basilicas  were  Clivus  Capitolinus,  is  believed  to  be  the  Tem- 

rather  open  colonnades  than   enclosed   halls ;  pie  of  Vespasian,  and  was  not  built  till  after 

but,  before  the  reign  of  Nero,  they  had  assumed  St.  Paul's  death.     The  Temples  of  Concord 

their  ultimate  form  of  a  nave  with  aisles.     We  and  of  Saturn  were  of  earlier  date, 
shall  refer  again  to  them  in  our  account  of  *  It  was  built  in  commemoration  of  the  re- 

St.  Paul's  last  trial.     See  p.  778.  coveiy  of  the  standards  of  Varus. 

^  Three  well-known   Corinthian  columns,  ^  ^  decree  was  issued  by  Augustus,  defin- 

of  the  best  period  of  art  under  the  Emperors,  ing  the  height  to  which  these  insula  might  be 

remain  near  the  base  of  the  Palatine.     They  raised.  >^ 


HAr.xnT.  POPULATION   OF  KOME.  737 

Btill  more  diflBcult  to  trace  the  distinctive  features  of  all  the  parts  of  that 
colossal  population  which  filled  it.  Within  a  circuit  of  little  more  than 
twelve  miles  ^  more  than  two  millions  "^  of  inhabitants  were  ci'owded.  It 
is  evident  that  this  fact  is  only  explicable  by  the  narrowness  of  the  streets, 
with  that  peculiarity  of  the  houses  which  has  been  alluded  to  above.  In 
this  prodigious  collection  of  human  beings,  there  were  of  course  all  the 
contrasts  which  are  seen  in  a  modern  city,  —  all  the  painful  lines  of 
separation  between  luxury  and  squalor,  wealth  and  want.  But  in  Rome 
all  these  differences  were  on  an  exaggerated  scale,  and  the  institution  of 
slavery  modified  further  all  social  relations.  The  free  citizens  were  more 
than  a  million  :  of  these,  the  senators  were  so  few  in  number  as  to  be 
hardly  appreciable :  ^  the  knights,  who  filled  a  great  proportion  of  the 
public  offices,  were  not  more  than  10,000 :  the  troops  quartered  in  the 
city  may  be  reckoned  at  15,000 :  the  rest  were  the  Plehs  urbana.  That 
a  vast  number  of  these  would  be  poor  is  an  obvious  result  of  the  most 
ordinary  causes.  But,  in  ancient  Rome,  the  luxury  of  the  wealthier 
classes  did  not  produce  a  general  diffusion  of  trade,  as  it  does  in  a 
modern  city.  The  handicraft  employments,  and  many  of  what  we  should 
call  professions,*  were  in  the  hands  of  slaves  ;  and  the  consequence  was, 
that  a  vast  proportion  of  the  Plebs  urbana  lived  on  public  or  private 
charity.  Yet  were  these  pauper  citizens  proud  of  their  citizenship, 
though  many  of  them  had  no  better  sleeping-place  for  the  night  than  the 
public  porticoes  or  the  vestibules  of  temples.  They  cared  for  nothing 
beyond  bread  for  the  day,  the  games  of  the  Circus,®  and  the  savage 
delight  of  gladiatorial  shows.  Manufactures  and  trade  they  regarded  as 
the  business  of  the  slave  and  the  foreigner.  The  number  of  the  slaves 
was  perhaps  about  a  million.  The  number  of  the  strangers  or  peregrini 
was  much  smaller  ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  describe  their  varieties.  Every 
kind  of  nationality  and  religion  found  its  representative  in  Rome.  But 
it  is  needless  to  pursue  these  details.  The  most  obvious  comparison  is 
better  than  an  elaborate  description.  Rome  was  like  London  with  all  its 
miseries,  vices,  and  follies  exaggerated,  and  without  Christianity. 

One  part  of  Rome  still  remains  to  be  described,  the  "  Trastevere  "  or 
district  beyond  the  river.^     This  portion  of  the  city  has  been  known  in 

^  This  is  of  course  a  much  wider  circuit  '  Before  Augustus   there  were  1,000  sen*- 

tban  that  of  the  Servian  wall.     The  present  tors ;  he  reduced  them  to  about  700. 

wall,  as  we  have  said  above,  did  not  tht  a  exist.  *  Some  were  physicians,  others  were  en- 

2  See  Milman's  note  on  Gibbon's  tnirty-first  gaged  in  education,  &c. 

chapter.     The  estimate  of   2,000,000  agrees  ^  "  Panera  et  Circenses  ; "  such  is  the  Sati- 

with  that  of  the  writer  of  the  article  "  Rome  "  rist's  account  of  the  only  two  things  for  which 

in  Smith's  Diet,  of  Geog.  vol.  ii.  p.  748.     Mr.  the  Roman  populace  was  really  anxious. 

Merivah-  thinks  it  far  too  high.     Hist,  of  Rom.  ^  Whether  the  wall  of  Servius  included  any 

under  Emp.  vol.  iv.  pp.  515-528.  portion  of  the  opposite  side  of  the  rirer,  or  not 
47 


738  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xht 

modern  times  for  the  energetic  and  intractable  character  of  its  popula- 
tion. In  earlier  times  it  was  equally  notorious,  though  not  quite  for  the 
same  reason.  It  was  the  residence  of  a  low  rabble,  and  the  place  of  the 
meanest  merchandise.^  Tliere  is,  however,  one  reason  why  our  attention 
is  particularly  called  to  it.  It  was  the  ordinary  residence  of  the  Jews, 
the  "  Ghetto  "  of  ancient  Rome :  ^  and  great  part  of  it  was  doubtless 
squalid  and  miserable,  like  the  Ghetto  of  modern  Rome,^  though  the 
Jews  were  often  less  oppressed  under  the  Caesars  than  under  the  Popes. 
Here,  then,  on  the  level  ground,  between  the  windings  of  the  muddy 
river,  and  the  base  of  that  hill  *  from  the  brow  of  which  Porsena  looked 
down  on  early  Rome,  and  where  the  French  within  these  few  years  have 
planted  their  cannon  —  we  must  place  the  home  of  tliose  Israelitish 
families  among  whom  the  Gospel  bore  its  first-fruits  in  the  metropolis  of 
the  world  :  and  it  was  on  these  bridges  *  —  which  formed  an  immediate 
communication  from  the  district  beyond  the  Tiber  to  the  Emperor's 
household  and  the  guards  on  the  Palatine  —  that  those  despised  Jewish 
beggars  took  their  stand,  to  whom  in  the  place  of  their  exile  had  come 
the  hopes  of  a  better  citizenship  than  that  which  they  had  lost. 

The  Jewish  community  thus  established  in  Rome  had  its  first  begin- 
nings in  the  captives  brought  by  Pompey  after  his  Eastern  campaign.* 
Many  of  them  were  manumitted ;  and  thus  a  great  proportion  of  tlie 
Jews  in  Rome  were  freedmen.'  Frequent  accessions  to  their  numbers 
were  made  as  years  went  on  —  chiefly  from  the  mercantile  relations 
which  subsisted  between  Rome  and  the  East.  Many  of  them  were 
wealthy,  and  large  sums  were  sent  annually  for  religious  purposes  from 
Italy  to  the  mother-country.^  Even  the  proselytes  contributed  to  these 
sacred  funds.^  It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  amount  of  the  religious  in- 
fluence exerted  by  the  Roman  Jews  upon  the  various  Heathens  around 
them  ;  but  all  our  sources  of  information  lead  us  to  conclude  that  it  was 
very  considerable.^**     So  long  as  this  influence  was  purely  religious,  we 

(a  question  which  is  disputed  among  thetopog-  ^  Mart.  x.  5.     See  Jut.  iv.  116  ;  v.  8;  xiv. 

raphers  of  the  Italian  and  German  schools),  134. 

a   suburb  existed   there   under  the   imperial  ^  See  p.  1 7.     The  first  introduction  of  the  | 

regime.  Jews  to  Rome  was  probably  the  embassy  of 

1  Juv.  xiv.  202  ;  Mart.  i.  42,  109 ;  vi.  93.  the  Maccabees. 

2  "We  learn  this  from  Philo.  ''  This  we  have  on  the  authority  of  Philo. 

"  The  modem  Ghetto  is  in  the  filthy  quar-  *  Here  again  Cicero  confirms  what  we  learn 

ter  between  the  Capitoline  Hill  and  the  old  from  Philo.  i 

Fabrician  Bridge,  which  leads  to  the  island,  and  ^  Tac.  ITist.  v.  6. 

thence  to  the  Trastevere.     It  is  surrounded  by  ^'^  The  very  passages  (and  they  are  numer- 

walls,  and  the  gates  are  closed  every  night  by  ous)  which  express  hatred  of  the  Jews  imply 

the  police.      The  number  of  Jews  is  about  a  sense  of  their  influence.     Again,  many  Jews 

R,000,  in  a  total  population  of  150,000.  were  Roman  citizens,  like  Josephus  and  St. 

*  The  Janiculum.  Paul :  and  there  were  numerous  proselytes  at 


CHAP.  XXIV.  THE   ROMAN   CHUBCH.  739 

have  uo  reason  to  suppose  that  any  persecution  from  the  civil  power 
resulted.  It  was  when  commotions  took  place  in  consequence  of  expecta- 
tions of  a  temporal  Messiah,  or  when  vague  suspicions  of  this  mysterious 
people  were  more  than  usually  excited,  that  the  Jews  of  Rome  were 
cruelly  treated,  or  peremptorily  banislied.  Yet  from  all  these  cruel- 
ties they  recovered  with  elastic  force,  and  from  all  these  exiles  they 
returned  ;  and  in  the  early  years  of  Nero,  which  were  distinguished  for 
a  mild  and  lenient  government  of  the  Empire,^  the  Jews  in  Rome  seem 
to  have  enjoyed  complete  toleration,  and  to  have  been  a  numerous, 
wealthy,  and  influential  community. 

The  Christians  doubtless  shared  the  protection  which  was  extended  to 
the  Jews.  Tliey  were  hardly  yet  sufficiently  distinguished  as  a  self- 
existent  community  to  provoke  any  independent  hostility.  It  is  even 
possible  that  the  Christians,  so  far  as  they  were  known  as  separate,  were 
more  tolerated  than  the  Jews  ;  for,  not  having  the  same  expectation  of 
an  earthly  hero  to  deliver  them,  they  had  no  political  ends  in  view,  and 
would  not  be  in  the  same  danger  of  exciting  the  suspicion  of  the  govern- 
ment. Yet  we  should  fall  into  a  serious  error  if  we  were  to  suppose 
that  all  the  Cliristians  in  Rome,  or  the  majority  of  them,  had  formerly 
been  Jews  or  Proselytes ;  though  this  was  doubtless  true  of  its  earliest 
members,  who  may  have  been  of  the  number  that  were  dispersed  after 
the  first  Pentecost,  or,  possibly,  disciples  of  our  Lord  Himself.  It  is 
impossible  to  arrive  at  any  certain  conclusion  concerning  the  first  origin 
and  early  growth  of  the  Churcli  in  Rome;^  tliough,  from  the  manifold 
links  between  the  city  and  the  provinces,  it  is  easy  to  account  for  the 
formation  of  a  large  and  flourishing  community.  Its  history  before  tlie 
year  61  might  be  divided  into  three  periods,  separated  from  each  other 
by  the  banishment  of  the  Jews  from  Rome  in  the  reign  of  Claudius,' 
and  the  writing  of  St.  Paul's  letter  from  Corinth.*  Even  in  the  first  of 
these  periods  there  might  be  points  of  connection  between  the,  Roman 
Church  and  St.  Paul ;  for  some  of  those  whom  he  salutes  (Rom.  xvi. 
7,  11)  as  "  kinsmen  "  are  also  said  to  have  been  "  Christians  before  him." 
In  the  second  period  it  cannot  well  be  doubted  that  a  very  close  connec- 
tion began  between  St.  Paul  and  some  of  the  conspicuous  members  and 
principal  teachers  of  the  Roman  Church.     The  expulsion  of  the  Jews  in 

Rome,  especially  among  the  women  (see,  for  first  quinquennium  —  had  not  yet  expired.  The 

instance,  Joseph.  Ant.  xviii.  3,  5).     As  in  the  full  toleration  of  the  Jews  in  Rome  is  implied 

case  of  Greece,  the  conquest  of  Judaea  brought  in  the  narration  of  St.  Paul's  meeting  with  the 

Rome  under  the    influence    of   her    captive.  elders,  as  well  as  in  a  passage  which  might  be 

Hence  Seneca's  remark,  in   reference  to   the  quoted  from  the  satirist  Persius 

Jews :   "  The  conquered    gave  laws  to   their  '^  See  above,  pp.  54^,  544. 

conquerors."  »  P.  335. 

1  The  good  period  of   Nero's  reign  —  the  *  P.  542. 


740  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OP  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xxrr. 

consequence  of  the  edict  of  Claudius  brought  them  in  large  numbers  to 
the  chief  towns  of  the  Levant ;  and  there  St.  Paul  met  them  in  the 
synagogues.  We  have  seen  what  results  followed  from  his  meeting  with 
Aquila  and  Priscilla  at  Corinth.  They  returned  to  Rome  with  all  the 
stores  of  spiritual  instruction  which  he  had  given  them ;  and  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  we  find  him,  as  is  natural,  saluting  them  thus  :  — 
"  Greet  Priscilla  and  Aquila,  my  helpers  in  Christ  Jesus  :  who  have  for 
my  sake  laid  down  their  own  necks  :  unto  whom  not  only  I  give  thanks, 
but  also  all  the  Churches  of  the  Gentiles.  Likewise  greet  the  Church 
that  is  in  their  house."  All  this  reveals  to  us  a  great  amount  of  devoted 
exertion  on  behalf  of  one  large  congregation  in  Rome ;  and  all  of  it  dis- 
tinctly connected  with  St.  Paul.  And  this  is  perhaps  only  a  specimen 
of  other  cases  of  the  like  kind.  Thus  he  sends  a  greeting  to  Epaenetus, 
whom  he  names  "  the  first-fruits  of  Asia"  ^  (ver.  5),  and  who  may  have 
had  the  same  close  relation  to  him  during  his  long  ministration  at 
Ephesus  (Acts  xix.)  which  Aquila  and  Priscilla  had  at  Corinth.  Nor 
must  we  forget  those  women  whom  he  singles  out  for  special  mention, 
— "  Mary,  who  bestowed  much  labor  on  him"  (ver.  6)  ;  "  the  beloved 
Persis,  who  labored  much  in  the  Lord  "  (ver.  12)  ;  with  Tryphsena  and 
Tryphosa,  and  the  unknown  mother  of  Rufus  (ver.  13).  We  cannot 
doubt,  that,  though  the  Church  of  Rome  may  have  received  its  growth 
and  instruction  through  various  channels,  many  of  them  were  connected, 
directly  or  indirectly,  with  St.  Paul ;  and  accordingly  he  writes,  in  the 
whole  of  the  letter,  as  one  already  in  intimate  relation  with  a  Church 
which  he  has  never  seen.  And  whatever  bonds  subsisted  between  this 
Apostle  and  the  Roman  Christians  must  have  been  drawn  still  closer 
when  the  letter  had  been  received  ;  for  from  that  time  they  were  looking 
forward  to  a  personal  visit  from  him,  in  his  projected  journey  to  the 
West.  Thenceforward  they  must  have  taken  the  deepest  interest  in  all 
his  movements,  and  received  with  eager  anxiety  the  news  of  his  impris- 
onment at  Cassarea,  and  waited  (as  we  have  already  seen)  for  his  arrival 
in  Italy.  It  is  indeed  but  too  true  that  there  were  parties  among  the 
Christians  in  Rome,  and  that  some  had  a  hostile  feeling  against  St.  Paul 
himself;'^  yet  it  is  probable  that  the  animosity  of  the  Judaizers  was  less 
developed  than  it  was  in  those  regions  which  lie  had  personally  visited, 
and  to  which  they  had  actually  followed  him.  As  to  the  unconverted 
Jews,  the  name  of  St.  Paul  was  doubtless  known  to  them  ;  yet  were 
they  comparatively  little  interested  in  his  movements.  Their  proud  con- 
tempt of  the  Christian  heresy  would  make  them  indifferent.  The  leaven 
of  the  Gospel  was  working  around  them  to  an  extent  of  which  they  were 
hardly  aware.     The  very  magnitude  of  the  population  of  Rome  had  a 

1  For  the  reading  here,  see  p.  581,  n.  3.  *  See  Phil.  i.  15. 


CHAp.xxiy.  THE  ROMAN   CHURCH.  741 

tendency  to  neutralize  the  currents  of  party  feeling.  For  these  reasons, 
the  hostility  of  the  Jews  was  probably  less  violent  than  in  any  other  part 
of  the  Empire. 

Yet  St.  Paul  could  not  possibly  be  aware  of  the  exact  extent  of  their 
enmity  against  himself.  Independently,  therefore,  of  his  general  prin- 
ciple of  preaching,  first  to  the  Jew,  and  then  to  the  Gentile,  he  had  an 
additional  reason  for  losing  no  time  in  addressing  himself  to  his  country- 
men. Thus,  after  the  mention  of  St.  Paul's  being  delivered  up  to  Burrus, 
and  allowed  by  hi'm  to  be  separate  from  the  other  prisoners,*  the  next 
scene  to  which  the  sacred  historian  introduces  us  is  among  the  Jews. 
After  three  days  "^  he  sent  for  the  principal  men  among  them  to  his 
lodging,'  and  endeavored  to  conciliate  their  feelings  towards  himself  and 
the  Gospel. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  the  prejudices  of  these  Roman  Jews  were 
already  roused  against  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles ;  or  if  they  had  not 
yet  conceived  an  unfavorable'  opinion  of  him,  there  was  a  danger  that 
they  would  now  look  upon  him  as  a  traitor  to  his  country,  from  the  mere 
fact  that  he  had  appealed  to  the  Roman  power.  He  might  even  have 
been  represented  to  them  in  the  odious  light  of  one  who  had  come  to  Rome 
as  an  accuser  of  the  Sanhedrin  before  the  Emperor.  St.  Paul,  therefore, 
addressed  his  auditors  on  this  point  at  once,  and  showed  that  his  enemies 
were  guilty  of  this  very  appeal  to  the  foreign  power,  of  which  he  had 
himself  been  suspected.  He  had  committed  no  offence  against  the  holy 
nation,  or  the  customs  of  their  fathers ;  yet  his  enemies  at  Jerusalem 
had  delivered  him  —  one  of  their  brethren — of  the  seed  of  Abraham  — 
of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin — a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews  —  into  the  hands 
of  the  Romans.  So  unfounded  was  the  accusation,  that  even  the  Roman 
governor  had  been  ready  to  liberate  the  prisoner ;  but  his  Jewish  enemies 
opposed  his  liberation.  They  strove  to  keep  a  child  of  Israel  in  Roman 
chains.  So  that  he  was  compelled,  as  his  only  hope  of  safety,  to  appeal 
unto  Caesar.  He  brought  no  accusation  against  his  countrymen  before 
the  tribunal  of  the  stranger :  that  was  the  deed  of  his  antagonists.  In 
fact,  his  only  crime  had  been  his  firm  faith  in  God's  deliverance  of  his 

^  "Byhimself," V.  16  ;  an  indulgence  prob-  manent  residence;    and   the  mention  of  the 

ably  due  to  the  influence  of  Julius.  money  he  received  from  the  Philippians  (Phil. 

2  V.  17.     This  need  not  mean  three  com-  iv.)  serves  to  show  that  he  would  not  need  the 

plete  days.  means  of   hiring    a    lodging.       The    former 

*  "  Paul  called  the  chief  of  the  Jews  to-  phrase  implies   the   temporary  residence  of  a 

gether,"  V.  17.     With  regard  to  the  "  lodging,"  guest  with  friends,  as  in  Philemon  22.    Noth 

V.  23,  we  are  convinced,  with  Wieseler,  that  it  ing  is  more  likely  than  that  Aquila  and  Pris- 

18  to  be  distinguished  from  "his  own  hired  cilia  were  his  hosts  at  Borne,  as  formerly  at 

house,"  V.  30,  mentioned  below.     The  latter  Corinth, 
was  a  hired  lodging,  which  he  took  for  his  per- 


742  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  cmat.  xxir. 

people  through  the  Messiah  promised  hy  the  Prophets.  ^^For  the  hope  of 
Israel,^''  he  conchided,  ^^I  am  hound  with  this  chains  ^ 

Their  answer  to  this  address  was  re-assuring.  They  said  that  they  had 
received  no  written  communication  from  Judaea  concerning  St.  Paul,  and 
that  none  of  "  the  brethren"  who  had  arrived  from  the  East  had  spoken 
any  evil  of  him.  They  further  expressed  a  wish  to  hear  from  himself  a 
statement  of  his  religious  sentiments,  adding  that  the  Christian  sect  was 
everywliere  spoken  against.^  There  was  perhaps  something  hardly 
honest  in  this  answer ;  for  it  seems  to  imply  a  greater  ignorance  with 
regard  to  Christianity  than  we  can  suppose  to  have  prevailed  among  the 
Roman  Jews.  But  with  regard  to  Paul  himself,  it  might  well  he  true 
that  they  had  little  information  concerning  him.  Though  he  had  been 
imprisoned  long  at  Caesarea,  his  appeal  had  been  made  only  a  short  time 
before  winter.  After  that  time  (to  use  the  popular  expression),  the  sea 
was  shut ;  and  the  winter  had  been  a  stormy  one  ;  so  that  it  was  natural 
enough  that  his  case  should  be  first  made  known  to  the  Jews  by  himself. 
All  tliese  circumstances  gave  a  favorable  opening  for  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel,  and  Paul  hastened  to  take  advantage  of  it.  A  day  was 
fixed  for  a  meeting  at  his  own  private  lodging.' 

Tliey  came  in  great  numbers  *  at  the  appointed  time.  Then  followed 
an  impressive  scene,  like  that  at  Troas  (Acts  xxi.), —  the  Apostle  plead- 
ing long  and  earnestly, —  bearing  testimony  concerning  the  kingdom  of 
God,  —  and  endeavoi'ing  to  persuade  them  by  arguments  drawn  from 
their  own  Scriptures,  —  "  from  morning  till  evening."  ^  The  result  was 
a  division  among  the  auditors,^ —  "  not  peace,  but  a  sword,"  —  the  divis- 
ion which  has  resulted  ever  since  when  the  truth  of  God  has  encoun- 
tered, side  by  side,  earnest  conviction  with  worldly  indifference,  honest 
investigation  with  bigoted  prejudice,  trustful  faith  with  the  pride  of 
scepticism.  After  a  long  and  stormy  discussion,  the  unbelieving  portion 
departed ;  but  not  until  St.  Paul  had  warned  them,  in  one  last  address, 
that  they  were  bringing  upon  themselves  that  awful  doom  of  judicial 
blindness,  whicli  was  denounced  in  their  own  Scriptures  against  obstinate 
unbelievers  ;  tliat  the  salvation  which  they  rejected  would  be  withdrawn 
from  them,  and  the  inheritance  they  renounced  would  be  given  to  the 
Gentiles.''  The  sentence  with  which  he  gave  emphasis  to  this  warning 
was  that  passage  in  Isaiah,  which  is  more  often  quoted  in  the  New 
Testament  than  any  other  words  from  the  Old,^  —  which,  recurring  thus 
with  solemn  force  at  the  very  close  of  the  Apostolic  history,  seems  to 
bring  very  strikingly  together  the  Old  Dispensation  and  the  New,  and  to 

1  Ver.  17-20.  2  Ver.  21,  22.  «  "gome  believed   the   things  which  wer« 

*  "  When  they  had  appointed  him  a  day."        spoken,  and  some  believed  not.     And  when 

*  "  Then  came  many."  they  agreed  not  among  themselves,"  &c. 

»  Ver.  23  ^  Ver.  28.  «  Ver.  24-28. 


CUAF.  XXiV. 


COLN   OF  NERO. 


1^3 


comiect  the  ministry  of  our  Lord  with  that  of  his  Apostles  :  —  **  ^o  Utttfl 
tW  pfopic  and  siaij,  ^uaving  jjf  iSUall  hear  and  ^haU  not  undersitand,  aud  isiceittg 
ye  jshall  ^cc  and  ^Uall  not  iierrcive:  tox  the  heart  of  thijs  people  isf  tt-a.vrd  gros!^, 
and  their  ear^  are  dull  of  hearing,  and  their  eye.s;  have  they  rlosied ;  lesit  they 
sihouUI  Si'ee  u-ith  their  eyesf,  and  hear  with  their  earis,  and  underisitand  uiith  their 
heart,  and  jihould  he  eonuerted,  and  ^  ^should  heal  them."  ^ 

A  formal  separation  was  now  made  between  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles 
and  the  Jews  of  Rome.  They  withdrew  to  dispute  concerning  the 
•'sect  "which  was  making  such  inroads  on  their  prejudices  (ver.  29). 
He  remained  in  his  own  hired  house  ^  —  where  the  indulgence  of  Burrus 
permitted  him  to  reside,  instead  of  confining  him  within  the  walls  of  the 
Praetorian  barrack.  We  must  not  forget,  however,  that  he  was  still  a 
prisoner  under  military  custody,  —  chained  by  the  arm,^  both  day  and 
night,  to  one  of  tlie  imperial  body-guard,  —  and  thus  sul)jected  to  the 
rudeness  and  caprice  of  an  insolent  soldiery.  Tliis  severity,  however, 
was  indispensable,  according  to  tlie  Roman  law  ;  and  he  received  every 
indulgence  which  it  was  in  the  power  of  tlie  Prefect  to  grant.  He  was 
allowed  to  receive  all  who  came  to  him  (ver.  30),  and  was  permitted, 
without  hinderance,  to  preach  boldly  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  teach  the 
things  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  (ver.  31). 

Thus  was  fulfilled  his  long-cherished  desire  "  to  proclaim  the  Gospel 
to  them  that  were  in  Rome  also  "  (Rom.  i.  15).  Thus  ends  the  Apos- 
tolic History,  so  far  as  it  has  been  directly  revealed.  Here  the  thread  of 
sacred  narrative,  which  we  have  followed  so  long,  is  suddenly  broken. 
Our  knowledge  of  the  incidents  of  his  residence  in  Rome,  and  of  his 
subsequent  history,  must  be  gathered  almost  exclusively  from  the  letters 
of  the  Apostle  himself. 


Coin  of  Nero  (with  the  Harhor  of  Ostia).* 


1  Isa.  vi.  9,  10  (LXX.).  Quoted  also  by 
oar  Lord  (Matt.  xiii.  15),  and  referred  to  by 
8t.  John  (John  xii.  40).  '^  See  above. 

*  "  With  the  soldier  that  kept  hira,"  Acts 
xxTiii.  16.  See  above,  pp.  66,5,  666,  and  com- 
pare Eph.  vi.  20  ("an  ambassador  in  bonds"), 
Col.  iv.  18,  Phil.  i.  13.  Possibly  two  soldiers 
guarded  him  by  night  according  to  the  sen- 


tence of  the  Roman  law  — "  nox  castodiara 
geminat,"  —  quoted  by  Wieseler. 

*  From  the  British  Museum.  This  is  ono 
of  the  large  brass  coins  of  Nero's  reign,  which 
exhibit  admirable  portraits  of  the  emperor. 
"We  notice  here  that  peciliar  rig  of  ancient 
ships  which  was  mentioned  above,  pp.  679 
and  721. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 


Dday  of  St.  Paul's  Trial.  —  His  Occupations  and  Companions  during  his  Imprisonment.  —  He 
writes  the  Epistle  to  Philemon,  the  Epistle  to  tlie  Colossians,  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  (so 
called). 

J'Ei  have  seen  that  St.  Paul's  accusers  had  not  yet  arrived  from 
Palestine,  and  that  their  coming  was  not  even  expected  by  the 
Roman  Jews.  This  proves  that  they  had  not  left  Syria  before  the  pre- 
ceding winter,  and  consequently  that  they  could  not  have  set  out  on 
their  journey  till  the  following  spring,  when  the  navigation  of  the  Medi- 
terranean was  again  open.  Thus  they  would  not  reach  Rome  till  the 
summer  or  autumn  of  the  year  61  a.d.^  Meanwhile,  the  progress  of  the 
trial  was  necessarily  suspended,  for  the  Roman  courts  required  "^  the  per- 
sonal presence  of  the  prosecutor.  It  would  seem  that,  at  this  time,^  an 
accused  person  might  be  thus  kept  in  prison  for  an  indefinite  period, 
merely  by  the  delay  of  the  prosecutor  to  proceed  with  his  accusation ; 
nor  need  this  surprise  us,  if  we  consider  how  harshly  the  law  has  dealt 
with  supposed  offenders,  and  with  what  indifference  it  has  treated  the 
rights  of  the  accused,  even  in  periods  whose  civilization  was  not  only 
more  advanced  than  that  of  the  Roman  Empire,  but  also  imbued  with  the 
merciful  spirit  of  Christianity.  And  even  when  the  prosecutors  were 
present,  and  no  ground  alleged  for  the  delay  of  the  trial,  a  corrupt  judge 
might  postpone  it,  as  Felix  did,  for  months  and  years,  to  gratify  the  ene- 

1  About  this  period  (as  we  learn  from  Jose-  was  not  the  State  (as  with  us  the  Crown),  but 

phns)  there  were  two  embassies  sent  from  Jeru-  any  private  individual  who  chose  to  bring  an 

salem  to  Rome ;  viz.,  that  which  was  charged  accusation. 

to  conduct  the  impeachment  of  Felix,  and  that  ^  ^t  a  later  period,  the  suspension  on  the 
which  was  sent  to  intercede  with  Nero  on  the  part  of  the  prosecutor  of  the  proceedings  dur- 
subject  of  Agrippa's  palace,  which  overlooked  ing  a  year  was  made  equivalent  to  an  aban- 
the  Temple.  The  former  seems  to  have  ar-  donment  of  it,  and  amounted  to  an  ahoJitio  of 
rived  in  Rome  in  a.  d.  60,  the  latter  in  a.  d.  the  process.  In  the  time  of  Nero,  the  prosecu- 
61.  (See  note  on  the  Chronological  Table  in  tors  on  a  public  charge  were  liable  to  punish- 
Appendix  HI.)  It  is  not  impossible  that  the  mcnt  if  they  abandoned  it  from  cornipt  mo- 
latter  embassy,  in  which  was  included  Ishmael  lives,  by  the  Scnatus  Consultum  Turpilianum. 
the  high  priest,  may  have  been  intrusted  with  See  Tacitus,  Ann.  xiv.  41.  Tliis  law  was 
the  prosecution  of  St.  Paul,  in  addition  to  their  passed  a.  d.  61,  and  was  afterwards  interpreted 
other  business.  by  the  jurisconsults  as  forbidding  an  accuser  ti 

'-'  It  should  be  observed  that  the  prosecutor  withdraw  his  accusation, 
on  a  criminal  charge,  under  the  Roman  law, 
744 


CHAP,  XXV.  DELAY   OF   ST.   PAUL'S  TRIAL.  745 

mies  of  the  prisoner.  And  if  a  provincial  Governor,  though  responsible 
for  such  abuse  of  power  to  his  master,  might  venture  to  act  in  this  arbi- 
trary manner,  much  more  might  the  Emperor  himself,  who  was  respon- 
sible to  no  man.  Thus  we  find  that  Tiberius  was  in  the  habit  of  delaying 
the  hearing  of  causes,  and  retaining  the  accused  in  prison  unheard,  merely 
out  of  procrastination.^  So  that,  even  after  St.  Paul's  prosecutors  had 
arrived,  and  though  we  were  to  suppose  them  anxious  for  the  progress 
of  the  trial,  it  might  still  have  been  long  delayed  by  the  Emperor's 
caprice.  But  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that,  when  they  came,  they 
would  have  wished  to  press  on  the  cause.  From  what  liad  already 
occurred,  they  had  every  reason  to  expect  the  failure  of  the  prosecution. 
In  fact  it  had  already  broken  down  at  its  first  stage,  and  Festus  had 
strongly  pronounced  his  opinion  of  the  innocence  "^  of  the  accused.  Their 
hope  of  success  at  Rome  must  have  been  grounded  either  on  influencing 
the  Emperor's  judgment  by  private  intrigue,  or  on  producing  further 
evidence  in  support  of  their  accusation.  For  both  these  objects,  delay 
would  be  necessary.  Moreover,  it  was  quite  in  accordance  with  the  regular 
course  of  Roman  jurisprudence,  that  the  Court  should  grant  a  long  suspen- 
sion of  the  cause,  on  tho  petition  of  the  prosecutor,  that  he  might  be  al- 
lowed time  to  procure  the  attendance  of  witnesses^  from  a  distance.  The 
length  of  time  thus  granted  would  depend  upon  the  remoteness  of  the 
place  where  the  alleged  crimes  had  been  committed.  We  read  of  an 
interval  of  twelve  months  permitted  during  Nero's  reign,  in  the  case 
of  an  accusation  against  Suilius,*  for  misdemeanors  committed  during 
his  government  of  Proconsular  Asia.  The  accusers  of  St.  Paul  might 
fairly  demand  a  longer  suspension ;  for  they  accused  him  of  offences 
committed  not  only  in  Palestine  (which  was  far  more  remote  than 
Proconsular  Asia  from  Rome),  but  also  over  the  whole*  Empire.  Their 
witnesses  must  be  summoned  from  Judaea,  from  Syria,  from  Cilicia,  from 
Pisidia,  from  Macedonia.  In  all  cities,  from  Damascus  to  Corinth,  in  all 
countries, "  from  Jerusalem  round  about  unto  Illyricum,"  must  testimony 
be  sought  to  prove  the  seditious  turbulence  of  the  ringleader  of  the 
Nazarenes.  The  interval  granted  them  for  such  a  purpose  could  not  be 
less  than  a  year,  and  might  well  be  more.®     Supposing  it  to   be   the 

1  Joseph.  Ant.  xviii.  6,  5.  .         ^  Another  cause  of  delay,  even  if  the  prose- 

*  Acts  XXV.  25,  and  xxvi.  32.  cutors  did  not  make  the  demand  for  suspension, 
'  A  good  instance  is  given  in  Tacitus,  Ann.      would  have  been  the  loss  of  the  official  notice 

xiii.  52.     This  was  in  a  case  where  the  accused  of  the  case  forwarded  by  Festus.     No  appeal 

had  been  proconsul  in  Africa.   We  may  observe  (as  we  have  before  observed)  could   be   tried 

that  the  attendance  of  the  witnesses  for  the  without    a   rescript  (called   Apostoli  or  literce 

prosecution  could  be  legally  enforced.  dimissorke)  from   the  inferior  to  the  superior 

*  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  43.  judge,  stating  full    particulars    of   the    case. 

*  "  A  mover  of  sedition  among  the  Jews       Such  documents  might  well  have  been  lost  in 
throughout  the  world,"  Acts  xxiv.  5.  the  wreck  at  Malta. 


746  THE  LIFE  AJSTD   EPISTLES   OF    ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xxv. 

shortest  possible,  and  assuming  that  the  prosecutors  reached  Rome  in 
August  A.D.  61,  the  first  stage  of  the  trial  would  be  appointed  to  commence 
not  before  August  a.d.  62.  And  when  this  period  arrived,  the  prosecu- 
tors and  the  accused,  with  their  witnesses,  must  have  been  heard  on  each 
of  the  charges  separately  (according  to  Nero's  regulations),^  and  sentence 
pronounced  on  the  first  charge  before  the  second  was  entered  into.  Now, 
the  cliarges  against  St.  Paul  were  divided  (as  we  have  seen)  into  three' 
separate  heads  of  accusation.  Consequently  the  proceedings,  which 
would  of  course  be  adjourned  from  time  to  time  to  suit  the  Emperor's 
convenience,  may  well  have  lasted  till  the  beginning  of  63,  at  which 
time  St.  Luke's  narrative  would  lead  us  to  fix  their  termination.^ 

During  the  long  delay  of  his  trial,  St.  Paul  was  not  reduced,  as  he  had 
been  at  Caesarea,  to  a  forced  inactivity.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  per- 
mitted the  freest  intercourse  with  his  friends,  and  was  allowed  to  reside 
in  a  house  of  sufficient  size  to  accommodate  the  congregation  which 
flocked  together  to  listen  to  his  teaching.  The  freest  scope  was  given  to 
his  labors,  consistent  with  the  military  custody  under  which  he  was 
placed.  We  are  told,  in  language  peculiarly  emphatic,  that  this  preach- 
ing was  subjected  to  no  restraint  whatever.*  And  that  which  seemed  at 
first  to  impede  must  really  have  deepened  the  impression  of  his  eloquence  ; 
for  who  could  see  without  emotion  that  venerable  form  subjected  by  iron 
links  to  the  coarse  control  of  the  soldier  who  stood  beside  him  ?  How 
often  must  the  tears  of  the  assembly  have  been  called  forth  by  the  uprais- 
ing of  that  fettered  hand,  and  the  clanking  of  the  chain  which  checked 
its  energetic  action ! 

We  shall  see  hereafter  that  these  labors  of  the  imprisoned  Confessor 
were  not  fruitless ;  in  his  own  words  he  begot  many  children  in  his 
chains.*  Meanwhile,  he  had  a  wider  sphere  of  action  than  even  the 
metropolis  of  the  world.  Not  only  "  the  crowd  which  pressed  upon  him 
daily,"  ®  but  also  "  the  care  of  all  the  churches,"  demanded  his  constant 
vigilance  and  exertion.  Though  himself  tied  down  to  a  single  spot,  he 
kept  up  a  constant  intercourse,  by  his  delegates,  with  his  converts 
throughout  the  Empire  ;  and  not  only  with  his  own  converts,  but  with  the 
other  Gentile  Churches,  who,  as  yet,  had  not  seen  his  face  in  the  flesh. 
To  enable  him  to  maintain  this  superintendence,  he  manifestly  needed 
many  faithful  messengers  ;  men  who  (as  he  says  of  one  of  them)  ren- 

1  It  was  Nero's  practice,  as  Suetonius  tells  only  lasted  five  days.     It  has  already  been  re- 
us {Ne7-o,  15),  "to  take  the  heads  of  accusa-  futed  by  Ncander  and  "Wieseler. 
tion  singly."  *  Acts  xxviii.  31  :  "  teaching  .  .  .  with  aU 

'''  See  above,  p.  660.  confidence,  no  man  forbidding  him." 

'  We   need  not  notice  the  hypothesis  of  ^  Philem.  10. 

Bottger,  that  St.  Paul's  imprisonment  at  Rome  ®  2  Cor.  xi.  28. 


CHAP.  xxy.  HIS   COMPANIONS   DURING   IMPRISONMENT.  747 

dered  him  profitable  service ; '  and  by  some  of  whom  he  seems  to  have 
been  constantly  accompanied,  wheresoever  he  went.^  Accordingly,  we 
find  him,  during  this  Roman  imprisonment,  surrounded  by  many  of 
his  oldest  and  most  valued  attendants.  Luke,^  his  fellow-traveller, 
remained  with  him  during  his  bondage ;  Timotheus,*  his  beloved  son  in 
the  faith,  ministered  to  him  at  Rome,  as  he  had  done  in  Asia,  in  Macedo- 
nia, and  in  Achaia.  Tychicus,*  who  had  formerly  borne  him  company 
from  Corinth  to  Ephesus,  is  now  at  hand  to  carry  his  letters  to  the  shores 
which  they  had  visited  together.  But  there  are  two  names  amongst  his 
Roman  companions  which  excite  a  peculiar  interest,  though  from  oppo- 
site reasons,  —  the  names  of  Demas  and  of  Mark.  Tlie  latter,  when  last 
we  heard  of  him,  was  the  unhappy  cause  of  tlie  separation  of  Barnabas 
and  Paul.  He  was  rejected  by  Paul  as  unworthy  to  attend  him,  because 
he  had  previously  abandoned  the  work  of  the  Gospel  out  of  timidity  or 
indolence.®  It  is  delightful  to  find  him  now  ministering  obediently  to 
the  very  Apostle  who  had  then  repudiated  his  services ;  still  more,  to 
know  that  he  persevered  in  this  fidelity  even  to  the  end,'  and  was  sent 
for  by  St.  Paul  to  cheer  his  dying  hours.  Demas,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
now  a  faithful  "  fellow-laborer"  ^  of  the  Apostle  ;  but  in  a  few  years  we 
shall  find  that  he  had  "  forsaken "  him,  "  having  loved  this  present 
world."  Perhaps  we  may  be  allowed  to  hope,  that,  as  the  fault  of  Demas 
was  the  same  with  that  of  Mark,  so  the  repentance  of  Mark  may  have 
been  paralleled  by  that  of  Demas. 

Amongst  the  rest  of  St.  Paul's  companions  at  this  time,  there  were  two 
whom  he  distinguishes  by  the  honorable  title  of  his  "  fellow-prisoners." 
One  of  these  is  Aristarchus,®  the  other  Epaphras.^"  With  regard  to  the 
former,  we  know  that  he  was  a  Macedonian  of  Thessalonica,  one  of 
"  Paul's  companions  in  travel,"  whose  life  was  endangered  by  the  mob  at 
Ephesus,  and  who  embarked  with  St.  Paul  at  Caesarea  when  he  set  sail 
for  Rome.  The  other,  Epaphras,  was  a  Colossian,  who  must  not  be  iden- 
tified with  the  Philippian  Epaphroditus,  another  of  St.  Paul's  fellow- 
laborers  during  this  time.  It  is  not  easy  to  say  what  was  the  exact  sense 
in  which  these  two  disciples  were  peculiarly  felloiv-prisoners  "  of  St.  Paul. 

1  2  Tim.  iv.  11.  «  Pp.  145  and  216. 

2  Comp.  Acts  xix.  22 :  "  two  of  them  that  ''  2  Tim.  iv.  11 :  "  Take  Mark,  and  bring 
ministered  to  him."  him  with  thee ;  for  his  services  are  profitable 

3  Col.  iv.   14;    Philem.  24.     Luke  seems,  tome." 

however,  to  have  been  absent  from  Rome  when  *  Philem.  24  ;  cf  Col.  iv.  14. 

the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians  was  written.  ^  Col.  iv.  10;  cf.  Acts  xix.  29,  and  Acts 

♦  Philem.  1  ;  Col.  i.  1  ;  Philip,  i.  1.  xxvii.  2,  and  Philem.  24. 

6  Col.  iv.  7  ;  Eph.  vi.  21 ;  cf.  Acts  xx.  4,  1°  Col.  i.  7  ;  Philem.  23. 

and  Tit.  iii.  12.     [St.  Paul  himself  was  not  "  The  same  expression  s  used  of  Androni- 

actually  at  Epiiesus.     It  is  very  possible  that  cus  and  Junias  (Rom.  xvi.  7)   but  of  noothert 

Tychicus  went  thither  from  Miletus.    See  Acts  except  these  four. 
XX.  16,  38. —  11. 1 


748  THE  LIFE   AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.xxv. 

Perhaps  it  only  implies  that  they  dwelt  in  his  house,  which  was  also  his 
prison. 

But  of  all  the  disciples  now  ministering  to  St.  Paul  at  Rome,  none  has 
for  us  a  greater  interest  than  the  fugitive  Asiatic  slave  Onesimus.  He 
belonged  to  a  Christian  named  Philemon,  a  member  of  the  Colossian  ^ 
Church.  But  he  had  robbed^  his  master,  and  fled  from  Colossse,  and  at 
last  found  his  way  to  Rome.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  any  portion  of 
mankind  more  utterly  depraved  than  the  associates  among  whom  a  run- 
away pagan  slave  must  have  found  himself  in  the  capital.  Profligate 
and  unprincipled  as  we  know  even  the  highest  and  most  educated  society 
to  have  then  been,  what  must  have  been  its  dregs  and  offal  ?  Yet  from 
this  lowest  depth  Onesimus  was  dragged  forth  by  the  hand  of  Christian 
love.  Perhaps  some  Asiatic  Christian,  who  had  seen  him  formerly  at  his 
master's  house,  recognized  him  in  the  streets  of  Rome  destitute  and  starv- 
ing, and  had  compassion  on  him ;  and  thus  he  might  have  been  brought 
to  hear  the  preaching  of  the  illustrious  prisoner.  Or  it  is  not  impossible 
that  he  may  have  already  known  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus,  where  his  master 
Philemon  had  formerly  been  himself  converted  ^  by  the  Apostle.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  Onesimus  was  led  by  the  providence 
of  God  to  listen  to  that  preaching  now  which  he  had  formerly  despised. 
He  was  converted  to  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  therefore  to  the  morality 
of  Christ.  He  confessed  to  St.  Paul  his  sins  against  his  master.  The 
Apostle  seems  to  have  been  peculiarly  attracted  by  the  character  of 
Osiesimus ;  and  he  perceived  in  him  the  indications  of  gifts  which  fitted 
him  for  a  more  important  post  than  any  which  he  could  hold  as  the  slave 
of  Philemon.  He  wished  *  to  keep  him  at  Rome,  and  employ  him  in  the 
service  of  the  Gospel.  Yet  he  would  not  transgress  the  law,  nor  violate 
the  rights  of  Philemon,  by  acting  in  this  matter  without  his  consent.  He 
therefore  decided  that  Onesimus  must  immediately  return  to  his  master ; 
and,  to  make  this  duty  less  painful,  he  undertook  himself  to  discharge 
the  sum  of  which  Philemon  had  been  defrauded.  An  opportunity  now 
offered  itself  for  Onesimus  to  return  in  good  company ;  for  St.  Paul  was 
sending  Tychicus  to  Asia  Minor,  charged,  amongst  other  commissions, 
with  an  epistle  to  Colossae,  the  home  of  Philemon.  Under  his  care, 
therefore,  he  placed  the  penitent  slave,  who  was  now  willing  to  surrender 
himself  to  his  offended  master.  Nevertheless,  he  did  not  give  up  the 
hope  of  placing  his  new  convert  in  a  position  wherein  he  might  minister 
no  longer  to  a  private  individual,  but  to  the  Church  at  large.  He  inti- 
mated his  wishes  ou  the  subject  to  Philemon  himself,  with  characteristic 

1  For  the  proof  of  this,  see  Paley's  Horce  *  Philem.  10  appears  to  state  this.     (Se« 

PauUnoi  on  Philemon  (10-12).  p.  413.) 

*  Philem.  18.  *  Philem.  13. 


CHAP.  XXV.  EPISTLE   TO  PHILEMON.  749 

delicacy,  in  a  letter  which  he  charged  Onesimus  to  deliver  on  his  arrival 
at  Colossae.  This  letter  is  not  only  a  beautiful  illustration  of  the  charac- 
ter of  St.  Paul,  but  also  a  practical  commentary  upon  the  precepts  con- 
cerning the  mutual  relations  of  slaves  ^  and  masters  given  in  his  contem- 
porary Epistles.  We  see  here  one  of  the  earliest  examples  of  the  mode 
in  which  Christianity  operated  upon  these  relations  ;  not  by  any  violent 
disruption  of  the  organization  of  society,  such  as  could  only  have  pro- 
duced another  Servile  War,  but  by  gradually  leavening  and  inter-penetrat- 
ing society  with  the  spirit  of  a  religion  which  recognized  the  equality  of 
all  men  in  the  sight  of  God.     The  letter  was  as  follows :  — 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILEMON.' 

saiutauon.  PAUL,  a  pHsouer  of  Christ  Jesus,  and  Timotheus  the  bro-  1 

ther,  To  Philemon  our  beloved  friend  and  fellow-laborer,  and  to  2 
Appia'  our  beloved  sister,*  and  to  Archippus*  our  fellow-soldier, 
AND  TO  the  Church  at  thy  house. 

Grace  be  to  you  and  peace,  from  God  our  Father  and  our  Lord  Jesus  8 
Christ. 

S'll^fd^''  ■'■  thank  my  God,  making  mention  of  thee  always  in  my  4 

fhuemon?*      praycrs,  because  I  hear  of  thy  love  and  faith  towards  the  Lord  5 

Jesus,  and  towards  all  the  saints  ;  praying  ®  that  thy  faith  may  communi-  6 

1  See  Col.  iii.  22,  and  Eph.  vi.  5.  St.  Paul's  23,  24  compared  with  Col.  iv.  12-14),  prove 
attention  seems  to  have  been  especially  drawn  that  it  was  sent  to  Asia  Minor,  together  with 
to  this  subject  at  the  present  time ;  and  he  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  the  date  of  which 
might  well  feel  the  need  there  was  for  a  fun-  is  discussed  in  a  note  on  the  beginning  of  that 
damental  change  in  this  part  of  the  social  sys-  epistle. 

tcm  of  antiquity,  such  as  the  spirit  of  Christ  ^  ■\;v'e  are  told  by  Chrysostora  that  she  was 

alone  could   give.     In   tho  very  year  of  his  the  wife  of  Philemon,  which  seems  probable 

arrival  at  Rome,  a  most  frightful  example  was  from  the  juxtaposition  of  their  names. 
fiiven  of  the  atrocity  of  the  laws  which  regu-  *  "  Sister"  is  added  in  many  of  the  best 

lated  the  relations  of  slave  to  master.     The  MSS. 

prefect  of  the  city  (Pedanius  Secundus)  was  ^  Archippus   was    apparently    a  presbyter 

killed  by  one  of  his  slaves  ;  and  in  accordance  of  the  church  at  Colossae,  or  perhaps  an  evan- 

with  the  ancient  law,  the  whole  body  of  slaves  gelist  resident  there  on  a  special  mission  (com- 

belonging  to  Pedanius  at  Rome,  amounting  to  pare  Col.  iv.  17) ;  fiom  the  present  passage,  he 

a  vast  multitude,  and  including  many  women  seems  to  have  lived  in  the  house  of  Philemon, 
and  children,  were  executed  together,  although  •*  "  That  "  is  to  be  joined  with  verse  4,  as 

confessedly  innocent  of  all  participation  in  the  stating   the   object  of  the  prayer  there  men- 

frime.     Tac.  Ann.  xiv.  42-45.  tioned,  while  verse  5  gives  the  subject  of  tho 

2  With  respect  to  the  date  of  this  epistle,  thanksgiving.  This  is  Chrysostom's  ^-iew, 
the  fact  that  it  was  conveyed  by  Onesimus  against  which  Meyer's  objections  appear  ircon- 
( compare  Col.  iv.  9),  and  the  persons  men-  elusive.  The  literal  English  of  verse  6  is  as 
tioned  as  with   St.  Paul   at   the  time  (Philem.  ioWoyfs,  that  the  communication  of  thy  faith  may 


750  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xxt. 

cate  itself  to  others,  and  may  become  workful,  iu  causing  true  knowledge 

7  of  all  the  good  which  is  in  us,  for  Christ's  service.  For  I  have  great  joy 
and  consolation  in  thy  love,  because  the  hearts  of  the  saints  have  been 
comforted  by  thee,  brother. 

8  Wherefore,  although  in  the  authority  of  Christ  I  might  bold-  ^e^^voMbie 

9  ly  enjoin  upon  thee  that  which  is  befitting,  yet  for  love's  sake  onSus!* 

I  rather  beseech  thee  as  Paul  the  aged,  and  now  also  prisoner  of  Jesus 

10  Christ.     I  beseech  thee  for  my  son,  whom  I  have  begotten  in  my  chains, 

11  Onesimus  ;  who  formerly  was  to  thee  unprofitable,'  but  now  is  profitable 

12  both  to  thee  and  me.     Whom  I  have  sent  back  to  thee ;  ^  but  do  thou 

13  receive  him  as  my  own  *  flesh  and  blood.  For  I  would  gladly*  retain  him 
with  myself,  that  he  might  render  service  to  me  in  thy  stead,  while  I  am 

14  a  prisoner  for  declaring  the  Glad-tidings  ;  but  I  am  unwilling  to  do  any 
thing  without  thy  decision,  that  thy  kindness  may  not  be  constrained,  but 

15  voluntary.     For  perhaps  to  this  very  end  he  was  parted  from  thee  for  a 

16  time,  that  thou  mightest  possess  him  forever ;  no  longer  as  a  bondsman, 
but  above  a  bondsman,  a  brother  beloved  ;  very  dear  to  me,  but  how 

17  much  more  to  thee,  being  thine  both  in  the  flesh  and  in  the  Lord  !     If, 

18  then,  thou  count  me  in  fellowship  with  thee,  receive  him  as  myself.     But 
10    whatsoever  he  has  wronged  thee  of,  or  owes  thee,  reckon  it  to  my  account 

20  (I,  Paul,  write*  this  with  my  own  hand)  ;  I  will  repay  it;  for  I  would 
not  say  to  thee  that  thou  owest  me  even  thine  own  self  besides.  Yea, 
brother,  let  me  have  joy  of  thee  in  the  Lord ;  comfort  my  heart  in 
Christ.* 

21  I  write  to  thee  with  full  confidence  in  thy  obedience,  know-  Announce- 

•^  mentofavlalt 

22  ing  that  thou  wilt  do  even  more  than  I  say.     But,  moreover,  ''°™  ^""^  ^ 

become   workful,  in   true  knowledge  of  all  good  The  omission  of  *he  imperative  makes  no  dif- 

which  is  in  us,  for  Christ.     The  latter  words  are  ference  in  the  sense  ;  bat  it  is  characteristic  of 

▼ery  obscure,  but  the  rendering  adopted  in  the  St.  Paul's  abrupt  and   rapid  dictation.      [If, 

text  appears  to  make  the  best  sense.     The  best  with  the  best  MSS.,  we  omit  the  imperative,  we 

MSS.  are  divided  between  Christ  and  Christ  find  it  in  v.  17  :  and  the  intermediate  matter  m 

Jesus ;  but  agree  in  reading  "  in  us,"  not  "  in  practically  parenthetic.  —  H.J 
you."  ^  Children  were  called  the  an^-dyxva  of  (heir 

1  Most   modem   commentators   suppose  a  parents, 
play  on  the  name  Onesimus,  which  means  use-  *  The  imperfect  here,  and  aorist  in  the  pre- 

Jul ;  but  there  seems  scarcely  sufficient  ground  ceding  and  following  verse,  are  used,  £i:cord- 

for  this,  and  it  was   never  remarked   by  the  ing  to  classical  idiom,  from  the  position  of  the 

ancient  Greek  commentators,  whose  judgment  reader  of  the  letter. 

on  such  a  point  would  be  entitled  to  most  def-  *  See  the  preceding  note. 

erence.  *  "  Christ  "  is  the  reading  of  the  best  MSS 


■  Many  of  the  best  MSS.  add  "  to  thee.' 


i 


CHAP.  XXV. 


ST.   PAUL  WRITES  TO  THE   COLOSSIANS. 


751 


Asia  Minor  on  prepare  to  receive  me  as  thy  guest ;  for  I  trust  that  through 

aia  acquittal. 

your  ^  prayers  I  shall  be  given  to  you. 


Salntations 
from  Rome. 


laborers. 

Concladlng 
beQediction. 


There  salute  thee  Epaphras  my  fellow-prisoner  ^  in  Christ  23 
Jesus,   Marcus,  Aristarchus,  Demas,  and   Luke,  my  fellow-  24 


The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  your  spirits.'        25 


While  Onesimus,  on  the  arrival  of  the  two  companions  at  Colossae,* 
hurried  to  the  house  of  his  master  with  the  letter  which  we  have  just 
read,  Tychicus  proceeded  to  discharge  his  commission  likewise  by  deliver- 
ing to  the  Presbyters  the  Epistle  with  which  he  was  charged,  that  it 
might  be  read  to  the  whole  Colossian  Church  at  their  next  meeting.  The 
letter  to  the  Colossians  itself  gives  us  distinct  information  as  to  tlie  cause 
wliich  induced  St.  Paul  to  write  it.  Epaphras,  the  probable  founder  of 
that  Cliurch  (Col.  i.  7),  was  now  at  Rome,  and  he  had  communicated 
to  the  Apostle  the  unwelcome  tidings,  that  the  faith  of  the  Colossians 
was  in  danger  of  being  perverted  by  false  teaching.  It  has  been  ques- 
tioned whether  several  ditferent  systems  of  error  had  been  introduced 
among  them,  or  wliether  the  several  errors  combated  in  the  Epistle  were 
parts  of  one  system,  and  taught  by  the  same  teachers.  On  the  one  side 
we  find  that,  in  the  Epistle,  St.  Paul  warns  the  Colossians  separately 
against  the  following  different  errors  :  —  First,  A  combination  of  angel- 
worship  and  asceticism  ;  Secondly,  A  self-styled  philosophy  or  gnosis 
which  depreciated  Christ ;  Thirdly,  A  rigid  observance  of  Jewish  festivals 
and   Sabbaths.     On  the  other  side,  First,  tlie  Epistle  seems   distin<jtly 


1  Observe  the  change  from  singular  to  plural 
here,  and  in  verse  25. 

^  "  Fellow-soldier,"  as  we  have  before  re- 
marked, perhaps  means  only  that  Epaphras  had 
voluntarily  shared  Paul's  imprisonment  at 
Rome  by  taking  up  his  residence  with  him,  in 
the  lodging  where  he  was  guarded  by  the 
"  soldier  that  kept  him." 

^  The  Amen  as  usual  is  interpolated. 

*  Though  we  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  St.  Paul  had  not  himself  (at  this  time) 
visited  Colossas,  yet  it  is  hardly  possible  to 
read  these  Epistles  without  feeling  an  interest 
in  the  scenery  and  topography  of  its  vicinity. 
The  upper  part  of  the  valley  of  the  Meander, 
where  this  city,  with  its  neighbor  cities  Hie- 
rapolis  and  Loadicea  (Col.  ii.  1,  iv.  1.3  ;  Rev.  iii. 
14),  was  situated,  has  been  described  by  many 
travellers ;  and  the  illustrated  works  on  Asia 


Minor  contain  several  views,  especially  of  the 
vast  and  singular  petrifactions  of  Hierapolis 
(Pambouk-Kalessi).  Colossae  was  older  than 
either  Laodicea  or  Hierapolis,  and  it  fell  into 
comparative  insignificance  as  they  rose  into 
importance.  In  the  Middle  Ages  it  became  a 
place  of  some  consequence,  and  was  the  birth- 
place of  the  Byzantine  writer  Nicetas  Chonia- 
tes,  who  tells  us  that  Chonse  and  Colossat 
were  the  same  place.  A  village  called  Chonai, 
still  remains,  the  proximity  of  which  to  the 
ancient  Colossis  is  proved  by  the  correspond- 
ence of  the  observed  phenomena  with  w^hat 
Herodotus  says  of  the  river  Lycus.  The 
neighborhood  was  explored  by  Mr.  Arundel 
{Seven  Churches,  p.  158;  Asia  Minor,  ii.  160)  ; 
but  Mr.  Hamilton  was  the  first  to  determine 
the  actual  site  of  the  ancient  city.  {Researches, 
I.  508.) 


752  THE  LIFE  AJSTD  EPISTLES  OP  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  ixv 

(though  with  an  indirectness  caused  by  obvious  motives)  to  point  to  a 
single  source,  and  even  a  single  individual,  as  the  origin  of  the  errors 
introduced  ;  and.  Secondly,  we  know  that  at  any  rate  the  two  first  of 
these  errors,  and  apparently  the  third  also,  were  combined  by  some  of 
the  early  Gnostics.  The  most  probable  view,  therefore,  seems  to  be, 
that  some  Alexandrian  Jew  had  appeared  at  Colossae,  professing  a  belief 
in  Christianity,  and  imbued  with  the  Greek  "philosophy"  of  the  school 
of  Philo,  but  combining  with  it  the  Rabbinical  theosophy  and  angelolo- 
gy,  which  afterwards  was  embodied  in  the  Cabala,  and  an  extravagant 
asceticism,  wliich  also  afterwards  distinguished  several  sects  of  the 
Gnostics.^  In  short,  one  of  the  first  heresiarclis  of  the  incipient  Gnos- 
ticism had  begun  to  pervert  the  Colossians  from  the  simplicity  of  their 
faith.  We  have  seen  in  a  former  chapter^  how  great  was  the  danger  to 
be  apprehended  from  this  source,  at  the  stage  which  the  Church  had  now 
reached ;  especially  in  a  church  which  consisted,  as  that  at  Colossse  did, 
principally  of  Gentiles  (Col.  i.  25-27,  Col.  ii.  11)  ;  and  that,  too,  in 
Phrygia,'  where  the  national  character  was  so  prone  to  a  mystic  fanati- 
cism. We  need  not  wonder,  therefore,  that  St.  Paul,  acting  und&r  the 
inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  should  have  thought  it  needful  to  use 
every  effort  to  counteract  the  growing  evil.  This  he  does,  both  by  con- 
tradicting the  doctrinal  errors  of  the  new  system,  and  by  inculcating,  as 
essential  to  Christianity,  that  pure  morality  which  these  early  heretics 
despised.  Such  appears  to  have  been  the  main  purpose  of  the  following 
Epistle :  — 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   COLOSSIANS.* 

i.  1       PAUL,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the  will  of  God,  and     Sainutioa. 
2  Timotheus  the  brother.  To  the  holy  and  faithful  brethren  in  Christ 

WHO  ARE  AT  COLOSSiE,^ 

Grace  be  to  you,  and  peace  from  God  our  Father.*' 

^  See  pp.  34  and  396.  (b)  Because  he  could  not  have  expected 

*  Ch.  XIII.  at   Caesarea   to   be  soon  coming    to 
8  See  p.   23.');    and   also    the   account   of  Phrygia   (Acts    xxiii.    11,   xix.   21; 

the   early  Phrygian    Gnostics   in    the  lately-  Rom.  i.   13;  Acts  xx.  25),  whereas 

discovered  "  Refutation  of  Heresies,"  Book  v.  while  writing  tliis  he  expected   soon 

*  The  following  are  the  grounds   for   the  to  visit  Phrygia  (Philem.  22). 

date  assigned  to  this  Epistle : —  (3.)  The   indications  above  mentioned   all 

(1.)  It  was  written  in  prison  at  the  same  correspond  with  Home.     Moreover,  Timotheus 

time  as  that  to  Philemon,  and   sent   by  the  was  with  him,  as  we  know  ho  was  at  Rome, 

same  messenger  (iv.  7-9).  from  Phil.  i.  1. 

(2.)  It    was    not    written    in   CiEsarea,  —  ^  Many  of  the  best  MSS.  have   Colassas; 

(a)  Because  while  writing  St.  Paul  was  and  this  form  is  found  in  some  of  the   later 

laboring   for  the   Gospel    (iv.   3,   4),  Greek  writers. 

which  he  did  not  at  Caesarea  (Acts  ^  The  words  "  And  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ," 

xxviii.  31).  with  which  St.  Paul  in  all   other  cases  con- 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiii  III  i 


' 


f  ' 


CHAP.xxy.  EPISTLE  TO   THE  C0L0S3IAXS,  753 

L 

Thanksgiving       I  ^  givG  coiitiiiual  thauks  to  God  ^  the  Father  of  our  Lord     3 

for  their  con- 
version. Jesus  Christ,  in  my  prayers  for  you  (siuce  I  heard  of  your     4 

faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  your  love  to  all  the  saints),  because^  of  the     5 

hope  laid  up  for  you  in  the  heavens,  whereof  you  heard  the  promise  *  in 

the  truthful  Word  of  the  Glad-tidings  ;  which  is  come  to  you,  as  it  is     6 

through  all  the  world  ;  and  everywhere  it  bears  fruit  and  ^  grows,  as  it 

does  also  among  you,  since  tho  day  when  first  you  heard  it,  and  learned  to 

know  truly  the  grace  of  God.    And  thus  you  were  taught  by  Epaphras  my     7 

beloved  fellow-bondsman,®  who  is  a  faithful  servant  of  Christ  on  your  behalf. 

And  it  is  he  who  has  declared  to  me  your  love  for  me  ^  in  the  Spirit.  g 

Prayers  for  Whereforc  I  also,  since  the  day  when  first  I  heard  it,  cease     9 

their  perfec- 

^°°-  not  to  pray  for  you,  and  to  ask  of  God  that  you  may  fully 

attain  to  the  knowledge  of  His  will ;  that  ^  in  all  wisdom  and  spiritual   1# 
understanding  you  may  walk  worthy  of  the  Lord,  to  please  Him  in  all 
things  ;  that  you  may  bear  fruit  in  all  good  works,  and  grow  continually 
in  the  knowledge  of  God ;  that  you  may  be  strengthened  to  the  utter-  n 
most  in  the  strength  of  His  glorious  power,  to  bear  all  sufferings  with 
steadfastness  and  with  joy,  giving  thanks '  to  the  Father  who  has  fitted  12 
us  to  share  the  portion  of  the  saints  in  the  light, 
^vonement  For  He  has  delivered  us  from  the  dominion  of  darkness,  IJ 

and  Bove- 

chfTetT^'        ^^^  transplanted  us  into  the  kingdom  of   his  beloved  Son, 

in  whom  we  have  our  redemption,^"  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins.     Who  is  I4,lf 


eludes  this  formala  of  benediction,  are  omitted  ^  This  interpretation   (which    is  Chrysos- 

here  in  the  best  MSS.     Chrysostom  remarks  tom's)  seems   the   most  natural.     Their  love 

on  the  omission.  for  St.  Paul  was  in  the  Spirit,  because  they  had 

1  See  note  on  1  Thess.  i.  2.  never  seen  him  in  the  flesh. 

■'        2  "  ^n(j  "  is  omitted  by  the  best  MSS.  *  The  punctuation  here  adopted  connects 

B       'It  seems  more  natural  to  take  the  prepo-  "  in    all  wisdom,"   &c.,   with    the    following 

sition  thus,  as  in  verse  9,  than  to  connect  it  verb. 

with  the  preceding  verse.  '  The  "  giving  thanks  "  here  seems  par^lel 

*  "  Before."  The  information  regarding  to  the  preceding  participles,  and  consequently 
the  hope  had  been  reaeived  by  them  here  before  the  "  us  "  is  used,  not  with  reference  to  the 
itsfufilment.     Olshausen.  writer,  but  generally  as  including  both  writer 

*  The  MSS.  add  this  to  the  T.  R.  and  readers ;   and  the  particular  case  of  the 
®  Epaphras  is  the  same  name  with  Epaph-  readers  (as  formerly  Heathens)  referred  to  in 

roditus;  but  this  can  scarcely  be  the  same  per-  verse  21  ("and  yoti  "). 

son  with  that  Epaphroditus  who  brought  the  if*  "  Through  His  blood  "  has  been  Introduced 

contribution    from    Philippi   to   Rome    about  here  by  mistake  from  Eph.   i.  7,  and  is  not 

this  time.     This  was  a  native  of  CoIossjb  (see  found  in  the  best  MSS. 
iv.  12):  the  other  was  settled  at  Philippi,  and 
held  oflSce  in  the  Philippian  Church. 
48 


754 


THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXT. 


16  a  visible '  image  of  the  invisible  God,  the  first-born  of  all  creation ;  for 
in  2  Him  were  all  things  created,  both  in  the  heavens  and  on  the  earth, 
both  visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be  Thrones,  or  Dominations,  or 

17  Principalities,  or  Powers  ; '  by  Him  and  for  Him  *  were  all  created.     And 

18  He  is  before  all  things,  and  in  Him  all  things  subsist.*  And  He  is  the 
head  of  the  body,  the  Church ;  whereof  He  is  the  beginning,  as  first- 
born from  the  dead  ;  that  in  all  things  His  place  might  be  the  first. 

19  For  He  willed  ^  that  in  Himself  all  the  Fulness  of  the  universe '  should 

20  dwell ;  and  by  Himself  He  willed  to  reconcile  all  things  to  Himself, 
having  made  peace  by  the  blood  of  His  cross  ;  by  Himself  (I  say)  to 
reconcile  all  things,  whether  on  the  earth,  or  in  the  heavens.® 

21  And  you,  likewise,  who  once  were  estranged  from  Him,  and  TheCoios- 

siana  had  been 

with  your  mind  at  war  with  Him,  when  you  lived  in  wicked-  cauedfrom 


1  It  is  important  to  observe  here  that  St. 
Paul  says  not  merely  that  our  Lord  was  when 
on  earth  the  visible  image  of  God,  but  that  he 
is  so  still.  In  Him  only  God  manifests  him- 
self to  man,  and  He  is  stili  visible  to  the  eye 
of  faith. 

*  "  In  "  here  must  not  be  confounded  with 
\  "  through  "  or  "  by."     The  existence  of  Christ, 

the  Aoyof,  is  the  condition  of  all  creation  ;  in 
Him  the  Godhead  is  manifested. 

*  St.  Paul  here  appears  to  allude  to  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Colossian  heretics,  who  taught  a 
system  of  angel-worship  based  upon  a  syste- 
matic classification  of  the  angelic  hierarchy 
(probably  similar  to  that  found  in  the  Cab- 
ala), and  who  seem  to  have  represented  our 
Lord  as  only  one  (and  perhaps  not  the  highest) 
of  this  hierarchy.  Other  allusions  to  a  hierar- 
chy of  angels)  which  was  taught  in  the  Rab- 
binical theology)  may  be  found  Rom.  viii.  38, 
Eph.  i.  21,  iii.  10,  1  Pet.  iii.  22,  joined  with 
the  assertion  of  their  subjection  to  Christ. 

*  Compare  Rom.  xi.  36,  where  exactly  the 
same  thing  is  said  concerning  God;  from 
which  the  inference  is  plain.  It  appears  evi- 
dent tiiat  St.  Paul  insists  here  thus  strongly 
on  the  creation  by  Jesus  Christ,  in  opposition 
to  some  erroneous  system  which  ascribed  the 
creation  to  some  other  source ;  and  this  was 
the  case  with  the  early  Gnosticism,  which 
ascribed  the  creation  of  the  world  to  a  Dcrai- 
nrire,  who  was  distinct  from  the  man  Jesus. 

"  i.  e.  tlie  life  of  the  universe  is  conditioned 
by  His  existence.     See  the  last  note  but  two. 


®  "He  willed."  Most  commentators  sup- 
pose an  ellipsis  of  "  God,"  but  the  instances 
adduced  by  De  Wette  and  others  to  justify 
this  seem  insufficient ;  and  there  seems  no  rea- 
son to  seek  a  new  sul)ject  for  the  verb  when 
there  is  one  already  expressed  in  the  preceding 
verse. 

^  The  word  Pleroma  is  here  used  by  St 
Paul  in  a  technical  sense,  with  a  manifest  allu 
sion  to  the  errors  against  which  he  is  writing 
The  early  Gnostics  used  the  same  word  to 
represent  the  assemblage  of  emanations  (con- 
ceived as  angelic  powers)  proceeding  from  the 
Deity.  St.  Paul  therefore  aj)pears  to  say,  that 
the  true  Fulness  of  the  universe  (or,  as  he  calls 
it,  chap.  ii.  9,  Fulness  of  the  Godhead)  is  to  be 
found,  not  in  any  angelic  hierarchy  (see  the 
remarks  introductory  to  this  epistle,  p.  751). 
but  in  Christ  alone. 

*  This  statement  of  the  infinite  extent  of 
the  results  of  Christ's  redemption  (which  may 
well  fill  us  with  reverential  awe)  has  been  a 
sore  stumbling-block  to  many  commentators, 
who  have  devised  various  (and  some  very  in- 
genious) modes  of  ex])laining  it  away.  Into 
these  this  is  not  the  ]>]ace  to  enter.  It  is  suffi- 
cient to  observe  that  Sr.  Paul  is  still  led  to  set 
forth  the  true  greatness  ot  Christ  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  angelohitry  of  the  Colossian  horp- 
tics;  intimating  that,  far  from  Christ  being  one 
only  of  the  angelic  hicrarcliy,  the  heavenly 
hosts  themselves  stood  in  need  of  His  atone- 
ment.    Compare  Heb.  ix.  23. 


CHAP.iXT.  EFISTLB  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS.  755 

i. 

Sfdl^con*c™ed  116SS,  yet  now  He  has  reconciled  in  the   body  of  His  flesh  ^   22 

Qxriflt.  ^  through  death,  that  He  might  bring  you  to  His  presence  in 
holiness,  without  blemish  and  without  reproach  ;  if,  indeed,  you  be  stead-  23 
fast  in  your  faith,  with  your  foundation  firmly  grounded  and  immovably 
fixed,  and  not  suffering  yourselves  to  be  shifted  away  from  the  hope  of 
the  Glad-tidings  which  you  heard,  which  has  been  published  throughout 
all  the  earth,^  whereof  I,  Paul,  was  made  a  ministering  servant. 
St.  Paul's  -^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^  I  rejoice  in  the  afflictions  which  I  bear  for  24 

re™ui'the^      your ^  sako,  and  I  fill  up  what  yet  is  lacking  of  the  sufferings* 

Christian 

myBteryof       of  Clirist  iu  mv  flcsli,  ou  behalf  of  His  body,  which  is  the 

univeraaJ  sal-  j  7  j  ^ 

vauoii.  Church ;   whereof  I  was  made  a  servant,  to  minister  in  the  25 

stewardship  which  God  gave  me  for  you  [.Gentiles] ,  that  I  might  fulfil  it  26 
by  declaring  the  Word  of  God,  the  mystery  which  has  been  hid  for  ages 
and  generations,*  but  has  now  been  shown  openly  to  His  saints ;  to  whom  27 
God  willed  to  manifest  how  rich,  among  the  Gentiles,  is  the  glory  of  this 
mystery,  which  ^  is  Christ  in  you  the  hope  of  glory. 

Him,  therefore,  I  proclaim,  warning  every  man,  and  teaching   every   28 
man,  in  all  wisdom ;  that  I  may  bring  every  man  into  His  presence  full 
grown  in  Christ.''     And  to  this  end  I  labor  in  earnest  conflict,  according  29 
to  His  working  which  works  in  me  with  mighty  power. 

For  I  would  have  you  know  how  great  ®  a  conflict  I  sustain  for  ii.  1 

He  prays  that  •'  ° 

^owTn  tnie     l^^i  ^^^^  ^'^1'  thosc  at  Laodicca,  and  for  all  ^  who  have  not  seen 

my  face  in  the  flesh  ;  that  their  hearts  may  be  comforted,  and     2 

1  Here  a{2:ain  is  perhaps  a  reference  to  the  words  when  he  called  bis  sufferings  "  the  suf- 

Gnostic  element  in  the  Colossian   theosophy.  ferings  of  Christ  in  his  flesh." 
It  was  Christ  himself  who  suffered  death  in  ^  Literally, /rom  (i.  e.  since)  the  ages  and  the 

the  Dody  of  his  flesh ;  He  was  perfect  man,  generations,  meaning,  from  the  remotest  times, 

and  not  (as  the  Docetae   taught)  an   angelic  with  special   reference   to  the   times    of   the 

emanation,  who  withdrew  from  the  man  Jesus  Mosaic  Dispensation.     Compare  Rom.  xvi.  25, 

before  he  suffered.  and  Titus  i.  2. 

■^  Literally,  throughout  all  the  creation  under  ^  The  best  MSS.  are  here  divided  so  as  to 

the  sky,  which  is  exactly  equivalent  to  throughout  leave  it  doubtful  whether  the  relative  belongs 

all  the  earth.     St.  Paul  of  course  speaks  here  to  mi/stery  or  riches;  in  either  case  the  sense  is 

hyperbolically,  meaning  the  teaching  which  you  the  same,  the  riches  are  the  rich  abundance  con- 

heard  from  Epaphras  is  the  same  which  has  been  tained  in  the  mystery, 
published  universally  by  the  Apostles.  ^  Jesus  is  omitted  here  in  the  best  MSS. 

*  St.  Paul's  sufferings  were  caused  by  his  Perfect  denotes  grown   to  the  ripeness  of  ma- 
zeal  on  behalf  of  the  Gentile  converts.  turity. 

*  Compare  2   Cor.  i.   5.     "The  sufferings  ^  Alluding  to  what  has  just  preceded. 

of  C%i'st  have  come  upon  me  above  measure ; "  ®  Viz.  all  Christians.     By  the  plain  natural 

and  also  Acts  ix.  4,  "  Why  persecutest  thou       sense  of  this  passage,  the  Colossians  are  classed 
me  ?  "      St.   Paul  doubtless  recollected   those      among  those  personally  unknown  to  St.  PanL 


756 


THE  LIFE  AKD   EPISTLES  OF   ST.    PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXV 


that  they  may  be  knit  together  in  love,  and  may  gain  in  all  its  richness 
the   full   assurance  of  understanding ;  ^   truly  to   know  the  mystery  of 

3  God,^  wherein  are  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  of  knowledge '  hidden. 

4  I  say  this,  lest  any  man  should  mislead  you  with  enticing  an^  warns 
6   words.     For  though  I  am  absent  from  you  in  the  flesh,  yet  I  those  who 

would  mis- 
am  present  with  you  in   the   spirit,  rejoicing   when  I  behold  '®*'^  ^^^ 

6  your  good  order,  and  the  firmness  of  your  faith  in  Christ.     As,  therefore, 

7  you  first  received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  so  walk  in  Him ;  having  hi 
Him  your  root,  and  in  Him  the  foundation  whereon  you  are  continu- 
ally *  built  up ;  persevering  steadfastly  in  your  faith,  as  you  were  taught ; 
and  abounding  ^  in  thanksgiving. 

8  Beware  *  lest  there  be  any  man  who  leads  you  captive  ^  by  his  by  a  system  of 

'  "^  misnamed 

philosophy,  which  is  a  vain  deceit,  following  the  tradition  of  willcTde- 


men,®  the  outward  lessons'  of  childhood,  not  the  teaching  of 


precuite 

Clni^l, 


For  the  "  they  "  of  verse  2  comprehends  and 
binds  together  the  Colossians,  and  the  Laodi- 
ceans,  with  the  "  all  who,"  &c.  This  view  is 
confirmed  by  i.  4  (where  Paul  had  heard  of, 
not  witnessed,  their  faith),  by  i.  7  (where 
Epaphras  is  described  as  their  founder),  and  by 
i.  8  (where  their  love  for  Paul  has  been  declared 
to  him  by  Epaphras,  not  personally  known  by 
himself). 

^  Compare  "  spiritual  understanding  "  (i.  9). 

2  The  reading  of  the  MSS.  here  is  very 
doubtful.  The  reading  we  have  adopted  is 
that  of  Tischendorf's  2d  edition. 

*  St.  Paul  here  alludes,  as  we  see  from  the 
next  verse,  to  those  who  (like  the  Colossian 
false  teachers)  professed  to  be  in  possession  of 
a  higher  Gnosis.  In  opposition  to  them,  he 
asserts  that  the  depths  of  Gnosis  are  to  be 
found  only  in  the  "  Mystery  of  God,"  viz.  the 
Gospel,  or  (as  he  defines  it  above)  "  Christ  in 
you." 

*  Observe  the  present  tense,  and  compare 
1  Cor.  iii.  10. 

6  "  Therein  "  is  omitted  here,  as  in  Tischen- 
dorf  8  text. 

®  The  following  paraphrase  of  this  part  of 
the  Epistle  is  given  by  Neandcr :  —  "  How  can 
you  still  fear  evil  spirits,  when  the  Father  him- 
self has  delivered  you  from  the  kingdom  of 
darkness,  and  transplanted  you  into  the  king- 
dom of  his  dear  Son,  who  has  victoriously 
ascended  to  heaven  to  share  the  divine  might 


of  his  Father,  with  whom  he  now  woiks  in 
man ;  when,  moreover,  he  by  his  sufferings 
has  united  you  with  the  Father,  and  freed  you 
from  the  dominion  of  all  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness, whom  he  exhibits  (as  it  were)  as  captives 
in  his  triumphal  pomp,  and  shows  theii  impo- 
tence to  harm  his  kingdom  established  amoug 
men  ?  How  can  you  still  let  the  doubts  and 
fears  of  your  conscience  bring  you  into  slavery 
to  superstition,  when  Christ  has  nailed  to  his 
cross  and  blotted  out  the  record  of  guilt  whicH 
testified  agains*  you  in  your  conscience,  and 
has  assured  to  you  the  forgiveness  of  all  your 
sins  1  Again,  how  can  you  fear  to  be  poUuted 
by  outward  things,  how  can  you  suffer  your- 
selves to  be  in  captivity  to  outward  ordinances, 
when  you  have  died  with  Christ  to  all  earthly 
things,  and  are  risen  with  Christ,  and  live 
(according  to  your  true,  inward  life)  with 
Christ  in  heaven  ?  Your  faith  must  be  fixed 
on  things  above,  where  Christ  is,  at  the  right 
hand  of  God.  Your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  ' 
God,  and  belongs  no  more  to  earth." 

^  Literally,  ivho  draijs  you  away  as  Ida  sjxil. 
The  peculiar  form  of  expression  employed 
(similar  to  "  there  are  some  that  trouble  you," 
Gal.  i.  7)  shows  that  St.  Paul  alludes  to  some 
particular  individual  at  ColosssB,  who  professed 
to  teach  a  "  Pliilosoj)hy." 

*  "  The  tradition  of  man  "  is  apphed  to  the 
Rabbinical  theology  (Mark  vii.  8). 

9  "  Elements  of  the  world  "  (cf.  Gal.  iv,  3) 


CIIAJ".  XXV. 


EPISTLE  TO  THE   COLOSSIANS. 


757 


Christ.     For  in  Him  dwells  all  the  Fulness '  of  the  Godhead  in  bodily     9 
form,  and  in  Him  "^  you  have  your  fulness ;  for  He  is  the  head  of  all  the   10 
Principalities  and  Powers.     In  Him,  also,  you  were  circumcised  with  a   11 
circumcision  not  made  by  hands,  even  the  offcasting  of  the  ^  whole  body  of 
the  flesh,  the  circumcision  of  Christ ;  for  with  Him  you  were  buried  in  your   12 
baptism,  wherein   also  you  were   made   partakers  of  His  resurrection, 
through  the  faith  wrought  in   you  by  God,  who  raised  Him  from   the 
dead  ;  and  you  also,  when  you  were  dead  in  the  transf^ressions  and  un-   13 
circumcision  of  your  flesh,  God  raised  to  share  His  life.     For  He  forgave  14 
us  *  all  our  transgressions,  and  blotted  out  the  Writing  against  us  which 
opposed  us  with  its  decrees,'  having  taken  it  out  of  our  way,  and  nailed 
it  to  the  cross.     And  He  disarmed  the  Principalities  and  the  Powers'  15 
[which  fought  against  Him],  and  put  them  to  open  shame,  leading  them 
captive  in  the  triumph  of  Christ.' 
and  unites  Therefore,  sufier  not  any  man  to  condemn  you  for  what  you   16 

Jewish  obaerv-  j    •    i    o 

ances  with       eat  or  druik,"  nor  in  respect  of  feast-days,  or  new  moons,®  or 

.ingel-worship  * 

and  ascetism.  gabbaths  ;  for  thcsc  are  a  shadow  of  things  to  come,  but  the  17 
body  is  Christ's.  Let  no  man  succeed  in  his  wish  ^^  to  defraud  you  of  19 
your  prize,  persuading  you  to  self-humiliation,"  and  worship  of  the  angels,''^ 


referring  to  the  Jewish  ordinances,  as  "a 
shadow  of  things  to  come"  (v.  17), 

1  See  note  on  i.  19. 

^  i.  e.  by  union  with  Him  alone,  you  can 
partake  of  the  Pleroma  of  the  Godhead,  and 
not  (as  the  Gnostics  taught)  by  initiation  into 
an  esoteric  system  of  theosophy,  whereby  men 
might  attain  to  closer  connection  with  some 
of  the  "  Principalities  and  Powers "  of  the 
angelic  hierarchy. 

^  The  casting-ofF,  not  (as  in  outward  cir- 
cumcision) of  a  part,  but  of  the  whole  body 
of  the  flesh,  the  whole  carnal  nature.  Of  the 
tins  in  the  T.  R.  is  an  interpolation. 

*  "  Us  "  is  the  reading  of  the  best  MSS. 

••  The  parallel  passage  (Eph.  ii.  15)  is  more 
explicit,  "  the  law  of  enacted  ordinances." 

^  Cf.  Eph.  vi.  12 ;  and  see  Neander's 
paraphrase  quoted  above. 

'  "  In  Him,"  i.  e.  "  Christ,"  the  subject 
being  "  God."  For  the  metaphor,  compare 
2  Cor.  ii.  14. 

'  Compare  Rom.  xiv.  1-17. 

•  The  same  three  Mosaic  observances  are 


joined  together,  1  Chron.  xxiii.  31.     Compare 
also  Gal.  iv.  10. 

1''  Let  no  man,  though  he  wishes  it;  this  seems 
the  most  natural  explanation  of  this  difficult 
expression ;  it  is  that  adopted  by  Theodoret 
and  Theophylact.  We  observe  again  the  ref- 
erence to  some  individual  false  teacher. 

11  From  the  combination  of  this  with 
"chastening  of  the  body,"  in  verse  23,  it  scema 
to  mean  an  exaggerated  self-humiliation,  like 
that  which  has  often  been  joined  with  ascetic 
practices,  and  has  shown  itself  by  the  devotee 
wearing  rags,  exposing  himself  to  insult, 
living  by  beggary,  &c. 

12  Mr.  Hartley  mentions  a  fact  in  the  later 
Christian  history  of  Colossae  which  is  at  least 
curious  when  considered  in  connection  with 
St.  Paul's  warning  concerning  angels,  and  the 
statement  of  Herodotus  regarding  the  river 
Lycus.  The  modern  Greeks  have  a  legend  to 
this  effect :  —  "  An  overwhelming  inundation 
threatened  to  destroy  the  Christian  population 
of  that  city.  They  were  fleeing  before  it  in 
the  utmost  consternation,  and  imploring  supe- 


758 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OP   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXV 


n. 


intruding  *  rasiily  into  things  which  he  has  not  seen,  puffed  up  by  his 

19  fleshly  mind,  and  not  holdhig  fast  the  Head,  from  whom'^  the  whole  body, 
by  the  joints  which  bind  it,  draws  full  supplies '  for  all  its  needs,  and  is 
knit  together,  and  increases  in  godly  growth. 

20  If,  then,*  when  you  died  with  Christ,  you  put  away  the  childish  lessons 
of  outward  things,  why,  as  though  you  still  lived  in  outward  things,  do 

21  you  submit  yourselves  to  decrees  ( "  hold*  not,  taste  not,  touch  not "  — 

22  forbidding  the  use  of  things  which  are  all  made  to  be  consumed  in  the 

23  using)  ^  founded  on  the  precepts  and  doctrines  of  men  ?  For  these  pre- 
cepts, though  they  have  a  show  of  wisdom,  in  a  self-chosen  worship,  and 
in  humiliation,  and  chastening  of  the  body,  are  of  no  value  to  check ''  the 
indulgence  of  fleshly  passions. 

Hi.  1      If,  then,*  you  were  made  partakers  of  Christ's  resurrection.  Exhortation  to 

'  '    •'  ^  heavenward 

seek  those  things  which  are  above,  where  Christ  abides,^  seated  ^^^'^^°^^- 
2  on  the  right  hand  of  God.     Set  your  heart  on  things  above,  not  on  things 
8,  4  earthly ;  for  ye  are  dead,^"  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.    When 
Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall  be  made  manifest,  then  shall  ye  also  be  made 
manifest "  with  Him  in  glory. 


rior  succor  for  their  deliverance.  At  tliis  criti- 
cal moment,  the  Archangel  Michael  descended 
from  heaven,  opened  the  chasm  in  the  earth  to 
which  they  still  point,  and  at  this  opening  the 
waters  of  the  inundation  were  swallowed  up 
and  the  multitude  was  saved."  (Res.  in  Greece, 
p.  52.)  A  church  in  honor  of  the  archangel 
was  built  at  the  entrance  of  the  chasm.  A 
council  held  at  the  neighboring  town  of  Lao- 
dicea,  in  the  4  th  century,  condemned  this 
Angel  worship ;  and  Theodoret  speaks  of  it 
as  existing  in  the  same  region. 

1  We  join  rxiinly  {rashly)  with  what  pre- 
cedes. 

*  From  whom,  not  from  which,  as  in  A.  V. 

*  Literally, /wrn/sAec?  with  all  things  necessary 
to  its  support. 

*  The  reference  is  to  verse  1 2.  The  literal 
translation  is,  if  you  died  with  Christ,  putting 
away,  ^-c. 

^  Hold  is  distinguished  from  touch,  the  for- 
mer conveying  (according  to  its  original  sense) 
the  notion  of  close  contact  and  retention,  the 
latter  of  only  momentary  contact ;  compare 
1  Cor.  vii.  1,  and  also  John  xx.  17,  where  the 
words  should  probably  be  translated  "  hold 
me  not,"  or  "  cling  not  to  me." 


^  This  appears  to  be  the  best  view  of  this 
very  difficult  passage,  on  a  comparison  with 
1  Cor.  vi.  13,  and  with  St.  Paul's  general  use 
of  this  verb. 

^  Literally  this  is,  in  reference  to  tJie  indul- 
gence of  the  flesh.  The  difficulty  of  this  verse 
is  well  known.  The  interpretation,  which 
leaves  the  verse  a  mere  statement  of  the  favor- 
able side  of  this  Colossian  asceticism,  unbal- 
anced by  any  contrary  conclusion,  and  with 
nothing  to  answer  to  "  having  a  show,"  &c., 
appears  very  untenable.  We  consider  "in  no 
honor"  here  to  be  used  as  "of  no  value." 
See  Acts  xx.  24,  Rev.  xvii.  4.  Since  the  first 
edition  of  this  word  was  published,  we  have 
ascertained  that  the  view  above  taken  of  this 
verse  was  proposed  by  Archbishop  Sumner 
(Practical  Expos,  in  loco),  who  interprets  it, 
"  These  things  are  of  little  honor  or  value 
against  the  fulness  of  the  flesh,  the  motions  of 
sin  in  the  members ; "  and  quotes  the  LXX. 
in  illustration.  *  The  reference  is  to  ii,  12. 

^  Stronger  than  "  is  seated." 

I'*  Literally,  you  have  died;  for  the  aorist 
must  here  be  used  for  a  perfect,  since  it  ia 
coupled  with  a  perfect  following. 

1^  So  also  in  Bom.  viii.  19  the  coming  of 


CtlAF.  XXV. 


EPISTLE  TO  THE   COLOSSLA_NS. 


759 


UoHthcn  Im 
purity  and 
other  vices. 


i-haracter  in  -  , 

aU  lt8  various     01    yOUF  mOUtll 
perfections. 


HI. 

Give,  therefore,  uuto  death  your  earthly  members  ;  foruica-  5 
tion,  uncleauuess,^  shameful  appetites,  uunatural  desires,  and 
the  lust  of  concupiscence,'^  which  is  idolatry.  For  tliese  things  C 
Itring  the  wrath  of  God  upon  the  children  of  disobedience  ;  among  whom  7 
you  also  walked  in  former  times,  when  you  lived  therein  ;  but  now,  with 
Kxhortation  ^^''  ^^^  likcwisc  must  rcuounce  them  all.  Anger,  passion,  and  8 
chriBtian  ^^^    malice  must  be  cast  away,  evil-speaking  and  reviling  put  out 

Lie  not  one  to  anotlier,  but  *  put  off  the  old     9 
man  with  his  deeds,  and  put  on  the  newsman,  who  grows   10 
continually  to  a  more  perfect  knowledge  and  likeness  of  his  Creator.® 
Wherein  there  is  not  "  Greek  and  Jew,"  "  circumcision  and  uncircum-   11 
cision,"  "  barbarian,"  "  Scythian,"  "  bondsman,"  "  freeman  ;  "  but  Christ 
is  all,  and  in  all.    Therefore,  as  God's  chosen  people,  holy  and  beloved,  put   12 
on  tenderness  of  heart,  kindness,  self-humiliation,''  gentleness,  long-suffer- 
ing ;  forbearing  one  another,  and  forgiving  one  another,  if  any  thinks  liim-   18 
self  aggrieved  by  his  neighbor  ;  even  as  Christ  forgave  you,  so  also  do  ye. 
And  over  all  the  rest  put  on  the  robe  ^  of  love,  which  binds  together  and   14 
completes  the  whole.^     Let  the  peace  of  Christ^"  rule  in  your  hearts,  to    16 
which  also  you  were  called  in  one  body  :  and  be  thankful  one  *'  to  another. 


Christ  in  glory  is  identified  with  the  manifesta- 
tion of  the  sons  of  God.  St.  Paul  declares, 
that  the  real  nature  and  glory  of  Christ's 
people  (which  is  now  hidden)  will  be  mani- 
fested to  all  mankind  when  Christ  shall  come 
again,  and  force  the  world  to  recognize  Him, 
by  an  open  display  of  His  majesty.  The 
Authorized  Version,  though  so  beautiful  in 
this  passage  that  it  is  impossible  to  deviate 
from  it  without  regret,  yet  does  not  adequate- 
ly represent  the  original. 

1  Viz.  of  word  as  well  as  deed. 

^  Lust  of  concupiscence,  whence  the  before- 
named  special  sins  spring,  as  branches  from 
the  root.  For  the  meaning  of  the  original 
word,  see  note  on  1  Cor.  v.  11.  Lust  is  called 
idolatry,  either  because  impurity  was  so  closely 
CDnnectai  with  the  Heathen  idol-worship,  or 
bflcause  it  alienates  the  heart  from  God. 

'  You  also,  —  you  as  well  as  other  Christians. 
There  should  be  a  comma  after  v.  7,  and  a  full 
stop  in  the  middle  of  v.  8.  Then  the  exhorta- 
tion beginning  anger,  &,c.,  follows  abruptly,  a 


repetition  of  renounce  being  anderstood  &om 
the  sense. 

*  "Vutoff."  The  participle  is  equivalent 
to  the  imperative.     Compare  "  put  on,"  v.  12. 

*  For  this  use  of  new  compare  Heb.  xii.  24. 

**  Literally,  who  is  continually  renewed  [pres- 
ent participle]  lo  tlie  attainment  of  a  true  knowl- 
edge according  to  the  likeness  of  his  Creator. 

'  It  is  remarkable  that  the  very  same  quali- 
ty which  is  condemned  in  the  false  teachers  is 
here  enjoined ;  showing  that  it  was  not  their 
self-humiliation  which  was  condemned,  bat 
their  exaggerated  way  of  showing  it,  and  the 
false  system  on  which  it  was  ingrafted. 

8  Above  all  in  the  sense  of  over  all.  See 
Eph.  vi.  16. 

'  Literally,  rvhich  is  the  bond  of  completeness. 

I'J  The  great  majority  of  MSS.  read  Christ. 

"  This  is  most  naturally  understood  of 
gratitude  towards  one  another,  especially  as  the 
context  treats  of  their  love  towards  their 
brethren  ;  for  ingratitade  destroys  mutual 
love. 


760  '  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xxv 

ni. 

16  Let  the  Word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly.     Teach  and  admonish  one 

another  in  all  wisdom.^ 

Let  your  singing  be  of  psalms,  and  hymns,  and   spiritual  Festive  meet- 
songs,^  sung  in   thanksgiving,  with  your  heart,  unto '  God.  be  celebrated. 

17  And  whatsoever  you  do,  in  word  or  deed,  do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  giving  thanks  to  God  our  Father  through  Him. 

18  Wives,  submit  yourselves  to  your  husbands,  as  it  is  fit  in  Exhortation 

,       _        J  tothefulfll- 

the  LiOrd.  mem  of  the 

duties  of  do- 

19  Husbands,  love  your  wives,  and  deal  not  harshly  with  them.  ™^^"''  '^®- 

20  Children,  obey  your  parents  in  all  things  ;  for  this  is  acceptable  in  the 
Lord.* 

21  Fathers,  vex  not  your  children,  lest  their  spirit  should  be  broken. 

22  Bondsmen,  obey  in  all  things  your  earthly  masters;  not  in  of  slaves »nd 
eye-service,  as  men  pleasers,  but  in  singleness  of  heart,  fear-  ™***^"- 

23  ing  the  Lord.'    And  whatsoever  you  do,  do  it  heartily,  as  for  the  Lord, 

24  and  not  for  men  ;  knowing  that  from  the  Lord  you  will  receive  the  re- 
ward of  the  inheritance  ;  for  you  are  the  bondsmen  of  Christ,  our  Lord 

25  and  Master.'  But  he  who  wrongs  another  will  be  requited  for  the  wrong 
which  he  has  done,  and  [in  that  judgment]  there  is  no  respect  of 
persons.'' 

lY.  1       Masters,  deal  rightly  and  justly  with  your  bondsmen,  knowing  that  you 
also  have  a  Master  in  heaven. 

2  Persevere  in  prayer,  and  join  thanksgiving  with  your  watch-  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^ 

3  fulness  therein ;  and  pray  for  me  likewise,  that  God  would     ^ '  P'^yers, 
open  to  me  a  door  of  entrance^  for  His  Word,  that  I  may  declare  the 

^  The  punctuation  here  adopted  connects  man  merry  ?     Let  him  sing  psalms."    For  th« 

"  in  all  wisdom "   with  what  follows.     The  "  Tlianksfjiving "  see  1  Cor.  x.  30,  where  th« 

participles  are  used  imperatively,  as  in  Rom.  same  word  is  used, 
xii.  9-16.  *  God  is  the  reading  of  the  best  MSS. 

*  The  reading  adopted  is  Tischendorf  s,  a  *  "  Acceptable  in  the  Lord  "  is  the  reading 

stop  being  put  after  the  preceding.     St.  Paul  of  the  MSS. 

appears  to  intend  (as  in  Eph.  v.  18,  19,  which  *  "  The  Lord  "  is  the  reading  of  the  MSS. 

throws  light  on  the  present  passage)   to  con-  ^  The  correlative  meanings  oi  Lord  \Ma9- 

trast  the  songs  which  the  Christians  were  to  ter)  and  Servant  (Slave)  give  a  force  to  this  m 

employ  at  their  meetings  with  those  impure  Greek,   which  cannot  be   fully  expressed   in 

or  bacchanalian  strains  which   they  formerly  English. 

sang  at  their  heathen   revels.     It  should  be  ^  i.  e.   slaves    and    masters    are    equal    at 

remembered  that  singing  always  formed  a  part  Christ's  judgment-seat. 
of  the  entertainment  at  the  banquets  of  the  *  Compare  2  Cor.  ii.  12. 

Greeks.     Compare  also  James  v.  13,  "  Is  any 


CHAP.  XXV.  EPISTLE   TO  THE    COLOSSIANS.  761 

iv. 

mystery  of  Christ,'  which  is  the  very  cause  of  ray  imprisonment :  pray     4 

for  me  that  I  may  declare  it  openly,  as  I  ought  to  speak. 

Conduct  Conduct  yourselves  with  wisdom  towards  those  without  the     5 

towards  un- 

boiievers.        Church,'^  and  forestall  opportunity.'     Let  your  speech  be  always     6 
gracious,  with  a  seasoning  of  salt,^  understanding  how  to  give  to  every 
man  a  fitting  answer. 
Mis.ion  of  All  that  concerns  me  will  be  made  known  to  you  by  Tychi-     7 

TychicQ8  and  •  /»  i  i    /^  n  i         j 

onesimuB.        cus,  my  bclovcd  brother  and  faithful  servant  and  fellow-bonds- 
man in  the  Lord,  whom  I  have  sent  to  you  for  this  very  end,  that  he     fe 
might  learn  your  state,  and  comfort  your  hearts  ;  with  Onesimus,  the     9 
faithful  and  beloved  brother,  your  fellow-countryman  ;  they  will  tell  you 
all  which  has  happened  here. 
Greetings  Aristarchus,  my  fellow-prisoner,  salutes  you,  and  Marcus,   10 

from  Chris-  •      ^      o   -r.  i  •  i  •        i     • 

tians in  uome.  the  cousm  *  of  Bamabas,  concerning  whom  you  received  m- 
structions  (if  he  come  to  you,  receive  him),  and  Jesus  surnamed  Justus.    11 
Of  the  circumcision  ®  these  only  are  my  fellow-laborers  for  the  kingdom 
of  God,  who  have  been  a  comfort  to  me. 

Epaphras  your  fellow-countryman  salutes  you  ;  a  bonsdman  of  Christ,   12 
who  is  ever  contending  on  your  behalf  in  his  prayers,  that  in  ripeness  of 
understanding,  and  full  assurance  of  belief,''  you  may  abide  steadfast  in  all 
the  will  of  God  ;  for  I  bear  him  witness  that  he  is  filled  with  zeal  *  for   13 
you,  and  for  those  in  Laodicea  and  Hierapolis. 

Luke,  the  beloved  physician,  and  Demas,  salute  you.  14 

Salute  the  brethren  in  Laodicea,  and  Nymphas,  with  the   15 

Messages  to  i  j       r  ^ 

SodTceaV"^    Church  at  his  house.     And  when  this  letter  has  been  read   16 

among  you,  provide  that  it  be  read  also  in  the  Church  of  the 
Laodiceans,  and  that  you  also  read  the  letter  from  Laodicea.     And  say  to   17 
Archippus,  '*  Take  heed  to  the  ministration  which  thou  hast  received  iu 
the  Lord's  service,  that  thou  fulfil  it." 

^  See  above,  i.  27.  ®  We  adopt  the  punctuation  of  Lachmann 

2  Compare  1  Thess.  iv.  12  and  1  Cor.  v.  12.  and  Meyer.     Literally,  these,  who  are  of  the  cir- 

'  Thin  is  the  literal  translation.     Like  the  cumcision,  are  alone  fellow-workers;   i.  e.  alone 

Englisl:  forestall,  the  verb  means  to  buy  up  an  among  those  of  the  circumcision ;    for  other 

article  o.  '  of  the  market,  in  order  to  make  the  fellow-workers  are  mentioned  below. 

largest  possible  profit  from  it.  "i  We  adopt  Lachmann  and  Tischendorfs 

*  i.  e.  free  from  insipidity.     It  would  be  well  reading.     For  the   meaning  of  the  word,  see 

if  religious  speakers  and  writers  had  always  Rom.  iv.  21. 

kept  this  precept  in  mind.  *  If,  with  some  MSS.,  we  read  toil  here,  it 

^  The  original  word  has  the  meaning  of  will  not  materially  alter  the  sense. 
cousin  (not  nephew)  both  in  classical  and  Helle- 
nistic Greek. 


762  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL,  cnAP.xsv 

IT. 

18       The  salutation  of  me,  Paul,  with  my  own  hand.     Remember  Autograph 

.  salutation  and 

my  chains.      Grace  be  with  you.-  benediction. 

We  have  seen. that  the  above  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  and  that  to 
Philemon,  were  conveyed  by  Tychicus  and  Onesimus,  who  travelled 
together  from  Rome  to  Asia  Minor.  But  these  two  were  not  the  only 
letters  with  which  Tychicus  was  charged.  We  know  that  he  carried  a 
third  letter  also ;  but  it  is  not  equally  certain  to  whom  it  was  addressed. 
This  third  letter  was  that  which  is  now  entitled  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
sians  ; '  concerning  the  destination  of  which  (disputed  as  it  is)  perhaps 
the  least  disputable  fact  is,  that  it  was  not  addressed  to  the  Church  of 
Ephesus.* 

This  point  is  established  by  strong  evidence,  both  internal  and  exter- 
nal. To  begin  with  the  former,  we  remark,  First,  that  it  would  be  inex- 
plicable that  St.  Paul,  when  he  wrote  to  the  Ephesians,  amongst  whom 
he  had  spent  so  long  a  time,  and  to  wliom  he  was  bound  by  ties  of  such 
close  affection  (Acts  xx.  17,  &c.),  should  not  have  a  single  message  of 
personal  greeting  to  send.  Yet  none  such  are  found  in  this  Epistle. 
Secondly,  He  could  not  have  described  the  Ephesians  as  a  Church  whose 
conversion  he  knew  only  by  report  (i.  15).  Thirdly,  He  could  not  speak 
to  them,  as  only  knowing  himself  (the  founder  of  their  Cliurch)  to  be  an 
Apostle  hy  hearsay  (iii.  2),  so  as  to  need  credentials  to  accredit  him  with 
them  (iii.  4).  Fourthly,  He  could  not  describe  the  Ephesians  as  so  ex- 
clusively Gentiles  (ii.  11,  iv.  17),  and  so  recently  converted  (v.  8,  i.  13, 
ii.  13). 

This  internal  evidence  is  confirmed  by  the  following  external  evidence 
also. 

(1.)  St.  Basil  distinctly  asserts,  that  the  early  writers  whom  he  had 
consulted  declared  that  the  manuscripts  of  this  Epistle  in  their  time  did 
not  contain  the  name  of  Ephesus,  but  left  out  altogether  the  name  of  the 
Church  to  which  the  Epistle  was  addressed.  He  adds,  that  the  most 
ancient  manuscripts  which  he  had  himself  seen  gave  the  same  testimony. 
This  assertion  of  Basil's  is  confirmed  by  Jerome,  Epiphanius,  and  Ter- 
tullian.* 

1  We  have  before  remarked  that  the  right  recently-discovered  Sinaitic  MS.  is  a  strong 
hand,  with  which  he  wrote  these  words,  was  confirmation  of  the  view  here  expressed.  —  h.] 
fastened  by  a  chain  to  the  left  hand  of  the  ^  Tertullian  accuses  Marcion  of  adding  the 
soldier  who  was  on  guard  over  him.  title  "  To  the  Laodiceans,"  but  not  of  altering 

2  The  Amen  (as  usual)  was  added  by  the  the  salutation;  whence  it  is  clear  that  the 
copyists,  and  is  absent  from  the  best  MSS.  MSS.  used  by  Tertullian  did  not  contain  the 

*  See  Eph.  vi.  21,  22.  words  "  in  Ephesus."     It  is  scarcely  necessary 

*  [This  statement  has  been  blamed,  as  ex-  here  to  notice  the  apocryphal  Ejdstola  ad  Lao- 
treme ;  and  perhaps  it  is  too  strong :  but  the  dicenscs,  which  only  exists  in  Latin  MSS.  It 
omission  of  the  words  "  in  Ephesus  "  from  the  is  a  mere  cento  compiled  from  the  Epistles  to 


I 

i 


CHAP.MV.  EPISTLE   x'O  THE  EPHESIANS   (SO   CALLED).  763 

(2.)  The  most  ancient  manuscript  now  known  to  exist,  namel}",  that  of 
the  Vatican  Library,  fully  bears  out  Basil's  words ;  for  in  its  text  it  does 
not  contain  the  words  "  in  Ephesus  "  at  all ;  and  they  are  only  added  in 
its  margin  by  a  much  later  hand.^ 

(3.)  We  know,  from  the  testimony  of  Marcion,  that  this  Epistle  was 
entitled  in  his  collection  "  the  Epistle  to  the  Laodiceans."  And  his 
authority  on  this  point  is  entitled  to  greater  weight  from  the  fact  that  he 
was  himself  a  native  of  the  district  where  we  should  expect  the  earlier 
copies  of  the  Epistle  to  exist.'^ 

The  above  arguments  have  convinced  the  ablest  modern  critics  that 
this  Epistle  was  not  addressed  to  the  Ephesians.  But  there  has  not  been 
by  any  means  tlie  same  approach  to  unanimity  on  the  question  who 
were  its  intended  readers.  In  the  most  ancient  manuscripts  of  it  (as  we 
have  said)  no  Church  is  mentioned  by  name,  except  in  those  consulted 
by  Marcion,  according  to  which  it  was  addressed  to  the  Laodiceans. 
Now  the  internal  evidence  above  mentioned  proves  that  the  Epistle  was 
addressed  to  some  particular  church  or  churches,  who  were  to  receive 
intelligence  of  St.  Paul  through  Tychicus,  and  that  it  was  not  a  treatise 
addressed  to  the  whole  Christian  world ;  and  the  form  of  the  salutation 
shows  that  the  name  of  some  place '  must  originally  have  been  inserted  in 
it.  Again  :  the  very  passages  in  the  Epistle  which  have  been  above 
referred  to,  as  proving  that  it  could  not  have  been  directed  to  the  Ephe- 
sians, agree  perfectly  with  the  hypothesis  that  it  was  addressed  to  the 
Laodiceans.  Lastly,  we  know  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  that 
St.  Paul  did  write  a  letter  to  Laodicea  (Col.  iv.  16)  about  the  same  time 
with  that  to  Colossae.*     On  these  grounds,  then,  it  appears  the   safest 

the  Galatians  and  Philippians ;  and  was  evi-  translated   "  to   God's    people  who    are    also 

dently  a  forgery  of  a  very  late  date,  original-  faithful  in   Christ  Jesus ;  "    but    this  would 

ing  from  the  wish  to  represent  the  epistle,  men-  make  the  Epistle  addressed   (like  the  2d   of 

tioned  Col.  iv.  16,  as  not  lost.  Peter)  to  the  whole   Christian  world;  which 

1  [See  remark,  p.  762,  n.  4,  on  the  Sinaitic  is  inconsistent  with  its  contents,  as  above  re- 
MS.  —  H.]  marked. 

2  Many  critics  object  to  receive  Marcion's  ■*  De  Wette  argues  that  the  letter  to  Lao- 
evidence,  on  the  ground  that  he  often  made  dicea,  mentioned  Col.  iv.  16,  must  have  been 
arbitrary  alterations  in  the  text  of  the  New  written  some  time  before  that  to  Colossae, 
Testament.  But  this  he  did  on  doctrinal  and  not  sent  by  the  same  messenger,  because 
grounds,  which  could  not  induce  him  to  alter  St.  Paul  in  the  Colossian  Epistle  sends  greet- 
the  title  of  an  epistle.  ings  to  Laodicea  (Col.  iv.  15),  which  he  would 

8  Compare  the  salutations  at  Rom.  i.   7 ;  have  sent  directly  if  he  had  written  to  Laodi- 

2  Cor.  i.  1 ;  Phil.  i.  1  ;  the  analogy  of  which  cea  at  the  same  time.     But  there  is  not  much 

renders  it  impossible  to  suppose  "  those  who  weight  in  this  objection,  for  it  was  agreeable 

are"  used  emphatically  {"  those  who  are  rea//y  to  St.  Paul's  manner  to  charge  one  part  of 

Saints"),  as  some  commentators   mentioned  the  church  to  salute  the  other;  see  Rom.  xvi. 

by  Jerome  took  it.     It  is  true  that  this  (the  3,  where  he  says  "  salute  ye,"  not  "  I  salute." 

oldest  known   form   of   the   text)   might    be  Moreover  it  seems  most  probable  that  Col.  It. 


764  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xxr 

course  to  assume  (with  Paley,  in  the  Horce  Paulinoe)  that  the  testimony 
of  Marcion  (uncontradicted  by  any  other  positive  evidence)  is  correct, 
and  tliat  Laodicea  was  one  at  least  of  the  Churches  to  which  this  Epistle 
was  addressed.  And,  consequently,  as  we  know  not  the  name  of  any 
other  Church  to  which  it  was  written,  that  of  Laodicea  should  be  in- 
serted in  the  place  which  the  most  ancient  manuscripts  leave  vacant. 

Still,  it  must  be  obvious,  that  this  does  not  remove  all  the  difficulties  of 
the  question.  For,  first,  it  will  be  asked,  how  came  the  name  of  Laodicea 
(if  originally  inserted)  to  have  slipped  out  of  these  ancient  manuscripts? 
and  again,  how  came  it  that  the  majority  of  more  recent  manuscripts 
inserted  the  name  of  Ephesus  ?  These  perplexing  questions  are  in  some 
measure  answered  by  the  hypothesis  originated  by  Archbishop  Usher, 
that  this  Epistle  was  a  circular  letter  addressed  not  to  one  only,  but  to 
several  Churches,  in  the  same  way  as  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  was 
addressed  to  all  the  Churches  in  Galatia,  and  those  to  Corinth  were 
addressed  to  the  Christians  "  in  the  whole  province  of  Achaia."  *  On  this 
view,  Tychicus  would  have  carried  several  copies  of  it,  differently  super- 
scribed, one  for  Laodicea,  another,  perhaps,  for  Hierapolis,  another  for 
Philadelphia,  and  so  on.  Hence  the  early  copyists,  perplexed  by  this 
diversity  in  their  copies,  might  many  of  them  be  led  to  omit  the  words  in 
which  the  variation  consisted ;  and  thus  the  state  of  the  earliest  known 
text^  of  the  Epistle  would  be  explained.  Afterwards,  however,  as  copies 
of  the  Epistle  became  spread  over  the  world,  all  imported  from  Ephesus 
(the  commercial  capital  of  the  district  where  the  Epistle  was  originally 
circulated),  it  would  be  called  (in  default  of  any  other  name)  the  Epistle 
from  Ephesus,  and  the  manuscripts  of  it  would  be  so  entitled  ;  and  thence 
the  next  step,  of  inserting  the  name  of  Ephesus  into  the  text,  in  a  place 
where  some  local  designation  was  plainly  wanted,  would  be  a  very  easy 
one.  And  this  designation  of  the  Epistle  would  the  more  readily  prevail, 
from  the  natural  feeling  that  St.  Paul  must  have  written '  some  Epistle 
to  so  great  a  Church  of  his  own  founding  as  Ephesus. 


16-18  was  a  postscript,  added  to  the  Epistle  lossian,  and  was  sent  to  Colossa  on  this  very 

after  the  Epistle  to  Laodicea  was  written.     It  occasion.     See  also  Hone  Paulince  (in  loco). 
is  difficult  to  imagine  that  the  "letter  from  ^  See  2  Cor.  i.  1,  and  p.  485. 

Laodicea"  (Col.  iv.   16)  could  have  been  re-  ^  That    of   the    Codex  Vaticanus,   above 

ceived  much  before   that   to   the   Colossians,  described  as  agreeing  with  the  most  ancient 

fi-om  the  manner  in  which  it  is  mentioned,  and  MSS.  seen  by  Basil. 

the  frequent  intercourse  which  must  have  oc-  ^  We  cannot  doubt  that  St.  Paul  did  write 

curred   between   such   neighboring    churches.  many  epistles  which  are  now  lost.     He  him- 

The  hypothesis  of   Wiescicr,  that  the  Laodi-  self  mentions  one  such  to  the  Corinthians  (see 

cean  Epistle  was  thai  to  Philemon,  is  quite  page  421);  and  it  is  a  mysterious  dispensation 

arbitrary,  and  appears  irreconcilable  with  the  of  Providence  that  his   Epistles   to   the   two 

feet  that  Onesimus  is  expressly  called  a  Co-  great  metropolitan  churches  of  Antioch   and 


I 


AP.  XXV.  EPISTLE   TO    THE   EPHESIANS    (SO   CALLED}.  7G5 

Thus  the  most  plausible  account  of  the  origui  of  this  Epistle  seems  to 
be  as  follows.  Tychicus  was  about  to  take  his  departure  from  Rome  for 
Asia  Minor.  St.  Paul  had  already  written '  his  Epistle  to  the  Colossians 
at  the  request  of  Epaphras,  who  had  informed  him  of  their  danger.  But 
Tychicus  was  about  to  visit  other  places,  which,  though  not  requiring  the 
same  warning  with  Colossas,  yet  abounded  in  Christian  converts.  Most 
of  these  had  been  Heathens,  and  their  hearts  might  be  cheered  and 
strengthened  by  words  addressed  directly  to  themselves  from  the  great 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  whose  facr  chey  had  never  seen,  but  whose  name 
they  had  learned  to  reverence,  and  whose  sufiferings  had  endeared  him 
to  their  love.  These  scattered  Churches  (one  of  which  was  Laodicea)  ^ 
had  very  much  in  common,  and  would  all  be  benefited  by  the  same 
instruction  and  exhortation.  Since  it  was  not  necessary  to  meet  the 
individual  case  of  any  one  of  them,  as  distinct  from  the  rest,  St.  Paul 
wrote  the  same  letter  to  them  all,  but  sent  to  each  a  separate  copy  au- 
thenticated by  the  precious  stamp  of  his  own  autograph  benediction. 
And  the  contents  of  this  circular  epistle  naturally  bore  a  strong  resem- 
blance to  those  of  the  letter  which  he  had  just  concluded  to  the  Colos- 
sians, because  the  thoughts  which  filled  his  heart  at  the  time  would  ne- 
cessarily find  utterance  in  similar  language,  and  because  the  circum- 
stances of  these  Churches  were  in  themselves  very  similar  to  those  of  the 
Colossian  Church,  except  that  they  were  not  infected  with  the  peculiar 
errors  wliich  had  crept  in  at  Colossae.^  The  Epistle  which  he  thus  wrote 
consists  of  two  parts :  first,  a  doctrinal,  and,  secondly,  a  hortatory  portion. 
The  first  part  contains  a  summary,  very  indirectly  conveyed  (chiefly  in 
the  form  of  thanksgiving),  of  the  Christian  doctrines  taught  by  St.  Paul, 
and  is  especially  remarkable  for  the  great  prominence  given  to  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  Mosaic  Law.  The  hortatory  part,  which  has  been  so  dear  to 
Christians  of  every  age  and  country,  enjoins  unity  (especially  between 


Ephesus,  with  which  he  was  himself  so  pecu-  added  as  a  postscript ;  unless  we  suppose  that 

liarly  connected,  should  not  have  been   pre-  St.^aul  there  refers  to  "  the  letter  from  Laodi- 

served  to  us.  cea  "  befoi-e  it  was  actually  written  (as  intend- 

1  It  is  here  assumed  that  the  Epistle  to  the  ing  to  write  it,  and  send  it  by  the  same  mes- 

Colossians  was  written  before  that  (so    called)  senger),  which  he  might  very  well  have  done, 
to   the    Ephesians.      This    appears    probable  ^  It  has  been  objected  to  the  circular  hy- 

from  a  close  examination  of  the  parallel   pas-  pothesis,  that  the  Epistle,  if  meant  as  a  circular, 

sages  in  the  two   Epistles  ;    the  passages   in  would  have  been  addressed  "  to  those  who  are 

Ephesians  bear  marks  of  being  expanded  from  in  Asia."     But  to  this  it  may  be  replied,  that 

those  in  Colossians  ;  and  the  passages  in  Co-  on  our  hypothesis  the  Epistle  was  not  addressed 

lossians  could  not  be  so  well  explained  on  the  to  all  the  churches  in  Proconsukr  Asia,  and 

conyerse  hypothesis,  that  they  were  a  conden-  that  it  was  addressed  to  some  churches  not  in 

sation  of  those  in  Ephesians.      We  have  re-  that  province. 

marked,  however,  in  a  previous  note,  that  we  ^  On  this  part  of  the  subject,  see  Appen- 

must  assume  the  reference   in    Colossians   to  dix  11. 
the  other  epistle   (Col.  iv.   16)   to  have  been 


766 


THE  LIFE  AJSTD  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XX? 


Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians),  the  renunciation  of  Heathen  vices,  and 
the  practice  of  Christian  purity.  It  lays  down  rules  (the  same  as  those 
in  the  Epistle  to  Colossae,  only  in  an  expanded  form)  for  the  performance 
of  the  duties  of  domestic  life,  and  urges  these  new  converts,  in  the  midst 
of  the  perils  which  surrounded  them,  to  continue  steadfast  in  watchfuLness 
and  prayer.  Such  is  the  substance,  and  such  was  most  probably  the  his- 
tory, of  the  following  Epistle  :  — 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  EPHESIANS   (SO   CALLED).^ 
L  1       PAUL,  an  Apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  will  of  God,  To  salutation. 

THE   SAINTS^  WHO   ARE    [iN    LaODICEa],'  AND   WHO    HAVE   FAITH   IN    ChRIST 

Jesus. 

2  Grace  be  to  you  and  peace,  from  God  our  Father,  and  from  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

3  Blessed  be  God,  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  Thanksgiving 

'  '  for  redemp- 

has  given  us*  in  Christ  all  spiritual  blessings  in  the  heavens.*^  knowledge  of 


^  In  the  above  introductory  remarks  it  is 
assumed  that  this  Epistle  was  contemporary 
with  that  to  the  Colossians,  which  is  stated  in 
the  Epistle  itself  (vi.  21 ;  compare  Col.  iv. 
7).  Its  date,  therefore,  is  fixed  by  the  argu- 
ments in  p.  752.  We  may  here  shortly  notice 
the  arguments  which  have  been  advanced  by 
some  German  critics  for  rejecting  the  Epistle 
altogether  as  a  forgery.  Their  objections 
against  its  authenticity  are  principally  the  fol- 
lowing. First,  the  difficulties  respecting  its 
destination,  which  have  been  already  noticed. 
Secondly,  The  want  of  originality  in  its  matter, 
the  substance  of  its  contents  being  found  also 
in  the  Colossians,  or  others  of  St.  Paul's  Epis- 
tles. This  phenomenon  has  been  accounted 
for  above  (p.  765),  and  is  well  explained  by 
Paley  (Horoe  Paullme).  Thirdly,  Certain 
portions  of  the  doctrinal  contents  are  thought 
to  indicate  a  later  origin,  e.  (j.  the  Demonology 
(ii.  2,  and  vi.  12).  Fourthly,  Some  portions 
of  the  style  are  considered  un-Pauline.  Fifth- 
ly, Several  words  are  used  in  a  sense  different 
from  that  which  they  bear  in  St.  Paul's  other 
writings.  These  three  last  classes  of  difficul- 
ties we  cannot  pretend  fully  to  explain,  nor  is 
this  the  place  for  their  discussion ;  but  as  a 
general  answer  to  them  we  may  remark : 
First,  That  if  we  had  a.  fuller  knowledge  of 
the  persons   to  whom,  and   especially  of  the 


amanuensis  by  whom,  the  letter  was  written, 
they  would  probably  vanish.  Secondly,  That 
no  objector  has  yet  suggested  a  satisfactory 
explanation  of  the  origin  of  the  Epistle,  if  it 
were  a  forgery  ;  no  motive  for  forgery  can  be 
detected  in  it ;  it  contains  no  attack  on  post- 
apostolic  forms  of  heresy,  no  indication  of  a 
later  development  of  church  government. 
The  very  want  of  originality  alleged  against 
it  would  not  leave  any  motive  for  its  forgery. 
Thirdly,  It  was  unanimously  received  as  St. 
Paul's  Epistle  by  the  early  church,  and  is 
quoted  by  Polyearp  and  Irenaeus  ;  and,  as  ap- 
pears by  the  lately  discovered  work  of  Hippoly- 
tus  against  heresies  (which  has  appeared  since 
this  was  first  published),  it  is  also  quoted 
most  distinctly  by  Valentinus  (about  120 
A.D.),  who  cites  Eph.  iii.  14,  16,  17,  and  18, 
verbatim. 

'^  For  the  translation  here,  see  note  on 
1  Cor.  i.  2. 

^  See  the  preceding  remarks,  p.  763. 

*  "  Us  "  (here)  includes  both  the  writer  and 
{apparentli/)  the  other  Apostles;  while  "you 
likewise"  (v.  13)  addresses  the  readers  as  di»- 
tinyuished  from  the  uxriter. 

^  Literally,  in  the  heavenli/  places.  This  ex- 
pression is  peculiar  to  the  present  Epistle,  in 
which  it  occurs  five  times. 


'TiAi'.  XXV.  EPISTLE  TO  THE   EPHESIAIJS   (SO   CALLED).  7G7 

i. 
^s^e^ry^^ven  EvGii  as  Hg  cliose  US  ill  Him,  before  the  foundation  of  the     4 

ues.  ^    ^°*'     world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  spotless  in  His  sight.     For     5 
iu  His  love  '  He  predestined  us  to  be  adopted  among  His  children  through 
Jesus  Christ,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  His  will,  that  we  might     6 
praise  and  glorify  His  grace,  wherewith  He  favored^  us  in  His  beloved. 
For  in  Him  we  have  our  redemption  through  His  blood,  even  the  forgive- 
ness  of  our  sins,  in  the  richness  of  His  grace,'  which  He  bestowed  upon 
us  above  measure  ;  and  He  made  known  *  to  us,  in  the  fulness  of  wisdom     8 
and  understanding,  the  mystery  of  His  will,  according  to  His  good  pleas-     9 
ure,  which  He  had   purposed   in  Himself  to  fulfil,  that  it  should  be   10 
dispensed '  in  the  fulness  of  time  ;  ^  to  make  all  things  one '  in  Christ  as 
head,  yea,  both  things  in  heaven  and  things  on  earth  in  Him  ;  in  whom   11 
we  also  receive  the  portion  of  our  lot,®  having  been  predestined  thereto 
according  to  His  purpose,  whose  working  makes  all  fulfil  the  counsel  of 
His  own  will ;  that  unto  His  praise  and  glory  ^  we  might  live,  who  have   12 
lioped  in  Christ  before  ^^  you. 
Thanks  for  And  you,  Hkcwise,  have  hoped  iu  Him,  since  you  heard  the   13 

tht'ir  convcr-  .'        '  '  r  ■>  j 

pr'Lyer'for       mcssagG  of  the  tfuth,  the  Glad-tidings  of  your  salvation  ;  and 
en!'Jient'.  ^       you  bclicved  in  Him,  and  received  His  seal,  the  holy  Spirit 
of  promise  ;  who  is  an  "  earnest  of  our  inheritance,  given  to '"  redeem  that   14 
which  He  hath  purchased,"  to  the  praise  of  His  glory. 

1  We  join  "  in  love  "  with  v.  5.  "  Literally,  for  a  dispensation  [of  it]   which 

^  The   verbal  connection   would   be  more  belongs  to  the  fulness  of  time. 
literally  given  thus:  His  favor  wheremth  He  ''  JjiteraWy,  to  uttite all  things  under  one  head, 

favored  us.  in  union  with  Christ:  so  Chrysostom  explains 

*  Comma  at  the  end  of  verse  7,  colon  in  it.     For  the  doctrine  compare  1  Cor.  xv.  24. 
the  middle  of  v.  8,  and  no  stop  at  the  end  of  *  Literally,  were  portioned  with  our  lot. 

V.  8,  taking  the  verb  transitively.  '  The  original   may   be  considered  as    a 

*  This  is  referred  to  in  iii.  3.      Compare      Hebraism ;  literally,  that  we  should  he  for  the 
"  made  known  to  us  the  mystery,  &c.,"  with      glory-praise  of  Him  ;  compare  verse  6. 

"  made  known   to  me   the  piystery,"   which  i°  This  might  mean,  as  some  take  it,  to  look 

proves  "us"  here  to  correspond  with  "me"  forward  ivith  hope:  but  the  other  meaning 

then?.  appears  most  obvious,  and  best  suits  the  con- 

^  Dispensation.      According  to  most  inter-  text.     Compare  "  went  before  to  ship,"  Acts 

preters  this  expression  is  used  in  this  Epistle  xx.  13. 

1.1  the  sense  of  adjustment,  or /)/-e/)ara</o»;  but  "  Compare   Rom.  viii.  23;   and  note  on 

as  the  meaning  it  bears  elsewhere  in  St.  Paul's  1  Cor.  1.  22. 

writings  (viz.  the  office  of  a  steward  in  dispens-  i^  Not  U7itil  (A.  V.). 

j'lc  his  master's  goods:  see  1  Cor.  ix.  17,  and  ^^  Used  in  the  same  sense  here  as  "the 

of.  Col.  i.  25)  gives  a  very  intelligible  sense  to  church  which  He  purchased"  (Acts  xx.  28). 

the  ))assages  in  this  Epistle,  it  seems  needless  The  metaphor  is,  that  the  gift  of  the  Holy 

to  depart  from  it.     The  meaning  of  the  pres-  Spirit  was  an  earnest  (that  is,  a  part  payment  in 

era  passage  is  best  illustrated  by  iii.  2,  3       -  advance)  of  the  price  required  for  the  full  d&- 


768  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap,  xxt 

i. 

15  Wherefore  I,  also,  since  I  heard  of  your  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus,  and 

16  your  love  to  all  the  saints,  give  thanks  for  you  without  ceasing,  and  make 

17  mention  of  you  in  my  prayers,  beseeching  the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Father  of  glory,  to  give  you  a  spirit  of  wisdom  and  of  in- 

18  sight,  in  the  knowledge  of  Himself;  the  eyes  of  your  understanding^ 
being  filled  with  light,  that  you  may  know  what  is  the  hope  of  His  call- 

19  ing,  and  how  rich  is  the  glory  of  His  inheritance  among  the  saints,  and 
how  surpassing  is  the  power  which  He  has  shown  toward  us  who  believe ; 

20  (for  He  has  dealt  with  us]  in  the  strength  of  that  might  where-  office  and 

diirnity  of 

with  He  wrought  in  Christ,  when  He  raised  Him  from  the  Christ. 

21  dead ;  and  set  Him  on  His  own  right  hand  in  the  heavens,  far  above 
every '^  Principality  and  Power,  and  Might,  and  Domination,  and  every 
name  which  is  named,  not  only  in  this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is 

22  to  come.     And  "  J^  put  ull  IfjmgS  nuHtX  pis  fjC^l,"  ^  and  gave  Him 

23  to  be  sovereign  head  of  the  Church,  which  is  His  body  ;  the  *  Fulness  of 
ii.  1    Him  who  fills  all  things  everywhere  with  Himself.     And  you,  They  had 

'-'  •'  •"  been  awa- 

likewise,  He  raised  from  death '  to  life,  when  you  were  dead  in  Healhe'Jii'sm 

2  transgressions  and  sins  ;  wherein  once  you  walked  according  grace, 

to  the  course  of  this  ®  world,  and  obeyed  the  Ruler  of  the  Powers  of  the 
Air,''  even  the  Spirit  who  is  now  working  in  the  children  of  disobedience  ; 

3  amongst  whom  we  also,  in  times  past,  lived,  all  of  us,  in  fleshy  lusts, 
fulfilling  the  desires  of  our  flesh  and  of  our  imagination,  and  were  by 

4  nature  children  of  wrath,  no  less  than  others.*     But  God,  who  is  rich  in 

5  mercy,  because  of  the  great  love  wherewith  He  loved  us,  even   when 
we  were  dead  in  sin,  called  us  to  share  the  life  of  Christ  (by  grace  you 

liverance  of  those  who  had  been  slaves  of  sin,  of  Christ,  that  is,  the  full  manifestation  of  His 

but  now  were  purchased   for  the  service  of  being,    because   penetrated   by   His   life,   and 

God.  living  only  in  Him.     It  should  be  observed 

^  The    majority  of   MSS.   read   "heart,"  that  the  Church  is  here  spoken  of  so  far  forth 

which  would  give  the  less  usual  sense,  the  eyes  as  it  corresponds  to  its  ideal. 
of  your  heart.  ^  The  sentence  (in  the  original)  is  left  un- 

2  See  Col.  i.  16,  and  note.  finished  in  the  rapidity  of  dictation ;  but  the 

^  Ps.  viii.  6  (LXX.),  quoted   in   the   same  verb  is  easily  supplied  for  the  context. 
Messianic  sense,  1  Cor.  xv.  27,  and  Heb.  ii.  8.  ^  Compare  2  Cor.  iv.  4,  1  Cor.  i.  20,  &c. 

Compare  also  Ps.  ex.  I.  ^  In   the   Eabbinical   theology  evil   spirits 

*  We  see  here  again  the  same  allusion  to  were  designated  as  the  "  Powers  of  the  Air." 

the  technical  use  of  the  word  Pleroma  by  false  St.  Paul  is  here  again  probably  alluding  to 

teachers  as  in  Col.  ii.  9,  10.      St.  Paul  there  the  language  of  those  teachers  against  whom 

asserts,    that  not   the   angelic  hierarchy,  but  he  wrote  to  the  Colossians. 
Christ  himself,  is  the  true  fulness  of  the  God-  ^  Literally,  the  rest  of  mankind,!,  e.  unbdiev 

head ;  and  here  that  the  Church  is  the  fulness  ers.     Compare  1  Thess.  iv.  13. 


oHAP.xxT.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  EPELESIANS   (SO   CALLED).  769 

a 

are  saved)  ;  and  iu^  Christ  Jesus  He  raised  us  up  with  Him  fiom  the     6 

dead,  and  seated  us  with  Him  in  the  heavens  ;  that,  in  the  ages  which     T 
are  coming,^  He  might  manifest  the  surpassing  riches  of  His  grace,  show- 
ing kindness  toward  us  in  Christ  Jesus.     For  by  grace  you  are  saved,     8 
through  faith  ;   and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God  ;   not     9 
won  by  works,  lest  any  man  should  boast.     For  we  are  His  workman-   10 
ship,  created  in  Christ  Jesus  to  do  good  works,  which  God  has  prepared  * 
that  we  should  walk  therein, 
andincorpo-         Whercforc   remember  that  you,  who  once  were  reckoned   11 

rated  into 

God's  Israel,     amoug  camal   Gentiles,  who  are  called  the  Uncircumcision 
by  that  which  calls  itself  the  Circumcision  (a  circumcision  of  the  flesh,* 
made  by  the  hands  of  man)  —  that  in  those  times  you  were  shut  out  from   U 
Christ,  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the 
covenants  *  of  the   promise,  having   no  hope,  and  without  God  in  the 
world.     But  now,  in  Christ  Jesus,  ye,  who  were  once  far  off,  have  been   ig 
The  Law         brought  near  through  the  blood  of  Christ.     For  He  is  our   14 
Jews  from       pcacc,  wlio  lias  made  both  one,®  and  has  broken  down  the' 

Gentiles 

abolished.       ^all  which  parted  us;  for,  in  His^  flesh.  He  destroyed  the   15 
ground  of  our  enmity,  the  law  of  enacted  ordinances ;  that  so,  making  16 
peace  between  us,  out  of  both  He  might  create^  in  himself  one  new  man; 
and  that,  by  His  cross,  He  might  reconcile  both,  in  one  body,  unto  God,   17 
having  slain  their  enmity  thereby.     And  when  He  came,  He  published 
the  Glad-tidings  of  peace  to  you  that  were  far  off,  and  to  them  that  were 
near.    For  through  Him  we  both  have  power  to  approach  the  Father  in  the   18 
fellowship  ^®  of  one  Spirit.    Now,  therefore,  you  are  no  more  strangers  and  19 

^  The  meaning  is,  that  Christians  share  in  ^  The  allusion  is  evidently  to  that  "  balos- 

their  Lord's  glorification,  and  dwell  with  Him  trade  of  stone  "  described  by  Josephus,  which 

in  heaven,  in  so  far  as  they  are  united  with  separated  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles  from  the 

Him.  holier  portion  of  the  Temple,    and  which  it 

'^  Viz.  the  time  of  Christ's  perfect  triumph  was  death   for  a   Gentile   to   pass.     See   Ch. 

over  evil,  always  contemplated   in   the  New  XXI.  p.  630. 
Testament  as  near  at  hand.  *  t.  e.  by  His  death,  as  e:^plained  by  the 

^  i.  e.  God,  by  the  laws  of  His  Providence,  parallel  passage.  Col.  i.  22. 
has  prepared  opportunities  of  doing  good  for  *  Christians  are  created  in  Christ  (see  above, 

every  Christian.  v.  10),  i.  e.  their  union  with  Christ  is  the  es- 

*  Meaning  a  circumcision  of  the  flesh,  not  of  sential  condition  of  their  Christian  existence. 
the  spirit, — made  by  man's  hands,  not  by  God's.  i°  "In  one  spirit."     It  is  sometimes  im- 

^  Covenants  of  the  promise.     Compare  Gal.  possible  to   translate  such  expressions   acco- 

iii.  16,  and  Rom.  ix.  4.  rately,  except  by  a  periphrasis. 

®  Both,  viz.  Jews  and  Gentiles. 
49 


770  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.xxt. 


i. 


ni 


sojourners,  but  fellow-citizens  of  the  saints,  and  members  of  They  are  bniit 

into  the  tem- 

20  God's  household.     You  are  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  p'®  °^  ^°^- 
Apostles  and  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone  ; 

21  in  whom   all   the  building,  fitly  framed  together,  grows  into  a  temple 

22  hallowed  by  the  ^  indwelling  of  the  Lord.  And  in  Him,  not  others  only,^ 
but  you  also,  are  built  up  together,  to  make  a  house  wherein  God  may 
dwell  by  the'  presence  of  His  Spirit. 

1  Wherefore  I,  Paul,  who,  for  maintaining  the  cause  of  you  The  mystery 

'  '  '  °  •'  of  universal 

2  Gentiles,  am  the  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ  *  —  for '  I  suppose  chltaed"by™' 
that  you  have  heard  of  the  stewardship  of  God's  grace,  which  oner  for'it!*' 

3  was  given  me  for  you  ;  and  how,  by  revelation,  was^  made  known  to  me 

4  the  mystery  (as  I  have  already  shortly '  written  to  you ;  so  that,  when 
you  read,  you  may  perceive  my  understanding  in  the  mystery  of  Christ), 

5  which,  in  the  generations  of  old,  was  not  made  known  to  the  sons  of  men, 
as  it  has  now  been  revealed  by  the  indwelling^  of  the  Spirit,  to  His  holy 

6  Apostles  and  Prophets  ;  to  wit,  that  the  Gentiles  are  heirs  of  the  same 
inheritance,  and  members  of  the  same  body,  and  partakers  of  the  '  same 
promise  in  Christ,  by  means  of  the  Glad-tidings. 

7  And  of  this  Glad-tidings  I  was  made  a  ministering  servant,  according 
to  the  gift  of  the  grace  of  God,  which  was  given  me  in  the  full  measure 

8  of  His  mighty  working ;  to  me,  I  say,  who  am  less  than  the  least  of  all  the 
saints,  this  grace  was  given,  to  bear  among  the  Gentiles  the  Glad-tidings 

9  of  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ,  and  to  bring  light  to  all,  that  they 
might  behold  what  is  the  stewardship  ^^  of  the  mystery  which,  from  the 

10  ages  of  old,  has  been  hid  in  God,  the  maker  of  all  things ; "  that  now, 

11  by  the  Church,^^  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God  might  be  made  known  to 

^  "  Holy  in  the  Lord."     See  the  preceding  •  In  the  MSS.  the  yerb  is  passive, 

note.  ^  The  reference  is  to  chap.  i.  9,  10. 

2  You  as  well  as  others.  *  See  notes  on  verses  18  and  21  above. 

'  Compare  1  Cor.  iii.  16 ;  and  see  note  1.  •  "  His  "  is  omitted  by  the  best  MSS. 

"In  the  spirit"   might,   however,  be  taken  i°  The  best  MSS.  have  s^ewarc/s/o/j,  notyeZ- 

(with   Olshauscn  and  others)   merely  as  an  lowship.     See  note  on  i.  10.    St.  Paul  displayed 

antithesis  to  "  in  the  flesh."  the  nature  of  his  "  stewardship  "  by  the  man- 

*  The  sentence  is  abruptly  broken  off  here,  ner  in  which  he  discharged  its  duties.  Coin- 
but  carried  on  again  at  v.  13.     The  whole  pas-  pare  1  Cor.  ix.  17,  and  2  Cor.  iv.  and  v, 

sage  bears  evident  marks  of  the  rapidity  of  ^^  "By  Jesus  Christ"  is  not  in  the  be.st 

dictation.  MSS. 

*  Literally,  if,  as  I  suppose  you  have  heard  of  ^^  i.  e.  by  the  union  of  all  mankind  in  the 
the  office  of  dispensing  (see  note  on  i.  10)  the  Church.  That  which  calls  forth  the  expres- 
grace  of  God  which  wiis  given  me  for  you.  sions  of  rapturous  admiration  here,  and  in  the 


CHJLP.  XXV.  EPISTLE   TO   THE   EPHBSIANS  (SO   CALLED).  771 

iiL 

the  Principalities  and  Powers  in  the  heavens,  according  to  His  eternal 

purpose,  which  He  wrought  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  ;  in  whom  we  can    12 

approach  without  fear  to  God,  in  trustful  confidence,  through  faith  in 

Him. 

He  prajs  for        Whcrcforc  I  pray  that  I  may  not  faint  under  my  sufferings    13 

himself  and  i  •    i  i  -n 

them, that      for  you,  which  are  your  glory.     For  this  cause  I  bend  my    id 

they  may  be  *^  •/  a        j  j      j.^ 

Btrengthened   j^j^g^g  \^q^qyq  the  Father,'  whose  children  2  all  are  called  in   15 

heaven  and  in  earth,  beseeching  Him,  that,  in  the  richness  of  His  glory,   16 

MUghtened.     ^^  would  grant  you  strength  by  the  entrance  of  His  Spirit  into 

your  inner  man,  that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith  ;  that  having   17 

your  root  and  your  foundation  in  love,  you  may  be  enabled,  with  all  the    18 

saints,  to  comprehend  the  breadth  and  length,  and  depth  and  height 

thereof ;  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge,'  that   19 

you  may  be  filled  therewith,  even  to  the  measure  of*  the  fulness  of  God. 

Doxoiogy.     Now  unto  Him  who  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly,  above   20 

all  that  we  ask  or  think,  in  the  power  of  his  might  which  works  within 

us,  —  unto  Him,  in  Christ  Jesus,  be  glory  in  the  Church,  even  to  all  the   21 

generations  of  the  age  of  ages.     Amen. 

iv. 
Exhortation         ^•>  therefore,  the  Lord's  prisoner,  exhort  you  to  walk  worthy     1 

Diff';rent  gift,  of  thc  Calling  whcrewitli  you  were  called  ;    with  all  lowli-     9 

anrt  offices 

to"vuiwup'°*  ness,*   and    gentleness,    and    long-suffering,  forbearing    one 

another  in  love,  striving  to  maintain  the  unity  of  the  Spirit,  3 
bound  together  with  the  bond  of  peace.  You  are  one  body  and  one  4 
spirit,  even  as  you  were  called  to  share  one  common  hope ;  you  have  5 
one  Lord,  you  have  one  faith,  you  have  one  baptism  ;  you  have  one  God  6 
and  Father  of  all,  who  is  over  all,  and  works  through  all,  and  dwells  in 
all.*  But  each  one  of  us  received  the  gift  of  grace  which  he  possesses  7 
according  to  the  measure  "^  wherein  it  was  given  by  Christ.     Wherefore 

similar  passage  in   Romans   (xi.   33),  is   the  might    be   literally  rendered  from  whom  every 

divine   plan  of   including   all   mankind   in   a  fatherhood  in  heaven  and  earth  is  named;  i.  e. 

universal  redemption.  the  very  name  of  fatherhood  refers  us  back  to 

1  The  words,  "of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  God  as  the  father  of  all.  The  A.  V.  is  incor- 
are  not  in  the  best  MSS.  rect,  and  would  require  the  definite  article. 

2  The  sense  depends  on  a  paronomasia,  the  *  Again  we  observe  an  apparent  allusion  to 
word  for  "family"  (A.  V.)  meaning  a  race  de-  the  technical  employment  of  the  words  Gnosis 
scendedfrom  a  common  ancestor.  Compare  Luke  and  Pbroma.  *  Unto,  n»t  xvith  (A.  V.). 
ii.   4.       If  fatherhood    had   this    meaning    in  ^  See  note  on  Col.  iii.  12. 

English  (as   it  might  have  had,  according  to  ^  You  omitted  in  best  MSS. 

the    analogy  of  "a    brotherhood"),  the  verse  ^  This  verse  is  parallel   to   Rom.  xii.   6^ 


772  THE  LIFE  AXD  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  caAv.xxv 

IT. 

8  it  is»  written :  ''Wi^m  pe  fajent  ui^  oit  "^x^li,  '^t  Itij  tn^lWxin  cap- 

9  ikbtt  aub  QUhz  gifts  Uixto  m^Il."     Now  that  word  "  J^J  toeiti  UjJ,"  what 

10  saith  it,  but  that  He  first  came  down  to  the  earth  below  ?  Yea,  He  who 
came  down  is  the  same  who  is  gone  up,  far  above  all  the  heavens,  that  He 

11  might  fill  all  things.^  And  He  gave  some  to  be  apostles,'  and  some  prophets, 

12  and  some  evangelists,  and  some  pastors  and  teachers ;  for  the  perfecting 
of  the  saints,  to  labor  *  in  their  appointed  service,  to  build  up  the  body 

13  of  Christ ;  till  we  all  attain  the  same  *  faith  and  knowledge  of  the  Son  of 
God,  and  reach  the  stature  of  manhood,®  and  be  of  ripe  age  to  receive 

14  the  fulness  of  Christ ; '  that  we  should  no  longer  be  children,  tossed  to 
and  fro,  and  blown  round  by  every  shifting  current  of  teaching,  tricked 
by  the  sleight  of  men,  and  led  astray  into  the  snares '  of  the  cunning ; 

16   but  that  we  should  live  in  truth  and  love,  and  should  grow  up  in  every 

16  part  ^  to  the  measure  of  His  ^^  growth,  who  is  our  head,  even  Christ.  From 
whom  "  the  whole  body  (being  knit  together,  and  compacted  by  all  its 
joints)  derives  its  continued  growth  in  the  working  of  His  bounty,  which 
supplies  its  needs,  according  to  the  measure  of  each  several  part,  that  it 
may  build  itself  up  in  love. 

17  This  I  say,  therefore,  and  adjure  you  in  the  Lord,  to  live  no  Exhortation 
longer  like  other  Gentiles,  whose  minds  are  filled  with  folly,  Qe^^g^  ^^^ 

18  whose  understandhig  is  darkened,  who  are  estranged  from  the  renewa™*"^" 
life  of  God   because  of  the  ignorance  which  is  in  them,  through  the 

19  blindness  of  their  hearts ;  who,  being  past  feeling,  have  given  themselves 

"  having  gifts  differing  according  to  the  grace  *  Literally,  a  man  of  mature  age. 

which  God  has  given  us."    The  whole  context  ''  See  again  note  on  iii.  19. 

of  the  two  passages  also  throws  light  on  both.  ^  Literally,  cunningly  toward  the  snares  of 

1  Literally,  it  says,  i.  e.  the  Scripture  says.  misleading  error. 
The  quotation  is  from  Ps.  Ixviii.  18,  but  slight-  ®  "  In  every  part."     See  following  verse, 

ly  altered,  so  as  to  correspond  neither  with  the  i"  To  grow  into  Him  is  to  grow  to  the  standard 

Hebrew  nor  with  the  Scptuagint.      Our  two  of  His  groivth. 

authorized  versions  of  the  Psalms  have  here  de-  ^^  Literally  rendered,  this  is  from  whom  all 

parted  from  the  original,  in  order  to  follow  the  the  body  (being  knit  together  and  compacted  by 

present  passage;  probably  on  the  supposition  every  joint),  according  to  the  toorking  of  his  boun- 

that  St.  Paul  quoted  from  some  older  reading.  teous  providing  in  the  measure  of  each  several  part, 

^  Again  we  remark  an  allusion  to  the  doc-  continues  the  growth  of  the  body.     Compare  the 

trine  of  the  Pleroma.     Compare  i.  23.  parallel  passage.  Col.  ii.   19,  from  whom   the 

'On   this  classification   of  church  offices,  whole  body,  by  the  joints  which  bind  it,  draws  full 

see  p.  381.  supplies  for  its  needs,  and  is  knit  tofjether  and 

*  The  word  does  not  mean  "  the  ministry  "  increases  in  godly  growth.     A  child  derives  its 

(A.  V.  I  life  from  its  father,  and  grows  up  to  the  stand- 

^  Literally,  the  oneness  of  the  faith  and  of  the  ard  of  its  father's  growth. 
knowledge. 


jHiLP.  x.vv.  EPISTLE  TO   THE   EPHESIANS   (SO   CALLED).  773 

iv. 

over  to  lasciviousness,  to  work  all  uncleanness  in  lust.*     But  you  have  20 

not  so  learned  Christ ;  if,  indeed,  you  have  heard  His  voice,  and  been  21 

taught  in  Him,  as  the  truth  is  in  Jesus  ;  to  forsake  your  former  life,  and  22 
put  off  the  old  man,  whose  way  is '^  destruction,  following  the  desires 

which  deceive  ;  and  to  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your  mind,  and  to  put  23 

on  the  new  man,  created  after  God's  likeness,  in  the  righteousness  and  24 

Against  holiness  of  the  Truth.     Wherefore,  putting  away  lying,  speak  25 

•everal  speci- 
fied vices.        every  man  truth  with  his  neighbor  ;  for  we  are  members  one 

of  another.     "  '^t  gC  aixgrg,  anb  sin  naV*  *     Let  not  the  sun  go  down  26,27 

upon  your  wrath,  nor  give  away  to  the  Devil.     Let  the  robber*  rob  no  28 

more,  but  rather  let  him  labor,  working  to  good  purpose  with  his  hands, 

that  he  may  have  somewhat  to  sliare  with  the  needy.     Prom  your  mouth   29 

let  no  filthy  words   come  forth,  but  such  as  may  build  up '  the  Church 

according  to  its  need,  and  give  a  blessing  to  the  hearers.     And  grieve   30 

not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  who  was  given  to  seal  you®  for  the  day  of 

redemption.     Let  all  bitterness,  and  passion,  and  anger,  and  clamor,  and   31 

evil-speaking,  be  put  away  from  you,  with  all  malice  ;  and  be  "^  kind  one   32 

to*chri8t-Hke    ^^  another,  tender-hearted,  forgiving  one  another,  even  as  God 

mdlove^"      in  Christ  has  forgiven  you.     Therefore  be  followers  of  God's  v.  1 

example,  as  the  children  of  His  love.     And  walk  in  love,  as  Christ  also     2 

loved  us,  and  gave  Himself  for  us,  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  unto  God, 

for  '*  an  obor  0f  stowlmss."' 

puri^'a^"         ^'^*'  ^^  befits  the  saints,  let  not  fornication  or  any  kind  of    8 


^  For  this  see  note  on  I  Cor.  t.  11  ;  and  charch  "  or  something  equivalent),  .Aot  it  may 

compare  chap.  t.  3.  give  a  blessing  to  the  hearers. 

2  Not  "corrupt"  (A.  V.),  but  going  on  in  •  The    tense    is    mistranslated     in   A.  V. 

the  voay  of  ruin.  Literally,  in  whom  you  were  sealed.     The  mean- 

*  Ps.  iv.  4  (LXX.).  ing  is  rendered  evident  by  i.  13,  14.     It  is  the 

*  Him  that  steals  (present).  The  A.  V.  constant  doctrine  of  St.  Paul  that  the  gift  of 
would  require  the  aorist.  It  should  be  reraem-  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a  seal  or  mark  of  Christ's 
bered  that  the  stealers  (klephts)  of  the  N.  T.  redeemed,  which  was  given  them  at  their 
were  not  what  we  should  now  call  thieves  (as  conversion  and  reception  into  the  Church,  as  a 
t be  word  is  generally  rendered  in  A.  V.),  but  foretaste  of  their  full  redemption.  Compare 
bandits ;  and  there  is  nothing  strange  in  find-  Rom.  viii.  23. 

ing  such  persons  numerous  in  the  provincial  ^  Literally,  "  become  ye."     This  word  is 

towns  among  the  mountains  of  Asia  Minor.  sometimes  used  as  simply  equivalent  to  "  bo 

See  p.  145.  ye."     Compare  v.  17. 

*  Literally  sucA  as  is  good  for  needful  build-  ^  Gen.  viii.  21  (LXX.)  :  see  Phil.  ir.  18, 
tag    up    ("building"    always    implies    "the  where  it  is  also  quoted. 


774 


THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXV 


4  uncleanness  or  lust  ^  be  so  much  as  named  among  you ;  nor  other  sins  of 

Heatheu  dark- 

filthiness,  nor  buffoonery,  nor  ribald  jesting,  for  such  speech  °««»; 

5  beseems  you  not,  but  rather  thanksgiving.  Yea,  this  you  know ;  for  you 
have  learned  that  no  fornicator,  or  impure  or  lustful  man,  who  is  nothing 
better  than  an  ^  idolater,  has  any  inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ 

6  and  God.  Let  no  man  mislead  you  by  empty  *  words  ;  for  these  are  the 
deeds  *  which  bring  the  wrath  of  God  upon  the  children  of  disobedience. 

T,  8  Be  not  ye,  therefore,  partakers  with  them ;  for  you  once  were  darkness, 

9  but  now  are  light  in  the  Lord.     Walk  as  children  of  light ;  for  the  fruits 

10  of  light*  are  in  all  goodness,  and  righteousness,  and  truth.    Examine  well 

11  what  is  acceptable  to  the  Lord,  and  have  no  fellowship  with 

which  must  be 

the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness,  yea,  rather  expose  their  foul-  rebuked.by 

•^  '  the  example 

12  ness.*     For,  concerning  the  secret  deeds  of  the  Heathen,'^  it  is  nensofch^' 

13  shameful  even  to  speak ;  yet  all  these  things,  when  exposed, 

14  are  made  manifest  by  the  shining  of  the  light ;  for  whatsoever  is  made 
manifest  becomes  light.®     Wherefore  it  is  written,'      ^UJalu,  tg0U  lljat 

sUepcst,  nnh  arise  ixom  i^t  beab,  unh  Christ  s^all  sbim  upan 


1  It  has  been  before  remarked  that  this 
passage  is  conclusive  as  to  the  use  of  this  par- 
ticular Greek  word  by  St.  Paul ;  for  what 
intelligible  sense  is  there  in  saying  that  "  cov- 
etousness"  must  not  be  so  much  as  named? 
See  note  on  1  Cor.  v.  H.  It  was  there 
remarked  that  the  use  of  concupiscence  in 
English  is  an  analogous  case ;  it  might  be 
added  that  the  word  lust  itself  is  likewise  used 
in  both  senses ;  c.  g.  "  the  lust  of  gold." 

[Since  our  First  Edition,  we  are  glad  to  see 
that  this  old  view  of  the  Pauline  usage  of 
the  word  has  been  adopted  by  Prof.  Jowett 
and  Prof.  Stanley,  in  their  notes  on  Rom.  i. 
29,  and  1  Cor.  v.  11,  respectively,  and  by  Dean 
Trench  in  his  Sijnonpnes.] 

■^  See  note  on  Col.  iii.  5. 

2  Namely,  reasonings  to  prove  the  sins  of 
impurity  innocent.  See  1  Cor.  vi.  12-20,  and 
tho  note. 

*  Viz.,  the  sins  of  impurity.  Compare 
Rom.  i.  24-27. 

*  Light,  not  Spirit,  is  the  reading  of  the 
best  MSS. 


•  The  verb  means  to  lay  bare  the  real  chanK- 
terqfa  thing  by  exposing  it  to  open  scrutiny. 

"<  "  What  is  done  by  them,"  i.e.  the  Heathen. 

'  Such  appears  to  be  the  meaning  of  this 
difficult  verse,  viz.,  that,  when  the  light  falls 
on  any  object,  the  object  itself  reflects  the 
rays ;  implying  that  moral  evil  will  be  recog- 
nized as  evil  by  the  conscience,  if  it  is  shown 
in  its  true  colors  by  being  brought  into  con- 
trast with  the  laws  of  pure  morality.  The 
preceding  "  is  made  manifest  "  does  not  allow 
us  to  translate  the  same  foim  immediately 
following  as  active  (as  A.  V.). 

^  See  note  on  iv.  8. 

w  There  is  no  verse  exactly  corresponding 
with  this  in  the  O.  T.  But  Isaiah  Ix.  1  is 
perhaps  referred  to.  We  must  remember, 
however,  that  there  is  no  proof  that  St.  Paul 
intends  (either  here  or  1  Cor.  ii.  9)  to  quota 
the  Old  Testament.  Some  have  supposed  that 
he  is  quoting  a  Christian  hymn  ;  others,  % 
saying  of  our  Lord  (as  at  Acts  xx.  35.) 


CHAP.  XXV. 


EPISTLE  TO   THE  EPHESIAlsS   (SO   CALLED), 


775 


T. 

See,  then,  that  you  walk  ^  without  stumbling,  not  in  folly,  but  in   1& 
wisdom,  forestalling  ^  opportunity,  because  the  times  are  evil.     Therefore,  16,it 
be  not  without  understanding,  but  learn  to  know  what  the  will  of  the 
Lord  is. 
Festive  meet-        Be  uot  druuk  with  wiuc,  like  those'  who  live  riotously;  but   18 

ings,  faoiv  to 

be  celebrated,  be  filled  with  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit,  when  you  speak  one 
to  another.*     Let  your  singing  be  of  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual   19 
songs ;  and  make  melody  with  the  music  of  your  hearts,  to  the  Lord.' 
And  at  all  times,  for  all  thiugs  which  befall  you,  give  thanks  to  our  God   20 
and  Father,  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Duties  of  Submit  yourselves  one  to  another  in  the  fear  of  Christ.'   21 

wives  and 

husbands.       Wivcs,  submit  yourselves  to  your  husbands,  as  unto  the  Lord  ;  22 

for  the  husband  is  head  of  the  wife,  even  as  Christ  is  head  of  the  Church,'  23 

His  body,  which  He  saves.*     But,'  as  the  Church  submits  itself  to  Christ,  24 
60  let  the  wives  submit  themselves  to  their  husbands  in  all  things. 

Husbands,  love  your   wives,  as   Christ  also  loved    the    Church,   and  25 

gave  Himself  for  it,  that,  having  purified  it  by  the  water  wherein  it  is  26 

washed,*"  He  might  hallow  it  by  the  indwelling  of  the  word  of  God ;  that  27 


^  Dean  Ellicott's  translation,  "  See  then 
how  ye  walk  with  exactness,"  is  literally  accn- 
rate,  tiiough  scarcely  intelligible  to  an  English 
reader. 

^  See  Col.  iv.  5,  and  note. 

'  Literally,  in  doing  which  is  riotous  living. 

*  We  put  a  full  stop  after  to  one  another 
(here),  as  Col.  iii.  16. 

^  Ihroughout  the  whole  passage  there  is  a 
contrast  implied  between  the  Heathen  and  the 
Christian  practice,  q.  d.  When  you  meet,  let 
your  enjoyment  consist,  not  iti  fulness  of  wine,  but 
fulntss  of  the  Spirit  ;  let  your  soncjs  be,  not  the 
drinking-songs  of  heathen  feasts,  but  psalitis  and 
hymns;  and  their  accompaniment,  not  the  music 
of  the  lyre,  but  the  melody  of  the  heart  ;  while  you 
sing  them  to  the  praise,  not  of  Bacchus  or  Venus, 
but  of  the  Lord  Jejsus  Christ.  For  the  construc- 
tion and  punctuation,  see  Col.  iii.  16. 

^  Christ  is  the  reading  of  the  best  MSS. 
That  this  compreliends  all  the  special  relations 
of  subjection  which  follow  (and  should  be 
joined  with  what  follows)  is  shown  by  the 
omission  oi  submit  yourselves  (in  the  next  verse) 


by  the  best  MSS. ;  an  omission  to  which 
Jerome  testifies.  The  transition  of  participial 
into  imperative  clauses  is  according  to  the 
analogy  of  the  similar  hortatory  passage, 
Rom.  xii.  8  to  19. 

''  This  statement  occurs  1  Cor.  ii.  3  almost 
verbatim. 

*  The  literal  English  is,^  ts  the  deliverer  of 
his  body ;  and  an  analogy  is  implied  to  the  con- 
jugal relation,  in  which  the  husband  maintains 
and  cherishes  the  wife. 

^  The  conjunction  cannot  be  translated 
"therefore"  (A.  V.). 

1*^  "The  water"  (not  simply  "water"); 
literally,  by  the  laver  of  the  water,  equivalent  to 
laver  of  regeneration  (Titus  iii.  5).  The  follow- 
ing in  the  word  is  exceedingly  diflScult.  Chrys- 
ostom  and  the  patristic  commentators  general- 
ly explain  it  of  the  formula  of  baptism ;  De 
Wette  takes  the  same  view.  But  see  St.  Paul's 
use  of  the  same  expression  elsewhere,  Rom.  x. 
8,  X.  17,  also  Eph.  vi.  17  ;  and  moreover,  as 
Winer  and  Meyer  have  remarked,  the  junction 
of  "  in  the  word  "  with  the  verb  l«tter  gaits 


776  THE  LIFE  AIS:D  epistles  of   ST.   PAUL.  CHAP.xxf. 

T. 

28  He  might  Himself^  present  unto  Himself^  the  Church  in  stainless  glory, 
not  having  spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing  ;  but  that  it  should  be  holy 
and  unblemished.  In  like  manner,  husbands  ought  to  love  their  wives  as 
they  love  their  own  bodies  ;  for  He  that  loves  his  wife  does  but  love  him- 

29  self:  and  a  man  never  hated  his  own  flesh,  but  nourishes  and  cherishes 
B0,3l  it,  as  Christ'  also  the  Church  ;  for  we  are  members  of  His  body.^        Jfor 

ffjb  tRUBt  sljall  a  man  kak  Ijb  fatfj^r  nxitj  Ijb  mofljcr,  aiitr  sljall 

32  cknbt  unia  |^b  kih,  autr  tijijg  tlxra  sljall  hz  ont  fclj."^     This 

33  mystery  is  great,  but  I  ^  speak  of  Christ  and  of  the  Church.  Neverthe- 
less, let  every  one  of  you  individually  "^  so  love  his  wife  even  as  himself, 
and  let  the  wife  see  that  she  reverence  her  husband. 

▼i.  1       Children,  obey  your  parents  in  the  Lord  ;  for  this  is  right.  DutieBofchu- 

2  ''p0jt0r  1^2  fallj^r  an!£r  lljg  motljer,"^  which  is  the  first  pa?ente. 

3  commandment  with  ^  promise  :  ''  Cljat  it  mag  ht  faj^II  fcoil^  t\in,  RXliJ 

t^Ott  s^all  libt  long  np0n  il^t  ^artlj."  ^^ 

4  And  ye,  fathers,  vex  not  your  children  ;  but  bring  them  up  in  such 
training  and  correction  as  befits  the  servants  of  the  Lord." 

5  Bondsmen,  obey  your  earthly  masters  with  anxiety  and  self-  Duties  of 

slaves  and 

6  distrust,^^  in  singleness  of  heart,  as  unto  Christ ;  not  with  eye-  masters. 
service,  as  men-pleasers,  but  as  bondsmen  of  Christ,  doing  the  will  of 

7  God  from  the  soul.     With  good  will  fulfilling  your  service,  as  to  the  Lord 

8  our  master,^'  and  not  to  men.    For  you  know  that  whatever  good  any  man 
does,  the  same  shall  he  receive  from  the  Lord,  whether  he  be  bond  or  free. 

the  Greek.    On  this  view,  the  meaning  is  that  ^  The  pronoun  is  emphatic :  but  I,  whik  1 

the  Church,  having  been  purified  by  the  waters  quote  these  words  out  of  the  Scriptures,  use  them 

of  baptism,  is  hallowed  by  the  revelation  of  in  a  higher  sense. 

the    mind  of   God  imparted    to  it,   whether  "^  In    your    individual   capacity,  contrasted 

mediately  or  immediately.      Compare    Heb,  with  the  previous  collective  view  of  the  mem- 

iv.  12.  13.  bers  of  the  Church  as  the  bride  of  Christ. 
1  The  best  MSS,  read  thus.  *  Ex.  xx.  12,  and  Deut.  v.  16  (LXX.). 

*  The  Church  is  compared  to  a  bride,  as  ®  Literally,  in  a  promise.      The  command 
2  Cor.  xi.  2.  being  (as  it  were)  set  in  a  promise. 

8  The  best  MSS.  read  Christ.  i"  Ex.  xx.  12,  and  Deut.  v.  16  (LXX.  not 

*  The  words  "  of  his  flesh  and  of  his  bones  "      exactly  verbatim). 

are  not  found  in  the  MSS.  of  highest  authority  "  The  word  lord  implies  the  idea  of  ser- 

(A.  and  B.).      They  may  have  easily   been  vants. 

introduced  from  the  Septuagint,  where  they  ^  "With    fear  and   trembling"  haa    ihii 

occur  immediately  before  the  following  quota-  meaning  in  St.  Paul's  language.      Compar* 

tion,  viz.  at  Gen.  ii.  23.  1  Cor.  ii.  3. 

*  Gen.  ii.  24  (LXX.).  ^'  See  note  on  Col.  iii.  25. 


CHAP.  XXV.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  EPHESIANS   (SO   CALLED).  777 

n. 

And  ye,  masters,  do  in  like  manner  by  them,  and  abstain  from  threats ;     9 

knowing  that  your  own  ^  Master  is  in  heaven,  and  that  with  Him  is  no 
respect  of  persons. 

Kxhortation         Finally,  my  brethren,  let  your  hearts  be  strengthened  in  the   10 
chri^athilf ''^^    Lord,'^  and  in  the  conquering  power  of  His  might.    Put  on  the   11 

armor. 

whole  armor  of  God,  that  you  may  be  able   to  stand  firm 
against  the  wiles  of  the  Devil.     For  the  adversaries  with  whom  we  wrestle   12 
are  not  flesh  and  blood,  but  they  are'  the  Principalities,  the  Powers,  and 
the   Sovereigns   of   this*    present   darkness,  the    spirits   of  evil  in  the 
heavens.     Wherefore,  take  up  with  you  to  the  battle  *  the  whole  armor   13 
of  God,  that  you  may  be  able  to  withstand  them  in  the  evil  day,  and, 
having  ^  overthrown  them  all,  to  stand  unshaken.     Stand,  therefore,  girt   14 
with  the  belt  of  truth,  and  wearing  the  breastplate  of  rigliteousness,  and   15 
shod  as  ready  messengers  of  the  Glad-tidings  of  peace :  and  take  up  to   16 
cover  you '  the  shield  of  faith,  wherewith  you  shall  be  able  to  quench  all 
the  fiery  darts  of  the  Evil  One.     Take,  likewise,  the  helmet  of  salvation,*   17 
and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God.* 
To  pray  for  Continue  to  pray  at  every  season  with  all  earnestness  of  sup-  18 

Paul.  plication  in  the  Spirit ;  and  to  this  end  be  watchful  with  all 

perseverance  in  prayer  for  all  the  saints  ;  and  for  me,  that  utterance  may   19 
be  given  me,  to  open  my  mouth  and  make  known  with  boldness  the   20 
mystery  of  the  Glad-tidings,  for  which  I  am  an  ambassador  in  fetters.^* 
Pray  that  I  may  declare  it  boldly,  as  I  ought  to  speak. 

T  chicuB  the        ^^^  *^^^*  y^^'  ^^  ^^^^  ^^  "  others,  may  be  informed  of  my  21 
messenger.      conccms,  and  how  I  fare,  Tychicus,  my  ^^  beloved  brother,  and 

1  Some  of  the  best  MSB.  read  "  both  their  against  hostile  weapons  by  his  knowledge  of 

and  your,"  which  brings  out  still  more  forcibly  the  salvation  won  for  him  by  Christ, 
the  equality  of  slaves  and  masters  in  the  sight  '  For  the  meaning  of  "  word  of  God,"  see 

of  Christ.  note  on  chap.  v.  26.     It  is  here  represented  as 

•^  This  is  the  literal  meaning.  the  only  offensive  weapon  of  Christian  warfare- 

'  Compare  Col.  ii.  15,  and  the  note;  also  The  Koman  pilum  (Joh.  xix.  34)  is  not  men 

John  xii.  31.  tioned.     For  a  commentary  on  this  military 

*  "  This  world  "  is  omitted  in  the  best  MSS.  imagery,  and  the  circumstances  which  natural- 

5  "  Take  up,"  literally.  ly  suggested  it,  see  the  beginning  of  the  next 

®  Not  "  do7ie  "  (A.  v.),  but  "  overthrown."  chapter. 

■f   'J 'o  cover  all.     If  it  mc&nt  in  addition  to  all  i"  See  Paley's  observations  (/7orfE  Paw/tnoB, 

(Ellicott),  it  would  suiely  have  come  last  in  in  loco),  and  our  preceding  remarks  on  CustO" 

the  list.  dia  Militaris.  "  "  You  also." 

*•  The  head  of  the  Christian  is  defended  ^^  g^g  ^he  parallel  passage,  Col.  iv.  7. 


VI 


78 


■^^MS  LIFE   AJS'D   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL. 


CHAI-.  XXV 


22  faitljful  servant  iu  the  Lord,  will  make  all  known  to  you.  And  I  have 
sent  him  to  you  for  this  very  end,  that  you  may  learn  what  concerns  me, 
and  that  he  may  comfort  your  hearts. 

23  Peace  be  to  the  brethren,  and  love  with  faith,  from  God  our  concluding 

--,     ,  T  T        T     X  /^^     •   L  benediction. 

Father,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

24  Grace  be  with  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  *  sincerity.' 


1  The  difficulty  of  the  concluding  words  is 
well  known  :  the  phrase  might  also  be  trans- 
lated in  immortality,  with  the  meaning  whose 
love  endure*  immortally.  Olshausen  supposes 
tb«  expression  elliptical,  for  "  that  they  may 


have  life  in  immortality ; "  but  this  can  scaroe 
ly  be  justified. 

^  "  Amen,"  as  usual,  is  omitted  in  the  he0i 
MSS. 


Oroond-Plan  of  the  BaslUca  of  Pompeii. 
(Prom  QeWa  Pompeii.) 


CHAPTER    XXVL 

The  PrtBtorium  and  the  Palatine.  —  Arrival  of  Epaphroditus.  —  Political  Events  at  Rome.  — 
Octavia  and  Poppsea.  —  St.  Paul  writes  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians.  —  He  makes  Couverta 
in  the  Imperial  Household. 

THE  close  of  the  Epistle  to  which  our  attention  has  just  been  turned 
contains  a  remarkable  example  of  the  forcible  imagery  of  St.  Paul.^ 
Considered  simply  in  itself,  this  description  of  the  Christian's  armor 
is  one  of  the  most  striking  passages  in  the  Sacred  Volume.  But  if  we 
view  it  in  connection  with  the  circumstances  with  which  the  Apostle  was 
surrounded,  we  find  a  new  and  living  emphasis  in  his  enumeration  of  all 
the  parts  of  the  heavenly  panoply,^  —  the  belt  of  sincerity  and  truth,  with 
which  the  loins  ^  are  girded  for  the  spiritual  war,  —  the  breastplate  of 
that  righteousness,*  the  inseparable  links  whereof  are  faith  and  love,'  — 
the  strong  sandals,**  with  which  the  feet  of  Christ's  soldiers  are  made 
ready,'  not  for  such  errands  of  death  and  despair  as  those  on  which  the 
Praetorian  soldiers  were  daily  sent,  but  for  the  universal  message  of 
the  Gospel  of  peace,  —  the  large  shield^  of  confident  trust,®  wherewith  the 
whole  man  is  protected,^**  and  whereon  the  fiery  arrows  "  of  the  Wicked 


1  Eph.  vi.  14-17. 

^  "  The  whole  armor  of  God."  For  au- 
thentic information  regarding  the  actual 
Roman  armor  of  the  time,  we  may  refer  to 
Piranesi's  fine  illustrations  of  the  columns  of 
Trajan  and  Marcus  Aurelius.  There  are  also 
many  useful  engravings  in  Dr.  Smith's  Dic- 
tionary of  Antiquities. 

*  "  Your  loins  girt  about  with  truth."  The 
belt  or  zona  passed  round  the  lower  part  of  the 
body,  below  the  "  breastplate,"  and  is  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  balteus,  which  went  over 
the  shoulder. 

*  "  Wearing  the  breastplate  of  righteous- 
ness." The  "  breastplate  "  was  a  cuirass  or 
corselet,  reaching  nearly  to  the  loins. 

*  In  the  parallel  passage  (1  Thess.  v.  8),  the 
breastplate  is  described  as  "  the  breastplate  of 
faith  and  love." 

*  The  Roman  caligce  were  not  greaves, 
(vhicb  in  fact  would  not  harmonize  with  the 


context,  but  strong  and  heavy  sandals.  See 
the  anecdote  of  the  death  of  the  centurion 
Julian  in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  Joseph. 
War,  vi.  1 ,  8. 

^  "  Shod  as  ready  messengers,"  &c. 

8  The  "  shield  "  here  is  the  large  oblong  or 
oval  Roman  shield  —  the  scutu m,  not  the  clipeua 
—  specimens  of  which  may  be  seen  in  Piranesi. 
See  especially  the  pedestal  of  Trajan's  column. 

9  "  The  shield  of  faith." 

I''  Observe  "  over  all,"  which  is  not  clearly 
translated  in  the  Authorized  Version. 

11  Part  of  the  artillery  in  an  ancient  siege 
consisted  of  darts  and  heavier  missiles,  in  the 
heads  of  which  were  inflammable  materials. 
Diodorus  Siculus,  in  his  account  of  one  of  the 
sieges  of  Rhodes,  uses  the  very  expression 
here  employed  by  the  Apostle.  The  Latin 
names  for  these  missiles  were  falariece  Mtd 
tnaHwli.    Liv.  xxi.  8 ;  Cic.  Cat.  i.  18. 


77» 


780  THE  LIFE  AKD  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xxvi. 

One  fall  harmless  and  dead, — the  close-fitting  helmet,^  with  which  the 
hope  of  salvation  ^  invests  the  head  of  the  believer,  —  and  finally  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  the  Word  of  God,^  which,  when  wielded  by  the  Great 
Captain  of  our  Salvation,  turned  the  Tempter  in  the  wilderness  to  flight, 
while  in  the  hands  of  His  chosen  Apostle  (with  whose  memory  the  sword 
seems  inseparably  associated)*  it  became  the  means  of  establishing  Chris- 
tianity on  the  earth. 

All  this  imagery  becomes  doubly  forcible  if  we  remember  that  when 
St.  Paul  wrote  the  words  he  was  chained  to  a  soldier,  and  in  the  close 
neighborhood  of  military  sights  and  sounds.  The  appearance  of  the 
Praetorian  guards  was  daily  familiar  to  him  ;  —  as  his  "  chains  "  on  the 
other  hand  (so  he  tells  us  in  the  succeeding  Epistle)  became  "  well 
known  throughout  the  whole  Prcetorium."  (Phil.  i.  13.)  A  difference 
of  opinion  has  existed  as  to  the  precise  meaning  of  the  word  in  this  pas- 
sage. Some  have  identified  it,  as  in  the  Authorized  Version,  with  the 
"  house  of  Caesar"  on  the  Palatine:*  more  commonly  it  has  been  sup- 
posed to  mean  that  permanent  camp  of  the  Praetorian  guards,  which 
Tiberius  established  on  the  north  of  the  city,  outside  the  walls.*  As 
regards  the  former  opinion,  it  is  true  that  the  word  came  to  be  used, 
almost  as  we  use  the  word  "  palace,"  for  royal  residences  generally,  or 
for  any  residences  of  a  princely  splendor,'^  and  that  thus  we  read,  in  other 
parts  of  the  New  Testament,  of  the  Praetorium  of  Pilate  at  Jerusalem' 
and  the  Praetorium  of  Herod  at  Caesarea."  Yet  we  never  find  the  word 
employed  for  the  Imperial  house  at  Rome :  and  we  believe  the  truer  view 
to  be  that  which  has  been  recently  advocated,^"  namely,  that  it  denotes 
here,  not  the  palace  itself,  but  the  quarters  of  that  part  of  the  Imperial 
guards  which  was  in  immediate  attendance  upon  the  Emperor.  Such  a 
military  establishment  is  mentioned  in  the  fullest  account  which  we  pos- 
sess of  the  first  residence  of  Augustus  on  the  Palatine  :  "  and  it  is  in  har- 

1  One  of  these  compact  Roman  helmets,  Paul,  and  that  a  statue  of  the  Apostle,  bear- 
preserved  in  England,  at  Goodrich  Court,  is      ing  the  sword,  is  on  the  summit. 

engraved  in  Dr.  Smith's  Ac</o«ary.  (See  under  ^  "With  Phil.  i.  13  we  should  compare  It. 

Galea).  22  in  the  Authorized  Version. 

2  With  "helmet  of  salvation"  (Eph.  vi.  ®  See  above,  in  the  description  of  Rome, 
17)  we  should  compare  "as  a  helmet  the  hope  and  compare  the  map. 

of  salvation"  (1  Thess.  v.  8).  ''  We  find  the  word  used  in  Suetonius  for 

^  See  note  on  the  passage.  the  Imperial  castles  out  of  Rome.     Elsewhere 

*  It  is  the  emblem  of  his  martyrdom :  and  it  is  applied  to  the  palaces  of  foreign  princes, 

we  can  hardly  help  associating  it  also  with  this  and  even  private  persons. 

passage.     The  small  short  sword  of  the  Ro-  ^  See  above,  p.  634. 

mans  was  worn  like  a  dagger  on  the  right  side.  ^  See  above,  p.  659,  n.  4. 

Specin.tLs  may  be  seen  in  Piranesi.     Those  ^°  In  Wieseler's  note,  p.  403. 

readers  who  have  been  in  Rome  will  remember  ^^  "  The  Imperial  residence  is  called  Palo' 

that  Pope  Sixtus  V.  dedicated  the  column  of  Hum  .  .  .  because     the    Emperor    dwelt    on 

Aurelius  (ab  omni  impietate  purgatam)  to  St.  Mount  Palatine,  and  there  he  had  his  military 


CHAP.  xivi.  THE  PAX.ATINE.  781 

mony  with  the  general  ideas  on  which  the  monarchy  was  founded.  The 
Emperor  was  prcetor'^  or  commander-in-chief  of  the  troops,  and  it  was 
natural  that  his  immediate  guard  should  be  in  a  prcetorium  near  him. 
It  might,  indeed,  be  argued  that  this  military  establishment  on  the  Pala- 
tine would  cease  to  be  necessary  when  the  Prsetorian  camp  was  estab- 
lished :  but  the  purpose  of  that  establishment  was  to  concentrate  near  the 
city  those  cohorts  which  hq,d  previously  been  dispersed  in  other  parts  of 
Italy :  a  local  body-guard  near  the  palace  would  not  cease  to  be  neces- 
sary :  and  Joscphus,  in  his  account  of  the  imprisonment  of  Agrippa,"* 
speaks  of  a  "  camp  "  in  connection  with  the  "  royal  house.  S^nch  we 
conceive  to  have  been  the  barrack  immediately  alluded  to  by  St.  1  aul : 
though  the  connection  of  these  smaller  quarters  with  the  general  camp 
was  such  that  he  would  naturally  become  known  to  "  all  the  rest "  ^  of 
the  guards,  as  well  as  those  who  might  for  the  time  be  connected  with 
the  Imperial  household. 

What  has  just  been  said  of  the  word  "  praetorium  "  applied  still  more 
extensively  to  the  word  ^'-  palatiumy  Originally  denoting  the  hill  on 
which  the  twin-brothers  were  left  by  the  retreating  river,  it  grew  to  be, 
and  it  still  remains,  the  symbol  of  Imperial  power.  Augustus  was  born 
on  the  Palatine ;  *  and  he  fixed  his  official  residence  there  when  the  Civil 
Wars  w;.e  terminated.  Thus  it  may  be  truly  said,  that,  "  after  the 
Capitol  and  the  Forum,  no  locality  in  the  ancient  city  claims  so  much  of 
our  interest  as  the  Palatine  hill,  —  at  once  the  birtliplace  of  the  infant 
city,  and  the  abode  of  her  rulers  during  the  days  of  her  greatest 
splendor,  —  wliere  the  red-thatched  cottage  of  Romulus  was  still  pre- 
served in  the  midst  of  the  gorgeous  structures  of  Caligula  and  Nero."  * 
About  the  close  of  tlie  Republic,  tliis  hill  was  the  residence  of  many 
distinguished  citizens,  such  as  Crassus,  Cicero,  Catiline,  Clodius,  and 
Antony.  Augustus  himself  simply  bought  the  house  of  Hortensius,  and 
lived  there  in  modest  state.®  But  tlie  new  era  was  begun  for  the 
Palatine,  when  the  first  Emperor,  soon  after  the  battle  of  Actium,  raised 
the  temple  of  Apollo,  with  its  celebrated  Greek  and  Latin  libraries,''  on 
the  side  near  the  Forum.     Tiberius  erected  a  new  palace,  or  an  addition 

force  (Prcetorium)  .  .  .  hence    it  comes   that  *  Suet.  Aug.  5. 

wherever  the  Emperor  is  living  it  is  called  ^  Bunbury  in  the  Classical  Museum,  vol.  t. 

Palatium."    Dio  Cass.  liii.  16.  p.  229.     We  learn  from  Plutarch  and  Diony- 

1  See  what  has  been  said  (pp.  129,  130)  in  sius   that  this   "  wooden    hut   thatched   with 

refereK"e   to  the  terra  proprcetar  in  the  prov-  reeds,  which  was  preserved  as  a  memorial  of 

inces  the  simple  habitation  of  the  Shepherd-king," 

^  Joseph.  A7it.  xviii.  6.  He  uses  arpaToneiov  was  on  the  side  of  the  hill  tc  wards  the  Circus, 

for  the  prcetorium,  and  (3aai^iov  for  the  pala-  p.  232. 
tium.     Compare  what  is  said  of  Drusus,  Suet.  *  Suet.  Aty.  72. 

Tib.  54  8  Ibid.  '  Hor.  Ep.  i.  iii.  17.     Suet.  Aug.  29 


82  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xxvi. 

io  the  old  one,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  hill,  immediately  above  the 
Circus  Maximus.*  It  remained  for  subsequent  Emperors  to  cover  the 
whole  area  of  the  hill  with  structures  connected  with  the  palace. 
Caligula  extended  the  Imperial  buildings  by  a  bridge  (as  fantastic  as  that 
at  Baiaa)  ,^  which  joined  the  Palatine  with  the  Capitol.  Nero  made  a 
similar  extension  in  the  direction  of  the  Esquiline :  and  this  is  the  point 
at  which  we  must  arrest  our  series  of  historical  notices  ;  for  the  burning 
of  Rome  and  the  erection  of  the  Golden  House  intervened  between  the 
first  and  second  imprisonments  of  the  Apostle  Paul.  The  fire,  more- 
over, which  is  so  closely  associated  with  the  first  sufferings  of  the  Church, 
has  made  it  impossible  to  identify  any  of  the  existing  ruins  on  the 
Palatine  with  buildings  that  were  standing  when  the  Apostle  was  among 
the  Praetorian  guards.  Nor  indeed  is  it  possible  to  assign  the  ruins  to 
their  proper  epochs.  All  is  now  confusion  on  the  hill  of  Romulus  and 
Augustus.  Palace  after  palace  succeeded,  till  the  Empire  was  lost  in  the 
mist  of  the  Middle  Ages.  As  we  explore  the  subterraneous  chambers, 
where  classical  paintings  are  still  visible  on  the  plaster,  or  look  oijt 
through  broken  arches  over  the  Campagna  and  its  aqueducts,  the  mind 
is  filled  with  blending  recollections,  not  merely  of  a  long  line  of  Roman 
Caesars,  but  of  Ravenna  and  Constantinople,  Charlemagne  and  Rienzi. 
This  royal  part  of  the  Western  Babylon  has  almost  shared  the  fate  of  the 
city  of  the  Euphrates.  The  Palatine  contains  gardens  and  vineyards,' 
and  half-cultivated  spaces  of  ground,  where  the  acanthus-weed  grows  in 
wild  luxuriance :  but  its  population  has  shrunk  to  one  small  convent ;  * 
and  the  unhealthy  air  seems  to  brood  like  a  curse  over  the  scene  of 
Nero's  tyranny  and  crime. 

St.  Paul  was  at  Rome  precisely  at  that  time  when  the  Palatine  was 
the  most  conspicuous  spot  on  the  earth,  not  merely  for  crime,  but  for 
splendor  and  power.  This  was  the  centre  of  all  the  movements  of  the 
Empire.*  Here  were  heard  the  causes  of  all  Roman  citizens  who  had 
appealed  to  Caesar.^  Hence  were  issued  the  orders  to  the  governors  of 
provinces,  and  to  the  legions  on  the  frontier.  From  the  "  Golden  Mile- 
stone "  (Milliarium  Aureum)  ^  below  the  palace,  the  roads  radiated  in 
all  directions  to  the  remotest  verge  of  civilization.  The  official  messages 
of    the  Emperor  were  communicated  along   them   by  means   of   posts 

1  The  position  of  the  "  Domus  Tiberiana  "  *  The  Franciscan  convent  of  St.  Bora^en- 

B  determined  by  the  notices  of  it  in  the  account  tura,  facing  the  Forum.        ^  Tac.  Hist.  in.  70. 

•f  the  murder  of  Galba.  "  See  the  account  of  St.  Paul's  trial  in  the 

^  See  above,  p.  724.  next  chapter. 

*  The  Famese  Gardens  and  the  Villa  Mills  ">  The  Milliarium  Aureum  (afterwards  called 

formerly   Villa   Spada)   are   well   known   to  the  Umbilicus  Romce)  is  believed  to  have  been 

ravellers.     Some  of  the  finest  arches  are  in  discovered  at  the  base  of  the  Capitol,  near  the 

4ifl  Vigna  del  Collegio  Inglese.  Temples  of  Saturn  and  Concord. 


J 


OHAF.  aXTI. 


EPAPHRODITUS. 


783 


established  by  the  government :  ^  but  these  roads  afforded  also  the  meana 
of  transmitting  the  letters  of  private  citizens,  whether  sent  by  means  of 
tahellarii^  or  by  the  voluntary  aid  of  accidental  travellers.  To  such 
communications  between  the  metropolis  and  the  provinces  others  were 
now  added  of  a„  kind  hitherto  unknown  in  the  world, — not  different 
indeed  in  outward  appearance  ^  from  common  letters,  —  but  containing 
commands  more  powerful  in  their  effects  than  the  despatches  of  Nero,  — 
touching  more  closely  the  private  relations  of  life  than  all  the  correspond- 
ence of  Seneca*  or  Pliny, — and  proclaiming,  in  the  very  form  of  their 
salutations,  the  perpetual  union  of  the  Jew,  the  Greek,  and  the  Roman.' 
It  seems  probable  that  the  three  letters  which  we  have  last  read  were 
despatched  from  Rome  when  St.  Paul  had  been  resident  there  about  a 
year,®  that  is,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  62  a.d.  After  the  departure  of 
Tychicus  and  Onesimus,  the  Apostle's  prison  was  cheered  by  the  arrival 
of  Epaphroditus,  who  bore  a  contribution  from  the  Christians  of  Philippi. 
We  have  before  seen  instances''  of  the  noble  liberality  of  that  Church, 
and  now  once  more  we  find  them  ministering  to  the  necessities  of  their 
beloved  teacher.  Epaphroditus,  apparently  a  leading  presbyter  among 
the  Philippians,  had  brought  on  himself,  by  the  fatigues  or  perils  of  his 
journey,  a  dangerous  illness.  St.  Paul  speaks  of  him  with  touching 
affection.     He  calls  him  his  "  brother,  and  companion  in  labor,  and  fel- 


^  So  far  as  related  to  government  de- 
gpatches,  Augustus  established  posts  similar  to 
those  of  King  Ahasuerus.  Compare  Suet. 
Aug.  49  with  Esther  viii.  13,  U. 

3  See  Becker's  Gcdlus,  p.  250  (Eng.  Trans.). 

'  In  p.  357,  a  general  reference  was  made 
to  the  interest  connected  even  with  the  writing 
materials  employed  by  St.  Paul.  There  is  lit- 
tle doubt  that  these  were  reed-pens,  Egyptian 
paper,  and  black  ink.  All  these  are  mentioned 
by  St.  John  (paper  and  ink,  2  Job.  1 2  ;  ink  and 
pen,  3  Job.  13) ;  and  St.  Paul  himself,  in  a 
passage  where  there  is  a  blended  allusion  to 
inscriptions  on  stone  and  to  letter-writing  (2 
Cor.  iii.  3),  speaks  o{  ink.  Representations  of 
ancient  inkstands  found  at  Pompeii,  with  reed- 
pens,  may  be  seen  in  Dr.  Smith's  Dictionary, 
under  Atramentum.  Allusion  has  been  made 
in  a  previous  page  to  the  paper-trade  of  Egypt. 
Parchment  (2  Tim.  iv.  13)  was  of  course  used 
for  the  secondary  MSS.  in  which  the  Epistles 
were  preserved  Letters  were  written  in  the 
large  or  uncial  character,  though  of  course  the 
handwriting  of  different  persons  would  f ary. 
See  Gal.  vi.  11. 

*  We  mast  not  pass  by  the  name  of  Seneca 


without  some  allusion  to  the  so-called  corre- 
spondence between  him  and  St.  Paul :  but  a 
mere  allusion  is  not  enough  for  so  vapid  and 
meaningless  a  forgery.  These  Epistles  (with 
that  which  is  called  the  Ep.  to  the  Laodiceans, 
described  p.  762,  note  5)  will  be  found  in  Jones 
on  the  Canon  (vol.  ii.). 

*  We  allude  to  the  combination  of  the  Ori- 
ental "  peace  "  with  the  Greek  "  grace  "  or 
"joy "  in  the  opening  salutations  of  all  St. 
Paul's  Epistles.  We  may  compare  Horace's 
"  Celso  gaudere,"  &c.,  Ep.  i.  viii.,  with  the 
opening  of  the  letter  of  Lysias  to  Felix.  Acts 
xxiii.  26. 

^  The  state  of  thmgs  described  in  the  4th 
chapter  of  Colossians,  the  conversion  of 
Onesimus  and  his  usefulness  to  St.  Paul 
(Philem.  11-13),  imply  the  continuance  of  St. 
Paul's  ministry  at  Rome  during  a  period 
which  can  hardly  have  been  less  than  a  year. 
Nor  would  St.  Paul,  at  the  beginning  of  his 
imprisonment,  have  written  as  he  does  (Philem. 
22)  of  his  captivity  as  verging  towards  its  ter- 
mination. 

"  See  the  account  of  the  Macedonian  col- 
lection, p.  480. 


784  THE   LIFE   Ai^D   EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xxvi, 

low-soldier "  (ii.  25)  ;  declares  that  "  his  labor  in  the  cause  of  Christ 
had  brought  him  near  to  death  "  (ii,  30),  and  that  he  had  "  hazarded  his 
life "  in  order  to  st  pply  the-  means  of  communication  between  the 
Philippians  and  himself.  And,  when  speaking  of  his  recovery,  he  says, 
"  God  had  compassion  on  him,  and  not  on  him  only,  bn,t  on  me  also,  that 
I  might  not  have  sorrow  upon  sorrow."  (ii.  27.)  We  must  suppose, 
from  these  expressions,  that  Epaphroditus  had  exposed  himself  to  som« 
unusual  risk  in  his  journey.  Perhaps  his  health  was  already  feeble  when 
he  set  out,  so  that  he  showed  self-devotion  in  encountering  fatigues  which 
were  certain  to  injure  him. 

Meanwhile  St.  Paul  continued  to  preach,  and  his  converts  to  multiply. 
We  shall  find  that  when  he  wrote  to  the  Philippians,  either  towards 
the  close  of  this  year,  or  at  the  beginning  of  the  next,  great  effects  had 
already  been  produced  ;  and  that  the  Church  of  Rome  was  not  only 
enlarged,  but  encouraged  to  act  with  greater  boldness  upon  the  surround- 
ing masses  of  Heathenism,^  by  the  successful  energy  of  the  apostolic 
prisoner.  Yet  the  political  occurrences  of  the  year  might  well  have 
alarmed  him  for  his  safety,  and  counselled  a  more  timid  course.  We 
have  seen  that  prisoners  in  St.  Paul's  position  were  under  the  charge  of 
the  Praetorian  Prefect ;  and  in  this  year  occurred  the  death  of  the  virtu 
ous  Burrus,^  under  whose  authority  his  imprisonment  had  been  so 
unusually  mild.  Upon  this  event  the  prefecture  was  put  into  com- 
mission, and  bestowed  on  Fenius  Rufus  and  Sofonius  Tigellinus.  The 
former  was  respectable,'  but  wanting  in  force  of  character,  and  quite 
unable  to  cope  with  his  colleague,  who  was  already  notorious  for  that 
energetic  wickedness  which  has  since  made  his  name  proverbial.  St. 
Paul's  Christian  friends  in  Rome  must  have  trembled  to  think  of  him  as 
subject  to  the  caprice  of  this  most  detestable  of  Nero's  satellites.  It  does 
not  seem,  however,  that  his  situation  was  altered  for  the  worse  ;  possibly 
he  was  never  brought  under  'the  special  notice  of  Tigellinus,  who  was  too 
intent  on  court  intrigues,  at  this  period,  to  attend  to  so  trifling  a  matter 
as  the  concerns  of  a  Jewish  prisoner. 

Another  circumstance  occurred  about  the  same  time,  which  seemed  to 
threaten  still  graver  mischief  to  the  cause  of  Paul.  This  was  the  mar- 
riage of  Nero  to  his  adulterous  mistress  Poppaea,  who  had  become  a 
proselyte  to  Judaism.     This  infamous  woman,  not  content  with  inducing 

^  Phil.  i.  12-14.  riod  Nero's  public  administration  became  grad- 

2  Tac.  Ann.  xiv.  51.     The  death  of  Burrus  ually  worse  and  worse,  till  at  length  his  infa- 

was    an    important    epoch    in  Nero's   reign.  my  rivalled  that  of  his  private  life. 

Tacitus  tells  us  in  the  following  chapter  that  ^  Fenius  llufus  was  afterwards  executed  for 

it  broke  the  power  of  Seneca  and  established  his  share  in  Piso's  conspiracy  (Tac.  .4«n.  xt.  66, 

the  influence  of  Tigellinus;  and  from  this  pe-  68), in  which  he  showed  lamentable  imbecility. 


OHAT.  xivi.  ST.   PAUL'S  RELEASE   DOUBTFUL.  7S5 

her  paramour  to  divorce  his  young  wife  Octavia,  had  demanded  and 
obtained  the  death  of  her  rival ;  and  had  gloated  over  the  head  of  the 
murdered  victim,^  which  was  forwarded  from  Pandataria  to  Rome  for  her 
inspection.  Her  power  seemed  now  to  have  reached  its  zenith,  but  rose 
still  higher  at  the  beginning  of  the  following  year,  upon  the  birth  of  a 
daughter,  when  temples  were  erected  to  her  and  her  infant,'^  and  divine 
honors  paid  them.  We  know  from  Josephus '  that  she  exerted  her  influ- 
ence over  Nero  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  and  that  she  patronized  their  emis- 
saries at  Rome  ;  and  assuredly  no  scruples  of  humanity  would  prevent 
her  from  seconding  their  demand  for  the  punishment  of  their  most 
detested  antagonist. 

These  changed  circumstances  fully  account  for  the  anticipations  of 
an  unfavorable  issue  to  his  trial,  which  we  shall  find  St.  Paul  now  ex- 
pressing ;  *  and  which  contrast  remarkably  with  the  confident  expectation 
of  release  entertained  by  him  when  he  wrote  the  letter^  to  Philemon. 
When  w^e  come  to  discuss  the  trial  of  St.  Paul,  we  shall  see  reason  to 
believe  that  the  providence  of  God  did  in  fact  avert  this  danger  ;  but  at 
present  all  things  seemed  to  wear  a  most  threatening  aspect.  Perhaps 
the  death  of  Pallas  ®  (which  also  happened  this  year)  may  be  considered, 
on  the  other  hand,  as  removing  an  unfavorable  influence ;  for,  as  the 
brother  of  Felix,  he  would  have  been  willing  to  soften  the  Jewish  accusers 
of  that  profligate  governor,  by  co-operating  with  their  designs  against 
St.  Paul.  But  his  power  had  ceased  to  be  formidable,  either  for  good  or 
evil,  some  time  before  liis  death. 

Meanwhile  Epaphroditus  was  fully  recovered  from  his  sickness,  and 
able  once  more  to  travel ;  and  he  willingly  prepared  to  comply  with  St. 
Paul's  request  that  he  would  return  to  Philippi.  We  are  told  that  he 
was  "  filled  with  longing  "  to  see  his  friends  again,  and  the  more  so  when 
he  heard  that  great  anxiety  had  been  caused  among  them  by  the  news  of 
his  sickness.'  Probably  he  occupied  an  influential  post  in  the  Philippian 
Church,  and  St.  Paul  was  unwilling  to  detain  him  any  longer  from  his 
duties  there.  He  took  the  occasion  of  his  return  to  send  a  letter  of 
grateful  acknowledgment  to  his  Philippian  converts. 

It  has  been  often  remarked  that  this  Epistle  contains  less  of  censure 
and  more  of  praise  than  any  other  of  St.  Paul's  extant  letters.     It  gives 

^  Tac.  Ann.  xiv.  64.  Temple.    They  sent  ambassadors  to  Rome,  who 

2  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  23,  The  temples  to  Pop-  succeeded  by  Poppaea's  intercession  in  carrying 
peea  are  mentioned  in  a  fragment  of  Dio.  their  point.  *  Phil.  ii.  17,  and  iii.  11. 

3  Josephus,   Antiq.    xx.  8,  11,   speaks   of  °  Philem.  22,  23. 

Nero   as  "  granting    favors    to   the  Jews,  to  ^  Pallas  was  put  to  deaA  by  poison  soon 

please  Poppaea,  who  was  a  religious  woman.  "  after  the  marriage  of  Poppaea,  and  in  the  same 

This  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  wall  which  the  year.     Tac.  Ann.  xiv.  65. 
Jews  built  to  intercept  Agrippa's  view  of  the  ^  Phil.  ii.  26. 

so 


786  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  «hap.  xxvi. 

US  a  very  high  idea  of  the  Christian  state  of  the  Philippians,  as  shown  by 
the  firmness  of  their  faith  under  persecution,^  their  constant  obedience 
and  attachment  to  St.  Paul,^  and  the  liberaUty  which  distinguished  them 
above  all  other  Churches.^  They  were  also  free  from  doctrinal  errors, 
and  no  schism  had  as  yet  been  created  among  them  by  the  Judaizing  party. 
They  are  warned,  however,  against  these  active  propagandists,  who  were 
probably  busy  in  their  neighborhood,  or  (at  least)  miglit  at  any  time 
appear  among  them.  The  only  blemish  recorded  as  existing  in  the 
Church  of  Philippi  is,  that  certain  of  its  members  were  deficient  in  lowli- 
ness of  mind,  and  were  thus  led  into  disputes  and  altercations  with  their 
brethren.  Two  women  of  consideration  amongst  the  converts,  Euodia 
and  Syntyche  by  name,  had  been  especially  guilty  of  this  fault ;  and 
their  variance  was  the  more  to  be  regretted  because  they  had  both 
labored  earnestly  for  the  propagation  of  the  faith.  St.  Paul  exhorts  the 
Church,  with  great  solemnity  and  earnestness,^  to  let  these  disgraceful 
bickerings  cease,  and  to  be  all  "  of  one  soul  and  one  .mind."  He  also 
gives  them  very  full  particulars  about  his  own  condition,  and  the  spread 
of  the  Gospel  at  Rome.  He  writes  in  a  tone  of  most  affectionate  remem- 
brance, and,  while  anticipating  the  speedily-approaching  crisis  of  his  fate, 
he  expresses  his  faith,  hope,  and  joy  with  peculiar  fervency. 


THE   EPISTLE  TO   THE   PHILIPPIANS.' 
L  1       PAUL  and  Timotheus,  bondsmen  of  Jesus  Christ,  To  all    Sainuaon. 

THE  SAINTS®  IN   ChRIST  JeSUS  WHO   ABE   AT    PhILIPPI,  WITH  THE  BISHOPS'' 
AND  DEACONS.^ 

1  Phil.  i.  28,  29.  (3.)  It  was  written  towards  the  conclusion  of 

*  Phil.  ii.  12.                          •  Phil.  iv.  15.  this  first  imprisonment,  because  (a)  he  expects 

*  Phil.  ii.  1,  2,  and  iv.  2.  the  immediate   decision    of  his    cause;    (b) 
^  The   following  are  the  grounds  of  the  Enough  time  had  elapsed  for  the  Philippians 

date  assigned  to  this  Epistle :  —  to  hear  of  his  imprisonment,  send  Epaphrodi- 

(1.)  It  was  written  during  an  imprisonment  tus  to  him,  hear  of  Epaphroditus's  arrival  and 

at  Rome,  because  (a)   the  Prcetorium  (i.  13)  sickness,  and  send  back  word  to  Rome  of  their 

was   at  Rome ;    (b)   So  was   the   Emperor's  distress  (ii.  26). 

household  (iv.  22) ;  (c)  He  expects  the  imme-  (4.)  It    was    written    ajicr    Colossians    and 

diate  decision  of  his  cause  (i.  19,  ii.  24),  which  Philemon ;  both  for  the  preceding  reason,  and 

could  only  have  been  given  at  Rome.  because  Luke  was  no  longer  ai   Rome,  as  he 

(2.)  It  was  written  during  the  _yirs<  imprison-  was  when  those  were  written;   otherwise   ho 

ment  at  Rome,  because  (a)  the  mention  of  the  would  have  saluted  a  Churc:*  in  which  he  had 

Praetorium  agrees  with  the  fact,  that,  during  labored,  and  would  have  "  cared  in  eamesi  for 

his  first  imprisonment,  he  was  in  the  custody  their  concerns  "  (see  ii.  20). 

of  the  Prsetorian  Prefect;   (b)  His  situation  ^  For  Sai7ifs,  see  note  on  1  Cor.  i.  2. 

described  (i.  12-14)  agrees  with  his  situation  '  Bishops.      This   term   was   at    this  early 
in   the  first   two   years  of  his  imprisonment      period  applied  to  all  the  presbyters  :  see  p.  378. 

f  Acts  xxviii.  30,  31).  8  Deacons:  seep.  379.     It  is  singular  that 


oHAi-.  XXVI.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS.  787 

i. 
Grace  be  lo  you,  and  peace,  from  God  our  Father,  and  from  our  Lord     2 

Jesus  Christ. 

Thanksei  ^  ^  thank  mj  God  upon  every  remembrance  of  you  (contin-     3 

prly^s'^for      ually  in  all  my  prayers  making  my  supplication  for  you  all  "^     4 

with  joy),  for  your  fellowship  in  forwarding^  the  Glad-tidings,     5 

from  the  first  day  until  now.     And  I  am  confident  accordingly,*  that  He     6 

who  has  begun  a  good  work  iu  you  will  perfect  it,  even  until  the  day  of 

Jesus  Christ.     And  it  is  just  that  I  should  be  thus  mindful^  of  you  all,     7 

because  you  have  me  in  your  hearts,  and,  both  in  my  imprisonment  and 

in  my  defence  and  confirmation  ^  of  the  Glad-tidings,  you  all  share  in  the 

grace  ^  bestowed  upon  me.     God  is  my  witness  how  I  long  after  you  all,     8 

in  the  tender  affection  of  Christ  Jesus. 

And  this  I  pray,  that  your  love  may  abound  yet  more  and  more,  in  true     9 

knowledge,  and  in  all  understanding,  teaching  you  to  distinguish  good  * 

from  evil ;  that  you  may  be  pure,  and  may  walk  without  **  stumbling  until   10 

the  day  of  Christ ;  being  filled  with  the  fruits  of  rignieousness  which  are   11 

by  Jesus  Christ,  unto  the  glory  and  praise  of  God. 

Tnteiiigeuce  I  wouM  liavc  you  kuow,  brethren,  that  the  things  which   12 

ofhiacondi- 

uon  at  uome.   havc  bcfalleu  me  have  tended  rather  to  the  furtherance  than 
hinderance  of  the  Glad-tidings.      So  that  my  chains  have  become  well   13 
known  in  the  name  of  Christ,  throughout  the  whole  Praetorium,^"  and  to 
all  the  rest.^^    And  thus  most "  of  the  brethren  in  the  Lord,  rendered  con-   14 

the  presbyters  and  deacons   shoald  be  men-  and  also  on  the  Philippians,  was  the  power  of 

tioned  separately  in  the  address  of  this  Epis-  confirming  the  Gospel  by  their  sufferings :  th« 

tie  only.     It   has  been  suggested   that   they  corresponding  verb  is  used  in  v.  29. 

had  collected  and  forwarded  the  contribution  ^  Compare  Rom.  ii.  18. 

sent  by  Epaphroditus.  '  "  Without  offence  "  seems  used  here  in- 

1  Observe   "  Paul    and    Timotheus  "     fol-  transitively  ;  at  1  Cor.  x.  32,  the  same  word  is 

lowed  immediately  by  "  I,"  in  confirmation  of  active. 
the  remarks  in  the  note  on  1  Thess.  i.  2.  i°  Prcetorium.    For  the  explanation  of  this, 

^  The  constant  repetition  of  "  all "  in  con-  see  above,  p.  780.     We   have  seen   that   St. 

nection  with  "  you  "  in  this  Epistle  is  remarka-  Paul  was  committed  to   the  custody  of  the 

ble.     It  seems  as  if  St.  Paul  implied  that  he  Prcefectus  Prostorio,  and  guarded  by  different 

(at  least)  would  not  recognize  any  divisions  Praetorian  soldiers,  who  relieved  one  another, 

among  them.     See  above.  Hence  his  condition   would  be   soon   known 

"  Not  "  in  the  Gospel  "  (A.  V.).  throughout  the  Prffltorian  quarters. 

*  Accordingly :    compare  2  Cor.  ii.  3,  and  ii  This  expression  is  very  obscure ;  it  may 

Oal.  ii.  10.  mean  either  to  the  Prw.torian  soldiers  who  guard 

^  Mindful,  Sfc.     This  refers  to  the  preced-  me,  and  to  all  the  rest  of  those  who  visit  me ;  or 

tag  mention  of  his  prayers  for  them.  to  all  the  rest  of  the  Praetorian   Guards.     The 

^  St.   Paul  defended  his    doctrine    by  his  latter  view  gives  the  best  sense, 
werds,  and  conjirmed  it  by  his  life.  i^  "  Most,"  not  "  many  "  (A.  V.). 

^  The  Qrace  or  qift  bestowed  on  St.  Paul, 


788 


THE  LITE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.    PAUL. 


CHAP,  rxvi. 


fident  by  my  chains,  are  very  much  emboldened  to  speak  the  Word  fear- 

15  lessly.    Some,  indeed,  proclaim  Christ  ^  even  out  of  envy  and  contention ; " 

16  but  some,  also,  out^  of  good  will.     These  do  it  from  love,**  knowing  that  I 

17  am  appointed  to  defend  the  Glad-tidings  ;  but  those  announce  Christ  from 
a  spirit  of  intrigue,*  not  sincerely,  thinking  to  stir®  up  persecution  against 

18  me  in  my  imprisonment.  What  then  ?  nevertheless,  every  way,  whether 
in  pretence  or  in  truth,  Christ  is  announced  ;  and  herein  I  rejoice  now, 

19  yea,  and  I  shall  rejoice  hereafter.     For  I  know  that    *  tl^tBt  Ij^illCJS 
sljall  fall  0Ut  to  mg  salivation/' '  through  your  prayers,  and  through 

20  the  supply  of  all  my  needs  ®  by  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ ;  according  to 
my  earnest  expectation  and  hope,  that  I  shall  in  no  wise  be  put  to 
shame,^"  but  that  with  all  boldness,  as  at  all  other  times,  so  now  also, 
Christ  will  be  magnified  in  my  body,  whether  by  my  life  or  by  my  death. 

11,22  For  to  me  life  is  Christ,  and  death  is  gain.     But  whether  this  life  "  in  the 
flesh  shall  be  the  fruit  of  my  labor,  and  what  I  should  choose,  I  know 

23  not.     But  ^-  between  the  two  I  am  in  perplexity ;  having  the  desire  to 

24  depart  and  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better ;  yet  to  remain  in  the  flesh 

25  is  more  needful,  for  your  sake.     And  in  this  confidence  I  know  that  I 


1  "  Christ  "  has  the  article,  which  perhaps 
may  indicate  that  they  were  Jews,  who  pro- 
claimed Jesus  as  the  Messiah.  The  verb  in 
V.  15  denotes  to  proclaim  (as  a  herald) ;  that  in 
T.  17,  to  declare  tidings  of  [as  a  mfssenger). 

2  These  were  probably  Judaizers. 

*  We  can  by  no  means  assent  to  Professor 
Jowett's  proposal  to  translate  the  preposition 
here  "  amid."     See  his  note  on  Gal.  iv.  13. 

*  The  order  of  verses  16  and  17  (as  given 
in  the  best  MSS.)  is  transposed  in  the  Re- 
ceived Text. 

*  See  note  on  Rom.  ii.  8. 

6  Such  is  the  reading  of  the  best  MSS. 
The  Judaizers  probably,  by  professing  to 
teach  the  true  version  of  Christianity,  and 
accusing  Paul  of  teaching  a  false  and  anti- 
national  doctrine,  excited  odium  against  him 
among  the  Christians  of  Jewish  birth  at 
Rome. 

^  These  things,  viz.  the  sufferings  resulting 
from  the  conduct  of  these  Judaizers. 

*  The  words  are  quoted  verbatim  from 
Job  xiii.  16  (LXX.).  Yet  perhaps  St.  Paul 
liid  not  so  much  deliberately  quote  them,  as 
as«  au  expression  which  floated  in  his  memory. 


'  The  words  literally  applied  would  mean 
the  supplying  of  all  needs  [of  the  chorus^  by  the 
Choregus.  So  the  words  here  mean  the  supply- 
ing of  all  needs  [of  the  Christian]  by  the  Spirit. 
Compare  Eph.  iv.  16,  and  Col.  ii.  19. 

1"  St.  Paul  was  confident  that  his  faith  and 
hope  would  not  fail  him  in  the  day  of  trial. 
Compare  Rom.  v.  5,  "  our  hope  cannot  shame 
us."  He  was  looking  forward  to  his  final 
hearing,  as  we  have  already  seen,  page  785. 

1^  We  punctuate  this  very  difficult  verse  so 
that  the  meaning  is  literally,  but  whether  this 
life  in  tltejlesh  (compare  i/u's  mortal,  1  Cor.  xv. 
54,  and  my  present  life  in  the  flesh,  Gal.  ii.  20) 
be  my  labor's  fruit,  and  what  I  shall  choose,  I 
know  not.  Tlie  A.  V.  assumes  an  ellipsis,  and 
gives  no  intelligible  meaning  to  fruit  of  my 
labor.  On  the  other  hand,  De  Wette's  trans- 
lation, if  life  in  the  flesh,  —  if  this  be  my  lubor't 
fruit,  what  I  shall  choose  I  know  not,  cause* 
a  redundancy,  and  is  otherwise  objectionable. 
Beza's  translation,  "an  vero  vivcre  in  cama 
mihioperaa  pretium  sit,  etquid  cligam  ignoro," 
comes  nearest  to  that  which  we  adopt. 

12  The  MSS.  read  "but."  and  not  "for," 
here. 


CHAP.  XXVI.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHIUPPIANS.  789 

L 

shall  remain,  and  shall  continue  with  you  all,  to  your  furtherance  and 
joy  in  faith  ;  that  you  may  have  more  abundant  cause  for  your  boasting '^  26 
in  Christ  Jesus  on  my  account,  by  my  presence  again  among  you. 
ExhortatioM        Only   live '^   worthy    of    the    Glad-tidings    of    Christ,   that  27 

to  steadfast  i  i  x  i 

endurance,       whether  I  comc  and  see  you,  or  be  absent,  1  may  hear  con- 
concord,  and 

towiinsBs.        cerning  you,  that  you  stand  firmly  in  one  spirit,  contending  28 
together  with  one  mind  for  the  faith  of  the  Glad-tidings,  and  nowise 
terrified  by  its  enemies  ;  *  for  their  enmity  is  to  them  an  evidence  of  per- 
dition, but  to  you  of  salvation,  and  that  from  God.     For  to  you  it  has  29 
been  given,  on  behalf  of  Christ,  not  only  to  believe  on  Him,  but  also  to 
suffer  for  His  sake ;  having  the  same  conflict  which  once  you  saw  *  in  me,  30 
and  which  now  you  hear  that  I  endure. 

If,  then,  you  can  be  entreated  ®  in  Christ,  if  you  can  be  persuaded,  by  1 
love,  if  you  have  any  fellowship  in  the  Spirit,  if  you  have  any  tenderness 
or  compassion,  I  pray  you  make  my  joy  full,'  be  of  one  accord,  filled  with  2 
the  same  love,  of  one  soul,  of  one  mind.  Do  nothing  in  a  spirit  of  in-  3 
trigue^  or  vanity,  but  in  lowliness  of  mind  let  each  account  others  above 
himself.  Seek  not  your  private  Puds  alone,  but  let  every  man  seek  like-  4 
wise  his  neighbor's  good. 

Let  this  mind  be  in  you,  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  who,  being  5, 6 
in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery^  to  be  equal  with  God,  but  / 
stripped  ^"^  Himself  [of  His  glory]   and  took  upon  Him  the  form   of  a 

'  Shall  remain,  i.  e.  alive.  sion ;    from  which,   therefore,   we    have    not 

2  "  Whose  boasting  is  in  Christ."     Com-  thought  it  right  to  deviate.     The  majority  of 

pare  iii.  3.  modern  interpreters,  however,  take  it  as  mean- 

8  See  note  on  iii.  20.  ing  to  reckon  a  thing  as  a  booty,  to  look  on  a  thing 

*  Compare   "  many  adversaries,"  —  I  Cor.  as  a  robber  ivould  look  o>»  spoil.     It  is  a  con- 

xvi.  9.  slderable  (though  not  a  fatal)  objection  to  this 

^  They  had  seen  him  sent  to  prison,  Acts  view,  that  it  makes  a  word  denoting  the  act  of 

xvi.  2.3.  seizing  identical  with  one  denoting  the  thing 

^  The  first  word  means  to  entreat,  see  Matt.  seized.     The  Authorized  Version  is  free  from 

xviii.  32  ;  the  second,  to  urge  by  persuasion  or  this  objection;  but  it  is  liable  to  the  charge  of 

entreaty,  see  1  Thess.  ii.  11.  rendering  the  connection  with  the  following 

'  The  extreme  earnestness  of  this  exhorta-  verse  less  natural  than  the  other  interpretation. 

tion  to  unity  shows  that  the  Philippians  were  If  the  latter  be  correct,  the  translation  would 

guilty  of  dissension  ;    perhaps    Euodia    and  be,  He  thought  not  equality  with  God  a  thing  to 

Syntyche,  whose  opposition  to  each  other  is  be  seized  upon ;  i.  e.  though,  essentially,  even  tvhiU 

mentioned  iv.   2,   had   partisans  who   shared  on  earth,  He  tvas  in  tlieform  of  God,  yet  He  did 

their  quarrel.  not  think  Jit  to  claim  equality  with  God  mtU  H* 

^  See  above,  i.  17.  had  accmhplished  His  mission. 

®  This  very  difficult  expression  admits  of  i"  Literally,  emptied  Himself. 
the  translation  adopted  in  the  Authorized  Ver- 


790 


THE  LIFE  AND    EPISTLES  OP  ST,   PAUL. 


CHA.P.    XXTI 


11. 


8  slave,^  being  changed '^  into  the  likeness  of  man.     And  having  appeared 
in  the  guise  of  men,  Ho  abased  Himself  and  showed  obedience,'  even 

9  unto  death,  yea,  death  upon  the  cross.     Wherefore  God  also  exalted  Him 
above  measure,  and  gave  Him  the Miame  which  is  above  every  name: 

10  that  in  the  name  of  Jesus  *'  thtX^  kmt  sljOuliT  Ijoto/'^  of  all  who  dwell 

11  in  heaven,  in  earth,  or  under  the  earth,  and  every  tongue  should  confess 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father. 

12  Wherefore,  my  beloved,  as  you  have  always  obeyed  me,  not  as  in  my 
presence  only,  but  now  much  more  in  my  absence,  work  out  your  own 

18  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling ;  ^  for  it  is  God  who  works  in  you  both 

14  will  ajid  deed.    Do  all  things  for  the  sake  of  good  will,^  without  murmur- 

16  ings  and  disputings,  that  you  may  be  blameless  and  guileless,  the  sons  of 

God  without  rebuke,  in  the  midst  of  **  U  CXOahtti  atttr  prbtrSC  ^mtX'd- 

ixoxi  "  '  among  whom  ye  shine  like  stars  ®  in  the  world  ;  holding  fast  the 

16  Word  of  Life  ;  that  you  may  give  me  ground  of  boasting,  even  to  the  day 

of  Christ,  that  I  have  not  run  in  vain,  nor  labored  in  vain. 


^  The  likeness  of  man  was  the  form  of  a 
slave  to  Him,  contrasted  with  the  form  of  God 
which  essentially  belonged  to  Him. 

^  Literally,  having  become  in  the  likeness, 
which  in  English  is  expressed  by  being  changed 
into  the  likeness. 

8  He  "  showed  obedience "  to  the  laws  of 
human  society,  to  His  parents,  and  to  the  civil 
magistrate ;  and  carried  that  self-humiliating 
obedience  even  to  the  point  of  submitting  to 
death,  when  He  might  have  summoned 
"  twelve  legions  of  angels  "  to  His  rescue. 

*  The  best  MSS.  have  "the  name." 

*  Isaiah  xlv.  23  (LXX.),  quoted  Rom.  xiv. 
11.  It  is  strange  that  this  verse  should  often 
have  been  quoted'  as  commanding  the  practice 
of  bowing  the  head  at  the  name  of  Jesus ;  a 
practice  most  proper  in  itself,  but  not  here 
referred  to :  what  it  really  prescribes  is  kneeling 
in  adoration  of  I  lira. 

8  We  have  already  remarked  that  with 
anxiety  and  selfdistrust  is  a  nearer  representa- 
tion of  this  Pauline  phrase  than  the  literal 
English,  as  appears  by  the  use  of  the  same 
phrase  1  Cor.  ii.  3;  2  Cor.  vii.  15;  Eph.  vi.  5. 
The  "fear"  is  a  fear  of  failure,  the  "trem- 
bling "  an  eager  anxiety. 

"^  This  phrase  has  perplexed  the  interpreters, 


because  they  have  all  joined  it  with  the  preced- 
ing words.  We  put  a  stop  after  the  preceding 
verb,  and  take  the  noun  in  the  same  sense  as 
at  i.  15  above,  and  Luke  ii.  14.  It  is  stran<.'e 
that  so  clear  and  simple  a  construction,  in- 
volving no  alteration  in  the  text,  should  not 
have  been  before  suggested. 

Since  the  above  was  first  published,  it  has 
been  objected  that  the  position  of  the  Greek 
article  negatives  the  above  rendering  ;  because 
the  insertion  of  the  article  (where  it  is  gener- 
ally omitted)  between  a  preposition  and  an 
abstract  noun,  gives  to  the  latter  a  reflective 
sense;  so  that  the  phrase  would  mean  "your 
good  will,"  not  good  will  in  the  abstract. 
This  grammatical  statement  is  not  universally 
true ;  but  even  if  the  objection  were  valid,  it 
would  not  negative  the  construction  proposed , 
nor  materially  alter  the  meaning.  The  trans 
lation  would  then  stand:  —  "Do  all  things  ft 
the  sake  of  nuxintaining  your  mutual  good  will." 

[It  seems  very  doubtful  whether  this  view  is 
tenable :  and  tlie  ordinary  rendering  gives  • 
very  forcible  sense.  —  h.] 

«  Dcut.  xxxii.  5  (LXX.).  The  preceding 
"without  rebuke"  calls  up  a  corresponding 
word  in  the  Greek  context  of  the  LXX. 

»  Compare  Gen.  i.  14  (LXX.). 


ciiAP.xxvi.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHTTJPPIANS.  791 

ii. 

St.  Paui'sex-        But '  tliougli  my  biood^  be  poured  forth  upon  the  miuistra-  17 

pectations  and       , 

iutentious.       tioii  01  the  sacrifice  of  your  faith,  I  rejoice  for  myself,  and  r©- 
joice  with  you  all ;  and  do  ye  likewise  rejoice,  both  for  yourselves  and  18 
with  me.     But  I  hope  in  the  Lord  Jesus  to  send  Timotheus  to  you '  19 
shortly,  that  I  also  may  be  cheered,  by  learning  your  state  ;  for  I  have  no   20 
other  like-minded  with  me,  who  would  care  in  earnest  for  your  concerns  ; 
for  all  seek  their  own,  not  the  things  of  Jesus  Christ.     But  you  know*  the  21,81 
trials  which  have  proved  his  worth,  and  that,  as  a  son  with  a  father,  he 
has  shared  my  servitude,  to  proclaim  the  Glad-tidings.      Him,  then,  I  23 
liope  to  send  without  delay,  as  soon  as  I  see  how  it  will  go  with  me  ;  but  24 
I  trust  in  the  Lord  that  I  also  myself  shall  come  shortly, 
lieturn  of  Epaphroditus,  who  is  my  brother  and  companion  in  labor  and  26 

pap  ro  tun.  fgiiQ;y_gQi(jiej.^  Q,iid  your  messenger  to  minister '  to  my  wants,  I 
have  thought  it  needful  to  send  to  you.     For  he  was  filled  with  long-  26 
iiig  for  you  all,  and  with  sadness,  because  you  had  heard  that  he  was 
sick.    And,  indeed,  he  had  a  sickness  which  brought  him  almost  to  death,  27 
but  God  had  compassion  on  him  ;  and  not  on  him  only,  but  on  me,  that 
I  might  not  have  sorrow  upon  sorrow.     Therefore  I  have  been  *  the  more  28 
anxious  to  send  him,  that  you  may  have  the  joy  of  seeing  him  again,  and 
that  I  may  have  one  sorrow  the  less.     Receive  him,  therefore,  in  the  29 
Lord,  with  all  gladness,  and  hold  such  men  in  honor  ;  because  his  labor  30 
in  the  cause  of  Christ  brought  him  near  to  death  ;  for  he  hazarded '  his 
life  that  he  might  supply  all  which  you  could  not  do,*  in  ministering  to  me.   — 
Finally,  my  brethren,  rejoice  in  the  Lord.  1 

Warning  To  repeat  the  same  ®  warnings  is  not  wearisome  to  me,  and 

ftgainstJuda-      ,     , 

irers,  and        it  IS  safc  for  you.     Bcwarc  of  the  Dogs,^"  beware  of  the  Evil     S 

1  This  but  seems  to  connect  what  follows  "^  This  is  the  meaning  of  the  reading  of  the 
with  i.  25,  26.  best  MSS. 

2  Literally,  /  be  poured  forth.  The  meta-  *  The  same  expression  is  uaed  of  the  mtn- 
phor  is  probably  from  the  Jewish  drink-offer-  scngers  of  the  Corinthian  Church.  1  Cor. 
ings  (Numb,  xxviii.  7)  rather  than  from  the  xvi.  17.  The  ^oghsh  reader  must  not  under- 
Heathen  libations.  The  Heathen  converts  stand  the  A.  V.  "  lack  of  service  "  to  convey  a 
are  spoken  of  as  a  sacrifice  offered  up  by  St.  reproach.  From  this  verse  we  learn  that  the 
Paul  as  the  ministering  priest,  in  Rom.  xv.  16.  illness  of  Epaphroditus  was  caused  by  some 

^  The  Greek  construction  is  the  same  as  in  casualty  of  his  journey,  or  perhaps  by  over- 

1  C^r.  iv.  17.  fatigue. 

*  Timotheus  had  labored  among  them  at  ^  Literally,  to  write  the  same  things  to  t/on. 

the  first.     See  Acts  xvi.  St.  Paul  must  here  refer  either  to  some  previ- 

^  Minister.      We  have   the    corresponding  ous  Epistle  to  the  Philippians  (now  lost),  or 

abstract  noun  in  v.  30.  to  his  former  conversations  with  them. 

^  The  aorist  used  from  the  position  of  the  i°  The  Judaizers  are  here  described  by  three 

reader,  according  to  classical  usage.  epithets  :    "  the  dogs,"  because  of  their  tm- 


792  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL  chap.  xxvi. 

ilL 

3  Workmen,  beware  of  the  Concision.     For  we  are  the  Circum-  exhortation  to 

'  perseyerance 

cision,  who  worship  God  ^  with  the  spirit,  whose  boasting  "^  is  uan^race."^*' 

4  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  whose  confidence  is  not  in  the  flesh.  Although  I 
might  have  confidence  in  the  flesh  also.     If  any  other  man  thinks  that 

5  he  has  ground  of  confidence  in  the  flesh,  I  have  more.  Circumcised 
the  eighth  day,  of  the  stock  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  a  Hebrew 

6  of  the  Hebrews  ;  as  to  the  Law,  a  Pharisee  ;  as  to  zeal,  a  persecutor  of 

7  the  Church ;  as  to  the  righteousness  of  the  Law,  unblamable.     But  what 

8  once  was  gain  to  me,  that  I  have  counted  loss  for  Chrjst.  Yea,  doubtless, 
and  I  count  all  things  but  loss,  because  all  are  nothing-worth  in  com- 
parison '  with  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord  ;  for  whom  I  have 
suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  count  them  but  as  dung  that  I  may 

9  gain  Christ,  and  be  found  in  Him ;  not  having  my  own  righteousness  of 
the  Law,  but  the  righteousness  of  faith  in  Christ,  the  righteousness  which 

10  God  bestows  on  Faith;*  that  I  may  know  Him,  and  the  power  of  His 
resurrection,  and  the  fellowship  of  His  sufferings,  sharing  the  likeness  of 

11  His  death  ;  if  by  any  means  I  might  attain  to  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead. 

12  Not  that  I  have   already  won,'   or  am   already   perfect ;  but  I  press 
onward,  if  indeed  I  might  lay  hold  on  that  for  which  Christ  also  laid 

13  hold  on  me.®     Brethren,  I  count  not  myself  to  have  laid  hold  thereon ; 
but  this  one  thing  I  do  —  forgetting  that  which  is  behind,  and  reaching' 

14  forth  to  that  which  is  before,  I  press  onward  towards  the  mark,  for  the 
prize  of  God's  heavenly  calling  in  Christ  Jesus. 

cleanness  (of  which  that  animal  was  the  type ;  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  i.  e.  became  the  knovdU 

compare  2  Pet.  ii.  22) ;  "  the  evil  workmen  "  edge  of  Christ  surpasses  all  things  else- 
(BOt  equivalent   to   "evil  workers"),   for  the  *  0/Goc?  (i.  e.  which  He  bestows)  on  cont/t- 

same   reason   that  they  are  called  "deceitful  tion  of  faith.     Compare  Acts  iii.  16. 
workmen  "  in  2  Cor.  xi.  13  ;  and  "  the  concis-  ^  "  Won,"  i.  e.  "  the  prize  "  (v.  14).     Com- 

ion,"  to  distinguish  them  from  the  true  cir-  pare   1    Cor.  ix.  24,  "  So  run   that  ye  may 

cnmcision,  the  spiritual  Israel.  win."    It  is  unfortunate  that  in  A.  V.  this  la 

1  We  retain  "  God  "  here,  with  the  Textus  translated  by  the  same  verb  attain,  which  is 

Receptus,  and  a  minority  of  MSS.,  because  used  for  another  verb  in  the  preceding  verse, 

of  the  analogy  of  Rom.  i.  9  (see  note  there).  so  as  to  make  it  seem  to  refer  to  that. 
The  true  Christians  are  here  described  by  con-  ^  Qur  Lord  had  "  laid  hold  on  "  Paul,  in 

trast  with  the  Judaizers,  whose  worship  was  the  order  to  bring  him  to  the  attainment  of  "  the 

carnal  worship  of  the  Temple,  whose  boasting  prize  of  God's  heavenly  calling."      "Jesus"  is 

was  in  the  law,  and  whose  confidence  was  in  omitted  by  the  best  MSS. 
the  circumcision  of  their  flesh.  "^  The  image  is  that  of  the  runner  m  a  foot- 

■^  Apparently  alluding  to  Jer.  ix.  24,  "  He  race,  whose  body  is  bent  forwards  in  the  direc- 

that  Imastcth  let  him  boast  in  the  Lord,"  which  is  tion   towards  which  he  runs.     See  begianiug 

qnoted  1  Cor.  i.  31  and  2  Cor.  x.  7.  of  Ch.  XX. 

•  Literally,  because  of  the  supereminence  p) 


CHAP.  XXVI. 


EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS. 


793 


m. 


Let  us  all,  then,  who  are  ripe^  in  understanding,  be  thus  minded ;  and   15 
if  in  any  thing  you  are  otherwise  minded,  that  also  shall  be  revealed  to 
you  by  God  [in  due  time] .     Nevertheless,  let  us  walk  according  to  that   16 
which  we  have  attained.'^ 

Brethren,  be  imitators  of  me  with  one  consent,  and  mark  those  who   17 
walk  according  to  my  example.     For  many  walk,  of  whom  I  told  you   18 
often  in  times '  past,  and  now  tell  you  even  weeping,  that  they  are  the 
enemies  *  of  the  cross  of  Christ ;  whose  end  is  destruction,  whose  God  is   19 
their  belly ,^  and  whose  glory  is  in  their  shame  ;  whose  mind  is  set  on 
earthly  things.    For  my  ®  life '  abides  in  heaven  ;  from  whence  also  I  look  20,2 
for  a  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  who  shall  change  my  vile  *  body   22 
into  the  likeness  of  His  glorious  body  ;  according  to  the  working  wliereby 
He  is  able  even  to   subdue   all   things   unto   Himself.     Therefore,   my  iv.  1 
brethren,  dearly  beloved  and  longed  for,  my  joy  and  crown,  so  stand  fast 
in  the  Lord,  my  dearly  beloved. 

I  exhort  Euodia,  and  I  exhort  Syntyche,^  to  be  of  one  mind     2 
in  the  Lord.     Yea,  and  I  beseech  thee  also,  my  true  yoke-     S 


Euodi»  and 
Syntyche 
nuBt  be 
•econciled. 


fellow,^"  to  help  them  [to  be  reconciled]  ;  for  they  strove  ear- 


1  The  translation  in  A.  V.  (here  and  in  t. 
12)  by  the  same  word  makes  St.  Paul  seem  to 
contradict  himself.  "  Perfect "  is  the  antithesis 
of  "  babe."     Compare  1  Cor.  xiv,  20. 

2  The  precept  is  the  same  given  Rom.  xiv. 
5.  The  words  "  think  the  same  thing  "  are 
orai^ted  in  the  best  MSS. 

*  Literally,  /  used  to  tell  you. 

■*  For  the  construction,  compare  1  John  ii. 
25.  The  persons  meant  were  men  who  led 
licentious  lives  (like  the  Corinthian  freethink- 
ers), and  they  arc  called  "  enemies  of  the  cross  " 
because  the  cross  was  the  symbol  of  mortifica- 
tion. 

5  Cf.  Rom.  xvi.  18. 

^  On  St.  Paul's  use  of  "  we  "  see  note  on 
1  Thess.  i.  3.  An  objection  has  been  made  to 
tianslating  it  in  the  singular  in  this  passage, 
on  the  ground  that  this  seems  to  limit  St. 
Paul's  3xpression  of  Christian  hope  and  faith 
to  himself;  but  a  very  little  consideration  will 
suffice  to  ahow  the  futility  of  such  an  objection. 
Where  St.  Paul  speaks  of  his  hopes  and  faith 
as  a  Christian,  his  words  are  necessarily  appli- 
cable to  other  Christians  as  well  as  to  himself. 
And,  in  fact,  some  of  the  passages  to  which 
Christians   in  general  have  ever  turned  with 


the  most  fervent  sympathy,  and  which  they 
have  most  undoubtingly  appropriated,  are 
those  very  passages  where  St.  Paul  uses  the 
"  singular :  "  as,  for  example,  "  for  me,"  Gal. 
ii.  20. 

''  This  noun  must  not  be  translated  citizen- 
ship (as  has  been  proposed),  which  would  be  a 
different  word  (cf.  Acts  xxii.  28).  The  corre- 
sponding verb  means  to  perform  the  functions 
of  civil  life,  and  is  used  simply  for  to  live ;  see 
Acts  xxiii.  1,  and  Phil.  i.  27.  Hence  the  noun 
means  the  tenor  of  life.  It  should  be  also 
observed  that  the  verb  here  means  more  than 
simply  "  is,"  though  it  is  diflScult  here  to  ex- 
press the  shade  of  difference  in  English. 

*  Literally,  the  bodij  of  my  humiliation. 

'  These  were  two  women  (the  pronoun  is 
feminine  in  v.  3,  which  is  mistranslated  in 
A.  V.)  who  were  at  variance. 

1^  We  have  no  means  of  knowing  who  was 
the  person  thus  addressed.  Apparently  some 
eminent  Christian  at  Philippi,  to  whom  the 
Epistle  was  to  be  presented  in  the  first  instance. 
The  old  hypothesis  (mentioned  by  Chrysos- 
tom),  that  the  word  is  a  proper  name,  is  not 
witliout  plausibility ;  "  who  art  Syzygus  in 
name  and  in  fact,"  as  a  commeotator  says. 


794  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES  OF  ST,   PAUL,  chap,  xiri, 

iv, 

nestly  in  the  work  of  the  Glad-tidings  with  me,  together  with  Clemens ' 

and  my  other  fellow-laborers,  whose  names  are  in  the  Book^  of  Life. 

4  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  at  all  times.     Again  wilP  I  say,  rejoice.  Exhomtionto 

rejoice  in  trib- 

5  Let  your  forbearance  be  known  to  all  men.     The  *  Lord  is  at  J^^" and7ot*** 

6  hand.  Let  no  care  trouble  you,  but  in  all  things,  by  prayer  ^""^  sooAnea,. 
and  supplication  with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be  made  known  to 

7  God.     And  the  peace  of  God,  which   passeth    all   understanding,  shall 

8  keep  *  your  hearts  and  minds  in  Christ  Jesus.  Finally,  brethren,  what- 
soever is  true,  whatsoever  is  venerable,  whatsoever  is  just,  whatsoever  is 
pure,  whatsoever  is  endearing,  whatsoever  is  of  good  report,  —  if  there 
be  any  virtue,  and  if  there  be  any  praise,  —  be   such   your   treasures,' 

9  That  which  you  were  taught  and  learned,  and  which  you  heard  and  saw 
in  me, —  be  that  your  practice.     So  shall  the  God  of  peace  be  with  you. 

10  I  rejoiced  in  the  Lord  greatly  when  I  found  that  now,  after  Liberality  of 

.  ■        1    *^^  Philippian 

so  long  a  time,  your  care  for  me   had   borne   fruit  again  ;  ^  church. 

11  though  your  care  indeed  never  failed,  but  you  lacked  opportunity.     Not 
that  I  speak  as  if  I  were  in  want ;  for  I  *  have  learned,  in  whatsoever 

12  state  I  am,  to  be  content.     I  can  bear  either  abasement  or  abundance. 
In  all  things,  and  amongst  all  men,  I  have  been  taught  the  secret,"  to  bo 

13  full  or  to  be  hungry,  to  want  or  to  abound.    I  can  do  all  things  in  Him  " 

14  who  strengthens  me.     Nevertheless,  you  have  done  well,  in  contributing 
16   to  the  help  of  my  affliction.    And  you  know  yourselves,  Philippians,  that, 

in   the  beginning  of  the  Glad-tidings,  after  I  had  left    Macedonia,"  no 

Church  communicated  with  me  on  account  of  giving  and  receiving,  but 

16  you  alone.     For  even  while  I  was  [still]  in  Thessalonica,'^  you  sent  once 

1  We  learn  from  Origen  {Comm.  oa  John  i.  ^  The  verb  is  future.  He  refers  to  iii.  1. 
29)  that  this  Clemens  (commonly  called  Clem-  *  They  are  exhorted  to  be  joyful  under 
ent)  was  the  same  who  was  afterwards  Bishop  persecution,  and  show  gentleness  to  their 
of  Rome,  and  who  wrote  the  Epistles  to  the  persecutors,  because  the  Lord's  coming  would 
Corinthians  which  we  have  before  referred  to  soon  deliver  them  from  all  their  aflHctions. 
(p.  541).     Eusebius  quotes  the  following  state-  Compare  note  on  1  Cor.  xvi.  22. 

ment  concerning  him  from  Irenajus  :  "  In  the  ^  Literally,  garrison. 

third  place  after  the  Apostles  the  episcopal  ^  Literally,  reckon  these  things  in  account. 

office  was  held  by  Clemens,  who  also  saw  the  Compare  1  Cor.  xiii.  5. 

blessed  Apostles,  and  lived  with  them." — Hist.  7  The  literal  meaning  is  to  put  forth  fresh 

Ecd.  V.  &.     It  appears  from  the  present  pas-  shoots.  *  This  "  I "  is  emphatic. 

eage  that  he  had  formerly  labored  successfully  »  Literally,  "  I  have  been  initiated." 

at  Philippi.  i"  "  Christ "  is  omitted  in  the  best  MSS 

2  Compare  "  Book  of  the  living,"  Ps.  Ixix.  For  "  strengthen,"  cf.  Rom.  iv.  20 

28  (LXX  ),  and  also  Luke  x.  20,  and  Heb.  "  Compare  2  Cor.  xi.  9,  and  p.  338 

xii.  23.  "  See  d  284. 


J 


CHAP.  XXVI.  CONVERTS  IN  THE  IMPERIAL  HOUSEHOLD.  795 

IT 

and  again  to  relieve  my  need.     Not  that  I  seek  your  gifts,  but  I  seek   17 
the  fruit  which  accrues  therefrom  to  your  account.    But  I  have  all  which   18 
I  require,  and  more  than  I  require.    I  am  fully  supplied,  having  received 
from  Epaphroditus  your  gifts,  '*  ait  obor  0f  sfaj^elncss/'  ^  an  acceptable 
Bacrifice  well  pleasing   to    God.      And   your   own   needs'^  shall   be  all   19 
supplied   by  my  God,  in   the  fulness    of  His  glorious  riches  in   Christ 
Jesus.     Now  to  our  God  and  Father  be  glory  unto  the  ages  of  ages.   20 
Amen. 

BaintaUoM.  Salutc  evcry  saint  in  Christ  Jesus.     The  brethren  who  are   21 

with  me '  salute  you, 

All  the  saints  here  salute  you,   especially   those  who  belong  to   the  22 
house  of  Caesar.* 
ben^^^n         "^^^  graco  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  your  spirits.*         23 

The  above  Epistle  gives  us  an  unusual  amount  of  information  concern- 
ing the  personal  situation  of  its  writer,  which  we  have  already  endeav- 
ored to  incorporate  into  our  narrative.  But  nothing  in  it  is  more 
suggestive  than  St.  Paul's  allusion  to  the  Praetorian  guards,  and  to  the 
converts  he  had  gained  in  the  household  of  Nero.  He  tells  us  (as  we 
have  just  read)  that  throughout  tlie  Praetorian  quarters  he  was  well 
known  as  a  prisoner  for  the  cause  of  Christ,"  and  he  sends  special  saluta- 
tions to  the  Philippian  Church  from  the  Christians  in  the  Imperial  house- 
hold.'^ These  notices  bring  before  us  very  vividly  the  moral  contrasts  by 
which  the  Apostle  was  surrounded.  The  soldier  to  whom  he  was  chained 
to-day  might  have  been  in  Nero's  body-guard  yesterday ;  his  comrade 
who  next  relieved  guard  upon  the  prisoner  might  have  been  one  of  the 
executioners  of  Octavia,  and  might  have  carried  her  head  to  Poppaea  a 
few  weeks  before.  Such  were  the  ordinary  employments  of  the  fierce 
and  blood-stained  veterans  who  were  daily  present,  like  wolves  in  the 
midst  of  sheep,  at  the  meetings  of  the  Christian  brotherhood.     If  there 

^  Gen.   viii.   21    (LXX.).      Compare   also  is  used  by  Josephus  (^n«.  xviii.  5,  8).     If  St. 

Lcvit.  i.  9,  and  Eph.  t.  2.  Paul  was  at  this  time  confined  in  the  neigh- 

*  The  your  is  emphatic.  borhood  of  the  Praetorian  quarters  attached  to 

*  This  brethren  with  me,  distinguished  from  the  palace,  we  can  more  readily  account  for  the 
aU  the  saints  in  the  next  verse,  seems  to  denote  conversion  of  some  of  those  who  lived  in  the 
St  Paul's  special  attendants,  such  as  Aristar-  buildings  immediately  contiguous. 

chus,  Epaphras,  Demas,  Timotheus,  &c.     Cf.  ^  The  majority  of  uncial  MSS.  read  "  spir- 

Gal.  i.  2.  it,"  and  omit  the  "  amen." 

*  These  members  of  the  Imperial  household  *  Phil.  i.  1 . 
were  probably  slaves  ;  so  the  same  expression  "^  Phil.  iv.  22 


796  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.xxti. 

were  any  of  these  soldiers  not  utterly  hardened  by  a  life  of  cruelty,  their 
hearts  must  surely  have  been  touched  by  the  character  of  their  prisoner, 
brought  as  they  were  into  so  close  a  contact  with  him.  They  must  have 
been  at  least  astonished  to  see  a  man,  under  such  circumstances,  so 
utterly  careless  of  seljfish  interests,  and  devoting  himself  with  an  energy 
so  unaccountable  to  the  teaching  of  others.  Strange  indeed  to  their 
ears,  fresh  from  the  brutality  of  a  Roman  barrack,  must  have  been  the 
sound  of  Christian  exhortation,  of  prayers,  and  of  hymns ;  stranger  still, 
perhaps,  the  tender  love  which  bound  the  converts  to  their  teacher  and  to 
one  another,  and  showed  itself  in  every  look  and  tone. 

But  if  the  agents  of  Nero's  tyranny  seem  out  of  place  in  such  a  scene, 
still  more  repugnant  to  the  assembled  worshippers  must  have  been  the 
instruments  of  his  pleasures,  the  ministers  of  his  lust.  Yet  some  even 
among  these,  the  depraved  servants  of  the  palace,  were  redeemed  from 
their  degradation  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  which  spoke  to  them  in  the 
words  of  Paul.  How  deep  their  degradation  was  we  know  from 
authentic  records.  We  are  not  left  to  conjecture  the  services  required 
from  the  attendants  of  Nero.  The  ancient  historians  have  polluted  their 
pages  ^  with  details  of  infamy  which  no  writer  in  the  languages  of  Chris- 
tendom may  dare  to  repeat.  Thus  the  very  immensity  of  moral  amelio- 
ration wrought  operates  to  disguise  its  own  extent,  and  hides  from 
inexperienced  eyes  the  gulf  which  separates  Heathenism  from  Chris- 
tianity. Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  courtiers  of  Nero  were  the  spectators, 
and  the  members  of  his  household  the  instruments,  of  vices  so  monstrous 
and  so  unnatural,  that  they  shocked  even  the  men  of  that  generation, 
steeped  as  it  was  in  every  species  of  obscenity.  But  we  must  remember 
that  many  of  those  who  took  part  in  such  abominations  were  involuntary 
agents,  forced  by  the  compulsion  of  slavery  to  do  their  master's  bidding. 
And  the  very  depth  of  vileness  in  which  they  were  plunged  must  have 
excited  in  some  of  them  an  indignant  disgust  and  revulsion  against  vice. 
Under  such  feelings,  if  curiosity  led  them  to  visit  the  Apostle's  prison, 
they  were  well  qualified  to  appreciate  the  purity  of  its  moral  atmosphere. 
And  there  it  was  that  some  of  these  unhappy  bondsmen  first  tasted  of 
spiritual  freedom,  and  were  prepared  to  brave  with  patient  heroism  the 
tortures  under  which  they  soon  '^  were  destined  to  expire  in  the  gardens 
of  the  Vatican. 

History  has  few  stranger  contrasts  than  when  it  shows  us  Paul  preach- 

^  See  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  .37,  Dio.  Ixiii.  13,  and  in  the  snmmer  of  64  A.  D. ;  that  is,  within  less 

especially  Suetonius,  Nero,  28,  29.  than  two  years  of  the  time  when  the  Epistle 

■^  The  Neronian  persecution,  in  which  such  to  Philippi  was  written.     See  the  next  chap- 

Tast  multitudes  of  Christians  perished,  occurred  ter. 


CHAP.  xxvT.  MODERN  INFIDELITY.  797 

ing  Chris/  under  the  walls  of  Nero's  palace.  Thenceforward,  there  were 
but  two  religions  in  the  Roman  world  ;  the  worship  of  the  Emperor,  and 
the  worship  of  the  Saviour.  The  old  superstitions  had  been  long  worn 
out ;  they  had  lost  all  hold  on  educated  minds.  There  remained  to 
civilized  Heathens  no  other  worship  possible  but  the  worship  of  power ; 
and  the  incarnation  of  power  which  they  chose  was,  very  naturally,  the 
Sovereign  of  the  world.  This,  then,  was  the  ultimate  result  of  the  noble 
intuitions  of  Plato,  the  methodical  reasonings  of  Aristotle,  the  pure 
morality  of  Socrates.  All  had  failed  for  want  of  external  sanction  and 
authority.  The  residuum  they  left  was  the  philosophy  of  Epicurus,  and 
the  religion  of  Nerolatry.  But  a  new  doctrine  was  already  taught  in  the 
Forum,  and  believed  even  on  the  Palatine.  Over  against  the  altars  of 
Nero  and  Poppaea,  the  voice  of  a  prisoner  was  daily  heard,  and  daily 
woke  in  grovelling  souls  the  consciousness  of  their  divine  destiny.  Men 
listened,  and  knew  that  self-sacrifice  was  better  than  ease,  humiliation 
more  exalted  than  pride,  to  suffer  nobler  than  to  reign.  They  felt  that 
the  only  religion  which  satisfied  the  needs  of  man  was  the  religion  of 
sorrow,  the  religion  of  self-devotion,  the  religion  of  the  cross. 

There  are  some  amongst  us  now  who  think  that  the  doctrine  which 
Paul  preached  was  a  retrograde  movement  in  the  course  of  humanity; 
there  are  others,  who,  with  greater  plausibility,  acknowledge  that  it  was 
useful  in  its  season,  but  tell  us  that  it  is  now  worn  out  and  obsolete. 
The  former  are  far  more  consistent  than  the  latter  ;  for  both  schools  of 
infidelity  agree  in  virtually  advising  us  to  return  to  that  effete  philosophy 
which  had  been  already  tried  and  found  wanting  when  Christianity  was 
winning  the  first  triumphs  of  its  immortal  youth.  This  might  well  sur- 
prise us,  did  we  not  know  that  the  progress  of  human  reason  in  the 
paths  of  ethical  discovery  is  merely  the  progress  of  a  man  in  a  tread- 
mill, doomed  forever  to  retrace  his  own  steps.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  we 
might  have  hoped  that  mankind  could  not  again  be  duped  by  an  old  and 
useless  remedy,  which  was  compounded  and  re-compounded  in  every 
possible  shape  and  combination  two  thousand  years  ago,  and  at  last 
utterly  rejected  by  a  nauseated  world.  Yet  for  this  antiquated  anodyne, 
disguised  under  a  new  label,  many  are  once  more  bartering  the  only  true 
medicine  that  can  heal  the  diseases  of  the  soul. 

For  such  mistakes  there  is,  indeed,  no  real  cure,  except  prayer  to  Him 
who  giveth  sight  to  the  blind  ;  but  a  partial  antidote  may  be  supplied  by 
the  history  of  the  Imperial  Commonwealth.  The  true  wants  of  the 
Apostolic  age  can  best  be  learned  from  the  Annals  of  Tacitus.  There 
men  may  still  see  the  picture  of  that  Rome  to  which  Paul  preached ;  and 
thence  they  may  comprehend  the  results  of  civilization  without  Christi- 


798 


THE  LIFE  AJSTD  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXVI. 


anitj,  and  the  impotence  of  a  moral  philosophy  destitute  of  supernatural 
attestation.' 


Coin  of  Phlllppl  J 


^  Had  Arnold  lived  to  complete  his  task, 
how  nobly  would  his  history  of  the  Empire 
have  worked  out  this  great  argument!  His 
indignant  abhorrence  of  wickedness,  and  his 


enthusiastic  love  of  moral  beaatj,  made  hia 
worthy  of  such  a  theme. 

^  From  the  British  Museum. 


I 


CHAPTER   XXVn. 

Authorities  for  St.  Paul's  Subsequent  History  -  His  Appeal  is  heard.  —  His  Acquittal.  —  He 
goes  from  Rome  to  Asia  Minor.  —  Thcce  to  Spain,  where  he  resides  Two  Years.  —  He 
letums  to  Asia  Minor  and  Macedonia.  —  Writes  the  First  Epistle  to  Timothcus.  —  Visits  Crete. 

—  Writes  the  Epistle  to  Titus.  —  He  winters  at  Nicopolis.  —  He  is  again  imprisoned  at  Eome. 

—  Progress  of  his  Trial.  —  He  writes  the  Second  Epistle  to  Timotheus.  —  His  Condemnation 
and  Death. 

WE  have  already  remarked  that  the  light  concentrated  upon  that  por- 
tion of  St.  Paul's  life  which  is  related  in  the  latter  chapters  of  the 
Acts  makes  darker  by  contrast  tlie  obscurity  which  rests  upon  the  re- 
mainder of  his  course.  The  progress  of  the  historian  who  attempts  to 
trace  the  footsteps  of  the  Apostles  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Scriptural  nar- 
rative, must,  at  best,  be  hesitating  and  uncertain.  It  has  been  compared' 
to  the  descent  of  one  who  passes  from  the  clear  sunshine  which  rests  upon 
a  mountain's  top  into  the  mist  which  wraps  its  side.  But  this  is  an 
inadequate  comparison  ;  for  such  a  wayfarer  loses  the  daylight  gradually, 
and  experiences  no  abrupt  transition,  from  the  bright  prospect  and  the 
distinctness  of  the  onward  path,  into  darkness  and  bewilderment.  Our 
case  should  rather  be  compared  with  that  of  the  traveller  on  the  Chinese 
frontier,  who  has  just  reached  a  turn  in  the  valley  along  which  his  course 
has  led  him,  and  has  come  to  a  point  whence  he  expected  to  enjoy  the 
view  of  a  new  and  brilliant  landscape ;  when  he  suddenly  finds  all 
farther  prospect  cut  off  by  an  enormous  wall,  filling  up  all  the  space 
between  precipices  on  either  hand,  and  opposing  a  blank  and  insuperable 
barrier  to  his  onward  progress.  And  if  a  chink  here  and  there  should 
allow  some  glimpses  of  the  rich  territory  beyond,  they  are  only  enough 
to  tantalize  without  gratifying  his  curiosity. 

Doubtless,  however,  it  was  a  Providential  design  which  has  thus  limited 
our  knowledge.  The  wall  of  separation,  which  forever  cuts  off  the 
Apostolic  age  from  that  which  followed  it,  was  built  by  the  hand  of  God 
That  age  of  miracles  was  not  to  be  revealed  to  us  as  passing  by  any 
gradual  transition  into  the  common  life  of  the  Church :  it  was  intention- 
ally isolated  from  all  succeeding  time,  that  we  might  learn  to  appreciate 

^  The  comparison  occurs  somewhere  in  Arnold's  works. 

799 


800  THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xxvn. 

more  fully  its  extraordinary  character,  and  see,  by  the  sharpness  of  the 
abruptest  contrast,  the  difference  between  the  human  and  the  divine, 

A  few  faint  rays  of  light,  however,  have  been  permitted  to  penetrate 
beyond  the  dividing  barrier,  and  of  these  we  must  make  the  best  use  we 
can  ;  for  it  is  now  our  task  to  trace  the  history  of  St.  Pau  beyond  the 
period  where  the  narrative  of  his  fellow-traveller  so  suddenly  terminates,' 
The  only  contemporary  materials  for  this  purpose  are  his  own  letters  to 
Titus  and  Timotheus,  and  a  single  sentence  of  his  disciple^  Clement  of 
Rome  ;  and  during  the  three  centuries  which  followed  we  can  gather  but 
a  few  scattered  and  unsatisfactory  notices  from  the  writers  who  have 
handed  down  to  us  the  traditions  of  the  Chiirch. 

The  great  question  which  we  have  to  answer  concerns  the  termination 
of  that  long  imprisonment  whose  history  has  occupied  the  preceding  chap- 
ters. St.  Luke  tells  us  that  Paul  remained  under  military  custody  in 
Rome  for  "  two  whole  years  "  (Acts  xxviii,  16  and  30)  ;  but  he  does 
not  say  what  followed  at  the  close  of  that  period.  Was  it  ended,  we  are 
left  to  ask,  by  the  Apostle's  condemnation  and  death,  or  by  his  acquittal 
and  liberation  ?  Although  the  answer  to  this  question  has  been  a  subject 
of  dispute  in  modern  times,  no  doubt  was  entertained  about  it  by  the 
ancient  Church.^  It  was  universally  believed  that  St.  Paul's  appeal  to 
Csesar  terminated  successfully  ;  that  he  was  acquitted  of  the  charges  laid 
against  him ;  and  that  he  spent  some  years  in  freedom  before  he  was 
again  imprisoned  and  condemned.  The  evidence  on  this  subject,  though 
(as  we  have  said)  not  copious,  is  yet  conclusive  so  far  as  it  goes,  and  it  is 
all  one  way.' 

1  Numerous   explanations    have   been    at-  ^  If  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  written 

tempted  of  the  sudden  and  abrupt  termination  by  St.  Paul,  it  proves  conclusively  that  he  was 

of  the  Acts,  which  breaks  off  the  narrative  of  liberated  from  his  Roman  imprisonment ;  for 

St.  Paul's  appeal  to  Csesar  (up  to  that  point  so  its  writer  is  in  ItaJif  and  at  liberti/.     (Heb.  xlii. 

minutely  detailed)  just  as  we  are  expecting  its  23,  24.)     But  we  are  precluded  from  using  this 

conclusion.     The  most  plausible  explanations  as  an  argument,  in  consequence  of  the  doubts 

are  —  (I)  That  Theo\)h\\ns  alreadj  knew  of  the  concerning   the    authorship    of    that  Epistle. 

conclusion  of  the  Roman  imprisonment;  wheth-  See  the  next  chapter. 

er  it  was  ended  by  St.  Paul's  death  or  by  his  ^  Since  the  above  was  published,  the  same 

liberation.     (2)  That  St.  Luke  wrote  be/ore  the  opinion  has  been  expressed  yet  more  strongly 

conclusion  of  the  imprisonment,  and  carried  his  by  Chevalier  Bunsen,  whose  judgment  on  snch 

narrative  up  to  the  point  at  which  he  wrote.  a  point  is  entitled  to  the  greatest  weight.     He 

But  neither  of  these  theories  is  fully  satisfacto-  says,  "  Some  German  critics  have  a  peculiar 

ry.     We  may  take  this  opportunity  to  remark  idiosyncrasy  which  leads  them  to  disbelieve  the 

that  the  "dwelt"  and  "  received"  (Acts  xxviii.  second  captivity  of  Paul.     Yet  it  appears  to 

.30)  by  no  means  imply  (as  Wieseler  asserts)  me  very  arbitrary  to  deny  a  fact  for  which  we 

that  a  chnncjed  state  of  things  had  succeeded  to  have  the  explicit  evidence  of  Paul's  disciple  and 

that  there  described.     In  writing   historically,  companion  Clemens."  —  Bunsen's  Hippdiftus, 

the  historical  tenses  would  be  used  by  an  an-  Second  Ed.,  vol.  1.  p.  27. 
cient  writer,  even  though  (when  he  wrote)  the 
events  described  by  him  were  still  going  on. 


CHAP.xxvn.  ST.   PAUL'S  LIBERATION.  801 

The  most  important  portion  of  it  is  supplied  by  Clement,  the  disciple  of 
St.  Paul,  mentioned  Phil.  iv.  3,'  who  was  afterwards  Bishop  of  Rome. 
This  author,  writing  from  Rome  to  Corinth,  expressly  asserts  that  Paul 
had  preached  the  Gospel  "  in  the  east  and  in  the  west  ; "  that  "  he 
•.».ad  instructed  the  whole  world  [i.  e.  the  Roman  Empire^  which  was  com- 
monly so  called]  in  righteousness ; "  and  that  he  "  had  gone  to  the 
extremity  of  the  west  "  before  his  martyrdom.'^ 

Now,  in  a  Roman  author,  the  extremity  of  the  West  could  mean  nothing 
short  of  Spain,  and  the  expression  is  often  used  by  Roman  writers  to 
denote  Spain.  Here,  then,  we  have  the  express  testimony  of  St.  Paul's 
own  disciple  that  he  fulfilled  his  original  intention  (mentioned  Rom.  xv. 
24-28)  of  visiting  the  Spanish  peninsula  ;  and  consequently  that  he  was 
liberated  from  his  first  imprisonment  at  Rome. 

The  next  piece  of  evidence  which  we  possess  on  the  subject  is  contained 
in  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament,  compiled  by  an  unknown  Christian 
about  the  year  a.  d.  170,  which  is  commonly  called  "  Muratori's  Canon." 
Li  this  document  it  is  said,  in  the  account  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles^ 
that  "  Luke  relates  to  TJieophilus  events  of  which  he  was  an  eye-witness,  as 
also,  in  a  separate  place  (remote)  [viz.  Luke  xxii.  31-33] ,  he  evidently 
declares  the  martyrdom  of  Peter,  but  [omits']  the  journey  op  Paul  prom 
Rome  to  Spain."  ' 

In  the  next  place,  Eusebius  tells  us,  "  after  defending  himself  successfully^ 
it  is  currently  reported  that  the  Apostle  again  went  forth  to  proclaim  the 
Gospel,  and  afterwards  came  to  Rome  a  second  time,  and  was  martyre  / 
under  Nero.^^  * 

Next  we  have  the  statement  of  Chrysostom,  who  mentions  it  as  au 
undoubted  historical  fact,  that  "  *S'^.  Paul,  after  his  residence  in  Rome, 
departed  to  Spaing ' 

About  the  same  time  St.  Jerome  bears  the  same  testimony,  saying  that 
"  Paul  ivas  dismissed  by  Nero,  that  he  might  preach  Chrisfs  Gospel  in  the 
West."  6 

Against  this  unanimous  testimony  of  the  primitive  Church  there  is  no 

1  For  the  identity  of  St.  Paul's  disciple  der  translates  one  phrase  "  having  been  mar- 
Clemens  with  Clemens  Romanus,  see  the  note  tyred  there,"  and  then  argues  that  the  eoctremity 
on  Phil.  iv.  3.  We  may  add,  that  even  those  of  the  TFes<  cannot  mean  Spain,  because  St.  Paul 
who  doubt  this  identity  acknowledge  that  was  not  martyred  in  Spain;  but  his  "there"  is 
Clemens  Romanus  wrote  in  the  first  century.  a  mere  interpolation  of  his  own. 

2  Clem.  Rom.  i.  chap.  v.  We  need  scarcely  ^  For  an  account  of  this  fragment  see 
remark  upon  Wieseler's  proposal  to  translate  Routh's  Reh'quice  Sacrce,  vol.  iv.  p.  1-12. 

the  words  for  the  extremity  of  the  West  [rh  rip/ia  *  Hist.  Eccl.  ii.  22. 

TTii  dvoEuc),  the  Sovereign  of  Rome!    That  inge-  ^  He  adds,  "whether  he  went  to  the  East- 

nious  writer  has  been  here  evidently  misled  by  em  part  of  the  Empire,  we  know  not."     This 

his   desire   to  wrest  the  passage   (quocunque  does  not  imply  a  doubt  of  his  return  to  Rome, 

modo)  into  conformity  with  his  theory.   Schra-  ^  HieroQ.  Catal.  Script. 
51 


02  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xxvn. 

external  evidence  ^  whatever  to  oppose.  Those  who  doubt  the  liberation 
of  St.  Paul  from  his  imprisonment  are  obliged  to  resort  to  a  gratuitous 
hypothesis,  or  to  inconclusive  arguments  from  probability.  Thus  they 
try  to  account  for  the  tradition  of  the  Spanish  journey  by  the  arbitrary 
supposition  that  it  arose  from  a  wish  to  represent  St.  Paul  as  having  ful- 
filled his  expressed  intentions  (Rom.  xv.  19)  of  visiting  Spain.  Or  they 
say  that  it  is  improbable  Nero  would  have  liberated  St.  Paul  after  he  had 
fallen  under  the  influence  of  Poppaea,  the  Jewish  proselyte.  Or,  lastly, 
they  urge,  that,  if  St.  Paul  had  really  been  liberated,  we  must  have  had 
some  account  of  his  subsequent  labors.  The  first  argument  needs  no 
answer,  being  a  mere  hypothesis.  The  second,  as  to  the  probability  of 
tlie  matter,  may  be  met  by  the  remark,  that  we  know  far  too  little  of  the 
circumstances,  and  of  the  motives  which  weighed  with  Nero,  to  judge 
how  he  would  have  been  likely  to  act  in  the  case.  To  the  third  argu- 
ment we  may  oppose  the  fact,  that  we  have  no  account  whatever  of  St. 
Paul's  labors,  toils,  and  sufferings,  during  several  of  the  most  active 
years  of  his  life,  and  only  learn  their  existence  by  a  casual  allusion  in  a 
letter  to  the  Corinthians  (2  Cor.  xi.  24,  25).  Moreover,  if  this  argument 
be  worth  any  thing,  it  would  prove  that  none  of  the  Apostles  except 
St.  Paul  took  any  part  whatever  in  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  after 
the  first  few  years ;  since  we  have  no  testimony  to  their  subsequent 
labors  at  all  more  definite  than  that  which  we  have  above  quoted  concern- 
ing the  work  of  St.  Paul  after  his  liberation. 

But  farther,  unless  we  are  prepared  to  dispute  the  genuineness  of  the 
Pastoral  Epistles,"^  we  must  admit  not  only  that  St.  Paul  was  liberated 
from  his  Roman  imprisonment,  but  also  that  he  continued  his  Apostolic 
labors  for  at  least  some  years  afterwards.  For  it  is  now  admitted  by 
nearly  all  those  who  are  competent  to  decide  on  such  a  question,'  first, 

1  It  has  indeed  been   urged   that   Origen  known   history  of  the  Gallican  Church,  and 

knew  nothing  of  the  journey  to  Spain,  be-  made  by  a  writer  of  the  fifth  century.     It  has 

cause  Eusebius  tells  us  that  he  speaks  of  Paul  been  also  argued  by  Wieseler  that  Eusebiua 

"  preaching  from  Jerusalem  to  Illyricum,"  —  and  Chrysostom  were  led  to  the  hypothesis  of 

a  manifest  allusion   to   Rom.  xv.  19,     It  is  a  second  imprisonment  by  their  mistaken  view 

strange   that   those  who   use   this   argument  of  2  Tim.  iv.  20.     But  it  is  equally  probable 

should  not  have  perceived   that   they  might,  that  they  were  led  to  that  view  of  the  passage 

with  equal  justice,  infer  that  Origen  was  igno-  by  their  previous  belief  in  the  tradition  of  the 

rant  of  St.  Piiul's  preaching  at  Malta.     Still  second  imprisonment.    Nor  is  their  view  of 

more  extraordinary  is  it  to  find  Wieseler  rely-  that  passage  untenable,  though  we  think  it 

ing  on  the  testimony  of  Pope  Innocent  I.,  who  mistaken. 

asserts   (in   the   true    spirit  of   the    Papacy)  ^  On  the  question  of  the  date  of  the  Pasto- 

that  "  all  the  churches  in  Italy,  Gaul,  Spain,  ral  Epistles,  see  Appendix  II. 
Africa,   Sicily,   and    the    interjacent    islands,  ^  j^r.  Davidson  is  an  exception,  and  has 

were  founded  by  emissaries  of  St.  Peter  or  summed  up  all  that  can  be  said  on  the  oppo- 

his  successors  ; "  an  assertion  manifestly  con-  site  side  of  the  question  with  his  usual  ability 

tr»dicting  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  the  and  fairness.     With  regard  to  Wieseler,  see 


HAP  xxvn.  HIS   PERSONAL  HISTORY   AFTER  LIBERATION.  803 

that  the  historical  facts  mentioned  in  the  Epistles  to  Timotheus  and  Titus 
cannot  be  placed  in  any  portion  of  St.  Paul's  life  before  or  during  his  first 
imprisonment  in  Rome ;  and,  secondly,  that  the  style  in  which  those 
Epistles  are  written,  and  the  condition  of  the  Church  described  in  them, 
forbid  the  supposition  of  such  a  date.  Consequently,  we  must  acknowl- 
edge (unless  we  deny  the  authenticity  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles)  that  after 
St.  Paul's  Roman  imprisonment  he  was  travelling  at  liberty  in  Ephesus,* 
Crete,'-  Macedonia,^  Miletus,*  and  Nicopolis,*  and  that  he  was  afterwards  a 
second  time  in  prison  at  Rome.® 

But,  when  we  have  said  this,  we  have  told  nearly  all  that  we  know  of 
the  Apostle's  personal  history,  from  his  liberation  to  his  death.  We  can- 
not fix  with  certainty  the  length  of  the  time  which  intervened,  nor  the 
order  in  which  he  visited  the  different  places  where  he  is  recorded  to  have 
labored.  The  following  data,  however,  we  have.  In  the  first  place,  his 
martrydom  is  universally  said  to  have  occurred''  in  the  reign  of  Nero. 
Secondly,  Timotheus  was  still  a  young  man  (i.  e.  young  for  the  charge 
committed  to  him)  ®  at  the  time  of  Paul's  second  imprisonment  at 
Rome.  Thirdly,  the  three  Pastoral  Epistles  were  written  within  a»  few 
months  •  of  one  another.**  Fourthly,  their  style  differs  so  much  from  the 
style  of  the  earlier  Epistles,  that  we  must  suppose  as  long  an  interval 
between  their  date  and  that  of  the  Epistle  to  Philippi  as  is  consistent  with 
the  preceding  conditions. 

These  reasons  concur  in  leading  us  to  fix  the  last  year  of  Nero  as  that 
of  St.  Paul's  martrydom.  And  this  is  the  very  year  assigned  to  it  by 
Jerome,  and  the  next  to  that  assigned  by  Eusebius,  the  two  earliest 
writers  who  mention  the  date  of  St.  Paul's  death  at  all.  We  have  already 
seen  that  St.  Paul  first  arrived  in  Rome  in  the  spring  of  a.  d.  61 :  we 
therefore  have,  on  our  hypothesis,  an  interval  of  five  years  between  the 
period  with  which  St.  Luke  concludes  (a.  d.  63)  and  the  Apostle's  mar- 
trydom.'** And  the  grounds  above  mentioned  lead  us  to  the  conclusion 
that  this  interval  was  occupied  in  the  following  manner. 

the  note  in  the  Appendix,  above  referred  to.  ^  1  Tim.  i.  3. 

fin  an  able  and  candid  review  of  this  work,  ^  Titus  i.  5. 

which  appeared  in  Kitto's  Journal  of  Sacred  8  \  Tim.  i.  3. 

Literature,  the  reviewer  has  misunderstood  our  *  2  Tim.  iv.  20. 

assertion  in  the  text,  on  which  this  is  a  note.  ^  Titus  iii.  12. 

He  states   that  we  have   there  asserted   that  ^  2  Tim.  i.  16,17. 

competent  judges   are   nearly  unanimous    in  "^  See  the  references  to  Tertnllian,  Eusebius, 

agreeing  with  our  view  of  the  second  imprison-  Jerome,  «S:c.,  given  below,  p.  847,  note  1. 

ment.     But  any  one  who  reads  carefully  what  ^  1  Tim.  iii.  2,  2  Tim.  ii.  22. 

we  have  written  above  will  perceive  that  this  ^  See  remarks  on  the  date  of  the  Pastoral 

is  not  what  we  have  said      We  have  only  as-  Epistles,  in  Appendix  II. 

serted  that  most  competent  judges  are  agreed  ^"  The  above  data  show  us  the  necessity  of 

(U  thinking  tlatt  the  Pastoral  Epistles  cannot  he  supposing  as   long    an    interval    as    possible 

placed  before  the  first  captivity. \  between  St.  Paul's  liberation  and   his  second 


804'  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OP   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xxvn. 

In  the  first  place,  after  the  long  delay,  which  we  have  before  endeav 
ored  to  explain,  St.  Paul's  appeal  came  on  for  hearing  before  the 
Emperor.  The  appeals  from  the  provinces  in  civil  causes  were  heard, 
not  by  the  Emperor  himself,  but  by  his  delegates,  who  were  persons  of 
consular  rank :  Augustus  had  appointed  one  such  delegate  to  hear 
appeals  from  each  province  respectively.^  But  criminal  appeals  appear 
generally  to  have  been  heard  by  the  Emperor  in  person,^  assisted  by  his 
council  of  Assessors.  Tiberius  and  Claudius  had  usually  sat  for  this 
purpose  in  the  Forum ; '  but  Nero,  after  the  example  of  Augustus, 
heard  these  causes  in  the  Imperial  Palace,*  whose  ruins  still  crown 
the  Palatine.  Here,  at  one  end  of  a  splendid  hall,^  lined  with  the 
precious  marbles  ^  of  Egypt  and  of  Lybia,  we  must  imagine  the  Csesar 
seated,  in  the  midst  of  his  Assessors.  These  councillors,  twenty  in  num- 
ber, were  men  of  the  highest  rank  and  greatest  influence.  Among  them 
were  the  two  consuls,'^  and  selected  representatives  of  each  of  the  other 
great  magistracies  of  Rome.^  The  remainder  consisted  of  Senators 
chosen  by  lot.  Over  this  distinguished  bench  of  judges  presided  the 
representative  of  the  most  powerful  monarchy  which  has  ever  existed,  — 
the  absolute  ruler  of  the  whole  civilized  world.  But  the  reverential 
awe  which  his  position  naturally  suggested  was  changed  into  contempt 
and  loathing  by  the  character  of  the  Sovereign  who  now  presided  over 
that  supreme  tribunal.  For  Nero  was  a  man  whom  even  the  awful  attri- 
bute of  "  power  equal  to  the  gods  "  ^  could  not  render  august,  except  in 
title.  The  fear  and  horror  excited  by  his  omnipotence  and  his  cruelty 
were  blended  with  contempt  for  his  ignoble  lust  of  praise,  and  his  shame- 
imprisonment.  Therefore  we  must  assume  ®  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  Rome 
that  his  appeal  was  finally  decided  at  the  end  will  remember  how  the  interior  ©f  many  of 
of  the  "  two  years  "  mentioned  in  Acts  xxviii.  the  ruined  buildings  is  lined  with  a  coating  of 
30,  —  that  is,  in  the  spring  of  a.d.  63.                      these  precious  marbles. 

1  Sueton.  Oct.  33 ;  but  Geib  thinks  this  "^  Memmius  Regulus  and  Virginias  Rufuw 
arrangement  was  not  of  long  duration.                   were  the  consuls  of  the  year  a.d.  63  (a.c.o 

2  "  Other  matters  he  himself  examined  and  816).  Under  some  of  the  Emperors,  the  con 
decided  with  his  assessors,  sitting  on  the  tribu-  suls  were  often  changed  several  times  during 
nal  in  the  Palatium."  (Dio,  Iv.  27.)  This  is  the  year;  but  Nero  allowed  them  to  hold  of- 
said  of  Augustus.  fice  for  six   months.     So   that   these  consuls 

*  As  to  Tiberius,  sec  Dio,  Ivii.  7  ;  and  as       would  still  be  in  oCSce  till  3\x\y. 

to  Claudius,  Dio,  Ix.  4.  ^  wSuch,  at  least,  was   the   constitution  of 

*  Tiberius  built  a  tribunal  on  the  Palatine  the  council  of  assessors,  according  to  the  ordi- 
(Dio,  Ivii.  7).  nance  of  Augustus,  which  appears   to  have 

^  Dio   mentions   that   the  ceilings  of   the      remained  unaltered.     Sec  Dio,  liii.  21.     Also 
Halls  of  Justice  in  the  Palatine  were  painted       see  Sueton.  Tihr.  .5,5,  and  the  passages  of  Dio 
by  Severus  to  represent  the  starry  sky.     The      referred  to  in  the  notes  above, 
old  Roman  practice  was  for  the  magistrate  to  '  "  Diis  sequa  potestas  "  was  the  attribnt« 

sit  under  the  open  sky,  which  probably  sug-       of  the  Emperors.    (Juv.  iv.) 
gcstcd  this  kind  of  ceiling.    Even  the  Basili- 
cas were  not  roofed  over  (as  to  their  central 
aave)  till  a  late  period. 


CHAP.  xxvn.  THE  TRIAL.  805 

less  licentiousness.  He  had  not  as  yet  plunged  into  that  extravagance  of 
tyranny,  which,  at  a  later  period,  exhausted  the  patience  of  his  subjects, 
and  brought  him  to  destruction.  Hitherto  his  public  measures  had  been 
guided  by  sage  advisers,  and  his  cruelty  bad  injured  his  own  family 
rather  than  the  State.  But  already,  at  the  age  of  twenty-live,  be  had 
murdered  his  innocent  wife  and  his  adopted  brother,  and  had  dyed  his 
hands  in  the  blood  of  his  mother.  Yet  even  tbese  enormities  seem  to 
have  disgusted  the  Romans  less  than  his  prostitution  of  the  Imperial  pur- 
ple, by  publicly  performing  as  a  musician  on  the  stage  and  a  charioteer 
in  the  circus.  His  degrading  want  of  dignity,  and  insatiable  appetite  for 
vulgar  applause,  drew  tears  from  the  councillors  and  servants  of  bis 
house,  who  could  see  him  slaughter  his  nearest  relatives  without  remon- 
strance. 

Before  the  tribunal  of  this  blood-stained  adulterer,  Paul  the  Apostle 
was  now  brought  in  fetters,  under  the  custody  of  his  military  guard.  We 
may  be  sure  that  be  who  had  so  often  stood  undaunted  before  the  dele- 
gates of  the  Imperial  throne  did  not  quail  when  he  was  at  last  confronted 
with  their  master.  His  life  was  not  in  the  hands  of  Nero  :  he  knew  that 
while  his  Lord  had  work  for  him  on  earth,  He  woiild  shield  him  from  the 
tyrant's  sword ;  and,  if  his  work  was  over,  how  gladly  would  he  "  depart 
and  be  with  Christ,  which  was  far  better."  '  To  liim  all  the  majesty  of 
Roman  despotism  was  nothing  more  than  an  empty  pageant ;  the  Impe- 
rial demigod  himself  was  but  one  of  "  the  princes  of  this  world,  that 
come  to  nought."  ^  Thus  he  stood,  calm  and  collected,  ready  to  answer 
the  charges  of  his  accusers,  and  knowing  that  in  the  hour  of  his  need  it 
should  be  given  him  what  to  speak. 

The  prosecutors  and  their  witnesses  were  now  called  forward  to  sup- 
port their  accusation  :  ^  for  although  the  subject-matter  for  decision  was 
contained  in  the  written  depositions  forwarded  from  Judaea  by  Festus, 
yet  the  Roman  law  required  the  personal  presence  of  the  accusers  and 
the  witnesses,  whenever  it  could  be  obtained.^  We  already  know  the 
charges  ^  brought  against  the  Apostle.  He  was  accused  of  disturbing 
the  Jews  in  the  exercise  of  their  worship,  which  was  secured  to  them  by 

1  See  his  anticipations  of  his  trial.     Phil.  *  As   to   the   accusers,  see   above,   p.  688, 

i.  20-25,  and  Phil.  ii.  17.  ^  I  Cor.  ii.  6.  note  8.     "Written  depositions  were  received  at 

^  The  order  of   the  proceedings   was  (1)  this   period   by  the   Roman   Courts,  but  not 

Speech  of  the  prosecutor;  (2)  Examination  where  the  personal  presence  of  the  witnesses 

and   cross-examination   of   witnesses  for  the  could  be  obtained.     See  also  Acts  xxiv.  19, 

prosecution;  (3)  Speech  of  the  prisoner;  (4)  "  who  ought  to  have  been  here  present  before 

Examination   and    cioss-examination    of   the  thee." 

witnesses  for  the  defence.     The  introduction  '  ^  See  Acts  xxiv.  5,  6,  and  xxt.  7,  8,  and 

of  cross-examination  was  an  innovation  upon  pages  660,  661,  and  668. 
the  old  Republican  procedure, 


806  THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES    OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap.  xxyu. 

law ;  of  desecrating  their  Temple  ;  and,  above  all,  of  violating  the  public 
peace  of  the  Empire  by  perpetual  agitation,  as  the  ringleader  of  a  new 
and  factious  sect.  Tliis  charge  ^  was  the  most  serious  in  the  view  of  a 
Roman  statesman ;  for  the  crime  alleged  amounted  to  majestas,  or 
treason  against  the  Commonwealth,  and  was  punisliable  with  death. 

These  accusations  were  supported  by  the  emissaries  of  the  Sanhedrin, 
and  probably  by  the  testimony  of  witnesses  from  Judaea,  Ephesus,  Cor- 
inth, and  the  other  scenes  of  Paul's  activity.  The  foreign  accusers, 
however,  did  not  rely  on  the  support  of  their  own  unaided  eloquence. 
They  doubtless  hired  the  rhetoric  of  some  accomplished  Roman  pleader 
(as  they  had  done  even  before  the  provincial  tribunal  of  Felix)  to  set  off 
their  cause  to  the  best  advantage,  and  paint  the  dangerous  character  of 
their  antagonist  in  the  darkest  colors.  Nor  would  it  have  been  difficult 
to  represent  the  missionary  labors  of  Paul  as  dangerous  to  the  security 
of  the  Roman  state,  when  we  remember  how  ill  informed  the  Roman 
magistrates,  who  listened,  must  have  been  concerning  the  questions 
really  at  issue  between  Paul  and  his  opponents ;  and  when  we  consider 
how  easily  the  Jews  were  excited  against  the  government  by  any  fanati 
cal  leader  who  appealed  to  their  nationality,  and  how  readily  the  king- 
dom of  the  Messiah,  which  Paul  proclaimed,  might  be  misrepresented  as 
a  temporal  monarchy,  set  up  in  opposition  to  the  foreign  domination  of 
Rome. 

We  cannot  suppose  that  St.  Paul  had  secured  the  services  of  any 
professional  advocate  to  repel  such  false  accusations,^  and  put  the  truth 
clearly  before  his  Roman  judges.  We  know  that  he  resorted  to  no  such 
method  on  former  occasions  of  a  similar  kind.  And  it  seems  more  con- 
sistent with  his  character,  and  his  unwavering  reliance  on  his  Master's 
promised  aid,  to  suppose  that  he  answered  ^  the  elaborate  harangue  of 
the  hostile  pleader  by  a  plain  and  simple  statement  of  facts,  like  that 
which  he  addressed  to  Felix,  Festus,  and  Agrippa.  He  could  easily 
prove  the  falsehood  of  the  charge  of  sacrilege  by  the  testimony  of  those 

'  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  old  Re-  certa  lege  sortitur;  Principum  autem  et  Senar 

pubUcan   system  of  criminal   procedure   had  t(is    cognitionibus    frequens     est."     (Qiiintil. 

undergone  a  great  change  before  the  time  of  Inst.  Oral.  iii.  10.) 

Nero.     Under  the  old   law   (the  system   of  ^  It  was  most  usual,  at   this   period,  that 

Quoistiones    Perpetuce),   different   charfies   were  both  parties  should  be  represented  by  advo- 

tried  in  distinct  courts,  and  by  different  magis-  cates;  but  the  parties  were  allowed  to  conduct 

trates.    In  modern  language,  a  criminal  indict-  their  cause  themselves,  if  they  preferred  doing 

ment  could  then  only  contain  one  count.     But  so. 

thij  ■9!'as  altered  under  the  Emperors ;  "  ut  si  ^  Probahly  all  St.  Paul's  judges,  on  this 
quis  sacrilegii  simul  et  homicidii   accusetur ;  occasion,  were  familiar  with  Greek,  and  there- 
quod  nunc  in  publicis  judiciis  [/.  e.  those  of  fore  he  might  address  them  in  his  own  native 
the  Quoestionrs  Perpetiup,,  which  were  still  not  tongue,  without  the  need  of  an  interpreter, 
entirely  obsolete]  non  accidit,  quoniam  Praetor 


CHAP.  xxvn. 


THE  TEIAL.  807 


who  were  present  iu  the  Temple ;  and  perhaps  the  refutation  of  this 
more  definite  accusation  might  incline  his  judges  more  readily  to  attrib- 
ute the  vaguer  charges  to  the  malice  of  his  opponents.  He  would  then 
proceed  to  show,  that,  far  from  disturbing  the  exercise  of  the  rellgio  licita 
of  Judaism,  he  himself  adhered  to  that  religion,  riglitly  understood.  He 
would  show,  that,  far  from  being  a  seditious  agitator  against  the  state,  he 
tauglit  his  converts  everywhere  to  honor  the  Imperial  Government,  and 
submit  to  the  ordinances^  of  the  magistrate  for  conscience'  sake.  And, 
though  he  would  admit  the  charge  of  belonging  to  the  sect  of  the  Naza- 
renes,  yet  he  would  remind  his  opponents  that  they  themselves  acknowl- 
edged the  division  of  their  nation  into  various  sects,  which  were  equally 
entitled  to  the  protection  of  the  law ;  and  that  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes 
had  a  right  to  the  same  toleration  which  was  extended  to  those  of  the 
Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees. 

We  know  not  whether  he  entered  on  this  occasion  into  the  peculiar 
doctrines  of  that  "  sect "  to  which  he  belonged ;  basing  them,  as  he  ever 
did,  on  the  resurrection  of  the  dead ;  ^  and  reasoning  of  righteousness, 
temperance,  and  judgment  to  come.  If  so,  he  had  one  auditor  at  least 
who  had  more  need  to  tremble  than  even  Felix.  But  doubtless  a  seared 
conscience,  and  a  universal  frivolity  of  character,  rendered  Nero  proof 
against  emotions  which  for  a  moment  shook  the  nerves  of  a  less  auda- 
cious criminal. 

When  the  parties  on  both  sides  had  been  heard,'  and  the  witnesses  all 
examined  and  cross-examined  (a  process  which  perhaps  occupied  several 
days),*  the  judgment  of  the  court  was  taken.  Each  of  the  assessors  gave 
his  opinion  in  writing  to  the  Emperor,  who  never  discussed  the  judgment 
with  his  assessors,  as  had  been  the  practice  of  better  emperors,  but,  after 
reading  their  opinions,  gave  sentence  according  to  his  own  pleasure,* 
without  reference  to  the  judgment  of  the  majority.     On  this  occasion,  it 


1  Compare  Rom.  xiii.  1-7.  *  Plin.  Epist.  ii.  11.     "The  giving  of  the 

2  Compare  the    prominence  given   to   the  proofs  continued  till  the  third  day  ;  "  and  again, 
Resurrection  in  the  statement  before  the  San-  Ep.  iv.  9,  "  On  the  following  day,  Titius,  Ho- 
hedrin  (Acts  xxiii.  6),  before  Felix  (Acts  xxiv.  mullus,  and    Fronto    pleaded   admirably   for 
15),  before  Festus  (Acts  xxv.  19),  and  before  Bassus:  the  proofs  occupied  four  days.' 
Agrippa  (Acts  xxvi.  8).  ^  Suet.  Nero,  15.     This  judgment  was  not 

3  We  are  told  by  Suetonius,  as  we  have  pronounced  by  Nero  till  the  next  day.  The 
mentiened  before,  that  Nero  heard  both  parties  sentence  of  a  magistrate  was  always  given  in 
on  each  of  the  counts  of  the  indictment  sepa-  writing  at  this  period,  and  generally  delivered 
rately,  and  gave  his  decision  on  one  count  by  the  magistrate  himself.  But  in  the  case  of 
before  he  proceeded  to  the  next.  (Sueton.  the  Emperor,  he  did  not  read  his  own  sentence, 
Nero,  15.  The  proceedings,  therefore,  which  but  caused  it  to  be  read  in  his  presence  by  hii 
we  have  described  in  thp  text,  must  have  been  Quaestor. 

repeated  as  many  times  as  there  were  separate 
charges  against  St.  Paul. 


808  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  ciiap.  xjcvn 

might  have  been  expected  that  he  would  have  pronounced  the  condem- 
nation of  the  accused ;  for  the  influence  of  Poppaea  had  now  ^  reached 
its  culminating  point,  and  she  was,  as  we  have  said,  a  Jewish  proselyte. 
We  can  scarcely  doubt  that  the  emissaries  from  Palestine  would  have 
sought  access  to  so  powerful  a  protectress,  and  demanded  her  aid^  for 
the  destruction  of  a  traitor  to  the  Jewish  faith  ;  nor  would  any  scruples 
have  prevented  her  from  listening  to  their  request,  backed  as  it  probably 
was,  according  to  the  Roman  usage,  by  a  bribe.  If  such  influence  was 
exerted  upon  Nero,  it  might  have  been  expected  easily  to  prevail.  But  we 
know  not  all  the  complicated  intrigues  of  the  Imperial  Court.  Perhaps 
some  Christian  freedman  of  Narcissus  ^  may  have  counteracted,  through 
the  interest  of  that  powerful  favorite,  the  devices  of  St.  Paul's  antago- 
nists ;  or  possibly  Nero  may  have  been  capriciously  inclined  to  act  upon 
his  own  independent  view  of  the  law  and  justice  of  the  case,  or  to  show 
his  contempt  for  what  he  regarded  as  the  petty  squabbles  of  a  super- 
stitious people,  by  "  driving  the  accusers  from  his  judgment-seat"  with 
the  same  feelings  which  Gallio  had  shown  on  a  similar  occasion. 

However  this  may  be,  the  trial  resulted  in  the  acquittal  of  St.  Paul. 
He  was  pronounced  guiltless  of  the  charges  brought  against  him,  his 
fetters  were  struck  off,  and  he  was  liberated  from  his  lengthened  captivi- 
ty. And  now  at  last  he  was  free  to  realize  his  long-cherished  purpose 
of  evangelizing  the  West.  But  the  immediate  execution  of  this  design 
was  for  the  present  postponed,  in  order  that  he  might  first  revisit  some 
of  his  earlier  converts,  who  again  needed  his  presence. 

Immediately  on  his  liberation  it  may  reasonably  be  supposed  that  he 
fulfilled  the  intention  which  he  had  lately  expressed  (Philem.  22,  and 
Phil.  ii.  24),  of  travelling  eastward  through  Macedonia,  and  seeking  the 
churches  of  Asia  Minor,  some  of  which,  as  yet,  had  not  seen  his  face  in 
the  flesh.  We  have  already  learnt,  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians, 
how  much  his  influence  and  authority  were  required  among  those  Asiatic 
Churches.  We  must  suppose  him,  therefore,  to  have  gone  from  Rome 
by  the  usual  route,  crossing  the  Adriatic  from  Brundusium  to  Apollonia, 
or  Dyrrhachium,  and  proceeding  by  the  great  Egnatian  road  through 
Macedonia ;  and  we  can  imagine  the  joy  wherewith  he  was  welcomed  by 
his  beloved  children  at  Philippi,  when  he  thus  gratified  the  expectation 
which  he  had  encouraged  them  to  form.  There  is  no  feason  to  suppose, 
however,  that   he   lingered  in  Macedonia.     It   is   more  likely  that  he 

^  Poppaea's  influence  was  at  its  height  from  *  This  Narcissus  must  not  be  confounded 
the  birth  to  the  death  of  her  daughter  Claudia,  with  the  more  celebrated  favorite  of  Claudius 
who  was  horn  at  the  beginning  of  63,  and  lived  See  Dio,  Ixiv.  3.  The  Narcissus  here  men- 
four  months.  tioned-  had  Christian  converts  in  his  establish- 

■^  See  last  chapter,  p.  785,  note  3.  ment ;  see  Rom.  xvi.  1 1 ,  and  note 


CHAP.  XXVII.  HE  PROCEEDS  TO  ASIA  AND   SPAIN.  809 

hastened  on  to  Ephesus,  and  made  that  city  once  more  his  centre  of 
operations.  If  he  effected  his  purpose,^  he  now  for  the  first  time  visited 
Colossae,  Laodicea,  and  other  churches  in  that  region. 

Having  accomplished  the  objects  of  his  visit  to  Asia  Minor,  he  was  at 
length  enabled  (perhaps  in  the  year  following  that  of  his  liberation)  to  un- 
dertake his  long-meditated  journey  to  Spain.  By  what  route  he  went,  we 
know  not ;  he  may  either  have  travelled  by  way  of  Rome,  which  had  been 
his  original  intention,  or  more  probably,  avoiding  the  dangers  which  at 
this  period  (in  the  height  of  the  Neronian  persecution)  would  have  beset 
him  there,  he  may  have  gone  by  sea.  There  was  constant  commercial 
intercourse  between  the  East  and  Massilia  (the  modern  Marseilles)  ;  and 
Massilia  was  in  daily  communication  with  the  Peninsula.  We  may  sup- 
pose him  to  have  reached  Spain  in  the  year  64,  and  to  have  remained 
there  about  two  years  ;  which  would  allow  him  time  to  establish  the 
germs  of  Christian  Churches  among  the  Jewish  proselytes  who  were  to 
be  found  in  all  the  great  cities,  from  Tarraco  to  Gades,  along  the  Spanish 
coast.^ 

From  Spain  St.  Paul  seems  to  have  returned,  in  a.d.  QQ,^  to  Ephesus  ; 
and  here  he  found  that  the  predictions  which  he  had  long  ago  uttered  to 
the  Ephesian  presbyters  were  already  receiving  their  fulfilment.  Hereti- 
cal teachers  had  arisen  in  the  very  bosom  of  the  Church,  and  were  lead- 
ing away  the  believers  after  themselves.  Hymenseus  and  Philetus  were 
sowing,  in  a  congenial  soil,  the  seed  which  was  destined  in  another 
century  to  bear  so  ripe  a  crop  of  error.  The  East  and  West  were  infus- 
ing their  several  elements  of  poison  into  the  pure  cup  of  Gospel  truth. 
In  Asia  Minor,  as  at  Alexandria,  Hellenic  philosophism  did  not  refuse  to 
blend  with  Oriental  theosophy ;  the  Jewish  superstitions  of  the  Cabala, 
and  the  wild  speculations  of  the  Persian  magi,  were  combined  with  the 
Greek  craving  for  an  enlightened  and  esoteric  religion.  The  outward 
forms  of  superstition  were  ready  for  the  vulgar  multitude  ;  the  interpre- 
tation was  confined  to  the  aristocracy  of  knowledge,  the  self-styled 
Gnostics  (1  Tim.  vi.  20)  ;  and  we  see  the  tendencies  at  work  among  the 
latter,  when  we  learn  that,  like  their  prototypes  at  Corinth,  they  denied 
the  future  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  taught  that  the  only  true  resur- 
rection was  that  which  took  place  when  the  soul  awoke  from  the  death  of 
ignorance  to  the  life  of  knowledge.^  We  recognize  already  the  germ  of 
those  heresies  which  convulsed  the  Church  in  the  succeeding  century; 
and  we  may  imagine  the  grief  and  indignation  aroused  in  the  breast  of 

1  See  Philera.  22.  Epistles.   See  remarks  in  Appendix  II.  on  their 

2  Seep.  17.  date,  and  the  Chronological  Table  given  in 
'  This  hypothesis  best  explains  the  subse-      Appendix  III. 

quent   transactions  recorded   in   the   Pastoral  *  See  p.  394. 


biO  THE   LIFE  AJ^iD   EPISTLES   OF    ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xxvo. 

St.  Paul,  when  he  found  tlie  extent  of  the  evil,  and  the  number  of  Chris- 
tian converts  already  infected  by  the  spreading  plague. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  evident  from  the  Epistles  to  Timotheus  and  Titus, 
written  about  this  time,  that  he  was  prevented  by  other  duties  from  stay- 
ing in  this  Oriental  region  so  long  as  his  presence  was  required.  He  left 
his  disciples  to  do  that,  which,  had  circumstances  permitted,  lie  would 
nave  done  himself.  He  was  plainly  hurried  from  one  point  to  another. 
Perhaps  also  he  had  lost  some  of  his  former  energy.  Tiiis  might  well  be 
the  case  if  we  consider  all  he  had  endured  during  thirty  years  of  labor. 
The  physical  hardships  which  he  had  undergone  were  of  themselves 
sufficient  to  wear  out  the  most  robust  constitution  ;  and  we  know  that  his 
health  was  already  broken  many  years  before.^  But  in  addition  to  these 
bodily  trials,  the  moral  conflicts  which  he  continually  encountered  could 
not  fail  to  tire  down  the  elasticity  of  his  spirit.  The  hatred  manifested 
by  so  large  and  powerful  a  section  even  of  the  Christian  Church  ;  the 
destruction  of  so  many  early  friendships  ;  the  faithless  desertion  of  fol- 
lowers ;  the  crowd  of  anxieties  which  pressed  upon  him  daily,  and  "  the 
care  of  all  the  Churches,"  must  needs  have  preyed  upon  the  mental 
energy  of  any  man,  but  especially  of  one  whose  temperament  was  so 
ardent  and  impetuous.  When  approaching  the  age  of  seventy,^  he  might 
well  be  worn  out  both  in  body  and  mind.  And  this  will  account  for  the 
comparative  want  of  vigor  and  energy  which  has  been  attributed  to  the 
Pastoral  Epistles,  if  there  be  any  such  deficiency  ;  and  may  perhaps  also 
be  in  part  the  cause  of  his  opposing  those  errors  by  deputy,  which  we 
might  rather  have  expected  him  to  uproot  by  his  own  personal  exertions. 

However  this  may  be,  he  seems  not  to  have  remained  for  any  long  time 
together  at  Ephesus,  but  to  have  been  called  away  from  thence,  first  to 
Macedonia,'  and  afterwards  to  Crete ;  *  and  immediately  on  his  return 
from  thence,  he  appears  finally  to  have  left  Ephesus  for  Rome,  by  way  of 
Corinth.*  But  here  we  are  anticipating  our  narrative :  we  must  return 
to  the  first  of  these  hurried  journeys,  when  he  departed  from  Ephesus 
to  Macedonia,  leaving  the  care  of  the  Ephesian  Church  to  Timotheus,  and 
charging  him  especially  with  the  duty  of  counteracting  the  efforts  of 
those  heretical  teachers  whose  dangerous  character  we  have  described. 

When  he  arrived  in  Macedonia,  he  found  that  his  absence  might  pos- 
sibly be  prolonged  beyond  what  he  had  expected  ;  and  he  probably 
felt  that  Timotheus  might  need  some  more  explicit  credential  from 
himself  than  a  mere  verbal  commission,  to  enable  him  for  a  longer  period 
to  exercise  that  Apostolic  authority  over  the  Ephesian  Church  wherewith 

I  See  Gal.  iv.  13,  14,  and  2  Cor.  xii.  7-9.  8  Tim.  i.  3. 

^  See  p.  59,  and  compare  Philem.  9  and  the  *  Titus  i.  5. 

rhronological  Table  in  Aj)pendix  III.  ^  2  Tim.  iv.  20 


CHAP.  xxvn.  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO   TIMOTHEUS.  811 

he  had  invested  him.  It  would  also  be  desirable  that  Timotlieiis  should 
be  able,  in  his  struggle  with  the  heretical  teachers,  to  exhibit  document- 
ary proof  of  St.  Paul's  agreement  with  himself,  and  condemnation  of  the 
opposing  doctrines.  Such  seem  to  have  been  the  principal  motives  which 
led  St.  Paul  to  despatch  from  Macedonia  that  which  is  known  as  "  the 
First  Epistle  to  Timothy  ;  "  in  which  are  contained  various  rules  for  the 
government  of  the  Ephesian  Church,  such  as  would  be  received  with  sub- 
mission when  thus  seen  to  proceed  directly  from  its  Apostolic  founder, 
while  they  would  perhaps  have  been  less  readily  obeyed  if  seeming  to  bo 
the  spontaneous  injunctions  of  the  youthful  Timotheus.  In  the  same 
manner  it  abounds  with  impressive  denunciations  against  the  false  teach- 
ers at  Ephesus,  which  might  command  the  assent  of  some  who  turned  a 
deaf  ear  to  the  remonstrances  of  the  Apostolic  deputy.  There  are  also 
exhortations  to  Timotheus  himself,  some  of  which  perhaps  were  rather 
meant  to  bear  an  indirect  application  to  others,  at  tlie  time,  as  they  have 
ever  since  furnished  a  treasury  of  practical  precepts  for  the  Christian 
Church. 

THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  TIMOTHEUS.^ 

L 

Saiutaoon.  PAUL,  au  Apostlc  of  Jcsus  Christ,  by  command  of  God  our     i 

Saviour  and  Christ  Jesus  ^  our  hope,  To  Timotheus  my  true  son  in  '     % 

FAITH. 

Grace,  mercy,  and  peace,  from  God  our  Father,  and  Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord. 

Timotheus  is        "^^  ^  dcsircd  thcc  to  remain  in  Ephesus,*  when  I  was  setting     Z 
th™Jora*mi8-     out  for  Maccdouia,  that  thou  mightest  command  certain  per- 

sion  given  , 

^m^^o^oppose   sous  uot  to  tcach  *  falscly,  nor  to  regard  fables  and  endless  • 
teachers.         gcncalogies,  which  furnish  ground  for  disputation  rather  than     4 
for  the  exercising  of  the  stewardship ''  of  God  in  faith. 

Now  the  end  of  the  commandment  is  love,  proceeding  from  a  pure     5 
heart,  and  good  conscience,  and  undissembled  faith.     Which  some  have     S 

^  For  the  date  of  this  Epistle,  see  Appen-  ^  This  Greek  word  occurs  nowhere  but  in 

dix  II.  this  Epistle. 

2  "  Lord  "  is  omitted  in  the  best  MSS.  •*  See  p.  396,  and  Titus  iii.  9. 

8  Not  "the  faith"  (A.  V.),  which  would  "^  "Stewardship"  (not  "  edifying" )  is  the 

require  the  definite  article.  reading  of  the  MSS.     Compare  1  Cor.  ix.  17. 

*  This  sentence  is  left  incomplete.     Prob-  It  would  seem  from  this  expression  that  the 

ably  St.  Paul  meant  to  complete  it  by  "  so  I  false  teachers  in  Ephesus  were  among  the  num- 

still  desire  thee,"  or  something  to  that  effect ;  her  of  the  presbyters,  which  would  agree  with 

but  forgot  to  express  this,  as  he  continued  to  the  anticipation  expressed  in  Acts  xx.  30. 
dictate  the  subjects   of  his  charge  to  Timo- 
theus. 


812  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST,   PAUL.  CHAP.xxvn. 

1. 

missed,  and  have  turned  aside  to  vain  babbling,  desiring  to  be  teachers 

7  of  the  Law,^  understanding  neither  what   they  say  nor  whereof  they 

8  affirm.     But  we  know  that  the  Law  is  good  if  a  man  use  it  lawfully; 

9  knowing  this,  that  the  ^  Law  is  not  made  for  a  ^  righteous  man,  but  for 
the  lawless  and  disobedient,  for  the  impious  and  sinful,  for  the  unholy 

10  and  profane,  for  parricides  *  and  murderers,  for  fornicators,  sodomites, 
slave-dealers,'  liars,  perjurers,  and  whatsoever  else  is  contrary  to  sound 

11  doctrine.  Such  is  the  glorious  Glad-tidings  of  the  blessed  God,  which 
was  committed  to  my  trust. 

12  And  I  thank  Him  who  has  given  me  strength,  Christ  Jesus  Thecommis- 

Bion  and  call- 

our  Lord,  that  He  accounted  me  faithful,  and  appointed  me  to  ingof  Paui. 

13  minister  unto  His  service,  who  was  before  a  blasphemer  and  persecutor, 
and  doer  of  outrage  ;  but  I  received  mercy  because  I  acted  ignorantly, 

11   in  unbelief.     And  the  grace  of  our  Lord  abounded   beyond  ®  measure, 

15  with  faith  and  love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  Faithful  is  the  saying,'  and 
worthy  of  all  acceptation,  "  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sin- 

16  ners  ;^'  of  whom  I  am  first.  But  for  this  cause  I  received  mercy,  that  in 
me  first  Jesus  Christ  might  show  forth  all  His  long-suffering,  for  a  pattern 

17  of  those  who  should  hereafter  believe  on  Him  unto  life  everlasting.  Now 
to  the  King  eternal,*  immortal,  invisible,  the  only  ^  God,  be  honor  and 
glory  unto  the  ages  of  ages.     Amen. 

18  This  charge  I  commit  unto  thee,  son  Timotheus,  accord- 

Tlmotbens  la 

19  ing  to  the  former  prophecies  ^"  concerning  thee;  that  in  the  fylgl'J^  ***„,. 
strength  thereof  thou  mayest  fight  the  good  fight,  holding  faith  '^^^^*'"- 

1  We  must  observe  that    this  expression  *  This  word  in  English  includes  pamcidet 

may  be  taken  in  two  ways  ;   either  to  denote  and  matricides,  both  of  which  are  expressed  in 

Judaizers,  who  insisted  on  the  permanent  obli-  the  original, 

gation  of  the  Mosaic  Law  (which  seems  to  suit  ^  This  is  the  literal  translation, 

the  context  best),  or  to  denote  Platonizing  ex-  ^  Compare  Rom.  v.  20,  "  the  gift  of  grace 

pounders  of  the  Law,  like    Philo,  who   pro-  overflowed  beyond." 

fessed  to  teach  the  true  and  deep  view  of  the  "^  See  note  on  iii.  16. 

Law.     To  suppose  (with  Baur)  that  a  Gnostic  *  This  seems  the    best    interpretation    of 

like  JIarcion,  who  rejected  the  Law  altogether,  "  king  of  the  ages;  "  compare  Apoc.  xi.  15. 

could  be  called  "  a  teacher  of  the  Law,"  is  (to  ^  "  Wise  "  is  omitted  in  the  best  MSS. 

say   the  least    of   it)   a  very  unnatural   hy-  i"  These  prophecies  were  probably  made  at 

pothcsis.  the  time  when  Timotheus  was  first  called  to 

'^  The  noun  in  the  original  is  without  the  the  service  of  Clrrist.     Compare  Acts  xiii  1, 

article  here,  as   often  when  thus  used.     Com-  2,  when  the  will  of  God  for  the  mission  of 

pare  Ilom.  ii.  12,  iii.  31,  iv.  13,  &c.  Paul    and    Barnabas   was    indicated    by    the 

^  Compare  Gal.  v.  18,  "If  ye  are  led  by  Prophets  of  the  Church  of  Actioch. 
the  Spirit,  ye  are  not  under  the  Law,"  and  the 
note  on  th.it  passage. 


BHAP.  xxvn. 


FIEST  EPISTLE  TO  TIMOTHEUS. 


813 


and  a  good  conscience,  which  some  have  cas<"  away,  and  made  shipwreck 
concerning  the  faith.  Among  whom  are  Hymenaeus  ^  and  Alexander, 
#hom  I  delivered  over  unto  Satan  ^  that  they  might  be  taught  by  ^  pun- 
ishment not  to  blaspheme. 

Directions  for  ^  cxhort,  therefore,  that,  first  of  all,*  supplications,  prayers, 
8hip,^amuiie    iuterccssions,  and  thanksgivings  be  made  for  all  men  ;    for 

behavior  of 

women*^  kings  *  and  all  that  are  in  authority,  that  we  may  lead  a  quiet 
thereat.  ^^^  pcaccable  life  in  all  godliness  ®  and  gravity.     For  this  is 

good  and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God  our  Saviour,  who  wills  that  all 
men  should  be  saved,  and  should  come  to  the  knowledge  ^  of  the  truth. 
For  [over  all]  there  is  but  ^  one  God,  and  one  mediator  between  God  and 
men,  the  man®  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  Himself  a  ransom  for  all  men,  to 
be  testified  in  due  time.  And  of  this  testimony  I  was  appointed  herald 
and  apostle  (I  speak  the  truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not),  a  teacher  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, in  faith  and  truth.  I  desire,  then,  that  in  every  place  ^^  the  men  " 
should  ofier  up  prayers,  lifting  up  their  hands  ^^  in  holiness,  putting  away 


20 


1  These  are  probably  the  same  mentioned 
iD  the  second  Epistle  (2  Tim.  ii.  17,  and  iv. 
14).  Baur  and  De  Wette  argue  that  this  pas- 
tiage  is  inconsistent  with  the  hypothesis  that 
2  Tim.  was  written  after  1  Tim. ;  because  Hy- 
menaeus (who  in  this  place  is  described  as 
excommunicated  and  cut  ofTfrom  the  Church) 
appears  in  2  Tim.  as  a  false  teacher  still 
active  in  the  Church.  But  there  is  nothing  at 
all  inconsistent  in  this ;  for  example,  the  inces- 
tuous man  at  Corinth,  who  had  the  very  same 
sentence  passed  on  him  (1  Cor.  v.  5),  was 
restored  to  the  Church  in  a  few  months,  on 
his  repentance.  De  Wette  also  says,  that,  in 
2  Tim.  'i.  17,  Hymenaeus  appears  to  be  men- 
tioned to  Timotheus  for  the  first  time;  but  this 
(we  think)  will  not  be  the  opinion  of  any  one 
who  takes  an  unprejudiced  view  of  that  pas- 
sage. 

^  Ou  this  expression,  see  the  note  on  1  Cor. 
V    5. 

^  The  Greek  verb  has  this  meaning.  Cf. 
Jjuke  xxiii.  16,  and  2  Cor.  vi.  d. 

*  "  First  of  all,"  namely,  before  the  other 
prayers.  This  exi)lanation,  which  is  Chrysos- 
tom's,  seems  preferable  to  that  adopted  by  De 
Wette,  Huthcr,  and  others,  who  take  it  to 
mean  "  above  all   things."    It  is  clear  from 


what  follows  (v.  8)  that  St.  Paul  is  speaking 
of  public  prayer,  which  he  here  directs  to  be 
commenced  by  intercessory  prayer. 

^  Here  we  see  a  precept  directed  against  the 
seditious  temper  which  prevailed  (as  we  have 
already  seen,  p.  399)  among  some  of  the  early 
heretics.  Compare  Jude  8,  and  2  Pet.  ii.  9, 
and  Rom.  xiii.  1. 

^  This  term  for  Christian  piety  is  not  used 
by  St.  Paul,  except  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles. 
We  must  refer  here  to  the  Appendix  in  the 
larger  editions.  See  note  on  Tit.  i.  9.  It  is 
used  by  St.  Peter  (2  Pet.  i.  6)  and  by  Clemens 
Romanus  in  the  same  sense. 

"  Eor  the  meaning  of  this,  compare  2  Tim. 
iii.  7,  and  Rom.  x.  2,  and  1  Cor.  xiii.  12. 

"  This  is  the  same  sentiment  as  Rom.  iii. 
29,  30. 

^  The  manhood  of  our  Lord  is  here  insisted 
on,  because  thereon  rests  His  mediatitin.  Com- 
pare Heb.  ii.  14;  and  iv.  15. 

1"  Chrysostom  thinks  that  there  is  a  contrast 
between  Christian  worship,  which  could  be 
offered  in  every  place,  and  the  Jewish  sacrifices, 
which  could  only  be  offered  in  the  Temple. 

11  The  men,  not  the  women,  were  to  officiate. 

1-  This  was  the  Jewish  attitude  in  prayer, 
Cf.  Ps.  Ixiii.  4. 


814 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OE   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXVII. 


9   auger  and  disputation.     Likewise,  also,  that  the  women  should  come  ^  iu 
seemly  apparel,  and  adorn  themselves  with  modesty  and  self-restraint ;  ^ 

10  not  in  braided  hair,  or  gold,  or  pearls,  or  costly  garments,  but  (as  befits 

11  women   professing   godliness)  with  the  ornament  of  good  works.     Let 

12  women  learn  in  silence,  with  entire  submission.     But  I  permit  not  a, wo- 
man to  teach,  nor  to  claim  authority  over  the  man,  but  to  keep  silence. 

13,14  (For  Adam  was  first  formed,  then  Eve.     And  Adam  was  not  deceived  ; 

15   but  the  woman  was  deceived,  and  became  a  transgressor.)     But  women 

will  be  saved '  by  the  bearing  of  children  ;  if  they  continue  in  faith  and 

...    love  and  holiness,  with  self-restraint. 
m. 

1  Faithful  is  the  saying,  "//  a  man  seeks  the  office  of  a  Bishop,* 

J       OT        ^  jj  J  1  •>      Directions  for 

2  he  desires  a  good  work.''''     A  Bishop,**  then,  must  be  free  from  men7of  pS'L- 
reproach,  the   husband*  of  one  wife,   sober,   self-restrained, 

3  orderly,  hospitable,''  skilled  in  teaching ;  not  given  to  wine  or  brawls,' 

4  but  gentle,  peaceable,  and  liberal ;  ruling  his  own  household  well,  keep- 

5  ing  his  children  in  subjection  with  all  gravity  —  (but  if  a  man  knows  not 
how  to  rule  his  own  household,  how  can  he  take  charge  of  the  Church  of 


1  After  women  we  must  supply  pray  (as 
Chrysostom  does),  or  something  equivalent 
(to  take  part  in  the  worship,  &c.),  from  the  pre- 
ceding context. 

'^  It  is  a  peculiarity  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles 
to  dwell  very  frequently  on  this  virtue  of  self- 
restraint.  A  list  of  such  peculiarities  is  given 
in  the  Appendix  in  the  larger  editions, 

8  The  Greek  here  cannot  mean  "  in  child- 
bearing  "  (A.  v.).  The  Apostle's  meaning 
is,  that  women  are  to  be  kept  in  the  path  of 
safety,  not  by  taking  upon  themselves  the 
office  of  the  man  (by  taking  a  public  part  in 
the  assemblies  of  the  Church,  &c.),  but  by  the 
performance  of  the  peculiar  functions  which 
God  has  assigned  to  their  sex. 

*  It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  word 
iitlaKOTxog  is  used  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles  as 
synonymous  with  npeafivTepoc.  See  p.  378, 
and  Tit.  i.  5,  compared  with  i.  7. 

*  Rightly  translated  in  A.  V.  "a  bishop," 
not  "  the  bishop,"  in  spite  of  the  article.  See 
note  on  Tit.  i.  7. 

*  "  Husband  of  one  wife."  Compare  iii. 
12,  V.  9,  and  Tit.  i.  6.  Many  different  inter- 
pretations have  been  given  to  this  precept.  It 
has  been  supposed  ( 1 )  to  prescribe  marriaee. 


(2)  to  forbid  polygamy,  (3)  to  forbid  second 
marriages.  The  true  interpretation  seems  to 
be  as  follows :  —  In  the  corrupt  facility  of 
divorce  allowed  both  by  the  Greek  and  Roman 
law,  it  was  very  common  for  man  and  wife  to 
separate,  and  marry  other  parties,  during  the 
life  of  one  another.  Thus  a  man  might  have 
three  or  four  living  wives ;  or,  rather,  women 
who  had  all  successively  been  his  wives.  An 
example  of  the  operation  of  a  similar  code  is 
unhappily  to  be  found  in  our  own  colony  of 
Mauritius :  there  the  French  Revolutionary 
law  of  divorce  has  been  suffered  by  the  Eng- 
lish government  to  remain  unrepealed  ;  and 
it  is  not  uncommon  to  meet  in  society  three  or 
four  women  who  have  all  been  the  wives  of  the 
same  man,  and  three  or  four  men  who  have  all 
been  the  husbands  of  the  same  woman.  We 
believe  it  is  this  kind  of  successive  polygamy, 
rather  than  simultaneons  polygamy,  which  is 
here  spoken  of  as  disqualifying  for  the  Presby- 
terate.     So  Beza. 

'  "  Hospitable."  Compare  Heb.  xiii.  2,  and 
v.  10. 

*  The  allusion  to  "  filthy  Incre  "  is  omitted 
in  th<  best  MSB. 


CHAP.  xxvn. 


FIEST  EPISTLE  TO  TIMOTHETJS. 


815 


1  See  note  on  2  Tim.  ii.  26. 

'^  We  agree  with  Huther  in  thinking  the 
Authorized  Version  correct  here,  notwithstand* 
ing  the  great  authority  of  Chrysostom  in  an- 
cient, and  De  Wette  and  others  in  modem 
times,  who  interpret  "  women  "  here  to  mean 
"  deaconessf's."  On  that  view,  the  verse  is  most 
unnaturally  interpolated  in  the  midst  of  the 
discussion  concerning  the  Deacons.  [This  is 
hardly  so,  if  we  view  the  Primitive  Diaconate 
as  consisting  of  two  co-ordinate  branches,  a 
diaconate  of  men  and  a  diaconate  of  women. 
We  observe,  too,  that  nothing  is  said  above  of 
the  duties  of  the  wives  of  the  Bishops.  Our 
three  chief  modern  commentators  in  England, 
Alfjrd,  Ellicott,  and  Wordsworth,  interpret 
the  verse  before  us  as  it  was  interpreted  by 
Chrysostom  and  Jerome.  —  h.] 

**  This  verse  is  introduced  by  "  for "  as 
giving  a  reason  for  the  previous  directions,  viz. 
the  great  importance  of  having  good  deacons  \ 
such  men,  by  the  fit  performance  of  the  office, 
gained  a  high  position  in  the  community,  and 
acquired  (by  constant  intercourse  with  different 
classes  of   men)   a  boldness  in   maintaining 


their  principles,  which  was  of  great  advantage 
to  them  afterwards,  and  to  the  Church  of 
which  they  were  subsequently  to  become 
Presbyters. 

*  In  this  much-disputed  passage,  we  adopt 
the  interpretation  given  by  Gregory  of  Nyssa. 
So  the  passage  was  understood  (as  Canon 
Stanley  observes)  by  the  Church  of  Lyons 
(a.  D.  177) ;  for  in  their  Epistle  the  same  ex- 
pression is  applied  to  Attains  the  Martyr.  So, 
also,  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  chief  Apostles  at 
Jerusalem  as  "pillars"  (Gal.  ii.  9);  and  so, 
in  Apoc.  iii.  12,  we  find  the  Christian  who  is 
undaunted  by  persecution  described  as  "  a  pil- 
lar in  the  Temple  of  God."  The  grammatical 
objection  to  Gregory's  view  is  untenable  ;  and 
a  Greek  writer  of  the  4th  century  may  be  at 
least  as  good  a  judge  on  this  point  as  his 
modern  opponents. 

^  We  retain  the  Received  Text  here,  con- 
sidering, that,  when  the  testimony  of  the  MSS. 
is  so  divided,  we  are  justified  in  retaining  the 
text  most  familiar  to  English  readers. 

^  i.  e.  justified  against  gainsayers,  as  being 
what  He  claimed  to  be. 


iii. 
6 


God?)  —  not  a  novice,  lest  he  be  blinded  with  pride,  and  fall  into  the 
condemnation  of  the  Devil.     Moreover,  he  ought  to  have  a  good  reputa-     7 
tion  among  those  who  are  without  the  Church  ;  lest  he  fall  into  reproach, 
and  into  a  snare  of  the  Devil. ^ 

Directions  for       Likewise,  the  Deacons  must  be  men  of  gravity,  not  double-     8 
meDt^o^fi)"ea-    tougucd,  uot  givcu  to  much  wiuc,  not  greedy  of  gain,  holding 

cons.  ,  /»     1        />   •   1     • 

the  mystery  oi  the  faith  in  a  pure  conscience.     And  let  these  9 

also  be  first  tried,  and  after  trial  be  made  Deacons,  if  they  are  found  10 

irreproachable.     Their  wives,^  likewise,  must  be  women  of  gravity,  not  11 

slanderers,  sober  and  faithful  in  all  things.     Let  the  Deacons  be  hus-  12 
bands  of  one  wife,  fitly  ruling  their  children  and  their  own  households. 

For  those  who  have  well  performed  the  office  of  a  Deacon  gain  for  them-  13 
selves  a  good  position,^  and  great  boldness  in  the  faith  of  Christ  Jesus. 

These  things  I  write  to  thee,  although  I  hope  to  come  to  14 

Reason  for  °  '  o  jr 

direcu^nsir    t^i^e  shortly  ;  l)ut  in  order  that  (if  I  should  be  delayed)  thou   15 

mayst  know  how  to  conduct  thyself  in  the  house  of  God  (for 
such  is  the  Church  of  the  living  God)  *  as  a  pillar  and  main-stay  of  the 
truth.     And,  without  contradiction,  great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness —   16 
"  Crod'^  was  manifested  in  the  flesh,  justified^  in  the  Spirit;  beheld  by  angels, 


816 


THE  LITE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.    PAUL. 


CHAP.  xxm. 


IV 


preached  among  the  Gentiles;   believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up  in 
glory. '''  ^ 
1        Now  the  Spirit  declares  expressly,  that  iu  after-times  some  Faiee  teacheM 

to  be  ex- 
will  depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits,  and  poiicd;  their 

'2   teachings  of  demons,  speaking  ^  lies  in  hypocrisy,  having  their  mo^de^ofre-^ 

3  conscience  seared  ;  hindering  marriage,^  enjoining  abstinence 

from  meats,  which  God  created  to  be  received  with  tlianksgiving  by  those 

4  who  believe  and  have^  knowledge  of  the  truth.     For  all  things  created 
by  God  are  good,  and  nothing  is  to  be  rejected,  if  it  be  received  with 

5  thanksgiving.     For  it  is  sanctified  by  the  Word  of  God  ^  and  prayer. 

6  In  thus  instructing  the  brethren,  thou  wilt  be  a  good  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ,  nourishing  thyself  with  the  words  of  the  faith  and  good  doctrine 

7  which  thou  hast  followed.     Reject  the  fables  of  profane  and  doting  teach- 

8  ers,  but  train  thyself  ^  for  the  contests  of  godliness.     For  the  training  of 
the   body  is   profitable   for  a  little ;   but  godliness  is  profitable  for  all 

9  things,  having  promise  of  the  present  life,  and  of  the  life  to  come.     Faith- 
10   fill  is  the  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  —  '■'■For  to  this  end  we 

endure  labor  and  reproach,  because  we  have  set  our  hope  on  the  living  Crod, 
who  is  the  saviour  of  alV  mankind,  specially  of  the  faithful. ^^ 


1  There  can  be  little  donbt  that  this  is  a 
quotation  from  some  Christian  bymn  or  creed. 
Such  quotations  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles  (of 
which  there  are  five  introduced  by  the  same 
expression,  "faithful  is  the  saying")  corre- 
spond with  the  hypothesis  that  these  Epistles 
were  among  the  last  written  by  St.  Paul. 

2  "  Speaking  lies  "  is  most  naturally  taken 
with  "  demons  ;  "  but  St.  Paul,  while  gram- 
matically speaking  of  the  demons,  is  really 
speaking  of  the  false  teachers  who  acted  under 
their  impulse. 

8  With  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  heresies 
here  spoken  of,  see  pp.  394-397.  We  observe 
a  strong  admixture  of  the  Jewish  element 
(exactly  like  that  which  prevailed,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  the  Colossian  heresies)  in  the  prohibi- 
tion of  particular  kinds  of  food ;  compare  verse 
4,  and  Col.  ii.  16,  and  Col.  ii.  21,  22.  This 
shows  the  veiy  early  date  of  this  Epistle,  and 
contradicts  t/ie  hypothesis  of  Baur  as  to  its 
origin  At  tne  same  iime  there  is  also  an 
Anti-Judaical  elemeni,  as  we  have  remarked 
above,  p.  397,  note  2. 

*  See  note  on  1  Tim.  ii.  4. 


^  We  have  a  specimen  of  what  is  meant  by 
this  verse  in  the  following  beautiful  "  Grace 
before  Meat,"  which  was  used  in  the  primitive 
Church :  "  Blessed  art  Thou,  0  Lord,  who 
feedest  me  from  my  youth,  who  givest  food 
unto  all  flesh.  Fill  our  hearts  with  joy  and 
gladness,  that  always  having  all  sufficiency  we 
may  abound  unto  every  good  work,  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord,  through  whom  be  glory,  hon- 
or, and  might  unto  Thee  for  ever.  Amen." 
{Apostolical.  Constitutions,  vii.  49.)  The  expres- 
sion "  Word  of  God  "  probably  implies  that 
the  thanksgiving  was  commonly  made  in  some 
Scriptural  words,  taken,  for  example,  out  of 
the  Psalms,  as  are  several  expressions  in  the 
above  Grace. 

**  It  seems,  from  a  comparison  of  this  with 
the  following  verse,  that  the  false  teachers  laid 
great  stress  on  a  training  of  the  body  by  ascet- 
ic practices.  For  the  metaphorical  language, 
borrowed  from  the  contests  of  the  Palaestra, 
compare  1  Cor.  ix.  27,  and  p.  585. 

"  The  prominence  given  to  this  truth  of 
the  universality  of  salvation  in  this  Epistle 
(compare  ii.  4)   seems   to   imply  that  it  waa 


a.u-.  xxvu.  FIBST  EPISTLE  TO   TIMOTHEUS.  S17 

iv. 

T)ntio8  of  These   things   enjoin   and   teach ;  let  no  man  despise  thy   11 

youth ,^  but  make  thyself  a  pattern  of  the  faithful,  in  word,  in  12 

hfe,  in  love,*  in  faith,  hi  purity.     Until  I  come,  apply  thyself  to  pub-  13 

lic^  reading,  exhortation,  and  teaching.     Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  14 
thee,  which  was  given  thee  by  prophecy  *  with  the  laying-on  of  the  hands 

of  the  Presbytery.     Let  these  things  be  thy  care  ;  give  thyself  wholly  to  15 

them  ;  that  thy  improvement  may  be  manifest  to  all  men.     Give  heed  to  16 
thyself  and  to  thy  teaching  ;  continue  steadfast  therein.**    For  in  so  doing 
thou  shalt  save  both  thyself  and  thy  hearers. 

Rebuke  not  an  aged  ®  man,  but  exhort  him  as  thou  wouldst  a  father ;  { 

treat  young  men  as  brothers  ;  the  aged  women  as  mothers  ;  the  young  as  2 
sisters,  in  all  purity. 

Widows  are         Pay  duc  regard '  to  the  widows  who  are  friendless  in  their  3 

to  be  Bupport- 

*^-  widowhood.     But  if  any  widow  has  children  or  grandchildren,     4 

let  them  learn  to  show  their  godliness  first  ®  towards  their  own  household, 
and  to  requite  their  parents  ;  for  this  is  acceptable  '  in  the  sight  of  God. 
The  widow  who  is  friendless  and  desolate  in  her  widowhood  sets  her  hope     5 
on  God,  and  continues  in  supplications  and  prayers  night  and  day;  but     5 
she  who  lives  in  wantonness  is  dead  while  she  lives ;  and  hereof  do  thou     7 
admonish  them,  that  they  may  be  irreproachable.     But  if  any  man  pro-     g 
vide  not  for  his  own,^"  and  especially  for  his  kindred,  he  has  denied  the 
faith,  and  is  worse  than  an  unbeliever. 
Qualifications       A  widow,  to  be  placcd  upon  the  "  list,  must  be  not  less     a 

of  widows  on  ^ 

the  list.  than   sixty  years  of  age,  having  been  the  wife  of  one  hus- 

denied  by  the  Ephesian  false  teachers.     So  the  may  most  naturally  be  referred  to  the  preced- 

Gnostics   considered    salvation    as    belonging  ing  these  thincfs. 

only   to   the  enlightened   few,  who,   in   their  '*  Chrysostom  has  remarked  that  we  mast 

system,  constituted  a  kind  of  spiritual  anstoc-  not  take  "elder"  here  in   its  official  sense; 

racy.     See  p.  395.  compare  the  following  "  elder  women." 

1  Compare  2  Tim.  ii.  22,  and  the  remarks  ^  The  widows  were  from  the  first  supported 

in  Appendix  II.  out  of  the  funds  of  the  Church.    See  Acts  vi.  1. 

'■^  The  words  "  in  spirit "  are  omitted  in  the  *  First:  i.e.  before  they  pretend  to  make 

best  MSS.  professions  of  godliness  in  other  matters,  let 

3  This  does  not  mean  reading  in  the  sense  them  show  its  fruits  towards  their  own  kindred, 

of  stucli/,  but  reading  aloud  to  others  ;  the  books  ^  The  best  MSS.  omit  "  good  and." 

80  read  were  (at  this  period)  probably  those  of  ^'^  His  own  would  include  his  slaves  and  de- 

the  Old  Testament,  and  perhaps   the  earlier  pendants.     So  Cyprian  requires  the  Christian 

gospels.  masters  to  tend  their  sick  slaves  in  i  pesti- 

*  Compare  with  this  passage  1  Tim.  i.  18,  lence. 

Hnd  the  note.  ^^  It  is  a  disputed  point  what  list  is  leferred 

*  This   in  them  is  very  perplexing;  but  it       to  in  this  word;  whether  (1)  it  means  the  lint 

52 


818 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  xxvn. 


T. 

10  band ;  *  she  must  be  well  reported  of  for  good  deeds,  as  one  who  has 
brought  up  children,  received  strangers  with  hospitality,  washed  the  feet  of 
the  saints,  relieved  the  distressed,  and  diligently  followed  every  good  work. 

11  But  younger  widows  reject ;  for  when  they  have  become  wanton  against 

12  Christ,  they  desire  to  marry  ;  and  thereby  incur  condemnation,  because 

13  they  have  broken  their  former  ^  promise.  Moreover,  they  learn  ^  to  be 
idle,  wandering  about  from  house  to  house ;  and  not  only  idle,  but 
tattlers  also  and  busy-bodies,  speaking  things  which  ought  not   to   be 

14  spoken.  I  wish  therefore  that  younger  widows  should  marry,  bear  chil- 
dren, rule  their  households,  and  give  no  occasion  to  the  adversary  for 

15  reproach.     For  already  some  of  them  have  gone  astray  after  Satan. 

16  If  there  are  widows  dependent  on  any  believer  (whether  man  or 
woman),  let  those  on  whom  they  depend  relieve  them,  and  let  not  the 
Church  be  burdened  with  them ;  that  it  may  relieve  the  widows  who  are 
destitute. 

17  Let  the  Presbyters  who  perform  their  offices  well  be  counted  Government 

of  the  Presby- 

worthy  of  a  twofold   honor,*  especially  those*  who  labor  in  ters. 


of  widows  to  be  supported  out  of  the  charitable 
fund,  or  (2)  the  list  of  deaconesses  (for  which 
office  the  age  of  sixty  seems  too  old),  or  (3) 
the  body  of  cfiurch-widows  mentioned  by  Tertul- 
lian  and  by  other  writers,  as  a  kind  of  female 
Presbyters,  having  a  distinct  ecclesiastical  posi- 
tion and  duties.  The  point  is  discussed  by  De 
Wette,  lluther,  and  Wiesinger.  We  are  dis- 
posed to  take  a  middle  course  between  the  first 
4nd  third  hypotheses ;  by  supposing,  viz.,  that 
the  list  here  mentioned  was  that  of  all  the 
widows  who  were  officially  recognized  as  sup- 
ported by  the  Church ;  but  was  not  confined  to 
such  persons,  but  included  also  richer  widows, 
who  were  willing  to  devote  themselves  to  the 
offices  assigned  to  the  pauper  widows.  It  has 
been  argued  that  we  cannot  suppose  that  needy 
widows  who  did  not  satisfy  the  conditions  of 
verse  9  would  be  exchided  from  the  benefit  of 
the  fund  ;  nor  need  we  suppose  this ;  but  since 
all  could  scarcely  be  supported,  certain  condi- 
tions were  prescribed,  which  must  be  satisfied 
before  any  one  could  be  considered  as  officially 
entitled  to  a  place  on  the  list.  From  the  class 
of  widows  thus  formed,  the  subsequent  "  body 
of  widows  "  would  naturally  result.  There  is 
not  the  slightest  ground  for  supposing  that  wid- 
ini's  here  means  virgins,  as  Baur  has  imagined 


His  opinion  is  well  refuted  by  Wiesinger  and 
De  Wette. 

^  For  the  meaning  of  this,  see  note  on  iii.  2. 

^  The  phrase  means  to  break  a  promise,  and 
is  so  explained  by  Chrysostom,  and  by  Augus- 
tine. Hence  we  see  that,  when  a  widow  was 
received  into  the  number  of  church-widows,  a 
promise  was  required  from  her  (or  virtually 
understood)  that  she  would  devote  herself  for 
life  to  the  employments  which  these  widows 
undertook  ;  viz.  the  education  of  orphans,  and 
superintendence  of  the  younger  women.  There 
is  no  trace  here  of  the  subsequent  ascetic  disap- 
probation of  second  marriages,  as  is  evident  from 
verse  14,  where  the  younger  widows  are  ex- 
pressly desired  to  marry  again.  This  also  con- 
firms our  view  of  the  "  wife  of  one  husband." 
See  note  on  iii.  2. 

8  The  construction  is  peculiar,  but  not  un- 
exampled in  classical  Greek. 

*  Honor  here  seems  (from  the  next  verse) 
to  imply  the  notion  of  reward.  Compare  the 
verb  honor  in  verse  3  above.  Upon  a  misinter- 
pretation of  this  verse  was  founded  the  dis- 
gusting practice,  which  prevailed  in  the  third 
century,  of  setting  a  double  portion  of  meat 
before  the  Presbyters,  in  the  feasts  of  love. 

^  In  pp.  378,  379,  we   observpri    that  the 


i 


CHAP.xxvn.  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  TIMOTHEUS.  819 

▼. 

speaking  and  teaching.      For  the  Scripture  saith,  **  Cj^Otl  B^rU  Viot  18 
mu^^k  tiji  0^  iljal  Ir^ab^ilj  out  i^t  Caxn ; "  '  and,  ''The  laborer  is  worthy 
of  his  hire.''''  ^ 

Against  a  Presbyter  receive  no  accusation  except  on  the  testimony '  of  19 
two  or  three  witnesses.     Rebuke  the  ofifenders  in  the   presence  of  all,   20 
that  others  also  may  fear.     I  adjure  thee,  before  God  and*  Christ  Jesus  21 
and  the  chosen  *  angels,  that  thou  observe  these  things  without  prejudice 
against  any  man,  and  do  nothing  out  of  partiality. 

Ordination.  Lay  liands  hastily  on  no  man,  nor  make  thyself*  a  partaker  22 

in  the  sins  committed  by  another.^   Keep  thyself  pure. 
Particular  Driuk  uo  lougcr  watcr  0)ily,  but  use  a  little  wine  for  the   23 

and  general 

cauuona.         ^q^q  ^f  ^]^j  stomach,  and  thy  frequent  maladies. 

[In  thy  decisions  remember  that]  the  sins  of  some  men  are  manifest   24 
beforehand,  and  lead  the  way  to  their  condemnation  ;    but  the  sins  of 
others  are  not  seen  till  afterwards.     Likewise,  also,  the  good  deeds  of  25 
some  men  are  conspicuous  ;   and  those  which  thev  conceal  cannot  be 
kept  hidden. 

^i&yea.'^^  "^^^  thosc  who  arc  under  the  yoke  as  bondsmen  esteem  their vi.  1 

masters  worthy  of  all  honor,  lest  reproach  be  brought  upon  the  name  of 
God  and  His  doctrine.     And  let  those  whose  masters  are  believers  not     2 
despise  them  because  they  are  brethren,  but  serve  them  with  the  more 
subjection,   because   they   who  claim'   the   benefit    are    believing   and 
beloved.     Thus  teach  thou,  and  exhort, 
reb^ld***"       ^  ^^J  ^^^  teach  falsely,^  and  consent  not  to  the  sound     8 

offices  of  presbyter  and  teacher  were  anited,  at  prudence,  Dent.  xix.  5,  and  appealed  to  by  St. 

the  date  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  in  the  same  Paul,  2  Cor.  xiii.  1. 

persons  ;  which  is  shown  by  apt  to  teach  being  *  Lord  is  omitted  by  the  best  MSS. 

a  qualification  required  in  a  Presbyter,  1  Tim.  ^  By  the  chosen  angels  are  probably  meant 

iii.  2.     But  though  this  union  must  in  all  cases  those  especially  selected  by  God  as  His  mea- 

have  been  desirable,  we  find,  from  this  passage,  sengers  to  the  human  race,  such  as  Gabriel. 

that  there  were  still  some  presbi/ters  who  were  '^  The  meaning  of  the  latter  part  of  this 

not  teachers,  i.  e.  who  did  not  perform  the  office  verse  is,  that  Timotheus,  if  he  ordained  unfit 

of    public    instruction    in   the    congregation.  persons  (e.  g.  friends  or  relations)  out  of  par- 

This  is  another  strong  proof  of  the  early  date  tiality,  would  thereby  make  himself  a  partici- 

of  the  Epistle.  pator  in  their  sins. 

1  This  quotation  (Deut.  xxv.  4)  is  applied  ^  The  A.  V.  is  inconsistent  with  the  pres- 
to the  same  purpose,  1  Cor.  ix.  9  (where  the  ence  of  the  Greek  definite  article.  The  verb 
words  are  quoted  in  a  reverse  order).  The  here  used  has  the  sense  of  claim  in  classical 
LXX.  agrees  with  1  Cor.  ix.  9.  Greek,  though  not  elsewhere  in  the  N.  T. 

2  Luke  X.  7.  *  The  section  from  verses  :i  to  10  is  a  gen- 
*  This  rule  is  founded  on  the  Mosaic  juris-      eral  warning  against  the  false  teachers,  as  ui 


820  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xx-vu. 

Ti. 

4  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  the  godly  doctrine,  he  ^^f^  covetoxw 

is  blinded  with  pride,  and   understands   nothing,  but  is   filled   with  a 
sickly^  appetite  for  disputations  and  contentions  about  words,  whence 

5  arise  Qnyy,  strife,  reproaches,  evil  suspicions,  violent  collisions  ^  of  men 
whose   mind   is   corrupted,  and  who  are   destitute  of    the   truth ;    who 

Q  think  that  godliness^  is  a  gainful  trade.*     But  godliness  with   content- 

7  ment  is  truly  gainful ;  for  we  brought  nothing  into  the  world,  and  it  is 

8  certain  we  can  carry  nothing  out ;  but  having  food  and  shelter,  let  us  be 

9  therewith  content.     They  who  seek  for  riches  fall  into  temptations  and 
snares  and  many  foolish  and  hurtful  desires,  which  drown  men  in  ruin 

10  and  destruction.  For  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evils ;  and 
some,  coveting  it,  have  been  led  astray  from  the  faith,  and  pierced  them- 
selves through  with  many  sorrows. 

11  But  thou,  0  man  of  God,  flee  these  things;  and  follow  S^SS°^. 
after    righteousness,    godliness,    faith,    love,    steadfastness,'    meekness. 

12  Fight  the  good  fight  ®  of  faith,  lay  hold  on  eternal  life,  to  which  thou  ^ 
wast  called,  and  didst  confess  the  good  ^  confession  before   many  wit- 

13  nesses.  I  charge  thee  in  the  presence  of  God  who  gives  life  to  all  things, 
and  Christ  Jesus  who  bore  testimony  under  Pontius  Pilate '  to  the  good 

14  confession,  that  thou  keep  that  which  thou  art   commanded,  spotlessly 

evident  from  the  whole  context.    It  is  a  mi»-  *  The  A.  V.  here  reverses  the  true  order, 

take   to  refer  the  "  false  teaching  "  to  some  and  violates  the  law  of  the  article, 
(imaginary)  teachers  who  are  supposed  by  some  *  The  words  "From  such  withdraw  thy- 

to   have  preached   the    abolition    of   slavery.  self "  are  not  found  here  in  the  best  MS  S. 
There  is  no  evidence  or  probability  whatever  ^  The  meaning  is,  steadfast  endurance  under 

that  such  teachers  existed;    although   it  was  peisecution. 

natural  that  some  of  the  Christian  slaves  ^  Here  we  have  another  of  those  metaphors 
themselves  should  have  been  temjjted  to  "  de-  from  the  Greek  games,  so  frequent  with  St 
spise  "  their  believing  masters,  with  whom  they  Paul.  See  2  Tim.  iv.  7. 
were  now  united  by  so  holy  a  bond  of  brother-  ^  "Also  "  is  omitted  by  the  best  MSS. 
hood;  a  bond  which  contained  in  itself  the  «  "The  (not  a)  good  confession"  means 
seeds  of  liberty  for  the  slave,  destined  to  ripen  the  confession  of  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Christ, 
in  due  time.  It  would  scarcely  have  been  ne-  (Compare  Kom.  x.  10.)  Tiraotheus  had  prob- 
cessary  to  say  this,  but  that  a  teacher  of  divinity  bably  been  a  confessor  of  Christ  in  persecu- 
has  lately  published  a  statement  that  "  St.  tion,  either  at  Rome  or  elsewhere ;  or  it  is  pos- 
Paul's  epistles  condemn  attempts  to  abolish  sible  that  the  allusion  here  may  be  to  his  bap- 
slavery,  as  the  work  of  men  'proud,  knowing  tism. 

mthinq'  (1  Tim.  vi.  2-4)."     ^qq  Rational  God-  ^  For  this  use  of  "witness"  or  "testify" 

Uness :  by  R.  Williams,  D.D.,  p.  303.  with   the  accusative,   compare    John   iii.   32, 

1  Sicklt)  is  the  antithesis  to  sound  above.  "  What  he  hath  seen,  that  he  testifieth."     Our 
Similar  phraseology  is  found  in  Plato.  Lord  testified  before  Pontius  Pilate  that  He 

2  The   original    meaning    of    the    nncom-  was  the  Messiah, 
pounded  word  (taking  the  reading  of  the  best 

MSS.)  is  friction. 


CHAP.  xxvTi.  ST.    PAUL  VISITS   CRETE.  821 

tL 

and  irreproachably,  until  the  appearing  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  which    16 
shall  in  due  time  be  made  manifest  by  the  blessed  and  only  ^  Potentate, 
the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords ;  who  only  hath  immortality,  dwell-  16 
ing  in  light  unapproachable  ;  whom  no  man  hath  seen,  nor  can  see ;  to 
whom  be  honor  and  power  everlasting.     Amen. 

Duties  of  the        Charge  those  who  are  rich  in  this  present  world,  not  to  be   17 
high-minded,  nor  to  trust  in  uncertain  riches,  but  in^  God,  who  provides 
all  tilings  richly  for  our  use.     Charge  them  to  practise  benevolence,  to   18 
be  rich  in  good  works,  to  be  bountiful  and  generous,  storing  up  for  them-   19 
selves  a  good  foundation  for  the  time  to  come,  that  they  may  lay  hold  ou 
eternal '  life. 
Timotheus  Q  Timothcus,  guard  *  the  treasure  which  is  committed  to  20 

again  re-  '   o 

^SsBton.*^  thy  trust,  and  avoid  the  profane  babblings  and  antitheses '  of 
the  falsely-named  "  Knowledge  ; "  '  which  some  professing,  have  erred   21 
concerning  the  faith. 

tenets.  G^aCC  bO  with  thce.' 

The  expectations  which  St.  Paul  expressed  in  the  above  letter,  of  a 
more  prolonged  absence  from  Ephesus,  could  scarcely  have  been  ful- 
filled ;  for  soon  after®  we  find  that  he  had  been  in  Crete  (which  seems 
to  imply  that,  on  his  way  thither,  he  had  passed  through  Ephesus),  and 
was  now  again  on  his  way  westwards.     We  must  suppose,  then,  that  he 

1  Onli/.    This  seems  to  allude  to  the  same  "  babblings  "  and    the    "  contentions    aboat 

polytheistic   notions  of  incipient   Gnosticism  words  "  ascribed  to  the  heretics  above,  vi.  4) 

which  are  opposed  in  Col.  i.  16.  is  to  suppose  that  St.  Paul  here  speaks,  not  of 

*  "  Living  "  is  omitted  by  the  best  MSS.  the  doctrines,  but  of  the  dialectical  and  rhetori- 
8  The  majority  of  MSS.  read  the  true  life,  cal  arts  of  the  false  teachers. 

which  is  equivalent  to  the  Received  Text.  ^  From  this  passage  we  see  that  the  here 

*  The  treasure  here  mentioned  is  probably  tics  here  opposed  by  St.  Paul  laid  claim  to  a 
the  pastoral  office  of  superintending  |he  peculiar  philosophy,  or "  Gnosis."  Thus  they 
Church  of  Ephesus,  which  was  committed  by  were  Gnostics,  at  all  events  in  name ;  how  far 
St.  Paul  to  Timotheus.     Cf.  2  Tim.  i.  14.  their  doctrines  agreed  with  those  of  later  Gnos- 

6  "  Antitheses."     There  is  not  the  slight-  tics  is  a  further  question.     We  have  before 

est  ground  (as  even  De  Wette  allows)  for  sup-  seen  that  there  were  those  at  Corinth  (1  Cor. 

posing,  with   Baur,  that  this  expression  is  to  viii.  1,  10,  11)  who  were  blamed  by  St.  Paul 

be  understood  of  the  contrarice  op/wsitiones  (or  for  claiming  a  high  degree  of  "Gnosis;"  and 

contrasts  between  Law  and  Gospel)  of  Mar-  we  have  seen  him  condemn  the  "philosophy" 

aon.     If  there  be  an  allusion  to  any  Gnostic  of  the  heretics  at  Colossae  (Col.  ii.  8),  who 

ioctrines  at  all,  it  is  more  probable  that  it  is  to  appear  to  bear  the  closest  resemblance  to  those 

kha  dualistic.  opposition  between  the  principles  condemned  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles.     See  pp. 

)f  good  and  evil  in   the  world,  which  was  an  393-401. 

Oriental  element  in  the  philosophy  of  some  of  '  "  Amen  "  is  not  found  in  the  best  MSS. 

«he  early  Gnostics.     But  the  most  natural  in-  *  See  remarks  on  the  date  of  the  Pastoral 

teipreiation    (considering    the  junction   with  Epistles,  Appendix  II. 


822  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xxm, 

returned  shortly  from  Macedonia  to  Ephesus,  as  he  hoped,  though  doubt- 
fully, to  be  able  to  do  when  he  wrote  to  Timotheus.  From  Ephesus,  as 
we  have  just  said,  he  soon  afterwards  made  an  expedition  to  Crete.  It 
can  scarcely  be  supposed  that  the  Christian  Churches  of  Crete  were  first 
founded  during  this  visit  of  St.  Paul ;  on  the  contrary,  many  indications 
in  the  Epistle  to  Titus  show  that  they  had  already  lasted  for  a  consider- 
able time.  But  they  were  troubled  by  false  teachers,  and  probably  had 
never  yet  been  properly  organized,  having  originated,  perhaps,  in  the 
private  efforts  of  individual  Christians,  who  would  have  been  supplied 
with  a  centre  of  operations  and  nucleus  of  Churches  by  the  numerous 
colonies  of  Jews  established  in  the  island.^  St.  Paul  now  visited  them  in 
company  with  Titus,^  whom  he  left  in  Crete  as  his  representative  on  his 
departure.  He  himself  was  unable  to  remain  long  enough  to  do  what 
was  needful,  either  in  silencing  error,  or  in  selecting  fit  persons  as 
presbyters  of  the  numerous  scattered  Churches,  which  would  manifestly 
be  a  work  of  time.  Probably  he  confined  his  efforts  to  a  few  of  the 
principal  places,  and  empowered  Titus  to  do  the  rest.  Thus,  Titus  was 
lel't  at  Crete  in  the  same  position  which  Timotheus  had  occupied  at 
Ephesus  during  St.  Paul's  recent  absence  ;  and  there  would,  consequent- 
ly, be  the  same  advantage  in  his  receiving  written  directions  from  St. 
Paul  concerning  the  government  and  organization  of  the  Church,  which 
we  have  before  mentioned  in  the  case  of  Timotheus.  Accordingly, 
sliortly  after  leaving  Crete,  St.  Paul  sent  a  letter  to  Titus,  the  outline  of 
which  would  equally  serve  for  that  of  the  preceding  Epistle.  But 
St.  Paul's  letter  to  Titus  seems  to  have  been  still  further  called  for,  to 
meet  some  strong  opposition  which  that  disciple  had  encountered  while 
attempting  to  carry  out  his  master's  directions.  This  may  be  inferred 
from  the  very  severe  remarks  against  the  Cretans  which  occur  in  the 
Epistle,  and  from  the  statement,  at  its  commencement,  that  the  very 
object  which  its  writer  had  in  view,  in  leaving  Titus  in  Crete,  was  that 
he  might  appoint  Presbyters  in  the  Cretan  Churches ;  an  indication  that 

^  Philo  mentions  Crete  as  one  of  the  seats  word  of  the  Cretans,  when  they  fought  against 

of  the  Jewish  dispersion;  see  p.  17.     [For  the  the  Venetians,  who  came  under  the  standard 

introduction  of  Christianity  into  the  island  in  of   St.   Mark.      The    Venetians    themselves, 

connection  with  St.  Paul,  see  the  art.  "  Crete  "  when  here,  "  seem  to  have  transferred  to  him 

in  the  Diet,  of  the  Bible.  —  h.]  part  of  that  respect,  which,  elsewhere,  would 

2  For  the  earlier  mention   of   Titus,   see  prohably  have  been  manifested  for  Mark  alone, 

above,  pp.  .512,  513.    There  is  some  interest  in  During  the  celebration  of  several  great  fesn- 

mentioning   the   traditionary  recollections  of  vals  of  the  Church,  the  response  of  the  Latin 

him  which  remain  in  the  island  of  Crete.    One  clergy  of  Crete,  after  the  prayer  for  the  Doge 

Greek  legend  says  that  he  was  the  nephew  of  of  Venice,  was  Sancte  Marce,  tu  nos  adjuva ; 

a  proconsul  of  Crete,  another  that  he  was  de-  but,  after  that  for  the  Duke  of  Candia,  SancU 

gcendcd  from  Minos.     The  cathedral  of  Me-  Tite,  tu  nos  adjuva."  Pashley'a  Travels  in  Crde, 

galo-Castron  on  the  north  of  the  island  was  vol.  i.  pp.  6  and  175. 
dedicated  to  him.     His  name  was  the  watch- 


CHAP.  xxvn. 


EPISTLE  TO  TITUS. 


823 


his  claim  to  exercise  this  authority  had  been  disputed.  This  Epistle 
seems  to  have  been  despatched  from  Ephesus  at  the  moment  when 
St.  Paul  was  on  the  eve  of  departure  on  a  westward  journey,  which  was 
to  take  him  as  far  as  Nicopolis  ^  (in  Epirus)  before  the  winter.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  translation  of  this  Epistle  :  — 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  TITUS.' 

Baintation.  PAUL,  a  boudsmau  of  God.  and  an  Apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  i.  1 

— sent  forth'  to  bring  God's  chosen  to  faith,  and  to  the*  knowledge  of 
the  truth  which  is  according  to  godliness,'  with  hope  of  eternal  life,     2 
which  God,  who   cannot  lie,  promised   before  eternal  times®  (but  He     3 
made  known  His  word  in  due  season,  in  the  message'  committed  to  my 
trust  by  the  command  of  God  our  Saviour),  —  To  Trrus,  my  true  son  in     4 

OUR   COMMON   FAITH. 

Grace  and  peace  ^  from  God  our  Father,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
our  Saviour. 

This  was  the  [very]   cause '  why  I  left  thee  in  Crete,  that     6 
thou  mightest  further  ^"  correct  what  is  deficient,  and  appoint 
Presbyters  in  every  city,  as  I  gave  thee  commission.     No  man     6 
must  be  appointed  a  Presbyter,  but  he  who  is  without  re- 
proach, the  husband  of  one  wife,"  having  believing  children 
who  are  not  accused  of  riotous  living,  nor  disobedient ;  for  a  ^'^  Bishop     7 


CommlBslon 
of  Titua  to 
regulate  the 
Cretan 
Cburcbea. 


QualiflcationB 
of  PresbyterB, 


*  See  below,  p.  827,  note  3. 

^  For  the  date  of  this  Epistle,  see  Ap- 
pendix II. 

*  The  original  here  is  perplexing,  but 
eeems  to  admit  of  no  other  sense  than  this,  an 
apostle  sent  forth  on  an  errand  of  faith.  Com- 
pare 2  Tim.  i.  1,  "an  apostle  sent  forth  to 
proclaim  the  promise  of  life."  The  involved 
and  parenthetical  style  of  this  salutation  re- 
minds us  of  that  to  the  Eomans,  and  is  a 
strong  evidence  of  the  genuineness  of  this 
Epistle. 

*  See  note  on  1  Tim.  ii.  4. 

6  Godliness.     See  note  on  1  Tim.  ii.  2. 

^  Before  eternal  times ;  meaning,  probably, 
in  the  old  dispensation :  cf.  Rom.  xvi.  25,  and 
oote  on  2  Tim.  i.  9. 

■^  Literally,  proclamation. 

*  The  best  MSS.  omit  mercy  here. 

»  This  commencement  seems  to  indicate  (as 
we  have  above  remarked)  that,  in  exercising 


the  commission  given  to  him  by  St.  Paul  for 
reforming  the  Cretan  Church,  Titus  had  been 
resisted. 

1°  Not  simply  "  set  in  order  "  (as  in  A.  V.), 
but  "  set  in  order  farther." 

11  This  part  of  the  Presbyter's  qualifications 
has  been  very  variously  interpreted.  See  note 
on  1  Tim.  iii.  2. 

12  Rightly  translated  in  A.  V.  "  a  "  (not 
the)  "  bishop,"  because  the  article  is  only  used 
generically.  So,  in  English,  "the  reformer 
must  be  patient :  "  equivalent  to  "  a  reformer," 
&c.  We  see  here  a  proof  of  the  early  date  of 
this  Epistle  in  the  synonymous  use  of  iniaKonof 
and  npea[3vTEpog ;  the  latter  word  designating 
the  rank,  the  former  the  duties,  of  the  Presby- 
ter. The  best  translation  here  would  be  the 
term  overseer,  which  is  employed  in  the  A.  V. 
as  a  translation  of  kmanonog.  Acts  xx.  28 ;  but. 
unfortunately,  the  term  has  associations  in 
modem  English  which  do  not  permit  of  its 


624 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXTIl. 


must  be  free  from  reproach,  as  being  a  steward  of  God ;  not  self-willed, 
not  easily  provoked,  not  a  lover  of  wine,  not  given  to  brawls,  not  greedy 
g  of  gain  ;  but  hospitable  to  ^  strangers,  a  lover  of  good  men,  self-restrained,* 
9  just,  holy,  continent ;  holding  fast  the  words  which  are  faithful  to  our 
teaching,  that  he  may  be  able  both  to  exhort  others  in  the  sound  ^  doc- 
trine, and  to  rebuke  the  gainsayers. 

10  For  there  are   many  disobedient  babblers   and   deceivers,  Tittismust 

oppose  the 

specially  they  of  the  Circumcision,  whose  mouths  need '  bit  f^i^e  teacher*. 

11  and  bridle  ;  for  they  subvert  whole  houses,  by  teaching  evil,  for  the  love 

12  of  shameful  gain.  It  was  said  by  one  of  themselves,  a  prophet  *  of  their 
own, — 

"  Always  liars  and  beasts  are  the  Cretans,  and  inwardly  sluggish." 

13  This  testimony  is   true.     Wherefore   rebuke'  them  sharply,  that  they 

14  may  be  sound  in  faith,  and  may  no  more  give  heed  to  Jewish  fables,®  and 

15  precepts'  of  men  who  turn  away  from  the  truth.  To  the  pure  all 
things  are  pure  ; '  but  to  the  polluted  and  unbelieving  nothing  is  pure, 

16  but  both  their  understanding  and  their  conscience  is  polluted.  They 
profess  to  know  God,  but  by  their  works  they  deny  Him,  being  abomi- 
nable and  disobedient,  and  worthless  '  for  any  good  work. 


being  tlius  nsed  here.    Compare  with  this  pas- 
sage 1  Tim.  iii.  2. 

1  Cf.  3  John  5,  6,  In  the  early  Church, 
Christians  travelling  from  one  place  to  another 
were  received  and  forwarded  on  their  journey 
by  their  brethren ;  this  is  the  "  hospitality " 
80  often  commended  in  the  N.  T. 

2  The  Appendix  in  the  larger  editions  con- 
tains a  list  of  words  peculiarly  used  in  the 
Pastoral  Epistles.  Among  them  are  these 
words. 

'  The  word  literally  denotes  to  put  a  bit  and 
bridle  upon  a  horse. 

*  Epimenides  of  Crete,  a  poet  who  lived  in 
the  6th  century  b.  c,  is  the  author  quoted. 
His  verses  were  reckoned  oracular,  whence  the 
title  "  prophet."  So  by  Plato  ho  is  called  "  a 
divinely-inspired  man,"  and  by  Plutarch  "  a 
man  dear  to  the  gods." 

^  Rebuke :  this  seems  to  refer  to  the  same 
word  in  V.  9. 

'  Fables.     See  note  on  1  Tim.  iv.  7. 

^  These  precepts  were  probably  those  men- 
tionnd  1  Tim.  iv.  3,  and  Col.  ii.  16-22.      The 


"  Jewish "  element  appears  distinctly  in  the 
Colossian  heretics  ("  Sabbaths,"  Col.  ii.  16), 
although  it  is  not  seen  in  the  Epistles  to  Timo- 
thy.    Comp.  iii.  9,  and  see  p.  397. 

*  It  would  seem  from  this  that  the  heretics 
attacked  taught  their  followers  to  abstain  from 
certain  acts,  or  certain  kinds  of  food,  as  being 
impure.  We  must  not,  however,  conclude  from 
this  that  they  were  Ascetics.  Superstitious 
abstinence  from  certain  material  acts  is  quite 
compatible  with  gross  impurity  of  teaching  and 
of  practice,  as  we  see  in  the  case  of  Hindoo 
devotees,  and  in  those  impure  votaries  of  Cybele 
and  of  Isis  mentioned  so  often  in  Juvenal  and 
other  writers  of  the  same  date.  The  early 
Gnostics,  here  attacked,  belonged  ap])arently 
to  that  class  who  borrowed  their  theosopby 
from  Jewish  sources;  and  the  precejds  of  absti- 
nence which  they  imposed  may  probably  have 
been  derived  from  the  Mosaic  law.  Their  im- 
morality is  plainly  indicated  by  the  following 
words. 

^  Literally,  unable  to  stand  the  test ;  t.  e.  when 
tested  by  the  call  of  duty,  they  fail. 


m 


ciiAp.  xxvn,  EPISTLE  TO  TITUS.  825 

ii. 

Directions  to         But   do   tliou   SDoak   conformablv  to  the   sound   doctrine.     1 

Titus  how  he  f  J 

tjiose'ofX*     Exhort  the  aged  men  to  be  sober,  grave,  self-restrained,  sound     2 
i^'d  eexir       in  faith,  in  love,  in  steadfastness.     Exhort  the  aged  women,     3 
likewise,  to  let  their  deportment  testify  of  holiness,  not  to  be  slanderers, 
not  to  be  enslaved  by  drunkenness,  but  to  give  good  instruction  ;  that     4 
they  may  teach  discretion  to  the  younger  women,  leading  them  to  be 
loving  wives  and  loving  mothers,  self-restrained,  chaste,  keepers  at  home,     5 
amiable  and  obedient  to  their  husbands,  lest  reproach  be  brought  upon 
the  Word  of  God.     In  like  manner,  do  thou  exhort  the  young  men  to     6 
His  own  con-    sclf-rcstraint.     And  show  thyself  in  all  things  a  pattern  of     7 
^'^^^'  good   works;    manifesting    in    thy   teaching    uncorruptness, 

gravity,^  soundness  of  doctrine  not  to  be  condemned,  that  our  adversa-     8 
Duties  of        ^'^^^  °^^y  ^®  shamed,  having  no  evil  to  say  against  us.^    Exhort     9 

bondsmen  to  obey  their  masters,  and  to  strive  to  please  them 
in  all  things,  without  gainsaying  ;  not  purloining,  but  showing  all  good   10 
fidelity,  that  they  may  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  our  Saviour  in  all 
General  mo-     things.     For  the  gracc  of  God  has  been  made  manifest,  bring-   11 

lives  of 

Christianity,    ing  salvatiou  to  all '  mankind  ;  teaching  us  to  deny  uiigodli-   12 
ness  and  earthly  lusts,  and  to  live  temperately,  justly,  and  godly  in  this 
present  world  ;  looking  for  that  blessed  hope,*  the  appearing  of  the  glory   13 
of  the  great  God,  and  our  ®  Saviour  Jesus  Christ ;  who  gave  Himself  for   14 
us,  that  He  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  us  unto  Him- 
self, as  a  ''pruliar  ptnpU/*^  zealous   of  good  works.     These  things   15 
speak,  and  exhort  and  rebuke  with  all  authority.    Let  no  man  despise  thee. 
Duty  towards       Remind '  them   to   render  submission  to  magistrates   and  iii,  1 

Government 

^d  towar^da     authoritics,  to  obey  the  Government,  to  be  ready  for  every 
generauy.        g^^^j  work,  to  spcak  BvU  of  DO  man,  to  avoid  strife,  to  act     2 

1  The  best  MSS.  omit  the  word  translated  withstanding  the  omission  of  the  article  before 
"  sincerity  "  in  A.  V,  "  Saviour."     "We  must  not  be  guided  entirely 

2  Us  (not  you)  is   the  reading  of  the  best  by  the  rules  of  classical  Greek  in  this  matter. 
MSS.  Comp.  2  Thess.  i.  12. 

8  This  statement  seems  intended  to  contra-  *  This  expression  is  borrowed  from  the  Old 

diet   the   Gnostic  notion   that   salvation  was  Testament,  Deut.  vii.  6,  Deut.   xiv.   2,  and 

given  to  the  enlightened  alone.     It  should  be  other  places.     (LXX.) 

Bbserved  that  the  definite  article  of  T.  R.  ia  "  St.  Paul  himself  had  no  doubt  insisted  on 

omitted  by  some  of  the  best  MSS.  the  duty  of  obedience  to  the  civil  magistrate 

♦  Compare  the  same  expectation  expressed  when  he  was  in  Crete.     The  Jews  throughout 
Rom.  viii.  18-25.  the  Empire  were  much  disposed  to  insubordi- 

*  The  A.  V.  here  is  probably  correct,  not-  nation  at  this  period. 


826  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OP   ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xxvn. 

iii. 

3  with  forbearance,  and  to  show  all  meekness  to  all  men.  For  we  our- 
selves also  were  formerly  without  understanding,  disobedient  and  led 
astray,  enslaved  to  all  kinds  of  lusts  and  pleasures,  living  in  malice  and 

4  in  envy,  hateful  and  hating  one  another.     But  when  God  our  Saviour 

5  made  manifest  His  kindness  and  love  of  men,  He  saved  us,  not  through 
the  works  of  righteousness  which  we  had  done,  but  according  to  His  own 
mercy,  by  the  laver*  of  regeneration,  and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy 

6  Spirit,  which   He   richly  poured    forth   upon   us,  by  Jesus   Christ   our 

7  Saviour ;   that,  being  justified  by  His  grace,  we   might  become   heirs, 

8  through^  hope,  of  life  eternal.     Faithful  is  the  saying,^  and  TitugnmBten- 

force  good 

these  things  I  desire  thee  to  affirm,  "Xei  them  that  have  be-  works,  and 

°  resist  the  false 

0  lieved  in  God  he  careful  to  practise  good  works.''''     These  things  *^*<=^«*"8- 
are   good  and   profitable  to  men  :    but  avoid  foolish  disputations,*  and 
genealogies,'  and  strifes  and  contentions  concerning  the  ^  Law,  for  they 

10  are  profitless   and  vain.     A   sectarian,'  after  two  admonitions,  reject, 

11  knowing  that  such  a  man  is  perverted,  and  by  his  sins  is  self-con- 
demned. 

12  When  I  send  Artemas  or  Tychicus  ^  to  thee,  endeavor  to  gpeciai  ciirec 

come  to  me  to  Nicopolis  ;  ^  for  there  I  have  determined  to  tuus's  jour- 
ney to  Nicopo- 

13  winter.     Forward  Zenas   the   lawyer  and   ApoUos   on   their  "»• 

14  journey  zealously,  that  they  may  want  for  nothing.  And  let  our  people 
also^*^  learn  to  practise  good  works,  ministering  to  the  necessities  of 
others,  that  they  may  not  be  unfruitful. 

1  The  word  does  not  meaxi.  "  washing  "  from  which  our  tenn  "  heresy "  comes  is  used 
(A.  v.),  but  laver ;  i.  e.  a  vessel  in  which  wash-  by  St.  Paul,  in  his  earlier  writings,  simply  for 
ing  takes  place.  a  religious  sect,  sometimes  (as  Acts  xxvi.  5) 

2  Through  hope  is  explained  by  Bom.  viii.  without  disapprobation,  sometimes  (as  1  Cor. 
24,  25.  xi.  19)  In  a  bad  sense;  here  we  find  its  deriva- 

^  The  "  saying  "  referred  to  is  supposed  by  tive  (which  occurs  here  and  nowhere  else  in 
some  interpreters  to  be  the  statement  which  the  N.  T.)  already  assuming  a  bad  sense,  akin 
precedes  (from  3  to  7).  These  writers  main-  to  that  which  it  afterwards  bore.  It  should 
tain  that  it  is  ungrammatical  to  refer  "  Faith-  be  also  observed  that  these  early  heretics 
Jul  is  the  saying  "  to  the  following,  as  is  done  united  moral  depravity  with  erroneous  teach- 
in  A.  V.  But  this  objection  is  avoided  by  ing ;  their  works  bore  witness  against  their 
taking  " <^a<  " as  a  part  of  the  quotation.  The  doctrine;  and  this  explains  the  subsequent 
usage  is  similar  in  Eph.  v.  33.  "  by  his  sins  he  is  self-condemned."     See  pp. 

*  Disputations:  see  1  Tim.  vi.  4,  and  2  Tim.  397-399. 
ii.  23.  8  Cf.  Col.  iv.  7. 

6  See  1  Tim.  i.  4.  »  See  p.  827,  note  3. 

'  Compare  precepts  (i.  14),  and  teachers  of  i°  i.  e.  the  Cretan  Christians  were  to  aid  in 

the  Law.     1  Tim.  i.  7.  furnishing  Zenas   and  Apollos  with  all   that 

''  Sectarian.    We  have  seen  that  the  word  they  needed. 


OHAP.xrm.  WXNTEE  AT  NICOPOLIS.  827 

in. 

BainudonB.     All  that  are  with  me  salute  thee.     Salute  those  who  love  us  ig 

in  faith. 

SneSol.     GracQ  be  with  you  all.» 

We  see  from  the  above  letter  that  Titus  was  desired  to  join  St.  Paul  at 
Nicopolis,  where  the  Apostle  designed  to  winter.  We  learn,  from  an  in- 
cidental notice  elsewhere/  that  the  route  he  pursued  was  from  Ephesus  to 
Miletus,  where  his  old  companion  Trophimus  remained  behind  from  sick- 
ness, and  tlience  to  Corinth,  where  he  left  Erastus,  the  former  treasurer 
of  that  citj,  whom,  perhaps,  he  had  expected,  or  wished,  to  accompany 
him  in  his  farther  progress.  The  position  of  Nicopolis  ^  would  render  it 
a  good  centre  for  operating  upon  the  surrounding  province ;  and  thence 
St.  Paul  might  make  excursions  to  those  Churches  of  lUyricum  which  he 
perhaps  *  founded  himself  at  an  earlier  period.  The  city  which  was  thus 
chosen  as  the  last  scene  of  the  Apostle's  labors,  before  his  final  imprison- 
ment, is  more  celebrated  for  its  origin  than  for  its  subsequent  history.  It 
was  founded  by  Augustus,  as  a  permanent  memorial  of  the  victory  of 
Actium,  and  stood  upon  the  site  of  the  camp  occupied  by  his  land-forces 
before  that  battle.  We  learn,  from  the  accounts  of  modern  travellers, 
that  the  remains  upon  the  spot  still  attest  the  extent  and  importance  of 
the  "  City  of  Victory."  "  A  long  lofty  wall  spans  a  desolate  plain  ;  to 
the  north  of  it  rises,  on  a  distant  hill,  the  shattered  scena  of  a  theatre ; 
and,  to  the  west,  the  extended  though  broken  line  of  an  aqueduct  con- 
nects the  distant  mountains,  from  which  it  tends,  with  the  main  subject 
of  the  picture,  the  city  itself."  *  To  people  this  city,  Augustus  uprooted 
the  neighboring  mountaineers  from  their  native  homes,  dragging  them  by 
his  arbitrary  compulsion  "  from  their  healthy  hills  to  this  low  and  swampy 
plain."  It  is  satisfactory  to  think  (with  the  accomplished  traveller  from 
whom  tlie  above  description  is  borrowed)  that,  "  in  lieu  of  the  blessings 
of  which  they  were  deprived,  the  Greek  colonists  of  Nicopolis  were  con- 
soled with  one  greater  than  all,  when  they  saw,  heard,  and  talked  with 
the  Apostle  who  was  debtor  to  the  Greeks." 

It  seems  most  probable,  however,  that  St.  Paul  was  not  permitted  to 
spend  the  whole  of  this  winter  in  security  at  Nicopolis.     The  Christians 

1  The  "Amen"  is  omitted  in  the  best  ^  See  Wordsworth's  Greece,  pp.  229-232, 
MSS.                                                                           where  a  map  of  Nicopolis  will  be  found,  and 

2  2  Tim.  iv.  20.  an  interesting  description  of  the  ruins.     See 
'  It  is   here   assumed   that   the  Nicopolis,        also  Leake's  Northern   Greece,  vol.  i.  p.   178, 

•poken  of  Titus  iii.  12,  was  the  city  of  that  and  vol.  iii.  p.  491  ;  and  Merivale's  Some,  vol. 

name  in  Epirus.     There  were  other  places  of  iii.  pp.  327,  328.      In  Bowen's  Mount  Athoe 

the  same  name;  but  they  were  comparatively  and  Epirus  (p.  211),  there  is  also  a  notice  of 

insignificant.  its  present  desolate  aspect. 
*  See  above,  pp.  515  and  579. 


828  THE   LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST,   PAUL.  chap.xxvu, 

were  now  far  more  obnoxious  to  the  Roman  authorities  than  formerly. 
They  were  already  distinguished  from  the  Jews,  and  could  no  longer 
shelter  themselves  under  the  toleration  extended  to  the  Mosaic  religion. 
So  eminent  a  leader  of  the  proscribed  sect  was  sure  to  find  enemies  every- 
where, especially  among  his  fellow-countrymen  ;  and  there  is  nothing 
improbable  in  supposing  that,  upon  the  testimony  of  some  informer,  he 
was  arrested  ^  by  the  magistrates  of  Nicopolis,  and  forwarded  to  Rome  ^  for 
trial.  The  indications  which  we  gather  from  the  Second  Epistle  to  Timo- 
theus  render  it  probable  that  this  arrest  took  place  not  later  than  ^  mid- 
winter, and  the  authorities  may  h-ave  thought  to  gratify  the  Emperor  by 
forwarding  so  important  a  criminal  immediately  to  Rome.  It  is  true  that 
the  navigation  of  the  Mediterranean  was  in  those  times  suspended  during 
the  winter ;  but  this  rule  would  apply  only  to  longer  voyages,  and  not  to 
the  short  passage  *  from  Apollonia  to  Brundusium.  Hence,  it  is  not  un- 
likely that  St.  Paul  may  have  arrived  at  Rome  some  time  before  spring. 

In  this  melancholy  journey  he  had  but  few  friends  to  cheer  him.  Titus 
had  reached  Nicopolis,  in  obedience  to  his  summons ;  and  there  were 
others  also,  it  would  seem,  in  attendance  on  him ;  but  they  were  scattered 
by  the  terror  of  his  arrest.  Demas  forsook  him,  "  for  love  of  this  present 
world,"  *  and  departed  to  Thessalonica ;  Crescens^  went  to  Galatia  on  the 
same  occasion.  We  are  unwilling,  to  suppose  that  Titus  could  have 
yielded  to  such  unworthy  fears,  and  may  be  allowed  to  hope  that  his 
journey  to  the  neighboring  Dalmatia ''  was  undertaken  by  the  desire  of 
St.  Paul.  Luke,®  at  any  rate,  remained  faithful,  accompanied  his  master 
once  more  over  the  wintry  sea,  and  shared  the  dangers  of  his  imprison- 
ment at  Rome. 

This  imprisonment  was  evidently  more  severe  than  it  had  been  five 
years  before.  Then,  though  necessarily  fettered  to  his  military  guard,  he 
had  been  allowed  to  live  in  his  own  lodgings,  and  had  been  sufiered  to 


1  It  may  be  asked,  why  was  he  not  arrested  '  The  reason  for  supposing  this  is,  that  it 
sooner,  in  Spain  or  Asia  Minor  ?  The  expla-  leaves  more  time  for  the  events  which  inter- 
nation  probably  is,  that  he  had  not  before  vened  between  St.  Paul's  arrest  and  his  death, 
ventured  so  near  Italy  as  Nicopolis.  which   took  place   (if   in  Nero's    reign)   not 

2  The  law  required  that  a  prisoner  should  later  than  June.  If  he  had  not  been  arrested 
be  tried  by  the  magistrates  within  whose  juris-  till  the  spring,  we  must  crowd  the  occurrences 
diction  the  oftence  was  alleged  to  have  been  mentioned  in  the  Second  Epistle  to  Timothy 
committed  ;    therefore,  a  prisoner  accused  of  into  a  very  short  space. 

conspiring  to  set  fire  to  Rome  must  be  tried  at  *  Even   an   army   was   transported  across 

Rome.      There  can   be   no   doubt    that    this  the  Adriatic  by  Csesar,  during  the  Sfcton  of 

charge  must  have  formed   one  part  of  any  the  "  Mare   Clausum,"  before   the  battle  of 

accusation  brought  against  St.  Paul,  after  64  Philippi.     See  also  p.  274. 

A.D.     Another  part   (as  we  have  suggested  ^  2  Tim.  iv.  10.                                   •  Ibid. 

below)  may  have  been  the  charge  of  introda-  ''  Ibid.     See  above,  p.  515 

cing  a  reliffio  nova  et  illicita.  *  2  Tim.  iv.  11. 


7HAP.  xxvn. 


SECOND   EOMAN   IMPRISONMENT. 


829 


preach  the  Gospel  to  a  numerous  company  who  came  to  hear  him.  Now 
he  is  not  only  chained,  but  treated  "  as  a  malefactor."  ^  His  friends, 
indeed,  are  still  suffered  to  visit  him  in  his  confinement ;  but  we  hear 
nothing  of  his  preaching.  It  is  dangerous  and  difficult-  to  seek  his 
prison  ;  so  perilous  to  show  any  public  sympathy  with  him,  that  no  Chris- 
tian ventures  to  stand  by  him  in  the  court  of  justice.'  And,  as  the  final 
stage  of  his  trial  approaches,  he  looks  forward  to  death  as  his  certain 
sentence.* 

This  alteration  in  the  treatment  of  St.  Paul  exactly  corresponds  with 
that  which  the  history  of  the  times  would  have  led  us  to  expect.  We 
have  concluded  that  his  liberation  took  place  early  in  a.  d.  63 :  he  was 
therefore  far  distant  from  Rome  when  the  first  imperial  persecution  of 
Christianity  broke  out,  in  consequence  of  the  great  fire  in  the  summer 
of  the  following  year.  Then  first,  as  it  appears.  Christians  were  recog- 
nized as  a  distinct  body,  separate  both  from  Jews  and  heathens  ;  and  their 
number  must  have  been  already  very  great  at  Rome  to  account  for  the 
public  notice  attracted  towards  a  sect  whose  members  were,  most  of  them, 
individually  so  obscure  in  social  position.*  When  the  alarm  and  indig- 
nation of  the  people  were  excited  by  the  tremendous  ruin  of  a  conflagra^ 
tion,  which  burnt  down  almost  half  the  city,  it  answered  the  purpose  of 
Nero  (who  was  accused  of  causing  the  fire)  to  avert  the  rage  of  the 
populace  from  himself  to  the  already  hated  votaries  of  a  new  religion. 
Tacitus  ®  describes  the  success  of  this  expedient,  and  relates  the  suffer- 


1  2  Tim.  ii.  9.  According  to  the  legends 
of  the  Mediaeval  Church,  St.  Paul  was  im- 
prisoned in  the  Mamertine  Prison,  together 
with  St.  Peter  ;  see  the  Martyrology  of  Baro- 
nius,  under  March  14.  But  there  is  no  early 
authority  for  this  story,  which  seems  irrecon- 
cilable with  the  fact  that  Onesiphorus,  Clau- 
dia, Linus,  Pudens,  &c.,  had  free  access  to  St. 
Paul  during  his  imprisonment.  It  seems  more 
likely  [see  2  Tim.  i.  16]  that  he  was  again 
under  military  custody,  though  of  a  severer 
nature  than  that  of  his  former  imprisonment. 
We  have  given  a  view  of  the  TuUianum,  or 
dungeon  of  the  Mamertine  Prison,  in  p.  297. 
Very  full  details  will  be  found  in  Sir.  W. 
Cell's  work  on  Rome  and  its  neighborhood. 

2  2  Tim.  i.  16. 

8  2  Tim.  iv.  ]«. 

*  2  Tim.  iv.  6-8. 
6  1  Cor.  i.  26. 

*  Tac.  Arm.  xv.  44.  We  give  the  well- 
known  passage  from  a  popular  translation :  — 
"  Bnt  neither  these  religious  ceremonies,  nor 


the  liberal  donations  of  the  prince,  could  efface 
from  the  minds  of  men  the  prevailmg  opinion 
that  Rome  was  set  on  fire  by  his  own  orders. 
The  infamy  of  that  horrible  transaction  still 
adhered  to  him.  In  order,  if  possible,  to  re- 
move the  imputation,  he  determined  to  trans- 
fer the  guilt  to  others.  For  this  purpose  ha 
punished,  with  exquisite  torture,  a  race  of  men 
detested  for  their  evil  practices,  by  vulgar  ap- 
pellation commonly  called  Christians.  The 
name  was  derived  from  Christ,  who,  in  the 
reign  of  Tiberius,  suffered  under  Pontius 
Pilate,  the  procurator  of  Judaea.  By  that 
event,  the  sect,  of  which  he  was  the  founder, 
received  a  blow  which  for  a  time  checked  the 
growth  of  a  dangerous  superstition ;  but  it  re- 
vived soon  after,  and  spread  with  recruited 
vigor,  not  only  in  Judaea,  the  soil  that  gave  it 
birth,  but  even  in  the  city  of  Rome,  the  com- 
mon sink  into  which  every  thing  infamous  and 
abominable  flows  like  a  torrent  from  all  quar- 
ters of  the  world.  Nero  proceeded  with  his 
usual  artifice.     He  found  a  set  of  profligato 


830 


THE  LIFE  Am)  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


COAP.  XXVU 


ings  of  the  Christian  martyrs,  who  were  put  to  death  with  circumstances 
of  the  most  aggravated  cruelty.  Some  were  crucified ;  some  disguised 
in  the  skins  of  beasts,  and  hunted  to  death  with  dogs ;  some  were 
wrapped  in  robes  impregnated  with  inflammable  materials,  and  set  on 
fire  at  night,  that  they  might  serve  to  illuminate  the  circus  of  the  Vatican 
and  the  gardens  of  Nero,  where  this  diabolical  monster  exhibited  the 
agonies  of  his  victims  to  the  public,  and  gloated  over  them  himself, 
mixing  among  the  spectators  in  the  costume  of  a  charioteer.  Brutalized 
as  the  Romans  were  by  the  perpetual  spectacle  of  human  combats  in  th(i 
amphitheatre,  and  hardened  by  popular  prejudice  against  the  "  atheisti- 
cal "  sect,  yet  the  tortures  of  the  victims  excited  even  their  compassion. 
"  A  very  great  multitude,"  as  Tacitus  informs  us,  perished  in  this  man- 
ner ;  and  it  appears  from  his  statement  that  the  mere  fact  of  professing 
Christianity  was  accounted  sufiicient  ^  to  justify  their  execution  ;  the 
whole  body  of  Christians  being  considered  as  involved  in  the  crime  of 
firing  the  city.  This,  however,  was  in  the  first  excitement  which  followed 
the  fire  ;  and  even  then,  probably  but  few  among  those  who  perished  were 
Roman  citizens.^     Since  that  time,  some  years  had  passed,  and  now  a 


and  abandoned  wretches,  who  were  induced  to 
confess  themselves  guilty ;  and,  on  the  evidence 
of  such  men,  a  number  of  Christians  were 
convicted,  not,  indeed,  upon  clear  evidence  of 
their  having  set  the  city  on  fire,  but  rather  on 
account  of  their  sullen  hatred  of  the  whole 
Roman  race.  They  were  put  to  death  with 
exquisite  cruelty,  and  to  their  sufferings  Nero 
added  mockery  and  derision.  Some  were  cov- 
ered with  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  and  left  to 
be  devoured  by  dogs ;  others  were  nailed  to 
the  cross ;  numbers  were  burnt  alive ;  and 
many,  covered  over  with  inflammable  matter, 
were  lighted  up,  when  the  day  declined,  to 
serve  as  torches  during  the  night.  For  the 
convenience  of  seeing  this  tragic  spectacle, 
the  emperor  lent  his  own  gardens.  He  added 
the  sports  of  the  circus,  and  assisted  in  person, 
sometimes  driving  a  curricle,  and  occasionally 
mixing  with  the  rabble  in  his  coachman's  dress. 
At  length  tlie  cruelty  of  these  proceedings 
filled  every  breast  with  compassion.  Human- 
ity relented  in  favor  of  the  Christians.  The 
manners  of  that  people  were,  no  doubt,  of  a 
pernicious  tendency,  and  their  crimes  called  for 
the  hand  of  justice ;  but  it  was  evident  that 
they  fell  a  sacrifice,  not  for  the  public  good,  but 
to  glut  the  rage  and  cruelty  of  one  man  only." 
^  It  was  criminal,  according  to  the  Roman 
'aw,  to  introduce  into  Rome  any  rdiyio  nova  et 


illidta.  Yet,  practically,  this  law  was  seldom 
enforced,  as  we  see  by  the  multitude  of  foreign 
superstitions  continually  introduced  into  Rome, 
and  the  occasional  and  feeble  efforts  of  the 
Senate  or  the  Emperor  to  enforce  the  law. 
Moreover,  the  punishment  of  those  who  of- 
fended against  it  seems  only  to  have  been  ex- 
pulsion from  the  city,  unless  their  offence  had 
been  accompanied  by  aggravating  circumstan- 
ces. It  was  not,  therefore,  under  this  law 
that  the  Christians  were  executed ;  and,  when 
Suetonius  tells  us  that  they  were  punished  as 
professors  of  a  superstitio  nova  et  maJefica,  we 
must  interpret  his  assertion  in  accordance 
with  the  more  detailed  and  accurate  statement 
of  Tacitus,  who  expressly  says  that  the  vic- 
tims of  the  Neronian  persecution  were  con- 
demned on  the  charge  of  arson.  Hence  the 
extreme  cruelty  of  their  punishment,  and  espe- 
cially the  setting  them  on  fire. 

^  No  doubt  most  of  the  victims  who  per- 
ished in  the  Neronian  persecution  were  for- 
eigners, slaves,  or  freedmcn  ;  we  have  already 
seen  how  large  a  portion  of  the  Roman  Church 
was  of  Jewish  extraction  (see  p.  543,  n.  3). 
It  was  illegal  to  subject  a  Roman  citizen  to  the 
ignominious  punishments  mentioned  by  Taci- 
tus; but  probably  Nero  would  not  have  re- 
garded this  privilege  in  the  case  of  freodmen, 
although  by  their  emancipation  they  hh.i  be- 


CHAP.xxvn.  HIS  FINAIi  TRIAL.  831 

decent  respect  would  be  paid  to  the  forms  of  law,  in  dealing  with  one 
who,  like  St.  Paul,  possessed  the  privilege  of  citizenship.  Yet  we  can 
quite  understand  that  a  leader  of  so  abhorred  a  sect  would  be  subjected 
to  a  severe  imprisonment. 

We  have  no  means  of  knowing  the  precise  charge  now  made  against 
the  Apostle.  He  might  certainly  be  regarded  as  an  offender  against  the 
law  which  prohibited  the  propagation  of  a  new  and  illicit  religion  (religio 
nova  et  illicitd)  among  the  citizens  of  Rome.  But,  at  this  period,  one 
article  of  accusation  against  him  must  have  been  the  more  serious  charge 
o**  having  instigated  the  Roman  Christians  to  their  supposed  act  of 
incendiarism,  before  his  last  departure  from  the  capital.  It  appears  that 
"  Alexander  the  brass-founder "  (2  Tim.  iv.  14)  was  either  one  of  his 
accusers,  or,  at  least,  a  witness  against  him.  If  this  was  the  same  with 
the  Jewish^  Alexander  of  Ephesus  (Acts  xix.  33),  it  would  be  probable 
that  his  testimony  related  to  the  former  charge.  But  there  is  no  proof 
that  these  two  Alexanders  were  identical.  We  may  add,  that  the  em- 
ployment of  Informer  (delator)  was  now  become  quite  a  profession  at 
Rome,  and  tha,t  there  would  be  no  lack  of  accusations  against  an  unpopu- 
lar prisoner  as  soon  as  his  arrest  became  known. 

Probably  no  long  time  elapsed,  after  St.  Paul's  arrival,  before  his  cause 
came  on  for  hearing.  The  accusers,  with  their  witnesses,  would  be 
already  on  the  spot ;  and  on  this  occasion  he  was  not  to  be  tried  by  the 
Emperor  in  person,'^  so  that  another  cause  of  delay,'  which  was  often 
interposed  by  the  carelessness  or  indolence  of  the  Emperor,  would  be 
removed.  The  charge  now  alleged  against  him  probably  fell  under  the 
cognizance  of  the  city  Prefect  (Praefectus  Urbi),  whose  jurisdiction  daily 
encroached,  at  this  period,  on  that  of  the  ancient  magistracies.*  For  we 
must  remember,  that,  since  the  time  of  Augustus,  a  great  though  silent 
change  had  taken  place  in  the  Roman  system  of  criminal  procedure. 
The  ancient  method,  though  still  the  regular  and  legal  system,  was 
rapidly  becoming  obsolete  in  practice.  Under  the  Republic,  a  Roman 
citizen  could  theoretically  be  tried  on  a  criminal  charge  only  by  the 
Sovereign  People  ;  but  the  judicial  power  of  the  people  was  delegated, 
by  special  laws,  to   certain   bodies   of  Judges,  superintended    by  the 

come  Roman  citizens.     And  we  know  that  the  ^  Clemens   Romanus   says  that  Paul,   on 

Jewish  population  of  Rome  had,  for  the  most  this  occasion,  was  tried  "  before  the  presiding 

part,  a  Servile  origin ;  see  pp.  335,  739.  magistrates."     Had  the  Emperor  presided,  he 

1  An  Alexander  is  also  mentioned,  1  Tim.  would  probably  have  said  "  before  Caesar." 

i.  20,  as  a  heretic,  who  had  been  excommuni-  ^  See  above,  p.  746. 

cated   by  St.  Paul.      This  is,   probably,   the  *  The  authority   for  this,  and   for  all   the 

same  person  with  the  Alexander  of  2  Tim.  iv.  points  of  Roman  Law  referred  to  in  this  chap- 

14;    and   if   so,   motives   of  personal   malice  ter,  is  given  in  our  larger  editions, 
would  account  for  his  conduct. 


832  THE  LIFJE  AND   EPISTLES   OE   ST.   PAUL.  caAP.xxTn, 

several  Praetors.  Thus  oue  Praetor  presided  at  trials  for  homicide, 
another  at  trials  for  treason,  and  so  on.^  But  the  presiding  magistrate 
did  not  give  the  sentence :  his  function  was  merely  to  secure  the  legal 
formality  of  the  proceedings.  The  judgment  was  pronounced  by  the 
Judices,  a  large  body  of  judges  (or  rather  jurors)  chosen  (generally  by 
lot)  from  amongst  the  senators  or  knights,  who  gave  their  vote,  by  ballot, 
for  acquittal  or  condemnation.  But  under  the  Empire  this  aucielit 
system,  though  not  formally  abolished,  was  gradually  superseded.  The 
Emperors  from  the  first  claimed  supreme'^  judicial  authority,  both  civil 
and  criminal.  And  this  jurisdiction  was  exercised  not  only  by  them- 
selves, but  by  the  delegates  whom  they  appointed.  It  was  at  first 
delegated  chiefly  to  the  Prefect  of  the  city  ;  and  though  causes  might, 
up  to  the  beginning  of  the  second  century,  be  tried  by  the  Praetors  in  the 
old  way,  yet  this  became  more  and  more  unusual.  In  the  reign  of  Nero, 
it  was  even  dangerous  for  an  accuser  to  prosecute  an  offender  in  the 
Praetor's  instead  of  the  Prefect's  court.'  Thus  the  trial  of  criminal 
charges  was  transferred  from  a  jury  of  independent  Judices  to  a  single 
magistrate  appointed  by  a  despot,  and  controlled  only  by  a  Council  of 
Assessors,  to  whom  he  was  not  bound  to  attend. 

Such  was  the  court  before  which  St.  Paul  was  now  cited.  We  have 
an  account  of  the  first,  hearing  of  the  cause  from  his  own  pen.  He 
writes  thus  to  Timotheus  immediately  after  :  —  "  When  I  was  first  heard 
in  my  defence,  no  man  stood  by  me,  but  all  forsook  me,  —  I  pray  that  it 
be  not  laid  to  their  charge.  Nevertheless  the  Lord  Jesus  stood  by  me, 
and  strengthened  my  heart ;  that  by  me  the  proclamation  of  the  Glad- 
tidings  might  be  accomplished  in  full  measure,  and  that  all  the  Gentiles 
might  hear  ;  and  I  was  delivered  out  of  the  lion's  mouth."  We  see  from 
this  statement,  that  it  was  dangerous  even  to  appear  in  public  as  the 
friend  or  adviser  of  the  Apostle.  No  advocate  would  venture  to  plead 
his  cause,  no  procurator^  to  aid  him  in  arranging  the  evidence,  no 
patronus  (such   as    he   might    have   found,  perhaps,  in   the    powerful 

1  This  was  the  system  of  Qucestiones  Per-  again  refer  it  to  the  Tribunitian  power  con- 
petuce.  ferred  upon  the  Emperor,  which  was  extended 

2  The  origin  of  this  jurisdietion  is  not  (as  we  have  seen)  so  as  to  give  him  a  supremo 
so  clear  as  that  of  their  appellate  jurisdiction,  appellate  jurisdiction,  and  by  virtue  of  which 
which  we  have  explained  above  Some  writers  he  might  perhaps  bring  before  his  tribunal  any 
hold  that  the  Emperor  assumed  the  supreme  cause  in  the  first  instance  which  would  ulti- 
judicial  power  as  an  incident  of  his  quasi-dic-  matcly  come  under  his  judgment  by  appeal, 
tatoriul  authority.  Others  think  that  it  was  ^  Tacitus  relates  that  Valerius  Ponticus 
theoretically  based  upon  a  revival  of  that  sum-  was  banished  under  Nero,  because  he  had 
mary  jurisdiction  which  was  formerly  (in  the  brought  some  accused  persons  before  the  Prse- 
earliest  ages  of  the  Commonwealth)  exercised  tor  instead  of  the  Prefect.    Ann.  xiv.  41. 

by  the  great  magistrates  whose  functions  were  *  The  procurator  performed  the  functions 

now  concentrated   in   the    Emperor.     Others       of  our  attorney. 


CHAP.xxvn.  HIS  FINAL  TRIAL,  833 

iEmilian^  house)  to  appear  as  his  supporter,  and  to  deprecate,^  accord- 
ing to  ancient  usage,  the  severity  of  the  sentence.  But  he  had  a  more 
powerful  intercessor,  and  a  wiser  advocate,  who  could  never  leave  him 
nor  forsake  him.  The  Lord  Jesus  was  always  near  him,  but  now  was 
felt  almost  visibly  present  in  the  hour  of  his  need. 

From  the  above  description  we  can  realize  in  some  measure  the 
external  features  of  his  last  trial.  He  evidently  intimates  that  he  spoke 
before  a  crowded  audience,  so  that  "  all  the  Gentiles  might  hear  ;  "  and 
this  corresponds  with  the  supposition,  which  historically  we  should  be  led 
to  make,  that  he  was  tried  in  one  of  those  great  basilicas  which  stood  in 
the  Forum.  Two  of  the  most  celebrated  of  these  edifices  were  called 
the  Pauline  Basilicas,  from  the  well-known  Lucius  -^milius  Paulus,  who 
had  built  one  of  them,  and  restored  the  other.  It  is  not  improbable  that 
the  greatest  man  who  ever  bore  the  Pauline  name  was  tried  in  one  of 
these.  From  specimens  which  still  exist,  as  well  as  from  the  descriptions 
of  Yitruvius,  we  have  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  character  of  these 
halls  of  justice.  They  were  rectangular  buildings,  consisting  of  a  central 
nave  and  two  aisles,  separated  from  the  nave  by  rows  of  columns.  At 
one  end  of  the  nave  was  the  tribune,^  in  the  centre  of  which  was  placed 
the  magistrate's. curule  chair  of  ivory,  elevated  on  a  platform  called  the 
tribunal.  Here  also  sat  the  Council  of  Assessors,  who  advised  the 
Prefect  upon  the  law,  though  they  had  no  voice  in  the  judgment.  On 
ihe  sides  of  the  tribune  were  seats  for  distinguished  persons,  as  well  as 
for  parties  engaged  in  the  proceedings.  Fronting  the  presiding  magis- 
trate stood  the  prisoner,  with  his  accusers  and  his  advocates.  The  public 
was  admitted  into  the  remainder  of  the  nave  and  aisles  (which  was  railed 
off  from  the  portion  devoted  to  the  judicial  proceedings)  ;  and  there  were 
also  galleries  along  the  whole  length  of  the  aisles,  one  for  men,  the  other 
for  women.*  Tlie  aisles  were  roofed  over  ;  as  was  the  tribune.  The 
nave  was  originally  left  open  to  the  sky.  The  basilicas  were  buildings 
of  great  size,  so  that  a  vast  multitude  of  spectators  was  always  present 
at  any  trial  which  excited  public  interest. 

1  We  have  already  (p.  138)  suggested  the  XXV.  Here  the  tribune  is  rectangular;  in 
possibility  of  a  connection  of  clientship  between      others  it  was  semicircular. 

Paul's  family  and  this  noble  Roman  house.  *  Pliny  gives   a  lively  description   of  the 

2  It  was  the  custom,  both  in  the  Greek  and  scene  presented  by  a  basilica  at  an  interesting 
Roman  courts  of  justice,  to  allow  the  friends  trial :  "  A  dense  ring,  many  circles  deep,  sur- 
of  the  accused  to  intercede  for  him,  and  to  rounded  the  scene  of  trial.  They  crowded 
endeavor  by  their  prayers  and  tears  to  move  close  to  the  judgment-seat  itself,  and  even  in 
the  feelings  of  his  judges.  This  practice  was  the  upper  part  of  the  basilica  botn  men  and 
gradually  limited  under  the  Imperial  regime.  women  pressed  close  in  the  eager  desire  to  see 

8  The  features  of  the  basilica  will  be  best       (which  was  easy)  and  to  hear  (which  was  difli- 
understood  by  the  ground-plan  of   that    of       cult)."    Plin.  Ep.  vi.  38. 
Pompeii,  which  is  given   at  the  end  of  Ch. 
63 


834  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  cHXF.xrvif, 

Before  such  an  audience  it  was  that  Paul  was  now  called  to  speak  in 
his  defence.  His  earthly  friends  had  deserted  him,  but  his  Heavenly 
Friend  stood  by  him.  He  was  strengthened  by  the  power  of  Christ's 
Spirit,  and  pleaded  the  cause  not  of  himself  only,  but  of  the  Gospel. 
He  spoke  of  Jesus,  of  His  death  and  His  resurrection,  so  that  all  the 
Heathen  multitude  might  hear.  At  the  same  time,  he  successfully  de- 
fended himself  from  the  first  ^  of  the  charges  brought  against  him,  which 
perhaps  accused  him  of  conspiring  with  the  incendiaries  of  Rome.  He 
was  delivered  from  the  immediate  peril,  and  saved  from  the  ignominious 
and  painful  death  ^  which  might  have  been  his  doom  had  he  been  con- 
victed on  such  a  charge. 

He  was  now  remanded  to  prison  to  wait  for  the  second  stage  of  his 
trial.  It  seems  that  he  himself  expected  this  not  to  come  on  so  soon  as 
it  really  did  ;  or,  at  any  rate,  he  did  not  think  the  final  decision  would 
be  given  till  the  following '  winter,  whereas  it  actually  took  place  about 
midsummer.  Perhaps  he  judged  from  the  long  delay  of  his  former  trial ; 
or  he  may  have  expected  (from  the  issue  of  his  first  hearing)  to  be  again 
acquitted  on  a  second  charge,  and  to  be  convicted  on  a  third.  He  cer- 
tainly did  not  expect  a  final  acquittal,  but  felt  no  doubt  that  the  cause 
would  ultimately  result  in  his  condemnation.  We  are  not  left  to  con- 
jecture the  feelings  with  which  he  awaited  this  consummation  ;  for  he 
has  himself  expressed  them  in  that  sublime  strain  of  triumphant  hope 
which  is  familiar  to  the  memory  of  every  Christian,  and  which  has 
nerved  the  hearts  of  a  thousand  martyrs.  "  I  am  now  ready  to  be 
offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have  fought  the  good 
fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  is 
laid  up  for  me  the  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous 
Judge,  shall  give  me  in  that  day."  He  saw  before  him,  at  a  little  dis- 
tance, the  doom  of  an  unrighteous  magistrate,  and  the  sword  of  a  blood- 
stained executioner  ;  but  he  appealed  to  the  sentence  of  a  juster  Judge, 
who  would  soon  change  the  fetters  of  the  criminal  into  the  wreath  of  the 

^  The  hypothesis  of  an  acquittal  on  the  that  under  the  Imperial  system  the  practice  of 

first  charge  agrees  best  with  the  being  delivered  AmpUatio  was  discontinued.     So  also  was  the 

from  the  mouth  of  the  lion  (2  T\m.iw.  \1).    We  Comperendinatio   abolished,   by   which   certain 

have   seen   that  it  was  Nero's  practice   (and  trials  were  formerly  divided  into  a  prima  actio 

therefore,  we  may  suppose,  the  practice  of  the  and  seat  ndd  actio.     We  cannot  therefore  agree 

Prefects  under  Nero)  to  hear  and  decide  each  with  Wieseler  in  supposing  this  "  first  defence" 

branch  of  the  accusation  separately  (Suet  Ner.  to  indicate  an  Ampliatio  or  Compei-endinatio. 
15,  before  cited).     Had  the  trial  taken  place  ^  See  the  account  given  by  Tacitus  (above 

under  the  ancient  system,  we  might  have  sup-  quoted)  of  the   punishment  of  the  supposed 

posed  an  Ampliatio,  which  took  place  when  the  incendiaries.     In  the  case  of   such  a  crime, 

judices  held  the  evidence  insufficient,  and  gave  probably,  even   a  Roman  citizen  would  no< 

the  verdict  Non  liquet,  in  which  case  the  trial  have  been  exempted  from  such  punishments, 
was  commenced  de  novo ;  but  Geib  has  shown  *  2  Tim.  iv.  21 . 


euj^e.xxvu.  HE  IS   REMANDED   TO   PKISON.  835 

couqueror ;  lie  looked  beyond  the  transitory  present ;  the  tribunal  of 
Nero  faded  from  his  sight ;  and  the  vista  was  closed  by  thi  judgment- 
seat  of  Christ. 

Sustained  by  such  a  blessed  and  glorious  hope  —  knowing,  as  he  did, 
that  nothing  in  heaven  or  in  earth  could  separate  him  from  the  love  of 
Christ  —  it  mattered  to  him  but  little  if  he  was  destitute  of  earthly 
sympathy.  Yet  still,  even  in  these  last  hours,  he  clung  to  the  friendships 
of  early  years ;  still  the  faithful  companionship  of  Luke  consoled  him  in 
the  weary  hours  of  constrained  inactivity,  which,  to  a  temper  like  his, 
must  have  made  the  most  painful  part  of  imprisonment.  Luke  was  the 
only  one  ^  of  his  habitual  attendants  who  now  remained  to  minister  to 
him  :  his  other  companions  had  left  him,  probably  before  his  arrival  at 
Rome.  But  one  friend  from  Asia,  Onesiphorus,^  had  diligently  sought 
him  out,  and  visited  him  in  his  prison,  undeterred  by  the  fear  of  danger 
or  of  shame.  And  there  were  others,  some  of  them  high  in  station,  who 
came  to  receive  from  the  chained  malefactor  blessings  infinitely  greater 
than  all  the  favors  of  the  Emperor  of  the  world.  Among  these  were 
Linus,  afterwards  a  bishop  of  the  Roman  Cimrch  ;  Pudens,  the  son  of  a 
senator  ;  and  Claudia,  his  bride,  perhaps  the  daughter  of  a  British  king.' 
But  however  he  may  have  valued  these  more  recent  friends,  their  society 
could  not  console  him  for  the  absence  of  one  far  dearer  to  him :  he 
longed  with  a  paternal  longing  to  see  once  more  the  face  of  Timotheus, 
his  beloved  son.  The  disciple  who  had  so  long  ministered  to  him  with 
filial  affection  might  still  (he  hoped)  arrive  in  time  to  receive  his  parting 
w^ords,  and  be  with  him  in  his  dying  hour.  But  Timotheus  was  far  dis- 
tant, in  Asia  Minor,  exercising  apparently  the  same  function  with  which 
he  had  before  been  temporarily  invested.  Thither,  then,  he  wrote  to  him, 
desiring  him  to  come  with  all  speed  to  Rome,  yet  feeling  how  uncertain 
it  was  whether  he  might  not  arrive  too  late.  He  was  haunted  also  by 
another  fear,  far  more  distressing.  Either  from  his  experience  of  the 
desertion  of  other  friends,  or  from  some  signs  of  timidity  which  Timo- 
theus* himself  had  shown,  he  doubted  whether  he  might  not  shrink  from 

1  2  Tim.  iv.  11.     If  we  suppo.se  Tychicus  British   Church.      See  especially  pp.   21-54, 

the  bearer  of  the  Second  Epistle  to  Timothy  77-83,  and  108-120. 

(2  Tim.  iv.  12),  he  also  would  have  been  with  *  We    cannot    say    with    certainty  where 

St.  Paul  at  Rome  till  he  was  despatched  to  Timotheus  was  at  this  time ;  as  there  is  no 

Ephesus.  ^  2  Tim.  i.  16.  direct  mention  of  his  locality  in  the  Second 

^  Foi  the  evidence  of  these  assertions,  see  Epistle.     It  would  seem,  at  first  sight,  proba- 

note  on  2  Tim.  iv.  21.     We  may  take  this  ble  that  he  was  still  at  Ephesus,  from  the  salu- 

opportunity  of  saying   that  the  tradition  of  tation   to  Priscilla  and   Aquila,   who  appear 

St.  Paul's  visit  to  Britain  rests  on  no  sufficient  to  have  principally  resided  there.     Still  this  is 

authority.     Probably  all  that  can  be  said  in  not  decisive,  since  we  know  that   they  were 

its  favor  will  be  found  in  the  Tracts  of  the  late  occasional  residents  both  at  Rome  and  Corinth, 

Bishop  Burgess  on  the  origin  of  the  ancient  and  Aquila  was  himself  a  native  of  Ponnis, 


^36 


THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL. 


CHAP.  xxvn. 


the  perils  which  would  surround  him  in  the  city  of  Nero.  He  therefore 
urges  on  him  very  emphatically  the  duty  of  boldness  in  Christ's  cause, 
of  steadfastness  under  persecution,  and  of  taking  his  share  in  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  Saints.  And,  lest  he  should  be  prevented  from  giving  him 
his  last  instructions  face  to  face,  he  impresses  on  him,  with  the  earnest- 
ness of  a  dying  man,  the  various  duties  of  his  Ecclesiastical  oflBce,  and 
especially  that  of  opposing  the  heresies  which  now  threatened  to  destroy 
the  very  essence  of  Christianity.  But  no  summary  of  its  contents  can 
give  any  notion  of  the  pathetic  tenderness  and  deep  solemnity  of  this 
Epistle. 


SECOND   EPISTLE  TO  TIMOTHEUS. 


'1       PAUL,  an  Apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the  will  of  God,  —    saintation. 
sent  forth  ^  to  proclaim  the  promise  of  the  life  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  — 

2  To   TiMOTHEUS  MY   BELOVED   SON. 

Grace,  mercy,  and  peace  from  God  our  Father,  and  Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord. 

3  I  thank  God  (whom  I  worship,  as'  did  my  forefathers,  with  Timotheueu 

^  •••  '  •'  '  reminded  of 

a  pure  conscience)  whenever  *  I  make  mention  of  thee,  as  I  ^gtofy!  and 

4  do  continually,  in  my  prayers  night  and  day.      And  I  long  perseveranc* 


where  he  and  Timothens  may  perhaps  have 
been.  Again,  it  is  difficult,  on  the  hypothesis 
of  Timotheus  being  at  Ephesus,  to  account  for 
2  Tim.  iv.  12,  "  Tychicus  I  sent  to  Ephesus," 
which  Timotheus  need  not  have  been  told  if 
himself  at  Ephesus.  Also,  it  appears  strange 
that  St.  Paul  should  have  told  Timotheus  that 
he  had  left  Trophimus  sick  at  Miletus,  if  Timo- 
theus was  himself  at  Ephesus,  veithin  thirty  miles 
of  Miletus.  Yet  both  these  objections  may  be 
explained  away,  as  we  have  shown  in  the  notes 
on  2  Tim.  iv.  12,  and  2  Tim.  iv.  20.  The 
message  about  bringing  the  articles  from  Troas 
shoTi^^s  only  that  Timotheus  was  in  a  place 
whence  the  road  to  Rome  lay  through  Troas  ; 
and  this  would  agree  either  with  Ephesus,  or 
Pontus,  or  any  other  place  in  the  north  or 
north-west  of  Asia  Minor.  It  is  most  probable 
that  Timotheus  was  not  fixed  to  any  one  spot, 
but  employed  in  the  general  superintendence 
of  the  Pauline  Churches  throughout  Asia 
Minor.  This  hypothesis  agrees  best  with  his 
designation  as  an  Evangelist  (2  Tim.  iv.  5),  a 
term  equivalent  to  itinerant  missionary. 


1  For  the  date  of  this  Epistle,  see  Appen 
dix  II. 

2  "  An  Apostle  according  to  the  promise 
of  life."     See  note  on  Tit.  i.  1. 

^  Some  interpreters  have  found  a  difficulty 
here,  as  though  it  were  inconsistent  with  St. 
Paul's  bitter  repentance  for  the  sins  he  had 
committed  in  the  time  of  his  Judaism.  (Cf. 
I  Tim.  i.  13.)  But  there  is  no  inconsistency. 
All  that  is  said  here  is,  that  the  worship  of  God 
was  handed  down  to  St.  Paul  from  his  fore- 
fathers, or,  in  other  words,  that  his  religion 
was  hereditary.  This  is  exactly  the  vievr 
taken  of  the  religion  of  all  converted  Jews  in 
Rom.  xi.  23,  24,  28.  Compare  also  "  the  God 
of  my  fathers  "  (Acts  xxiv.  14),  and  "  I  have 
always  lived  a  conscientious  life"  (Acts  xxiii. 
1).  These  latter  passages  remind  us  that  the 
topic  was  one  on  which  St.  Paul  had  prob;i- 
bly  insisted,  in  his  recent  defence ;  and  this 
accounts  for  its  parenthetical  introduction 
here. 

*  Literally,  as  the  mention  which  I  imikf.  oj 
thee  in  my  prayers  is  continual. 


CHAP.  XX vn. 


SECOND   EPISTLE   TO   TIMOTHEXJS. 


837 


Md  courage     to  SGB  thee,  remembering  thy  [parting]  tears,  that  I  may  be 

by  the  hope  o  i-x 

toiity™"'"        filled  with  joy.     For  I  have  been  ^  reminded  of   thv  undis-     5 
sembled    faith,  which   dwelt    first   in    thy  grandmother  Lois,  and   thy 
mother  Eunice,  and  (I  am  persuaded)  dwells  in  thee  also.     Wherefore  I     6 
call  thee  to  remembrance,  that  thou  mayest  stir  up  the  gift  of  God, 
which  is  in  thee  by  the  laying-on  of  my  ^  hands.     For  God  gave  us  not  a     7 
spirit   of  cowardice,  but  a  spirit  of  power  and  love  and  self-restraint.' 
Be  not  therefore  ashamed  of  the  testimony  of  our  Lord,  nor  of  me  His     8 
prisoner ;  but  share  the  affliction  *  of  them  who  publish  the  Glad-tidings, 
according  to  the  power  of  God.     For  He  saved  us,  and  called  us  with  a     9 
holy  calling,  not  dealing  with  us  according  to  our  own  works,  but  accord- 
ing to  His  own  purpose  and  grace,  which  was  bestowed  upon  us  in  Christ 
Jesus  before  eternal  times,*  but  is  now  made  manifest  by  the  appearing   10 
of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  has  put  an  end  to  death,  and  brought 
life   and  immortality  from   darkness  into  light ;   by  the   Glad-tidings,   11 
whereunto  I  was  appointed  herald  and  apostle,  and  teacher  of  the  Gen- 
tiles.    Which  also  is  the  cause  of  these  sufferings  that  I  now  endure :    12 
nevertheless  I  am  not  ashamed  ;  fori  know  in  whom  I  have  trusted,  and 
I  am  persuaded  that  He  is  able  to  guard  the  treasure '  which  I  have  com- 
mitted to  Him,  even  unto  that  day. 


^  "  Have  been  reminded."  Such  is  the 
reading  of  the  best  MSB.  Perhaps  a  message 
or  other  incident  had  reminded  St.  Paul  of 
some  proof  which  Timotheus  had  given  of  the 
sincerity  of  his  faith  (as  Bengel  thinks) ;  or, 
still  more  probably,  he  was  reminded  of  the 
faith  of  Timotheus  by  its  contrast  with  the 
cowardice  of  Demas  and  others.  He  mentions 
it  here  obviously  as  a  motive  to  encourage  him 
to  persevere  in  courageous  steadfastness. 

2  The  grace  of  God  required  for  any  par- 
ticular office  in  the  early  Church  was  conferred 
after  prayer  and  the  laying-on  of  hands.  This 
imposition  of  hands  was  rejteated  whenever 
any  one  was  appointed  to  a  new  office  or  com- 
mission. The  reference  here  may,  therefore, 
be  to  the  original  "  ordination  "  of  Timotheus, 
or  to  Ms  appointment  to  the  superintendence 
of  the  Ephesian  Church.  See  p.  382,  and 
compare  Acts  viii.  18,  and  1  Tim.  iv.  14 ;  also 
p.  232,  n.  5. 

*  Self-restraint  would  control  the  passion 
of  fear. 


♦  Literally,  share  affliction  for  the  Glad-tid' 
ings.    The  dative  used  as  in  Phil.  i.  27. 

6  "Before  eternal  times"  (which  phrase 
also  occurs  in  Titus  i.  2)  appears  to  mean  the 
period  of  the  Jewish  (including  the  Patriar- 
chal^ dispensation.  The  grace  of  Christ  was 
mrtuaUy  bestowed  on  mankind  in  the  Patri- 
archal covenant,  though  only  made  manifest  in 
the  Gospel. 

*  "That  which  I  have  committed  unto 
Him."  It  is  strange  that  so  acute  an  inter- 
preter as  De  Wette  should  maintain  that  this 
expression  must  necessarily  mean  the  same 
thing  as  "  that  which  is  committed  unto  thee" 
in  verse  14.  Supposing  St.  Paul  to  have  said, 
"  God  will  keep  the  trust  committed  to  Him ; 
do  thou  keep  the  trust  committed  to  thee,"  it 
would  not  follow  that  the  same  trust  was  meant 
in  each  case.  Paul  had  committed  himself, 
his  soul  and  body,  his  true  life,  to  God's  keep- 
ing ;  this  was  the  treasure  which  he  trusted 
to  God's  care.  On  the  other  hand,  the  treas- 
ure committed  to  the  charge  of  Timotheiu 


838 


THE  LIFE   AND   EPISTLES    OF    ST.    PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXVU 


1. 

13  Hold  fast  the  pattern  of  sound  ^  words  which  thou  hast  Exhortation 

'  to  fulhl  his 

heard  from  me,  in  the  faith  and  love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  f^^^uuy!*" 

14  That  goodly  treasure  which  is  committed  to  thy  charge,  guard  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  who  dwelleth  in  us. 

15  Thou  already  knowest  that  I  was  abandoned^  by  all  the  conductor 

certain 

16  Asiatics,  among  whom  are  Phygellus  and  Hermogenes.  The  ^^i,^"'^^'*" 
Lord  give  mercy  to  the  house  of  Onesiphorus ;  ^  for  he  often  ^°™®' 

17  refreshed  me,  and  was  not  ashamed  of  my  chain,*  but,  when  he  was  in 

18  Rome,  sought  me  out  very  diligently  and  found  me.  The  Lord  grant 
unto  him  that  he  may  find  mercy  from  the  Lord  iu  that  day.  And  all 
his  services  *  at  Ephesus  thou  knowest  better  ®  than  I. 

u.l       Thou   therefore,  my  son,  strengthen   thy  heart  ^  with   the  SSn"^**" 
2   grace  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus.     And  those  things  which  thou  government. 
hast  heard  from  me  attested  ^  by  many  witnesses  deliver  into  the  keep 
ing  of  faithful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  in  their  turn.^ 
8       Take  thy  ^^  share  in  suffering,  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  He  is  ex- 

•'  o7  o  horted  not  to 

4   Christ.    The  soldier  when  "  on  service  abstains  from  entangling  Buffering"'" 
6   himself  in  the  business  of  life,  that  he  may  please  his  commander.     And 
again,  the  wrestler  does  not  win  the  crown  unless  he  wrestles  lawfully." 


was  the  ecclesiastical  office  intrusted  to  him. 
(Compare  1  Tim.  vi.  20.) 

1  Sound  words.  The  want  of  the  article 
Bhows  that  this  expression  had  become  almost 
a  technical  expression  at  the  date  of  the  Pas- 
toral Epistles. 

2  This  appears  to  refer  to  the  conduct  of 
certain  Christians  belonging  to  the  province 
of  Asia,  who  deserted  St.  Paul  at  Rome  when 
he  needed  their  assistance.  "  They  in  Asia  " 
is  used  instead  of  "  they  of  Asia,"  because 
these  persons  had  probably  now  returned 
home. 

'^  Au  undesigned  coincidence  should  be 
obscr^'ed  here,  which  is  not  noticed  by  Paley. 
Blessings  are  invoked  on  the  house  of  Onesiph- 
onis,  not  on  himself;  and  in  verse  18  a  hope 
is  expressed  that  he  may  find  mercy  at  the  last 
day.  This  seems  to  show  that  Onesiphorus 
was  dead ;  and  so,  in  iv.  1 9,  greetings  are  ad- 
dressed, not  to  himself,  but  to  his  house. 

*  "  My  chain."  Uence  we  see  that  St. 
Paul  was,  in  this  second  imprisonment,  as  in 
the  first,  under  Custodia  Militaris,  and  there- 
fore bound  to  the  soldier  who  guarded  him,  by 
a  chain.     See  above,  p.  666. 


*  "  Unto  me"  is  omitted  by  the  best  MSS. 
®  Better,  because  Timotheus  had  been  moro 

constantly  resident  at  Ephesus  than  St.  Paul. 
■^  Compare  Rom.  iv.  20,  and  Eph.  vi.  10. 

*  We  agree  with  De  Wette,  Huther,  and 
Wiesinger  as  to  the  construction  here,  but 
cannot  agree  with  them  in  referring  this  pas- 
sage to  Timothy's  ordination  or  baptism. 
The  literal  English  must  be,  those  things  which 
thou  hast  heard  from  me  by  the  intervention  of 
many  witnesses,  which  is  surely  equivalent  to 
"  by  the  attestation  of  many  witnesses."  In  a 
similar  way,  St.  Paul  appeals  to  the  attestation 
of  other  witnesses  in  1  Cor.  xv.  3-7. 

*  The  "  also  "  seems  to  have  this  meaning 
here. 

^"  "  Take  thy  share  in  sufltring."  This  is 
according  to  the  reading  of  the  best  MSS. 

"  This  is  the  force  of  the  present  participle. 
Cf.  Luke  iii.  14. 

12  "  Lawfully."  See  p.  586.  The  verb 
here  used  is  not  confined  to  wrestling,  but 
includes  the  other  exercises  of  the  athletic 
contests  also ;  but  there  is  no  English  verb 
co-extensive  with  it.  With  this  passage  (vr. 
3-6)  compare  1  Cor.  ix.  7. 


CHJ^J.  ixvn.  SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  TIMOTHEUS.  639 

ii. 

The  husbandman  who  toils  must  share  the  fruits  of  tlie  ground  before^     6 

the  idler.     Consider  what  I  say ;  for  the  Lord  will  •^  give  thee  under-     7 
standing  in  all  things.      Remember  that  Jesus   Christ,  of  the  seed^  of     8 
David,  io  *  raised  from  the  dead,  according  to  the  Glad-tidings  which  I 
proclaim.     Wherein  I  suffer  even  unto  chains,  as  a  malefactor ;  neverthe-     9 
less  the  Word  of  God  is  bound  by  no  chains.     Wherefore  I  endure  all   10 
for  the  sake  of  the  chosen,  that  they  also  may  obtain  the  salvation  which 
is  in  Christ  Jesus,  with  glory  everlasting.     Faithful  is  the  saying,  '■'■For^   11 
if  we  have  died  with  Him^  we  shall  also  live  with  Him;  if  we  suffer.,  we   12 
shall  also  reign  with  Him;  if  we  deny  Him^  He  also  will  deny  us ;  if  we 
he  faithless.)  yet  He  abideth  faithful;  He  cannot  deny  Himself  J^  13 

He  must  Call  men  to  remembrance  of  these  things,  and  adjure  them   14 

oppose  the 

J^d'^the'ir^^"    before  the  Lord  not  to  contend'  about  words,  with  no  profita- 
and'clrofuny    ble  cud,  but  for  the  subversion  of  their  hearers.     Be  diligent   15 

preserve  his 

own  purity,  to  prcscut  thysclf  uuto  God  as  one  proved  trustworthy  *  by 
trial,  a  workman  not  to  be  ashamed,  declaring  the  word  of  truth  without 
distortion.^  But  avoid  the  discussions  of  profane  babblers  ;  for  tliey  willi6,lf 
go  farther  and  farther  in  ungodliness,  and  their  word  will  eat  like  a 
cancer.  Among  whom  are  Hymenaeus  and  Philetus ;  who  concerning  18 
the  truth  have  erred,  for  they  say  that  the  resurrection  is  past  ^°  already, 
and  overthrow  the  faith  of  some.  , 

1  This  is  the  sense  of  "  first."    The  Au-  •  Rom.  tI.  8,  "  If  we  died  with  Christ,  we 

thorized  Version,  and  not  its  margin,  is  here  believe  that  we  shall  also  live  with  Him." 

correct.  "^  Compare  1  Tim.  vi.  4. 

^  The  future,  not  the  optative,  is  the  read-  *  The  meaning  is,  tested  and  proved  worthy 
ing  of  the  best  MSS.  De  Wette  and  others  by  trial.  Cf.  2  Cor.  xiii.  7. 
object  to  this  verse,  that  it  is  impossible  to  '  The  verb  used  here  (not  found  elsewhere 
suppose  that  St.  Paul  would  imagine  Timo-  in  the  New  Testament)  means  to  exit  straight. 
theus  so  dull  of  apprehension  as  not  to  com-  So  in  the  LXX.  "  righteousness  cuts  straight 
prebend  such  obvious  metaphors.  But  they  paths"  (Prov.  xi.  5).  The  metaphor  here, 
have  missed  the  sense  of  the  verse,  which  is  being  connected  with  the  previous  "  work- 
not  meant  to  enlighten  the  understanding  of  man,"  appears  to  be  taken  from  the  work  of  a 
Timotheus  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  metaphors,  carpenter, 
but  as  to  the  personal  application  of  them.  w  gee  p.  39o.     In  tde  larger  editions  a  pas- 

^  *    e.  though  a  man  in  flesh  and  blood ;  sage  is  there  quoted  from  Tertullian,  which 

therefore   His   resurrection   is  an   encourage-  shows  that  the  Gnostics  taught  that  the  Resur- 

mcnt  to  His  followers  to  be  fearless.  rection  was  to  be  understood  of  the  rising  of 

*  Perfect,  not  aorist.  the  soul  from  the  death  of  ignorance  to   the 

^  This  is   another  of  those  quotations   so  light  of   knowledge.     There  is   nothing   here 

characteristic  of   the   Pastoral    Epistles.      It  to  render  doubtful  the  date  of  this  Epistle,  for 

appears  to  be  taken  from  a  Christian  hymn.  we  have  already  seen  that  even  so  early  as  the 

The~  Greek  maybe  easily  sung  to  the  music  First  Epistle  to  Corinth,  there  were  heretics 

ol  cue  of  the  ancient  ecclesiastical  chants.  who  denied    the    resurrection    of    the    dead. 


840 


THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XX VU 


U. 

19  Nevertheless  the  firm  ^  foundation  of  God  stands  unshaken,  having  thia 
seal,  "  ^Iji  ^0r!tr  kmto  %m  tfjal  ia^r^  Sis,"  ^  and  ''Let  every  one  that 

20  nameth  the  name  of  the  Lord  depart  from  iniquity  ^  *  But  in  a  great  house 
there  are  not  *  only  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  but  also  of  wood  and  clay ; 

21  and  some  for  honor,  others  for  dishonor.  If  a  man  therefore  purify  him- 
self from  these,  he  shall  be  a  vessel  for  honor,  sanctified,  and  fitted  for 
the  Master's  use,  being  prepared  for  every  good  work. 

22  Flee  the  lusts  of  youth  ;  *  and  follow  righteousness,  faith,  love,  and 

23  peace  with  those  who  call  on  the  Lord  out  of  a  pure  heart ;  but  shun  the 
disputations  of  the  foolish  and  ignorant,  knowing  that  they  breed  strife  ; 

24  and  the  bondsman  of  the  Lord  ®  ought  not  to  strive,  but  to  be  gentle 

25  towards  all,  skilful  in  teaching,  patient  of  wrong,  instructing  opponents 
with  meekness ;  if  God  perchance  may  give  them  repentance,  that  they 

26  niay  attain  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  may  escape,  restored'  to 
soberness,  out  of  the  snare  of  the  Devil,^  by  whom  '  they  have  been  taken 
captive  to  do  his  will. 

E.  1       Know  this,  that,  in  the  last '"  days,  evil  times  shall  come.   DangeroM 


Baur's  view  —  that  the  Pastoral  Epistles  were 
written  against  Marcion  —  is  inconsistent  with 
the  present  passage ;  for  Marcion  did  not  deny 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  but  only  the  res- 
urrection of  they?esA.  ( See  Tertull.  adv.  Mar- 
cion. V.  10.) 

1  The  Authorized  Version  here  violates  the 
law  of  the  article. 

*  Numbers  xvi.  5  (LXX.  with  Lord  for 
God).  We  must  not  translate  the  verb  "  know- 
eih,"  as  in  A.  V.  The  context  of  the  passage, 
according  to  LXX.  (which  diflFers  from  the 
present  Hebrew  text),  is,  "  Moses  spake  unto 
Core,  saying,  .  .  .  The  Lord  knew  them  that  were 
His,  and  that  were  holy,  and  bi-oii(jht  them  near 
unto  Himself;  and  whom  He  chose  unto  Him- 
self, He  brought  near  unto  Himself." 

8  This  quotation  is  not  from  the  Old  Tes- 
tament ;  Isaiah  Hi.  1 1  is  near  it  in  sentiment, 
but  can  scarcely  be  referred  to,  because  it  is 
quoted  exactly  at  2  Cor.  vi.  17.  The  MSS. 
read  Lord  instead  of  the  Christ  of  T.  R. 

*  The  thought  here  is  the  same  as  that  ex- 
pressed in  the  parable  of  the  fishes  and  of  the 
tares,  —  viz.  that  the  visible  church  will  never 
be  perfect.  We  are  reminded  of  Rom.  ix.  21, 
by  the  "  vessels  for  dishonor."  ' 

^  Compare  1  Tim.  iii.  2,  and  the  remarks 


upon  the  age  of  Timotheus  in  the  Essay  in 
Appendix  II.  on  the  date  of  these  Epistles. 

^  Lord,  viz.  the  Lord  Jesus.  Compare 
"bondsman  of  Christ,"  1  Cor.  vii.  22. 

''  Restored  to  soberness."  See  1  Cor.  xr. 
34. 

*  This  expression  appears  to  be  used  here, 
and  in  Eph.  iv.  27,  and  Eph.  vi.  11,  for  thf. 
Devil,  who  is  elsewhere  called  "  Satan  "  by  St. 
Paul.  In  the  Gospels  and  Acts  the  two  ex- 
pressions are  used  with  nearly  equal  frequency. 

*  The  interpretation  of  this  last  clause  is 
disputable.  The  construction  is  awkward,  and 
there  is  a  difficulty  in  referring  the  two  pro- 
nouns to  the  same  subject ;  but  De  Wette 
shows  that  this  is  admissible  by  a  citation 
from  Plato. 

1°  This  phrase  (used  without  tlic  article,  aa 
having  become  a  familiar  expression)  generally 
denotes  the  termination  of  the  Mosaic  disj)en- 
sation  :  see  Acts  ii.  17  ;  1  Pet.  i.  5,  20  ;  Hob. 
i.  2.  Thus  the  expression  generally  denotes 
(in  the  Apostolic  age)  the  time  present;  but 
here  it  points  to  a  future  immediately  at  hand, 
which  is,  however,  blended  with  the  present  (see 
verses  6,  8),  and  was,  in  fact,  tlie  end  of  the 
Apostolic  age.  Compare  1  John  ii.  18,  "it  is 
the  last  hour."     The  !o7i(f  duration  of  this  las' 


_fl 


caiAP.  xxvn.  SECOND  EPISTLE   TO   TIMOTHEUS.  841 


Ul. 


^^Itdlm"     ^^^  ^^^^  shall  be  selfish,  covetous,  false  boasters,^  haughty,     2 
blasphemous,  disobedient  to  parents,  ungrateful,  unholy,  without  natural     3 
affection,  ruthless,  calumnious,  incontinent,  merciless,  haters  of  the  good, 
treacherous,  headlong  with  passion,  blinded  with  pride,  lovers  of  pleas-     4 
ure  rather  than  lovers  of  God  ;  having  an  outward  form  of  godliness,  but     5 
renouncing  its  power.     From  such  turn  away.     Of  these  are  they  who     6 
creep  into  houses,  and  lead  captive   silly  women,  laden  with   sins,  led     7 
away  by  lusts  of  all  kinds,  perpetually  learning,  yet  never  able  to  attain 
the   knowledge  ^  of  the  truth.     And   as   lannes   and  lambres  ^  resisted     8 
Moses,  so  do  these  men  resist  the   truth,  being  corrupt   in   mind,  and 
worthless  *  in  all  that  concerns  the  faith.     But  they '  shall  not  advance     9 
farther,  for  their  folly  shall  be  made  openly  manifest  to  all,  as  was  that 
of  lannes  and  lambres. 

But  thou  hast  been  the  follower®  of  my  teaching  and  be-   10 

Exhortation  ^  ° 

fasttnPa^'e    havior,'  my  resolution,*  faith,   patience,   love,  and   steadfast- 
ness ;  my  persecutions  and   sufferings,  such  as  befell    me  at   11 
Antioch,  Iconium,  and  Lystra.'     [Thou  hast  seen]  what  persecutions  I 
endured  ;  and  out  of  them  all  the  Lord  delivered  me.     Yea,  and  all  who   12 
determine  to  live  a   godly  life  in  Christ  Jesus  will  suffer  persecution. 
But  wicked  men  and  impostors  will  advance  from  bad  to  worse,  deceiv-   13 
ing  and  being  deceived.     But  do  thou  continue  in  that  which  was  taught   14 
thee,  and  whereof  thou  wast  persuaded ;  knowing  who  were  ^^  thy  teach- 
ers, and  remembering  that  from  a  child  thou  hast  known  the  Holy  Scrip 
tures,  which  are  able  to   make  thee  wise  unto  salvation,  by  the  faith   15 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.     All  Scripture  is  inspired  by  God,  and  may   16 

period  of   the  world's  development  was  not  ungodliness : "  but  there  is  no  contradiction ; 

revealed  to  the  Apostles ;  they  expected  that  for  the  present  passage  speaks  of  outward  suc- 

their  Lord's  return  would  end  it,  in  their  own  cess,  the  former  of  inward  deterioration.     Im- 

generation ;   and  thus  His  words  were  fiilfilled,  posters  will  usually  go  on  from  had  to  worse 

that  none  should  foresee  the  time  of  His  com-  (as  it  is  just  said  below,  verse  13),  and  yet 

ing.     (Matt.  xxiv.  36.)  their  success  in  deceiving  others  is  generally 

^  Several   of  the  classes  of  sinners   here  soon  ended  by  detection, 
mentioned  occur  also  Rom.  i.  30.  ^  This  verb  cannot  be  accurately  translated 

2  For  the  meaning  of  this  word  (cf.  above,  "  hast  fully  known"  (Authorized  Version) ;  but 
ii  2.5),  see  Rom.  x.  2,  and  1  Cor.  xiii.  12.  its  meaning  is  not  very  different.     Chrysostom 

3  These,   as   we  find   in   the   Targum   of  explains  it,  "  of  these  things  thou  art  the  wit- 
Jonathan,  were  the  traditional  names  of  the  ness." 

Egyptian  sorcerers  who  opposed  Moses.  '^  In   this  meaning  the  word   is   found  in 

*  Worthless:  see  Tit.  i.  16,  and  note.  LXX.                              «  Compare  Acts  xi.  23. 

*  It  has  been  thought  that  this  "  they  shall  ^  jj  jj^g  ijgen  before  remarked  how  appro- 
not  advance  farther  "  contradicts  the  assertion  priate  this  reference  is.     See  p.  174. 

in  ii.  16,  "  they  will  go  farther  and  farther  in  i"  This  is  plural  in  the  best  MSS. 


842  -  THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  chap,  xxvu 

iii. 

profitably  be  used  for  teaching,^  for  confutation ,2  for  correction,'  and  for 

17    righteous  discipline;*  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  fully  prepared,  and 

thoroughly  furnished  for  every  good  work. 
Iv.  1      1 5  adjure  thee  before  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  about  to  f^^^rge°io  per- 

judge  the  livino;  and  the  dead  —  I  adjure  thee  by  His  appear-  missiotAaith- 

"^  ■"  fully,  in  ex- 

2  ing  and  His  kingdom  —  proclaim  the  tidings,  be  urgent  in  P^/'^^^°g°' 
season  and  out  of  season,  convince,  rebuke,  exhort,  with  all   death. 

3  forbearance  and  perseverance  in  teaching.  For  a  time  will  come  wheu 
they  will  not  endure  the  sound  doctrine,  but  according  to  their  own 
inclinations  they  will  heap  up  for  themselves  teachers  upon  teachers  to 

4  please  their  itching  ears.  And  they  will  turn  away  their  ears  from  the 
truth,  and  turn  aside  to  fables. 

5  But  thou  in  all  things  be  sober,®  endure  affliction,  do  the  work  of  an 

6  evangelist,'  accomplish  thy  ministration  in  full  measure.     For  I  am  now 

7  ready  ^  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have 
fought  ^  the  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my '"  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith. 

8  Henceforth  is  laid  up  for  me  the  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord, 
the  righteous  "  Judge,  shall  give  me  in  that  day ;  and  not  to  me  only,  but 
to  all  who  love  His  appearing. 

9  Do  thy  utmost  to  come  to  me  speedily  ;  for  Demas  has  for-  .j^^^^^g^jg  ^ 
saken  me  for  love  of  this  present  world,  and  has  departed  to  comiufESme 

10   Thessalonica ; '2  Crescens  is  gone  to  Galatia,  Titus  to  Dalma-  ^^^^    ^' 

1  St.  Paul  frequently  uses  the  Old  Testa-  *  Literally,  /  am  already  in  the  very  act  of 
ment  for  teaching,  i.  e.  to  enforce  or  illustrate  being  poured  out  as  a  sacrijkial  offering.  Com- 
his  doctrine ;  e.  g.  Rom.  i.  17.  pare  Phil.  ii.  17. 

2  The  numerous  quotations  from  the  Old  ®  It  is  impossible  to  translate  this  fully  in 
Testament,  in  tlie  Romans  and  Galatians,  are  English.  It  is  not  strictly  correct  to  render 
mostly  examples  of  its  nse  (or  confutation.  it  "I  have  fought  the  fight,"   and  seems  to 

8  The  word  means  the  setting  right  of  that  introduce  a  new  metaphor.     The  noun  means 

which  is  loroiig.     The  Old  Testament  is  applied  a  contest  for  a  prize,  and  the  metaphor  is  taken 

for  this  purpose  by  St.  Paul  in  I  Cor.  xiv.  21,  from  the  Greek  foot-races.     /  have  run  the  good 

I   Cor.  X.  1-10.  and,  generally,   wherever  he  race  would  be  perhaps  more  exact.    The  literal 

applies  it  to  enforce  precepts  of  morality.  English  is,  /  have  completed  the  glorious  contest. 

*  "  Chastisement  that  is  in  righteousness."  See  pp.  585-587  above,  and  1  Tim.  vi.  12. 

The  word  used  here  has  the  meaning  of  chas-  ^'''  Strictly,  the  course  marLd  out  for  the  race., 

tisement  or  discipline;    compare   Heb.   xii.  7.  This   expression   occurs    only   in    two  other 

Thus  the  Old  Testament  is  applied  in  1  Cor.  places  in  the  New  Testament,  both  being  ir 

V.  13.  speeches  of  St.  Paul. 

6  The  best  MSS.  omit  therefore  and  Lord,  "  "  The  righteous  Judge"  contrasted  with 

and    read   "and"  instead   of   "at"   in    this  the  unr ighteoiis  jmlc^e,  by  whose  sentence  he 

verse.                        ^  Not  "  watch,"  as  in  A.  V.  was  soon  to  be  condemned. 

">  Compare  Eph.  iv.  11.     And  see  p.  .381.  ^  Demas  is  mentioned  as  a  "fellow-labor- 


CHAP.  xxvn. 


SECOND   EPISTLE   TO  TIMOTHEUS. 


843 


IV. 


tia ;  Luke  alone  is  with  me.     Take  Mark'  and  bring  him  with  thee,  forii,lJ 
his  services  ^  are  profitable  to  me  ;  but  Tychicus '  I  have  sent  to  Ephesus. 

When  thou  comest,  bring  with  thee  the  case  *  which  I  left  at  Troas   18 
with  Carpus,  and  the  books,  but  especially  the  parchments. 

Alexander  the  brass-founder  *  charged  ^  me  with  much  evil   14 

/ntelligence  of  " 

o^^PaiS?^''"     in  his  declaration ;  the  Lord  shall '  reward  him  according  to 

his  works.     Be  thou  also  on  thy  guard  against  him,  for  he   15 
has  been  a  great  opponent  of  my  arguments.^     When  I  was  first  heard   16 
in  my  defence  ®  no  man  stood  by  me,  but  all  forsook  me  (I  pray  that  it 
be  not  laid  to  their  charge).     Nevertheless  the  Lord  Jesus  '"^  stood  by  me,   17 
and  strengthened  my  heart,"  that  by  me  the  proclamation  of  the  '^  Glad- 
tidings  might  be  accomplished  in  full  measure,  and  that  all  the  Gentiles 
might  hear;  and  I  was  delivered  out  of  the  lion's  mouth."     And   the   18 


er  "  at  Rome  with  St.  Paul,  Philem.  24  ;  and 
joined  with  Luke,  Col.  iv.  14.  Nothing  fur- 
ther is  known  of  him.  Crescens  is  not  men- 
tioned elsewhere.  In  saying  here  that  he  was 
deserted  by  all  but  Luke,  St.  Paul  speaks  of 
his  own  companions  and  attendants :  he  had 
still  friends  among  the  Roman  Christians  who 
visited  him  (iv.  21),  though  they  were  afraid 
tc  stand  by  him  at  his  trial. 

-  Mark  was  in  Rome  during  a  part  of  the 
former  imprisonment.  Col.  iv.  10 ;  Philem.  24. 

■^  Not  (as  in  A.  V.)  "  the  ministry." 

8  If  we  suppose  (see  above,  p.  835,  note  4) 
that  Timotheus  was  at  Ephesus,  we  must  con- 
clude that  Tychicus  was  the  bearer  of  this 
Epistle,  and  the  aorist,  "  /  send  herewith,"  used 
according  to  the  idiom  of  classical  letter- 
writers. 

*  This  word  means  either  a  travelling-case 
(for  carrying  clothes,  books,  &c.),  or  a  travel- 
ling-cloak. The  former  seems  the  more  proba- 
ble meaning  here,  from  the  mention  of  the  Itool-s. 

6  Brass-founder.  Whether  this  Alexander 
i?  the  same  mentioned  as  put  forward  by  the 
Jews  at  Ephesus  in  the  theatre  (Acts  xix.  33), 
and  as  excommunicated  by  St.  Paul  (1  Tim. 
i.  20),  we  do  not  know.  If  these  names  all 
belong  to  the  same  person,  he  was  probably 
of  the  Judaizing  faction.     See  above,  p.  474. 

®  "  Charr/ed  me  with,"  not  "did"  (A.  V.). 
This  verb,  though  of  frequent  occurrence  in 
the  New  Testament  (in  tiie  sense  of  exhibit, 
display,  manifest),  does  not  elsewhere  occur  in 
the  sam^  construction  as  here,  with  an  accusa- 


tive of  the  thing,  and  a  dative  of  the  person. 
The  active  form  of  the  verb  in  classical  Greek 
has  a  forensic  sense,  —  viz.  to  make  a  declaration 
against;  and  as  the  verb  is  here  used  in  an 
active  sense  (the  active  /arm  of  it  not  occurring 
in  the  New  Testament),  we  may  not  unnatu- 
rally suppose  that  it  is  so  used  here.  At  any 
rate,  the  literal  English  is,  "  Alexander  mani- 
fested many  evil  things  against  me." 

^  The  MSS.  are  divided  here  between  the 
optative  and  the  future ;  the  latter  is  adopted 
by  Lachmajin,  and  has  rather  the  greatest 
weight  of  MS.  authority  in  its  favor.  We 
have,  therefore,  adopted  it  in  the  translation 
in  the  present  edition.  Yet  it  must  be  ac- 
knowledged that  there  are  obvious  reasons  why 
the  optative  (if  it  was  the  original  reading) 
should  have  been  altered  into  the  future. 

^  The  "  arguments "  here  mentioned  are 
probably  those  used  by  St.  Paul  in  his  defence. 

9  On  this  first  defmce,  see  above,  p.  834. 
The  ancient  interpreters,  Eusebius,  Jerome, 
and  others;  understood  St.  Paul  here  to  refer 
to  his  acquittal  at  the  end  of  his  Jirst  imprison- 
ment at  Rome,  and  his  subsequent  preaching 
in  Spain ;  but  while  we  must  acknowledge 
that  the  strength  of  the  expressions  accom- 
plished in  full  measure  and  all  the  Gentiles  are  in 
favor  of  this  view,  we  think  that  on  the  whole 
tlie  context  renders  it  unnatural. 

^^  The  Lord,  viz.  Jesjis. 

"  Cf.  Rom.  iv.  20,  Eph.  vi.  10. 

i'-*  The  proclamation,  i.e.  of  the  Glad-tidings. 

1"  By  the  lion's  mouth  may  be  only  meant  tkt 


844 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES  OP  ST.    PAUL, 


CHAP.  xxyn. 


19 

20 
21 

22 


Lord  shall  deliver  me  from  every  evil,  and  shall  preserve  me  unto  His 
heavenly  kingdom.     To  Him  be  glory  unto  the  ages  of  ages.     Amen. 
Salute  Prisca  and  Aquila,  and  the  household  of  Onesipbo-  saititationi 

and  personal 
rUS.  Intelligence. 

Erastus  ^  remained  at  Corinth  ;  but  Trophimus  1 16ft  sick  at  Miletus. 
Do  thy  utmost  to  come  before  winter. 

There  salute  thee  Eubulus,  and  Pudens,  and  Linus,^  and  Claudia,'  and 
all  the  brethren. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  thy  spirit.     Grace  be  with  Concluding 

benedictdont. 

you  *  all. 


imminence  of  the  immediate  peril ;  but  it  may  mean 
that  St.  Paul,  at  his  first  hearing,  established 
his  right,  as  a  Roman  citizen,  to  be  exempted 
from  the  punishment  of  exposure  to  wild 
beasts,  which  was  inflicted  during  the  Neronian 
persecution  on  so  many  Christians.  On  the 
historical  inferences  drawn  from  this  verse, 
see  the  preceding  remarks. 

1  This  verse  is  an  insuperable  difficulty  to 
those  who  suppose  this  Epistle  written  in  the 
first  imprisonment  at  Rome;  since  it  implies 
a  recent  journey,  in  which  St.  Paul  had  passed 
through  Miletus  and  Corinth.  It  has  been 
also  thought  inexplicable  that  Paul  should 
mention  to  Timotheus  (who  was  at  Ephesus, 
so  near  Miletus)  the  fact  that  Trophimus  was 
left  there.  But  many  suppositions  might  be 
made  to  account  for  this.  For  instance, 
Trophimus  may  have  only  staid  a  short  time 
at  Miletus,  and  come  on  by  the  first  ship  afjper 
his  recovery.  This  was  probably  the  first 
communication  from  St.  Paul  to  Timotheus 
since  they  parted ;  and  there  would  be  nothing 
unnatural  even  if  it  mentioned  a  circumstance 
which  Timotheus  knew  already.  For  example, 
A.  at  Calcutta  writes  to  B.  in  London,  "  /  lejl 
C.  dangerouslij  ill  at  Southampton,"  although 
he  may  be  sure  that  B.  has  heard  of  C.'s  ill- 
ness long  before  he  can  receive  the  letter. 

2  Linus  is  probably  the  same  person  who 
was  afterwards  bisliop  of  Rome,  and  is  men- 
tioned by  Irenaeus  and  Eusebius. 

^  Pudens  and  Claudia.  The  following  facts 
relating  to  these  names  are  taken  from  an  in- 
genious essay  on  the  subject,  entitled  "Claudia 
and  Pudens,  by  J.  Williams,  M.  A.  (London, 
1848)." 

There   are  two   epigrams  of   Martial,  the 


former  of  which  describes  the  marriage  of  a 
distinguished  Roman  named  Pudens  to  a  for- 
eign lady  named  Claudia,  and  the  latter  of 
which  tells  us  that  this  Claudia  was  a  Briton, 
and  gives  her  the  cognomen  of  Rujina.  When 
the  latter  epigram  was  written,  she  had  grown- 
up sons  and  daughters,  but  herself  still  re- 
tained the  charms  of  youth.  Both  these  epi- 
grams were  written  during  Martial's  residence 
at  Rome ;  and,  therefore,  their  date  must  be 
between  a.d.  66  and  a.d.  100.  The  former  of 
the  two  epigrams  was  not  published  till  the 
reign  of  Domitian,  but  it  may  very  probably 
have  been  tvritten  many  years  earlier.  Thus 
the  Claudia  and  Pudens  of  Martial  may  be 
the  same  with  the  Claudia  and  Pudens  who 
are  here  seen  as  friends  of  St.  Paul  in 
A.D.  68. 

But,  further,  Tacitus  mentions  {Agric.  14) 
that  certain  territories  in  the  south-east  of 
Britain  were  given  to  a  British  king  Cogidu- 
nus  as  a  reward  for  his  fidelity  to  Rome  :  this 
occurred  about  a.d.  52,  while  Tiberius  Clau- 
dhis  Nero,  commonly  called  Claudius,  was  em- 
peror. 

Again,  in  1723,  a  marble  was  dug  up  at 
Chichester,  with  an  inscription  making  men- 
tion of  a  British  king  bearing  the  title  of  Ti- 
berius Claudius  Cogiduhnus.  His  daughter 
would,  according  to  Roman  usage,  have  been 
called  Claudia.  And  in  the  same  inscription 
we  find  the  name  Pudens.  Other  details  are 
given  in  our  larger  editions.  See  the  Quarter- 
ly Revieio  for  July,  1858. 

*  You  (not  thee)  is  the  reading  of  the 
best  MSB.,  which  also  omit  "amen."  In 
English  we  are  compelled  to  insert  all  here,  ir 
order  to  show  that  you  is  plural. 


CHAP.  xxvn.  CONDEMNATION  OF  ST.   PAUL.  845 

We  know  not  whether  Timotheus  was  able  to  fulfil  these  last  requests 
of  the  dying  Apostle  ;  it  is  doubtful  whether  he  reached  Rome  in  time  to 
receive  his  parting  commands,  and  cheer  his  latest  earthly  sufferings. 
The  only  intimation  which  seems  to  throw  any  light  on  the  question  is 
the  statement  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  that  Timotheus  had  been 
liberated  from  imprisonment  in  Italy.  If,  as  appears  not  improbable,^ 
that  Epistle  was  written  shortly  after  St.  Paul's  death,  it  would  be 
proved  not  only  that  the  disciple  fearlessly  obeyed  his  master's  summons^ 
but  that  he  actually  shared  his  chains,  though  he  escaped  his  fate.  This, 
also,  would  lead  us  to  think  that  he  must  have  arrived  before  the  execu- 
tion of  St.  Paul,  for  otherwise  there  would  be  no  reason  to  account  for 
his  being  himself  arrested  in  Rome ;  since,  had  he  come  too  late,  he 
would  naturally  have  returned  to  Asia  at  once,  without  attracting  the 
notice  of  the  authorities. 

We  may,  therefore,  hope  that  Paul's  last  earthly  wish  was  fulfilled. 
Yet  if  Timotheus  did  indeed  arrive  before  the  closing  scene,  there  could 
have  been  but  a  very  brief  interval  between  his  coming  and  his  master's 
death.  For  the  letter  which  summoned  him  ^  could  not  have  been  de- 
spatched from  Rome  till  the  end  of  winter,  and  St.  Paul's  martyrdom 
took  place  in  the  middle  of  summer.^  We  have  seen  that  this  was 
sooner  than  he  had  expected  ;  but  we  have  no  record  of  the  final  stage 
of  his  trial,  and  cannot  tell  the  cause  of  its  speedy  conclusion.  We  only 
know  that  it  resulted  in  a  sentence  of  capital  punishment. 

The  privileges  of  Roman  citizenship  exempted  St.  Paul  from  the 
ignominious  death  of  lingering  torture,  which  had  been  lately  inflicted 
on  so  many  of  his  brethren.  He  was  to  die  by  decapitation ;  *  and  he 
was  led  out  to  execution  beyond  the  city  walls,  upon  the  road  to  Ostia, 

1  See  the  next  chapter.    If  our  Chronology  in  page  847.    The  constitutional  muJe  of  in- 

be  right,  Timothy's  escape  would  be  accounted  flicting  capital  punishment  on  a  Roman  citizen 

for  by  the  death  of  Nero.  «vhich  immediately  was  by  the  lictor's  axe.    The  criminal  was  tied 

followed  that  of  St.  Paul.  to  a  stake ;    cruelly   scotirged  with  the   rods, " 

■^  Supposing   the  letter   to  have  been  de-  and  then  beheaded.     See  Livy,  ii.  6.     "  Missi 

spatched  to  Timotheus  on  the  1st  of  March,  he  lictores  ad  sumendum  supplicium,  nudatos  virgis 

could   scarcely  have    arrived  at   Rome   from  coedunt,  seairujue  feriunt."     Compare  Juv.  8, 

Asia  Minor  before  the  end  of  May.  "  legum    prima    seciiris."      But    the    mihtary 

^  Nero's  death  occurred  in  June,  a.  d.  68.  mode    of     execution  —  decapitation    by    the 

Accepting  therefore,  as  we  do,  the  universal  sword  —  was  more  usual  under  Nero.     Many 

tradition  that  St.  Panl  was  executed   in   the  examples  may  be   found   in  Tacitus ;  for  in- 

reign  of  Nero,  his  execution  must  have  taken  stance,  the  execution  of  Subrius  Fla\aus  (Tac. 

place  not  later  than  the  beginning  of  June.  Ann.  xv.  67).     The  executioner  was  generally 

We  have  endeavored  to  show  (in  the  article  one  of  the  speculatores,  or  imperial  body-guards, 

on  the  Pastoral  Epistles  in  Appendix  II.)  that  under  the  command  of  a  centurion,  who  was 

this    date    satisfies    all    the   necessary  condi-  responsible  for  the  execution  of  the  sentence, 

tions.  See  the  interesting  story  in  Seneca  de  La,  lib. 

*  Such  is  the  universal  tradition;  see  note  1  i.  cap.  16. 


846  THE  LIFE  AiTD  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  xitu. 

the  port  of  Rome.  As  he  issued  forth  from  the  gate,  his  eyes  must  have 
rested  for  a  moment  on  that  sepulchral  pyramid  which  stood  beside  the 
road,  and  still  stands  unshattered,  amid  the  wreck  of  so  many  centuries, 
upon  the  same  spot.  That  spot  was  then  only  the  burial-place  of  a  single 
Roman ;  it  is  now  the  burial-place  of  many  Britons.  The  mausoleum 
of  Caius  Cestius  ^  rises  conspicuously  amongst  humbler  graves,  and  marks 
the  site  where  Papal  Rome  suffers  her  Protestant  sojourners  to  bury  their 
dead.  In  England  and  in  Germany,  in  Scandinavia  and  in  America, 
there  are  hearts  which  turn  to  that  lofty  cenotaph  as  the  sacred  point  of 
their  whole  horizon  ;  even  as  the  English  villager  turns  to  the  gray 
church-tower  which  overlooks  the  gravestones  of  his  kindred.  Among 
the  works  of  man,  that  pyramid  is  the  only  surviving  witness  of  the 
martyrdom  of  St.  Paul ;  and  we  may  thus  regard  it  with  yet  deeper 
interest,  as  a  monument  unconsciously  erected  by  a  pagan  to  the  memory 
of  a  martyr.  Nor  let  us  think  that  they  who  lie  beneath  its  shadow  are 
indeed  resting  (as  degenerate  Italians  fancy)  in  unconsecrated  ground. 
Rather  let  us  say,  that  a  spot  where  the  disciples  of  Paul's  faith  now 
sleep  in  Clirist,  so  near  the  soil  once  watered  by  his  blood,  is  doubly 
hallowed ;  and  that  their  resting-place  is  most  fitly  identified  with  the 
last  earthly  journey  and  the  dying  glance  of  their  own  Patron  Saint,  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles. 

As  the  martyr  and  his  executioners  passed  on,  their  way  was  crowded 
with  a  motley  multitude  of  goers  and  comers  between  the  metropolis 
and  its  harbor — merchants  hastening  to  superintend  the  unloading  of 
their  cargoes  —  sailors  eager  to  squander  the  profits  of  their  last  voyage 
in  the  dissipations  of  the  capital  —  officials  of  the  government,  charged 
with  the  administration  of  the  Provinces,  or  the  command  of  the  legions 
on  the  Euphrates  or  the  Rhine  —  Chaldean  astrologers  —  Phrygian 
eunuchs  —  dancing-girls  from  Syria  with  their  painted  turbans — mendi- 
cant priests  from  Egypt  howling  for  Osiris  —  Greek  adventurers,  eager 
to  coin  their  national  cunning  into  Roman  gold  —  representatives  of  the 
avarice  and  ambition,  the  fraud  and  lust,  the  superstition  and  intelligence, 
of  the  Imperial  world.  Through  the  dust  and  tumult  of  that  busy 
throng,  the  small  troop  of  soldiers  threaded  their  way  silently,  under  the 
bright  sky  of  an  Italian  midsummer.  They  were  marching,  though  they 
knew  it  not,  in  a  procession  more  truly  triumphal  than  any  they  had  ever 
followed,  in  the  train  of  General  or  Emperor,  along  the  Sacred  Way. 
Their  prisoner,  now  at  last  and  forever  delivered  from  his  captivity, 
rejoiced  to  follow  his  Lord  "  without  the  gate."  ^     The  place  of  execu- 

1  The  pyramid  of  Caius  Cestius,  which  now  in  the  time  of  Nero,  though  within  the  present 

marks   the   site     of    the   Protestant   liur^'ing-  Aurelianic  walls. 

ground,   was  erected   in,   or  just  before,  the  ^  Heb.  xiii.  12,  "He  suffered  without  tb« 

reign  of  Augustus.     It  was  outside  the  walls  gate." 


CHAP.  XX vn. 


DEATH   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


847 


tion  was  not  far  distant ;  and  there  the  sword  of  the  headsman  ^  ended 
his  long  course  of  sufferings,  and  released  that  heroic  soul  from  that 
feeble  body.  Weeping  friends  took  up  his  corpse,  and  carried  it  for 
burial  to  those  subterranean  labyrinths,^  where,  through  many  ages  of 
oppression,  the  persecuted  Church  found  refuge  for  the  living,  and 
sepulchres  for  the  dead. 

Thus  died  the  Apostle,  the  Prophet,  and  the  Martyr  ;  bequeathing  to 
the  Churcli,  in  her  government  and  her  discipline,  the  legacy  of  his 
Apostolic  labors ;  leaving  his  Prophetic  words  to  be  her  living  oracles  ; 
pouring  forth  his  blood  to  be  the  seed  of  a  thousand  Martyrdoms. 
Thenceforth,  among  the  glorious  company  of  the  Apostles,  among  the 
goodly  fellowship  of  the  Prophets,  among  the  noble  army  of  Martyrs,  his 
name  has  stood  pre-eminent.  And  wheresoever  the  Holy  Church 
throughout  all  the  world  doth  acknowledge  God,  there  Paul  of  Tarsus  is 
revered,  as  the  great  teacher  of  a  universal  redemption  and  a  catholic 
religion — the  herald  of  Glad-tidings  to  all  mankind. 


1  The  death  of  St.  Paul  is  recorded  by  his 
contemporary  Clement,  in  a  passage  already 
quoted ;  also  by  the  Roman  presbyter  Cains 
(about  200  A.  D.)  (who  alludes  to  the  Ostian 
Road  as  the  site  of  St.  Paul's  martyrdom),  by 
Tertullian,  Eusebius  (in  the  passage  above 
cited),  Jerome,  and  many  subsequent  writers. 
The  statement  of  Caius  is  quoted  by  Eusebius. 
That  of  Jerome  is  the  most  explicit. 

The  statement  that  Paul  was  beheaded 
on  the  Ostian  Road  agrees  with  the  usage  of 
the  period,  and  with  the  tradition  that  his  de- 
capitation was  by  the  sword,  not  the  axe. 
We  have  this  tradition  in  Orosius  and  Lactan- 
tius.  It  was  not  uncommon  to  send  prisoners, 
whose  death  might  attract  too  much  notice  in 
Rome,  to  some  distance  from  the  city,  under  a 
military  escort,  for  execution.  Wieseler  com- 
pares the  execution  of  Calpurnius  Galerianus, 
as  recorded  by  Tacitus,  "  who  was  sent  under 
a  military  escort  some  distance  along  the  Ap- 


pian  Road."     (Tac.  Hist.  iv.  11.)     This  hap- 
pened A.  D.  70. 

The  great  Basilica  of  St.  Paul  now  stands 
outside  the  walls  of  Rome,  on  the  road  to  Ostia, 
in  commemoration  of  his  martyrdom,  and  the 
Porta  Ostiensis  (in  the  present  Aurelianic  wall) 
is  called  the  gate  of  St.  Paul.  The  tradition- 
al spot  of  the  martyrdom  is  the  tre  fontane  not 
far  from  the  basilica.  The  basilica  itself  (S. 
Paolo  fuori  le  raura)  was  first  built  by  Con- 
stantine.  Till  the  Reformation  it  was  under 
the  protection  of  the  Kings  of  England,  and 
the  emblem  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter  is  still 
to  be  seen  among  its  decorations. 

2  Eusebius  (ii.  25)  says  that  the  original 
burial-places  of  Peter  and  Paul,  in  the  Cata- 
combs, were  still  shown  in  his  time.  This 
shows  the  tradition  on  the  subject.  Jerome, 
however,  in  the  passage  above  cited,  seems  to 
make  the  place  of  burial  and  execution  the 
same. 


Coin  of   Aiitioch  In  Pisidift. 


CHAPTER    XXVm. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  —  Its  Inspiration  not  affected  by  the  Donbts  concerning  its  Author- 
ship. —  Its  Original  Readers.  —  Conflicting  Testimony  of  the  Primitive  Church  concerning 
its  Ai'thor.  —  His  Object  in  writing  it.  —  Translation  of  the  Epistle. 

THE  origin  and  history  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  a  subject  of 
controversy  even  in  the  second  century.  There  is  no  portion  of  the 
New  Testajnent  whose  authorship  is  so  disputed,  nor  any  of  which  the 
inspiration  is  more  indisputable.  The  early  Church  could  not  determine 
whether  it  was  written  by  Barnabas,  by  Luke,  by  Clement,  or  by  Paul. 
Since  the  Reformation,  still  greater  diversity  of  opinion  has  prevailed. 
Luther  assigned  it  to  Apollos,  Calvin  to  a  disciple  of  the  Apostles.  The 
Church  of  Rome  now  maintains  by  its  infallibility  the  Pauline  authorship 
of  the  Epistle,  which  in  the  second,  third,  and  fourth  centuries,  the  same 
Church,  with  the  same  infallibility,  denied.  But  notwithstanding  these 
doubts  concerning  the  origin  of  this  canonical  book,  its  inspired  authority 
is  beyond  all  doubt.  It  is  certain,  from  internal  eridence,  that  it  was 
written  by  a  contemporary  of  the  Apostles,  and  before  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  ;  ^  that  its  writer  was  the  friend  of  Timotheus  ;  ^  and  that  he 
was  the  teacher  ^  of  one  of  the  Apostolic  Churches.  Moreover,  the  Epistle 
was  received  by  the  Oriental  Church  as  canonical  from  the  first.*  Every 
sound  reasoner  must  agree  with  St.  Jerome,  that  it  matters  nothing 
whether  it  were  written  by  Luke,  by  Barnabas,  or  by  Paul,  since  it  is 
allowed  to  be  the  production  of  the  Apostolic  age,  and  has  been  read  in 
the  public  service  of  the  Church  from  the  earliest  times.  Those,  there- 
fore, who  conclude  with  Calvin,  that  it  was  not  written  by  St.  Paul,  must 
also  join  with  him  in  thinking  the  question  of  its  authorship  a  question 
of  little  moment,  and  in  "  embracing  it  without  controversy  as  one  of 
the  Apostolical  Epistles." 

But  when  we  call  it  an  Epistle,  we  must  observe  that  it  is  distinguished 

1  See  Hcb.  vii.  25,  xiii.  11-13,  and  other  *  For  this  we  can  refer  to  Clemens  Alex- 
passages  which  speak  of  the  Temple  services  andrinus  and  Origen,  also  to  passages  of  Je- 
as  going  on.  rorae.     Our  larger  editions  give  at  length  in  the 
-  See  xiii.  23.  notes  the  passages  from  the  Fathers  referred 
*  See  xiii.  19.     Restored  to  you.  to  in  the  introductory  part  of  this  chapter. 
848 


HAP.  xxvm.        READERS   OP  THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS.  849 

by  one  remarkable  peculiarity  from  other  compositions  which  bear  that 
name.  In  ancient  no  less  than  in  modern  times,  it  was  an  essential  fea- 
ture of  an  epistle,  that  it  should  be  distinctly  addressed,  by  the  writer,  to 
some  definite  individual,  or  body  of  individuals  ;  and  a  composition  which 
bore  on  its  surface  neither  the  name  of  its  writer,  nor  an  address  to  any 
particular  readers,  would  then,  as  now,  have  been  called  rather  a  treatise 
than  a  letter.  It  was  this  peculiarity  *  in  the  portion  of  Scripture  now 
before  us  which  led  to  some  of  the  doubts  and  perplexities  concerning 
it  which  existed  in  the  earliest  times.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  we  cannot 
consider  it  merely  as  a  treatise  or  discourse  ;  because  we  find  certain 
indications  of  an  epistolary  nature,  which  show  that  it  was  originally 
addressed  not  to  the  world  in  general,  nor  to  all  Christians,  nor  even  to 
all  Jewish  Christians,  but  to  certain  individual  readers  closely  and  per- 
sonally connected  witH  the  writer. 

Let  us  first  examine  these  indications,  and  consider  how  far  they  tend 
to  ascertain  the  readers  for  whom  this  Epistle  was  originally  designed. 

In  the  first  place,  it  may  be  held  as  certain  that  the  Epistle  was 
addressed  to  Hebrew  Christians.  Throughout  its  pages  there  is  not  a 
single  reference  to  any  other  class  of  converts.  Its  readers  are  assumed 
to  be  familiar  with  the  Levitical  worship,  the  Temple  services,  and  all 
the  institutions  of  the  Mosaic  ritual.  They  are  in  danger  of  apostasy 
to  Judaism,  yet  are  not  warned  (like  the  Galatians  and  others)  against 
circumcision  ;  plainly  because  they  were  already  circumcised.  They  are 
called  to  view  in  Christianity  the  completion  and  perfect  consummation  of 
Judaism.  They  are  called  to  behold  in  Christ  the  fulfilment  of  the  Law, 
in  His  person  the  antitype  of  the  priesthood,  in  His  offices  the  eternal 
realization  of  the  sacrificial  and  mediatorial  functions  of  the  Jewish 
hierarchy. 

Yet,  as  we  have  said  above,  this  work  is  not  a  treatise  addressed  to  all 
Jewish  Christians  throughout  the  world,  but  to  one  particular  Church, 
concerning  which  we  learn  the  following  facts  :  —  First,  its  members  had 
steadfastly  endured  persecution  and  the  loss  of  property  ;  secondly,  they 
had  shown  sympathy  to  their  imprisoned  brethren  and  to  Christians  gen- 
erally (x.  32-34,  and  vi.  10)  ;  thirdly,  they  were  now  in  danger  of 
apostasy,  and  had  not  yet  resisted  unto  blood  (xii.  3-4 ;  see  also  v.  11, 
&c.,  vi.  9,  &c.)  ;  fourthly,  their  Church  had  existed  for  a  considerable 
length  of  time  (v.  12),  and  some  of  its  chief  pastors  were  dead  (xiii.  7)  ; 
fifthly,  their  prayers  are  demanded  for  the  restoration  to  them  of  the  writer 

1  We  need  scarcely  remark  that  the  inscrip-       of  later  origin  ;  and  the  title  by  which  this 
tion  which  the  Epistle  at  present  bears  was  not      was  first  known  was  merely  "  to  the  Hebrews," 
a  part  of  the  original  document.     It  is  well       and  not  "  of  Paul  to  the  Hebrews." 
known  that  the  titles  of  all  the  Epistles  were 
54 


850  THE  LIFE   AISHD   EPISTLES   OE   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xjrvin. 

of  the  Epistle,  who  was  therefore  personally  connected  with  them  (xiii. 
19)  ;  sixthly,  they  were  acquainted  with  Timotheus,  who  was  about  to 
visit  them  (xiii.  23)  ;  seventhly,  the  arguments  addressed  to  them  pre- 
suppose a  power  on  their  part  of  appreciating  that  spiritualizing  and 
allegorical  interpretation  of  the  Old  Testament  which  distinguished  the 
Alexandrian  ^  School  of  Jewish  Theology  ;  eighthly,  they  must  have  been 
familiar  with  the  Scriptures  in  the  Septuagint  version,  because  every  one 
of  the  numerous  quotations  is  taken  from  that  version,  even  where  it  differs 
materially  from  the  Hebrew ;  ninthly,  the  language  in  which  they  are 
addressed  is  Hellenistic  Greek,  and  not  Aramaic.^ 

It  has  been  concluded  by  the  majority,  both  of  ancient  and  modern 
critics,  that  the  church  addressed  was  that  of  Jerusalem,  or  at  least  was 
situate  in  Palestine.  In  favor  of  this  view  it  is  urged,  first,  that  no  church 
out  of  Palestine  could  have  consisted  so  exclusively  of  Jewish  converts. 
To  this  it  may  be  replied,  that  the  Epistle,  though  addressed  only  to 
Jewish  converts,  and  contemplating  their  position  and  their  dangers 
exclusively,  might  still  have  been  sont  to  a  church  which  contained  Gentile 
converts  also.  In  fact,  even  in  the  church  of  Jerusalem  itself,  there  must 
have  been  some  converts  from  among  the  Gentile  sojourners  who  lived  in 
that  city ;  so  that  the  argument  proves  too  much.  Moreover,  it  is  not 
necessary  that  every  discourse  addressed  to  a  mixed  congregation  should 
discuss  the  position  of  every  individual  member.  If  an  overwhelming 
majority  belong  to  a  particular  class,  the  minority  is  often  passed  over  in 
addresses  directed  to  the  whole  body.  Again,  the  Epistle  may  have  been 
intended  for  the  Hebrew  members  only  of  some  particular  church,  which 
contained  also  Gentile  members  ;  and  this  would  perhaps  explain  the 
absence  of  the  usual  address  and  salutation  at  the  commencement. 
Secondly,  it  is  urged  that  none  but  Palestinian  Jews  would  have  felt  the 
attachment  to  the  Levitical  ritual  implied  in  the  readers  of  this  Epistle. 

1  The  resemblance  between  the  Epistle  to  was   addressed    to    the    Palestinian    Church, 

the  Hebrews  and  the  writings  of  Philo  is  most  That  the  present  Epistle  is  not  a  translation 

striking.     It  extends  not  only  to  the  general  from  an  Aramaic  original  is  proved,  1st,  by 

points  mentioned  in  the  text,  but  to  particu-  the  quotation  of  the  Septuagint  arf/umentathe- 

lar  doctrines  and  expressions  :  the  parallel  pas-  /»/,  where  it  differs  from  the  Hebrew  ;  for  in- 

sages  are  enumerated  by  Bleek.  stance,  Heb.  x.  38  :  2dly,  by  the  paronomasias 

^  It  may  be  considered  as  an  established  upon  Greek  words,  which  could  not  be  trans- 
point,  that  the  Greek  Epistle  which  we  now  lated  into  Aramaic,  e.g.  that  on  6ia\°''Kri  (ijj. 
have  is  the  original.  Some  of  the  early  fa-  16);  3illy,  by  the  free  use  of  Greek  com. 
thers  thought  that  the  original  had  been  writ-  pounds,  &c.,  which  could  only  be  expressed  in 
ten  in  Aramaic ;  but  the  origin  of  this  tradi-  Aramaic  by  awkward  periphrases ;  4th,  by  the 
tion  seems  to  have  been,  1st,  the  belief  that  fact  that  even  the  earliest  Christian  writers 
the  Epistle  was  written  by  St.  Paul,  combined  had  never  seen  a  copy  of  the  supposed  Ara- 
with  the  perception  of  its  dissimilarity  in  style  maic  original.  Its  existence  was  only  hypo- 
•o  his  writings ;   and  2dly,  the   belief  that  it  thetical  from  the  first. 


OHAP.  xxvin.       READERS   OF  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  851 

But  we  do  uot  see  why  the  same  attachment  may  not  have  been  felfc  in 
every  great  community  of  Hebrews ;  nay,  we  know  historically  that  no 
Jews  were  more  devotedly  attached  to  the  Temple  worship  than  those  of 
the  dispersion,  who  were  only  able  to  visit  the  Temple  itself  at  distant 
intervals,  but  who  still  looked  to  it  as  the  central  point  of  their  religious 
unity  and  of  their  national  existence.^  TJiirdly^  it  is  alleged  that  many 
passages  seem  to  imply  readers  who  had  the  Temple  services  going  on 
continually  under  their  eyes.  The  whole  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  chapters 
speak  of  the  Levitical  ritual  in  a  manner  which  naturally  suggests  this 
idea.  On  the  other  hand  it  may  be  argued,  that  such  passages  imply 
no  more  than  that  amount  of  familiarity  which  might  be  presupposed 
in  those  who  were  often  in  the  habit  of  going  up  to  the  great  feasts  at 
Jerusalem.- 

Thus,  then,  we  cannot  see  that  the  Epistle  must  necessarily  have  been 
addressed  to  Jews  of  Palestine^  because  addressed  to  Hebrews^*  And, 
moreover,  if  we  examine  the  preceding  nine  conditions  which  must  be 
satisfied  by  its  readers,  we  shall  find  some  of  them  which  could  scarcely 
apply  to  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  or  any  other  church  in  Palestine. 
Thus  the  Palestinian  Church  was  remarkable  for  its  poverty,  and  was  the 
recipient  of  the  bounty  of  other  churches  ;  whereas  those  addressed  here 
are  themselves  the  liberal  benefactors  of  others.  Again,  those  here 
addressed  have  not  yet  resisted  unto  blood;  whereas  the  Palestinian 
Church  had  produced  many  martyrs  in  several  persecutions.  Moreover, 
the  Palestinian  *  Jews  would  hardly  be  addressed  in  a  style  of  reasoning 
adapted  to  minds  imbued  with  Alexandrian  culture.  Finally,  a  letter  to 
the  church  of  Palestine  would  surely  have  been  written  in  the  language 
of  Palestine  ;  or,  at  least,  when  the  Scriptures  of  Hebraism  were  appealed 
to,  they  would  not  have  been  quoted  from  the  Septuagint  version,  where 
it  differs  from  the  Hebrew. 

These  considerations  (above  all,  the  last)  seem  to  negative  the 
hypothesis,  that  this  Epistle  was  addressed  to  a  church  situate  in  the 
Holy  Land  ;  and  the  latter  portion  of  them  point  to  another  church,  for 


1  They  showed  this  by  the  large  contribu-  "  Hetyrew  "  was  applied  as  properly  to  Jews  of 

tions  which  they  sent  to  the  Temple  from  all  the  dispersion  as  to  Jews  of  Palestine, 
countries    where    they    were    dispersed ;    see  *  Cultivated  individuals  at  Jerusalem  (as, 

above,  p.  739.  for  instance,  the  pupils   of    Gamaliel)  would 

^  We  cannot  agree  with  Ebrard,  that  the  have  fully  entered  into  such  reasoning ;  but  it 

Epistle  contains  indications   that  the   Chris-  would  scarcely  have   been   addressed   to  the 

tians  addressed  had  been  excluded  from  the  mass  of  Jewish  believers.     Bleek  (as  we  have 

Temple.  before  observed)  has  shown  many  instaaces  of 

^  Bleek  and  De  Wette  have  urged  the  title  parallelism  between  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 

"  to  the  Hebrews,"  to  prove  the  same  point.  and  the  writings  of  Philo,  the  representativ 

But  Wieseler  has    conclusively  shown    that  of  Alexandrian  Judaism. 


652  THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES  OF  ST.    PAUL.  chap,  xxvm 

winch  we  may  more  plausibly  conceive  it  to  have  been  intended,  namely, 
that  of  Alexandria.'  Such  a  supposition  would  at  once  account  for  the 
Alexandrian  tone  of  thought  and  reasoning,  and  for  the  quotations  from 
the  Septuagint ;  ^  while  the  wealth  of  the  Alexandrian  Jew  would  ex- 
plain the  liberality  here  commended ;  and  the  immense  Hebrew  popula- 
tion of  Alexandria  would  render  it  natural  that  the  Epistle  should 
contemplate  the  Hebrew  Christians  alone  in  that  church,  wherein  there 
may  perhaps  at  first  have  been  as  few  Gentile  converts  as  in  Jerusalem 
itself.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  this  is  only  an  hypothesis,' 
offered  as  being  embarrassed  with  fewer  difficulties  than  any  other  which 
has  been  proposed. 

Such,  then,  being  the  utmost  which  we  can  ascertain  concerning  the 
readers  of  the  Epistle,  what  can  we  learn  of  its  writer  ?  Let  us  first 
examine  the  testimony  of  the  Primitive  Church  on  this  question.  It  is 
well  summed  up  by  St.  Jerome  in  the  following  passage  :*  — "  That 
which  is  called  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is  thought  not  to  be  Paul's, 
because  of  the  diflference  of  style  and  language,  but  is  ascribed  either  to 
Barnabas  (according  to  Tertullian)  ;  or  to  Luke  the  Evangelist  (accord- 
ing to  some  authorities)  ;  or  to  Clement  (afterwards  Bishop  of  Rome), 
who  is  said  to  have  arranged  and  adorned  Paul's  sentiments  in  his  own 
language  ;  or  at  least  it  is  thought  that  Paul  abstained  from  the  inscrip- 
tion of  his  name  at  its  commencement  because  it  was  addressed  to  the 
Hebrews,  among  whom  he  was  unpopular."  Here,  then,  we  find  that  the 
Epistle  was  ascribed  to  four  different  writers,  —  St.  Barnabas,  St.  Luke, 
St.  Clement,  or  St.  Paul.  With  regard  to  the  first,  Tertullian  expressly 
says  that  copies  of  the  Epistle  in  his  day  bore  the  inscription,  "  The 
Epistle  of  Barnabas  to  the  Hebrews."  The  same  tradition  is  mentioned 
by  Philastrius.  The  opinion  that  either  Luke  or  Clement  was  the  writer 
is  mentioned  by  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Origen,'  and  others  ;  but  they 

1  The   canon    of   Muratori    mentions    an  ly  suggested  by  Schmidt)  by  maintaining  that 

epistle  ad  Alexandrinos  (which  it  rejects),  and  the  constant  allusions  to  the  Temple  and  hie- 

takcs   no   notice  of  any  epistle  ad   Hebrceos.  rarchy  in  this  Epistle  refer  to   the   Egyptian 

"We  cannot  prove,  however,  that  this  epistle  ad  temple  built  by  Onias  at  Leontopolis.     This 

Alexamlrinos  was  the  same  with  our  Epistle  to  notion   is    sufficiently   refuted    by   Wieseler's 

the  Hebrews.  own  admission,  that  even  Philo  the  Alexan- 

■•'  Blcck  bus  endeavored  to  prove  (and  we  drian,  when   speaking  of  the    Temple,  knows 

think  successfully)  that  these  are  not  only  from  but  one,  viz.  the  Temple  on  Mount  Zion. 
the  LXX.,  but  from  the  Alexandrian  MSS.  of  *  See  p.  848,  n.  4. 

the  LXX.     But  we  do  not  insist  on  this  argu-  ^  After  stating  that  the  style  is  admitted 

ment,  as  it  is  liable  to  some  doubt.  not  to  be  that  of  St.  Paul,  Origen  adds  his 

*  Since  the  above  remarks  were  published,  own  opinion  that  the  Epistle  was  written  by 

this  hypothesis  has  been  advocated  by  Bunsen  some  disciple  of  St.  Paul,  who  recorded  the 

in  his  "  Illppolytus."    It  is  to  be  regretted  that  sentiments  of  the  Apostle,  and  commented  like 

Wieselcr  should  have  encumbered  his  able  ar-  a  scholiast  upon  the  teaching  of  his  master, 

gumcnts  in  defence  of  this  hypothesis  (original-  Then  follows  the  passage  which  is  quoted  b©- 


CHAP.xxvni.         WRITER   OF   THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS.  853 

seem  not  to  have  considered  Luke  or  Clement  as  the  independent  authors 
of  the  Epistle,  but  only  as  editors  of  the  sentiments  of  Paul.  Some  held 
that  Luke  had  only  translated  the  Pauline  original ;  others  that  he  or 
Clement  had  systematized  the  teaching  of  their  master  with  a  com- 
mentary- of  their  own.  Fourthly,  St.  Paul  was  held  to  be  in  some  sense 
the  author  of  the  Epistle  by  the  Greek  ecclesiastical  writers  generally  ; 
though  no  one,  so  far  as  we  know,  maintained  that  he  lididi  written  it  in 
its  present  form.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Latin  Church,  till  the  fourth 
century,  refused  to  acknowledge  the  Epistle  ^  as  Paul's  in  any  sense. 

Thus  there  were,  in  fact,  only  two  persons  whose  claim  to  the  inde- 
pendent authorship  of  the  Epistle  was  maintained  in  the  Primitive  Church, 
viz.,  St.  Barnabas  and  St.  Paul.  Those  who  contend  that  Barnabas  was 
the  author  confirm  the  testimony  of  Tertullian  by  the  following  argu- 
ments from  internal  evidence.  First,  Barnabas  was  a  Levite,  and  there- 
fore would  naturally  dwell  on  the  Levitical  worship  which  forms  so 
prominent  a  topic  of  this  Epistle.  Secondly,  Barnabas  was  a  native  of 
Cyprus,  and  Cyprus  was  peculiarly  connected  with  Alexandria ;  so  that  a 
Cyprian  Levite  would  most  probably  receive  his  theological  education  at 
Alexandria.  This  would  agree  with  the  Alexandrian  character  of  the 
argumentation  of  this  Epistle.  Thirdly,  this  is  further  confirmed  by  the 
ancient  tradition  which  connects  Barnabas  and  his  kinsman  Mark  with 
the  church  of  Alexandria.^  Fourthly,  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  was  a 
friend  of  Timotheus  (see  above,  pp.  845,  850)  ;  so  was  Barnabas  (cf. 
Acts  xiii.  and  xiv.  with  2  Tim.  iii.  11).  Fifthly,  the  Hebraic  appellation 
which  Barnabas  received  from  the  Apostles  —  "  Son  of  Exhortation  "  *  — 
shows  that  he  possessed  the  gift  necessary  for  writing  a  composition  dis- 
tinguished for  the  power  of  its  hortatory  admonitions. 

The  advocates  of  the  Pauline  authorship  urge,  in  addition  to  the 
external  testimony  which  we  have  before  mentioned,  the  following  argu- 
ments from  internal  evidence.  First,  that  the  general  plan  of  the  Epistle 
is  similar  to  that  of  Paul's  other  writings ;  secondly,  that  its  doctrinal 
sentiments  are  identical  with  Paul's  ;  thirdly,  that  there  are  many  points 
of  similarity  between  its  phraseology  and  diction  and  those  of  Paul.*    On 

low ;   after  which  he  mentions  the   tradition  ship  could  not  easily  have  been  forgotten," 

abont  Clement  and  Luke.  —  Origen  in  Euseb.  and  also  that  "  we  should  not  expect  in  Bar- 

Hist.  Ecc.  vi.  25.  nabas  so  Pauline  a  turn  of  mind."     On  these 

1  See  the  preceding  note.  grounds  he  assigns  the  epistle  to  Apollos. 

2  Even  Cyprian  rejected  it,  and  Hilary  is  *  So  the  word  is  translated  by  some  of  the 
the  first  writer  of  the  Western  Church  who  best  authorities.     See  p.  109,  note  7. 
received  it  as  St.  Paul's.  ^  The    ablest    English    champion    of   the 

'  Bunsen  acknowledges  the  force  of  the  Pauline  authorship  is  Dr.  Davidson,  who  ha« 
arguments  in  favor  of  Barnabas,  but  thinks  stated  the  arguments  on  both  sides  with  that 
ihat  if  he  had  been  the  author  "  his  author-      perfect  candor  which  so  peculiarly  distinguish- 


854  THE  LIFE   AISTD   EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap.  Txvm. 

the  other  hand,  the  opponents  of  the  Pauline  origin  argue,  first,  that  the 
rhetorical  character  of  the  composition  is  altogether  unlike  Paul's  other 
writings ;  secondly,  that  there  are  many  points  of  difference  in  the 
phraseology  and  diction  ;  thirdly  that  the  quotations  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment are  not  made  in  the  same  form  as  Paul's  ;  ^  fourthly,  that  the 
writer  includes  himself  among  those  who  had  received  the  G-osiJel  from  the 
oriyinal  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus  (ii.  3),^  whereas  St.  Paul  declares 
that  the  Gospel  was  not  taught  him  by  man,  hut  by  the  revelation  of  Jesus 
Christ  (Gal.  1.  11,  12)  ;  fifthly,  that  St.  Paul's  Epistles  always  begin 
with  his  name,  and  always  specify  in  the  salutation  the  persons  to  whom 
they  are  addressed.' 

Several  very  able  modern  critics  have  agreed  with  Luther  in  assigning 
the  authorship  of  this  Epistle  to  Apollos,  chiefly  because  we  know  him  to 
have  been  a  learned  Alexandrian  Jew,*  and  because  he  fulfils  the  other 
conditions  mentioned  above,  as  required  by  the  internal  evidence.  But 
we  need  not  dwell  on  this  opinion,  since  it  is  not  based  on  external  testi- 
mony, and  since  Barnabas  fulfils  the  requisite  conditions  almost  equally 
well. 

Finally,  we  may  observe,  that,  notwithstanding  the  doubts  which  we 
have  recorded,  we  need  not  scruple  to  spea,k  of  this  portion  of  Scripture 
by  its  canonical  designation,  as  "  the  Epistle  of  Paul  the  Apostle  to  the 
Hebrews."  We  have  seen  that  Jerome  expresses  the  greatest  doubts 
concerning  its  authorship ;  Origen  also  says,  "  The  writer  is  known  to 
God  alone : "  the  same  doubts  are  expressed  by  Eusebius  and  by  Augus- 
tine :  yet  all  these  great  writers  refer  to  the  words  of  the  Epistle  as  the 
words  of  Paul.     In  fact,  whether  written   by   Barnabas,  by   Luke,  by 

es  hira  among  theological  writers.    See  David-  hare  been  said  by  Barnabas,  because    they 

son's  Introduction,  ro\.  iii.  pp.  163-259.     Eb-  receive  the  tradition  mentioned  by  Clement  of 

rard,  in  his  recent  work  on  the  Epistle,  argues  Alexandria,  that  Barnabas  was  one  of  the 

plausibly  in  favor  of  the  hypothesis  mentioned  seventy  disciples  of  Christ.     But   this   tradi- 

ftbove,  that  it  was  written  by  St.  Luke,  under  tion  seems  to  have  arisen  fi-om  a  confusion  be- 

the  direction  of  St.  Paul.     He  modifies  this  tween  Barnabas  and  Barsabas  (Acts  i.  23). 

hypothesis    by    supposing    Luke    to    receive  Tertullian  speaks  of  Barnabas  as  a  disciple  of 

Paul's  instructions  at  Rome,  and  then  to  write  the  Apostles,  "  qui  ab  Apostolis  didicit."  —  De 

the  Epistle  in  some  other  part  of  Italy.     We  Pudic.  c.  20. 

think,  however,  that  the  argument  on  which  *  We  have  not  mentioned  here  the  mistakes 

he  mainly  relies  (viz.  that  the  writer  of  xiii.  which  some  suppose  the  writer  to  have  made 

19  could  not  have  been  the  writer  of  xiii.  23)  concerning  the  internal  arrangements  of  the 

is  untenable.  Temple  and  the  official  duties  of  the  High 

1  It  should  be  observed  that  the  three  pre-  Priest.     These  difficulties  will  be  discussed  in 

ceding  arguments  do  not  contradict  the  primi-  the  notes  upon  the  passages  where  they  went. 

tive  opinion  that  the  Epistle  contained  the  em-  They  are  not  of  a  kind  which  tend  to  fix  the 

bodiment  of  St.  Paul's  sentiments  by  the  pen  authorship  of  the  Epistle  upon  one  more  than 

of  Ijuke  or  Clement  upon  another  of  those  to  whom  it  has  been 

«  Some  have  argued  that   this  could  not  assigned.                                     *  Acta  xviiL  24 


CHAP.  XX  vm. 


EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBPwEWS. 


855 


Clement,  or  by  ApoUos,  it  represented  the  views,  and  was  impregnated 
by  the  influence,  of  the  great  Apostle,  whose  disciples  even  the  chief  of 
these  Apostolic  men  might  well  be  called.  By  their  writings,  no  less 
than  by  his  own,  he,  being  dead,  yet  spake. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  addressed  to  Jewish 
converts  who  were  tempted  to  apostatize  from  Christianity,  and  return 
to  Judaism.  Its  primary  object  was  to  check  this  apostasy,  by  showing 
them  the  true  end  and  meaning  of  the  Mosaic  system,  and  its  symbolical 
and  transitory  character.  They  are  taught  to  look  through  the  shadow 
to  the  substance,  through  the  type  to  the  antitype.  But  the  treatise, 
though  first  called  forth  to  meet  the  needs  of  Hebrew  converts,  was  not 
designed  for  their  instruction  only.  The  Spirit  of  God  has  chosen  this 
occasion  to  enlighten  the  Universal  Church  concerning  the  design  of  the 
ancient  covenant,  and  the  interpretation  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures.  Nor 
could  the  memory  of  St.  Paul  be  enshrined  in  a  nobler  monument,  nor 
his  mission  on  earth  be  more  fitly  closed,  than  by  this  inspired  record  of 
the  true  subordination  of  Judaism  to  Christianity. 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.^ 


God  has  re-  GOD,^  wlio  at  suudry  times  and  in  divers  manners  spake  i.  1 

vealed  nim-  ''  ^ 

min^in'^the^    of  old  to  our  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath '  in  these  last  days*     S 
gersono     s   gp^jj^^^^  uuto  US  by*  His  Sou,  whom  He  appointed  heir  of  all 
things,  by  whom  also  He  made  the  universe  ;  ®  who,  being  an  emanation  ^     8 


1  We  have  the  following  circumstances  to 
fix  the  date  of  this  Epistle  :  — 

(1)  The  Temple  of  Jerusalem  was  stand- 
ing, and  the  services  going  on  undisturbed  (vii. 
25,  xiii.  11-13).  Hence  it  was  written  before 
the  destruction  of  the  Temple  in  a.d.  70. 

(2)  Its  author  was  at  liberty  in  Italy;  and 
Timotheus  was  just  liberated  from  imprison- 
ment (xiii.  23,  24).  If  St.  Paul  wrote  it,  this 
would  fix  the  date  at  63 ;  but  as  we  do  not 
hear  that  Timotheus  was  then  imprisoned  in 
Italy  (either  in  Acts,  or  in  the  Epistles  to 
Timothy,  where  allusions  might  be  expected 
to  the  fact),  it  would  seem  more  probable  that 
his  imprisonment  here  mentioned  took  place 
about  the  time  of  St.  Paul's  death,  and  that 
he  was  liberated  after  the  death  of  Nero. 
This  would  place  the  date  of  the  Epistle  in 
A.D.  68  or  69,  if  our  chronology  be  correct : 
see  Chronol.  Table  in  Appendix  II. 

(3)  This  datfl  agrees  with  u.  3,  which 
places  the  readers  of  the  Epistle  among  those 


who  had  not  seen  our  Lord  in  the  flesh ;  for 
the  "  we  "  there  plainly  includes  the  readers  as 
well  as  the  writer. 

'  In  order  to  mark  the  difference  of  style 
and  character  between  this  and  the  preceding 
Epistles,  the  translator  has  in  this  Epistle  ad- 
hered as  closely  as  possible  to  the  language 
of  the  Authorized  Version. 

^  The  Hellenistic  peculiarity  of  using  the 
aorist  for  the  perfect  (which  is  not  uncom- 
mon in  St.  Paul's  writings,  see  Rom.  xi.  30, 
and  Phil.  iii.  12)  is  very  frequent  in  this  Epis- 
tle. 

*  The  best  MSS.  have  the  singular.  It 
should  perhaps  rather  be  translated  "  in  the  end 
of  these  days,"  these  days  being  contrasted  with 
the  future  period,  the  world  to  come. 

^  The  preposition  means  more  than  "  by  " 
(so  in  preceding  verse) ;  in  the  person  of  His 
Son  would  be  more  accurate. 

*  "  The  worlds :  "  so  xi.  3. 

''  Not  "  brightness"  (A.  V.),  but  emanatiai^ 


856 


THE  LIFE  AKD  EPISTLES   OF   ST,   PAUL. 


CHAP,  xxvm 


of  His  glory,  aud  an  express  ^  image  of  His  substance,^  and  upholding  all 
things  by  the  word  of  His  power,  when  He  had  by  Himself  made  purifi- 
cation ^  for  our  sins,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high ; 

4  being  made  so  much  greater  than  the  Angels,  as  He  hath  by  inheritance 
obtained  a  more  excellent  name  than  they. 

5  For  to  which  of  the  Angels*  said  He  at  any  time,  *'  ^hou  who u higher 
art  mg  S01t,  lljb  bajJ  j^afa^  J  k^olhlX  il^tt "  ? '    And  again,  ^sei8. 

6  '*  J  kill  ht  to  Ijim  a  fatljtr,  anb  Ije  sljall  hz  to  mt  a  Ban  '7^    But 

when   He   bringeth   back''  the  First-begotten  into  the  world.  He  saith, 

7  "  %nti  hi  all  i^t  ^n^tls  of  (Balis  tonrsljip  l^im."  ^    And  of  the  angels 
He  saith,  '' ^^0  malui^  ^iiB  angels  spirits,  antr  ^is  miitiste 

8  flames  0f  fe.'"     But  unto  the  Son  He  saith,  *'  Cljg  tl^xam,  §   (Sotr, 

is  f0r  tbtx  anb  tbtx ;  a  saplr^  0f  xicjbitaxxmt5%  is  IFjs  saptu  of 
1^2  kinigitrom.    C^ou  l^ast  loh^tr  ric);ljt^0usmss  anb  Ijalttr  iniqitilg ; 

9  t^tnfor^  ^0tr,  jckn  tijg  ^0b,  ^atlj  anoiithb  il^tt  toitlj  ilje  oil  ai 

10  glabiuss  abofa^  lljg  Motos."^''    And  ''  CIjou,  ITorb,  iit  il^t  ht^m- 
mn0  bibst  Ian  tijc  fouitbalion  of  llj^  tartlj,  aittr  tljij  ^cab^ixs  ar^  tlj« 

11  fajorks  of  tljin^  Ijatttr.    Cl^^g  s^all  pcrislj,  but  tljoti  rcmaimst; 

12  anb  t^^g  all  s^all  km  olb  as  botb  a  QKxxamt,  anb  as  a  b^stur^ 


as  of  light  from  the  sun.     The  word  and  idea 
occur  in  Philo. 

^  Literally,  impression,  as  of  a  seal  on  wax. 
The  same  expression  is  used  by  Philo  concern- 
ing "  the  Eternal  Word." 

*  Not  "person"  (A.  V.),  but  substance. 
Cf.  xi.  1  ;  and  see  note  on  iii.  14. 

»  The  "by  Himself"  and  "our"  of  T.  R. 
are  not  found  in  some  of  the  best  MSS. 

*  The  Law  (according  to  a  Jewish  tradi- 
tion frequently  confirmed  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment) was  delivered  by  angels  (Acts  vii.  53; 
Gal.  iii.  19;  Heb.  ii.  3).  Hence  the  emphasis 
here  laid  upon  the  inferiority  of  the  angels  to 
the  Messiah,  whence  follows  the  inferiority  of 
the  Law  to  the  Gospel.  This  inference  is  ex- 
pressed ii.  3. 

6  Ps.  ii.  7  (LXX.). 

®  2  Sam.  vii.  14  (LXX.)  (originally  spoken 
of  Solomon,  in  whom  we  see  a  type  of  Christ. 
Cf.  Ps.  Ixxii.). 

^  This  is,  literally  translated,  when  He  shall 
have  In-ought  buck,  not  again,  when  He  has  brought 
back.      The  ascension  of  Christ  having  been 


mentioned,   His  return    to  judge    the  world 
follows. 

^  This  quotation  forms  an  exception  to 
Bleek's  assertion,  that  the  quotations  in  this 
JEpistle  are  always  from  the  Alexandrian  text 
of  the  LXX.  It  is  from  Deut.  xxxii.  43,  ver- 
batim according  to  the  MSS.  followed  by  the 
T.  R. ;  but  not  according  to  the  Codex  Alex., 
which  reads  "  sons,"  instead  of  "angels." 
The  LXX.  here  diflFers  from  the  Hebrew, 
which  entirely  omits  the  words  here  quoted. 
The  passage  where  the  quotation  occurs  is  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  final  song  of  Moses, 
where  he  is  describing  God's  vengeance  upon 
His  enemies.  It  seems  here  to  be  applied  in 
a  higher  sense  to  the  last  judgment. 

®  Ps.  civ.  4.  Quoted  according  to  LXX. 
The  Hebrew  is,  "  Who  makcth  the  winds  Hia 
messengers,  and  the  flames  His  minister" 
But  the  thought  expressed  here  is,  that  C"'- 
employs  His  angels  in  the  physical  o])er£:.un9 
of  the  universe.  "  Spirits  "  is  equivalent  to 
"  winds,"  as  at  John  iii.  8,  and  Gen.  viii.  1 
(LXX.).  w  Ps.  x'-'  -  7  (LXX.), 


CHAP,  xxvin,  EPISTLE  TO   THE   HEBREWS.  857 

i. 

s^nlt  i\pu  fflib  il^tm  up  anb  ll^^g  s^all  ht  c^RUQth ;  but  t^au  art 
t^£  sam^,  anb  l^g  g^ars  sljall  not  fail."  ^ 

But  to  which  of  the  angels  hath  He  said  at  any  time,  *'  Sit  ti^0U  Oil  13 

mg  rigljt  Ijaitb,  until  J  mak  tijinc  tn^mi^s  t^n  footstool "  ?  ^    Are  14 

they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  execute  [His]  service  for' 
the  sake  of  those  who  shall  inherit  salvation  ? 

Therefore  we  ought  to  give  the  more  earnest  heed  to  the  things  which  ii, 
we  have  heard,  lest  at  any  time  we  should  let  them  slip.*     For  if  the     2 
word  declared  by  angels  ^  was  steadfast,  and  every  transgression  and  dis- 
obedience received  a  due  requital ;  how  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  so     3 
great  salvation  ?  which  was  declared  at  first  by  the  Lord,  and  was  estab- 
lished ®  unto  us '  on  firm  foundations  by  those  who  heard  Him,  God  also     4 
bearing  them  witness,  both  with  signs  and  wonders,  and  divers  miracles, 
and  with  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  He  distributed  ^  according  to  His 
own  will. 

For  not  unto  angels  hath  He  subjected  the  world'  to  come,  whereof     5 
we  speak.     But  one  in  a  certain  place  testified,  saying,  '*  ^l^at  is  man     6 

t^at  tijou  art  minbful  of  Ijim,  or  tijt  son  of  man  tijat  tijou  rijgarb- 
«st  Ijim  ?    Jfor  a  littk  toljik  ^^  t^ou  ^ast  matr^  ^im  lotoi^r  tijan  tlj^    7 
angels ;  tIjou  ^ast  rrobimb  Ijim  toitfj  glorn  antr  ^onor,"  tIjou  ^ast    8 
put  all  tijings  in  subjection  untrtr  ^is  fnt."  ^^    For  in  that  He  *  ^^ui 

all  tijinigs  in  Subjcrtion  "  under  Him,  He  left  nothing  that  should  not 
be  put  under  Him. 

1  Ps.  cii.  26-28.  (LXX.)  It  is  most  im-  the  city  to  come  of  xiii.  14.  The  subjection  of 
portant  to  observe  that  this  description,  applied  this  to  the  Messiah  (though  not  yet  accom- 
in  the  original  to  God,  is  here  without  hesita-  plished,  see  verse  9)  was  another  proof  of  His 
tion  applied  to  Christ.  superiority  to  the  angels. 

2  Ps.  ex.  1.  (LXX.)  Applied  to  the  Mes-  i"  The  phrase  may  mean  in  a  small  degree, 
siah  by  our  Lord  himself,  by  St.  Peter  (Acts  or ybr  a  short  time;  the  former  is  the  meaning 
ii.  35),  and  by  St.  Paul  (1  Cor.  xv.  25).  of  the  Hebrew  original,  but  the  latter  mean- 

8  The  A.  v.,  "  to  minister  for  them,  is  in-       ing  is  taken  here,  as  we  see  from  verse  9. 
correct.  ^^  The  T.  R.  inserts  here  what  we  find  in 

*  The  active  signification  here  given  in  A.  V.,  and  hast  set  Him  over  the  works  of  thy 
A-  V.  is  defended  by  Buttmann  and  Wahl.  hands,  but  this  is  not  found  in  the  best  MSS. 

6  Viz.  the  Mosaic  Law.  Seethe  note  on  i.  5.  i^  pg,  yiii.  5-7  (LXX.).    Quoted  also  (with 

®  The  verb  mpans,  was  established  on  firm  a  slight  variation),  as  refernng  to  our  Lord, 

ground.  1  Cor.  xv.  27,  and  Eph.  i.  22.     The  Hebrew 

f  On   the   inferences   from   this  verse,  see  Psalmist  speaks  of  mankind:  the  Neiv  Testa- 

aljove,  p.  524.  ment  teaches  us  to  apply  his  words  in  a  higher 

•  "  Distributed."     Compare  1  Cor.  xii.  1 1 .  sense  to  Christ,  the  representative  of  glorified 

9  The  world  to  come  here  corresponds  with  humanity. 


858  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES    OF   ST.   PAUL.  cii-u'.  xxvm. 

ii. 

But  now  we  see  not  yet  all  things  in  subjection  under  Him.  J^,^  of  jesus 

9   But  we  behold  Jesus,  who  was  ''for  a    IxUU    fajMk    VHKliit  ^aliie  might 

w  DC  con- 

loiatX  ilmn  il^t  aitg^Is/'  crowned  through  1  the   suffering  of  sufferfng^^ 

as  High  Prieat 

death  with  glory  and  honor;  that  by  the  free  gift  of  God  He  for  man. 

10  might  taste  death  for  all  men.  For  it  became  Him,  through  ^  whom  are  all 
things,  and  by  whom  are  all  things,  in  bringing'  many  sons  unto  glory, 
to  consecrate*  by  sufferings  the  Captain^  of  their  salvation. 

11  For  both  He  that  sanctifieth,  and  they  that  are  ®  sanctified,  have  all  one 
Father ;  wherefore  He  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren,  saying, 

12  *'  I  krill  tretlan  C|^g  name  to  mn  bretljnir,  hi  llje  mibst  0f  il^t  can- 
is  Qxt^Riian  foxll  |  sm^  praises  unto  Cljtt."  "^    And  again,  *' J  toill 

l^ui  mn  trust  in  Jim;  I0,  3  anb  tijx  tijilbrm  tofjklj  (Sob  ^atlj 

14  gitrm  UU."  ^  Forasmuch,  then,  as  "  tiji  rljilbxcit  "  are  partakers  of  flesh 
and  blood,  He  also  himself  likewise  took  part  of  the  same,  that  by  death 

15  He  might  destroy  the  lord  of  death,  that  is,  the  Devil ;  and  might 
deliver  them  who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to 

16  bondage.     For  truly  He  giveth  His  aid,^  not  unto  angels,  but  unto  the 

17  seed  of  Abraham.  Wherefore  it  behooved  Him  in  all  things  to  be  made 
like  unto  His  brethren,  that  He  might  become  a  merciful  ^"  and  faithful 
High  Priest  in  the  things  of  God,  to  make  expiation  for  the  sins  of  the 

18  people.  For  whereas  He  hath  himself  been  tried "  by  suffering.  He  is 
able  to  succor  them  that  are  in  trial. 

'■  Compare  Phil.  ii.-8,  9.  "^  Ps.  xxii.  23  (LXX.  with  a  slight  change 

*  Compare  Rom.  xi.  36,.and  1  Cor.  yiii.  6.  in  the  verb  for  "declare").  Here  again  the 
God  is  here  described  as  the  First  Cause  ("  by  Messianic  application  of  this  Psalm  (which  is 
whom  ")  and  the  Sustainer  ("  through  whom  ")  not  apparent  in  the  original)  is  very  instructive, 
of  the  Universe.  *  This   quotation    from    Isa.   viii.    17,    18 

8  For  the  grammar  here  we  may  refer  to  (LXX.),  appears  in  English  to  be  broken  into 

Acts  xi.  12.  two  (which  destroys  the  sense),  if  the  inter- 

*  Literally,  to  bring  to  tlte  appointed  accom-  mediate  words  "and  again"  (which  are  not  in 
plishment,  to  develop  the  full  idea  of  the  character,  the  LXX.)  be  inserted.  Indeed,  it  may  well 
to  consummate.  The  latter  word  would  be  the  be  suspected  that  they  have  here  been  intro- 
best  translation,  if  it  were  not  so  unusual  as  duced  into  the  MSS.,  by  an  error  of  transcrip- 
applied  to  persons  ;  but  the  word  consecrate  is  tion,  from  the  line  above. 

often  used  in  the  same  sense,  and  is  employed  ^  The  verb  means  to  assist  here.     So  it  i« 

in  the  A.  V.  as  a  translation  of  this  verb,  vii.  used  in  Sirach  iv.  12.     The  A.  V,  mistrans- 

28.  lates  the  present  tense  as  past. 

^  Captain.    Those  who  are  being  saved  are  i"  Perhaps  it  would  be  more  correct  to  tran»- 

here  represented  as  an  army,  with  Jesus  lead-  late  that  He  might  became  merciful,  and  a  faith- 

ing  them  on.     Compare  xii.  2.  ful,  &c. 

^  Literally,  who  are  in  the  procets  of  sancti-  i*  Literally,  hath  suffered  when  in  trial.    Thi« 

pcation.  verb  does  not  mean  usually  to  be  tempted  lo  tin, 


CHAP.  xxvm.  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  859 

iii. 

Christ  Is  Wherefore,  holy  brethren,  partakers  of  a  heavenly  calling,     1 

Moses.            consider  the  Apostle^  and  High  Priest  of  our  Confession,^ 
Christ '  Jesus  ;  who  was  faithful  to  Him  that  appointed  Him,  as  Moses  2 
also  was  *'  faitljM  m  all  llj«  ^OUS^Ijoto  ai  Ciob."  *     For  greater  glory  3 
is  due  to  Him  than  unto  Moses,  inasmuch  as  the  founder  of  the  house- 
hold is  honored  above   the  household.     For  every  household  hath  some  4 
founder ;  but  He  that  hath  founded  all  things  is  God.    And  Moses  indeed  5 

was  ''faiiljfwl  m  all  %  ^fous^ljolb  ai  ^otr"  as  "  a  Serfaranl"*  ap- 
pointed to  testify  the  words  that  should  be  spoken  [unto  him]  ;  but     6 
Christ  as  **  a  Son  "  ®  over  His  own  household. 
Warning  And  His  houschold  are  we,  if  we  hold  fast  our  confidence, 

against  ...  ™ 

apostasy;  and  the  rejoicing  of  our  hope,  firmly  unto  the  end.  Where- 
fore, as  the  Holy  Spirit  saith,  "  Co-iTag,  if  jjc  j^^ar  pis  fcroicc,  fjarlr^n  7 
not  g0ur  \mxi%  as  m  i\t  profaoratioit,  in  %  trag  0f  temptation  in  8 
i\t  toiltr^rness ;  to^m  |)onr  fatljers  temptetr  m^,  probeb  mz,  antr  sato  9 
mu  foorlis  fortg  gears.  ^Ijerefore  |  bas  griebctr  toitlj  t^rat  %tm-  lo 
ration,  antr  sai!tr,  C^ey  bo  altoan  jerr  in  tijeir  ^earts,  antr  tijen  ^ 
\viSit  not  knoixrn  mij  ioags.    So  |  stoar^  in  mg  torat^,  Cljeg  sljall  ii 

not  enter  into  mir  rest."  *     Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of  12 
you  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  in   departing  from  the  living  God.     But   13 
exhort  one  another  daily  while  it  is  called  To-day,  lest  any  of  you  be 
hardened  through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin.     For  we  are  made  partakers  ®   14 
of  Christ,  if  we  hold  our  first  foundation '"  firmly  unto  the  end. 

but  to  he  tried  by  affliction.     Cf.  1  Cor.  x.  13,  metaphor  is   of  a  faithful  steward  presiding 

and  James  i.  2.     Hence   it  is  better  not  to  over  his  master's  household. 

translate  it  by  temptation,  which,  in  modern  ^  "  Servant,"  quoted  from  the  same  verse, 

English,   conveys  only   the  former  idea.     A  Numbers  xii.  7  (LXX.).     (See  above.) 

perplexity  may  perhaps  be  removed  from  some  ®  See  the  quotations  in  i.  5. 

English  readers  by  the  information  that   St.  "^  They  is  emphatic. 

James's  direction  to  "count  it  all  joy  when  *  The  above  quotation   is  from   Ps.   xcv. 

we  fall  into  divers  temptations,"  is,  in  reality,  7-1 1 ,  mainly  according  to  the  Codex  Alexan- 

an   admonition    to    rejoice    in    suffering    for  drinus  of  the  LXX.,  but  not  entirely  so,  the 

Christ's  sake.  f<^y  years  interpolated  in  verse  9th  being  the 

^  Apostle  is  here  used  in   its   etymological  principal,    though    not    the    only    variation, 

•ense  for  one  sent  forth.  The  peculiar  use  of  "if"  here  (and  iv.  3)  is  a 

2  For  "  confession  "  compare  iv.  14  and  x.  Hebraism. 
28  ®  "Partakers."     Compare  iii.  1,  and  vi.  4 

8  We  have   not  daparted   here  from    the  ("  partakers  of  the  Holy  Spirit"). 
T.  R. ;  but  the  best  MSS.  omit  "  Christ."  ^'^  Literally,  the  beginning  of  our  foundation. 

*  Numbers  xii.  7  (LXX.).     "My  servant  The  original  meaning  of  the  latter  word  is  t^ 

Moses  is  faithful  in  all  my  household."     The  whereon  any  thing  else  stands,  or  is  supported; 


860 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAF.  xxym. 


ni. 
15 


When  it  is  said, "  Co-bag,  xf  ^z  \twc  Jis  ^Qitt,  ^arto  wai  20Ur 

16  l^^arts  as  in  i\t  prJOfcroralbit/'  —  who  ^  were  they  that,  though  they 
had  heard,  did  provoke  ?     Were  they  not  alP  whom  Moses  brought  forth 

17  out  of  Egypt  ?     And  with  whom  was  He  grieved  forty  years  ?     Was  it 
not  with  them  that  had  sinned,  whose  carcasses'  fell  in  the  wilderness? 

18  And  to  whom  sware  He  that  they  should  not  enter  into  His  rest,  but  to 

19  them  that  were  disobedient  ?  *     And  ^  we  see  that  they  could  not  enter, 
because  of  unbelief.^ 

iv- 1      Therefore  let  us  fear,  since  a  promise  still'  remaineth  of  entering  into 

2  His  rest,  lest  any  of  you  should  be  found  ^  to  come  short  of  it.     For  we 
have  received  glad  tidings  as  well  as  they  ;  but  the  report  which  they 

3  heard  did  not  profit  them,  because  it^  met  no  belief  in  the  hearers.     For 
we  THAT  HAVE  BELIEVED  are  entering  into  the   [promised]  rest.     And 

thus  He  hath  said,  '*  So  J  stoarB  m  mo  fajral^,  Cl^^g  sljall  g#C 

txdtt  into  mu  r^st."  ^°     Although  His  works  were  finished,  ever  since 

4  the  foundation  of  the  world  ;  for  He  hath  spoken  in  a  certain  place  of  the 

5  seventh  day  in  this  wise,  **  %u)i  ^0b  bttr  g^SC  0n  i\z  Sifcrtnllj  bag 
from  all  Jis  toorhs  ;  "  "  and  in  this  place  again,  "  C^tg  sljall  g#t' 

6  txdzx  into  mn  rjesl."  ^     Since  therefore   it  still  remaineth  that  some 


hence  it  acquired  the  meaning  of  substantia,  or 
substance  (in  the  metaphysical  sense  of  the 
term).  Cf.  Heb.  i.  3,  and  xi.  1  ;  hence,  again, 
that  of  ground,  nearly  in  the  sense  of  subject- 
matter  (2  Cor.  ix.  4;  2  Cor.  xi.  17).  There  is 
no  passage  of  the  New  Testament  where  it 
need  necessarily  be  translated  "  confidence ; " 
although  it  seems  to  have  the  latter  meaning 
in  some  passages  of  the  LXX.  cited  by  Bleek ; 
and  it  is  also  so  used  by  Diodorus  Siculus, 
and  by  Polybius. 

1  We  follow  the  accentuation  adopted  by 
Chrysostora,  Griesbach,  &c. 

-  The  inference  is  that  Christians,  though 
delivered  by  Christ  from  bondage,  would 
nevertheless  perish  if  they  did  not  persevere 
(see  verses  6  and  14).  The  interrogation  is 
not  observed  in  A.  V. 

^  Literally,  limbs;  but  the  word  is  used  by 
the  LXX.  for  carcasses.     Numbers  xiv.  32. 

*  Not  "  tluit  believed  not"  (A.  V.).  See 
note  on  Rom.  xi.  30. 

6  "And,"  not"  So"  (A.  V.). 


*  The  allusion  is  to  the  refusal  of  the  Israel- 
ites to  believe  in  the  good  report  of  the  land 
of  Canaan  brought  by  the  spies.  (Numbers 
xiii.  and  xiv.) 

■^  "  Still  remaineth."  Compare  "  remain' 
eth,"  verses  6  and  9.  The  reasoning  is  ex- 
plained by  what  follows,  especially  verses  6-8. 

*  Should  be  seen. 

^  Literally,  it  was  not  mixed  with  belief.  The 
other  reading  would  mean,  "  they  were  not 
united  by  belief  to  its  hearers,"  where  its  hearer* 
must  mean  the  spies,  who  reported  what  they  had 
heard  of  the  richness  of  the  land.  Tischen- 
dorf,  in  his  2d  edition,  retains  the  T.  K. 

1°  The  A.  V.  here  strangely  departs  from 
the  correct  translation  which  it  adopts  above 
(iii.ll). 

11  Gen.  ii.  2  (LXX.  slightly  altered). 

12  The  meaning  of  this  is,  —  God's  reat 
was  a  perfect  rest,  —  He  declared  His  inten- 
tion that  His  people  should  enjoy  His  rest,  — 
that  intention  has  not  yet  been  fulfilled,  —  its 
fuMlment  therefore  is  still  to  come. 


CHAP,  xxvni.  EPISTLE   TO   THE  HEBREWS.  8bl 

iv. 
must  enter  tlieieiii,  and  they  who  first  received  the  glad  tidings  thereof 

entered  not,  because  of  disobedience,^  He  again  fixeth  a  certain  day, —     7 

**  C^-^^^/'  —  declaring  in  David,  after  so  long  a  time  (as  hath  been 

said),  "  Co-bag,  if  vt  Ijxar  pis  fanra,  Ijarb^n  not  gour  Ijtarts." 

For  if  Joshua  had  given  them  rest,  God  would  not  speak  afterwards  of     8 

ANOTHER  day.     Therefore  there  still  remaineth  a  Sabbath-rest^  for  the     9 

people  of  God.     For  he  that  is  entered  into  God's  rest  mustMiimself  10 

also  rest  from  his  labors,  as  God  did  from  His.     Let  us  therefore   strive   11 

to  enter  into  that  rest,  lest  any  man  fall  after  the  same   example   of 

disobedience.* 

forGod'8  For  the  word  of  God*liveth  and  worketh,  and  is  sharper  12 

judgment 

evaded.^^        than   any  two-edged  sword,   piercing   even   to   the   dividing 
asunder   of   soul   and   spirit,   yea,   to   the*   inmost   parts   thereof,  and 
judging  the  thoughts  and  imaginations  of  the  heart.     Neither  is  there   IS 
any  creature  that  is  not  manifest  in  His  sight.     But  all  things  are  naked 
and  opened  unto  the  eyes  of  Him  with  whom  we  have  to  do. 
Christie  a  Sccing,  tlicu,  that  wc  have  a  great  High  Priest,  who  hath   14 

wifJ'can'^**      passed^  through  the  heavens,  Jesus  the   Son  of  God,  let  us 

be  touched 

with  a  feeling    jjold  fast  our  confcssiou.      For  we  have  not  a  High  Priest   15 

of  onr  innrmi-  *^ 

^^'^^'  that  cannot  be  touched  with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  but 

who  bore  in  all  things  the  likeness  of  our  trials,^  yet  without  sin.     Let  us   16 
therefore  come  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  obtain  mercy, 
and  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need.     For  every  High  Priest  taken  r.  1 
from  among  men  is  ordained  to  act  on  behalf  of  men  in  the  things  of 

1  Here  it  is  said  they  entered  not  because  of  ites,  and  the  repose  of  Canaan,  were  typical 
disobedience;  in  iii.  19,  because  of  uitbelief;  hut  of  higher  realities;  and  that  this  fact  had 
this  does  not  justify  us  in  translating  these  been  divinely  intimated  in  the  words  of  the 
different  Greek  expressions  (as  in  A.  V.)  by  Psalmist. 

the  same  English  word.     The  rejection  of  the  *  The  word  of  God  is  the  revelation  of  the 

Israelites  was  caused  both  by  unbelief  and  by  mind  of  God,  imparted  to  man.     See  note  on 

disobedience ;   the  former  being  the  source  of  Eph.  v,  26.     Here  it  denotes  the  revelation  of 

the  latter.  God's  judgment  to  the  conscience. 

2  Strictly,  a  keeping  of  Sabbatical  rest.  ®  The  expression  is  literally,  of  soul  and 
8  Literally,  hath  rested,  the  aorist  used  for  spirit,  both  joint  and  marrow ;  the  latter  being 

perfect.      To  complete  the  argument  of  this  a  proverbial  expression  for  utterly,  even  to  the 

verse,  we  must  supply  the  minor  premise,  but  inmost  parts. 

God's  people  have  never  yet  enjoyed  this  perfect  "^  "  Tlirough,"  not  "into"  (A.    V.).      The 

rest ;  whence  the  conclusion  follows,  therefore  allusion  is  to  the  high  priest  passing  through 

its  enjoyment  is  still  future,  as  before.  the  ccurts  of  the  Temple  to  the  Holy  of  Ho- 

*  The  reasoning  of  the  above  passage  rests  lies.     Compare  ix.  11  and  24. 
upon  the  truth  that  the  unbelief  of  the  Israel-  *  See  note  on  ii.  18. 


862  THE  LITE  AND  EPISTLES  OF  ST.   PAUL.  ciiap.  xxvra. 

2  God,  that  he  may  offer  gifts  and  sacrifices  for  sins  ;  and  is  able  to  bear 
with  the  ignorant^  and  erring,  being  himself  also  encompassed  with 

3  infirmity.     And  by  reason  thereof,  he  is  bound,  as  for  the  people,'^  so  also 

4  for  himself,  to  make  offering  for  sins.     And  no  man  taketh  this  honor  on 

5  himself,  but  he  that  is*  called  by  God,  as  was  Aaron.     So  also  Christ 
glorified  not  Himself,  to  be  made  a  High  Priest ;  but  He  that  said  unto 

6  Him,  ** CIjou  art  mg  Soit, ia-^im}  fjab^  J  bc^oltcjx  i\zt" *    As  He 

saith  also  in  another  place,  **  ^IjOU  art  a  |3rkst  hxt)azx  vdUx  tIjiJ  OriJcr 

7  0f  ilJCdcIjb^tr^r."  ^     Who  in  the  days  of  His  flesh  offered  up  prayers 
and  supplications  with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  Him  that  could  save 

8  Him  from  death,  and  was  heard  because  He  feared  God ;  ®  and  though  He 

9  was  a  Son,  yet  learned  He  obedience '  by  sufleriug.     And  when  His  con- 
secration ^  was  accomplished.  He  became  the  author  of  eternal  salvation 

10  to  all  them  that  obey  Him  ;  having  been  named  by  God  a  High  Priest 

'*  ate  i\t  ax^itx  of  gl^kljxs^trw/' 

11  Of  whom  I  have  many  things  to  say,  and  hard  of  interpreta-  The  readers 

12  tion,  since  ye  have  grown »  dull  in  understanding.^"   For  when  lecHne^n'' 

.  ,,  ,  ,  -,  .       spiritual  un- 

ye  ought,  after  so  long  a  time,"  to  be  teachers,  ye  need  again  deretanding, 
to  be  taught  yourselves  what  ^^  are  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of 

1.3    God  ;  and  ye  have  come  to  need  milk,  instead  of  meat."     For  every  one 
that  feeds  on  milk  is  ignorant  of  the  doctrine  of  righteousness,  for  he  is 

U   a  babe  ;  but  meat  is  for  men  full  grown,  who,  through  habit,  have  their 
n  1  senses  exercised  to  know  good  from  evil.     Therefore  let  me  leave  "  the 

1  Tho  sin-offerings  were  mostly  for  sins  of  »  "  Have  grown,"  implying  that  they  had 

ignorance.     See  Levit.  chap.  v.  declined  from  a  more  advanced  state  of  Chris- 

■^  See  Levit.  chap.  iv.  and  chap.  ix.  tian  attainment. 

8  If  (with  the  best  MSS.)  we  omit   the  ^^  Literally,  "in  their  hearing."     Compar« 

article,  the  translation  will  be, "  hut  when  called  Acts  xvii.  20,  and  Matt  xiii.  15. 
hy  God,"  which  does  not  alter  the  sense.  "  Literally,  because  of  the  time,  viz.  the  length 

*  Ps.  ii.  7  (LXX.).  of  time  elapsed  since  your  conversion.     See 

*  Ps.  ex.  4  (LXX.).  the  preceding  introductory  remarks,  p.  850. 

•*  "  Fear "   heai-  means    the  fear  of   God.  ^'^  We  accentuate  with  Griesbach,  Tischen- 

Compare  "  God-fearing  men,"  Acts  ii.  5.     The  dorf,  &c. 

sentiment  corresponds   remarkably  with   that  "  The  adjective  docs  not  mean  "strong" 

of  chap.  xii.  5-11.  (A.  V.),  but  solid,  opposed  to  liguid.     We  use 

'  There  is   a  junction   here  of  words   of  meat  for  solid  food  in  general, 

similar    sound    and    parallel    meaning,   with  "  The  1st  person  plural  here,  as  at  v.  11, 

which  the  readers  of  -(Eschylus  and  Ilerodo-  vi.  3,  vi.  9,  vi.  11,  is  used  by  the  writer ;  it  is 

t  us  are  familiar.     See  iEsch.  yl^am.  and  Herod.  translated  by  the  1st  person  singular  in  Eng- 

207.  lish,  according  to  the  principle  laid  down,  p. 

*  Compare  ii.  10,  and  the  note  there.  341,  note  3. 


:thap.  xxvni. 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS. 


863 


rudiments  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  and  go  on  to  its  maturity ;  not  lay- 
ing again  the  foundation,  —  of  Repentance  from  dead  works,^  and  Faith 
towards   God;  —  Baptism,^  Instruction,^   and   Laying-on  of  hands;* —     2 
and  Resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  Judgment  everlasting, 
waniedofthe        And  this  I  will  do '  if  God  permit.     For  it  is  impossible  s  3, 

danger  of  a  r 

apostasy,         again  to  renew  unto  repentance  those  who   have  been  once 
enlightened,  and  have  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  been  made  par- 
takers of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  have  tasted  the  goodness  of  the  word  of     5 
God,''  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,*  and  afterwards  have  fallen     6 
away ;  seeing  they  ^  crucify  to  themselves  the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and  put 
Him  to  an  open  shame.     For  the  earth,  when  it  hath  drunk  in  the  rain     7 
that  falleth  oft  upon  it,  if  it  bear  herbs  profitable  to  those  for  whom  it  is 
tilled,  partaketh  of  God's  blessing ;  but  if  it  bear  thorns  and  thistles,  it     8 
is  counted  worthless,  and   is  nigh  unto  cursing,  and   its  end  is  to   be 
of  thelf^^^^   burned.     But,  beloved,  I  am  persuaded  better  things  of  you,     9 
"e^rseverance.    and  things  that  accompauy  salvation,  though  I   thus  speak. 
For  God  is  not  unrighteous  to  forget  your  labor,  and  the  love  '"  which  ye   10 
have  shown  to  His  name,  in  the  services  ye  have  rendered  and  still  ren- 
der "  to  the  saints.     But  I  desire  earnestly  that  every  one  of  you  might   11 


1  Dead  works  here  may  mean  either  sinful 
works  (cf.  Eph.  ii.  1,  "dead  in  sins"),  or 
legal  works  ;  but  the  former  meaning  seems  to 
correspond  better  with  the  "  repentance  "  here, 
and  with  ix.  14. 

2  We  take  the  punctuation  sanctioned  by 
Ohrysostom. 

^  This  was  the  Catechetical  Instruction, 
which,  in  the  Apostolic  age,  followed  baptism, 
as  we  have  already  mentioned,  p.  383. 

*  This  is  mentioned  as  following  baptism, 
Acts  viii.  17-19,  xix.  6,  and  other  places. 

^  Or,  let  me  do,  if  we  read  with  the  best 
MSS. 

^  A  reason  is  here  given  by  the  writer 
why  he  will  not  attempt  to  teach  his  readers 
the  rudiments  of  Christianity  over  again ; 
namely,  that  it  is  useless  to  attempt,  by  the 
re])etitiou  of  such  instruction,  to  recall  those 
who  have  renounced  Christianity  to  repent- 
ance. The  impossibility  which  he  speaks  of 
has  reference  (it  should  be  obseiTcd)  only  to 
human  cujents ;  it  is  only  said  that  all  human 
means  of  acting  on  the  heart  have  been  exhausted 


in  such  a  case.  Of  course,  no  limit  is  placed 
on  the  Divine  power.  Even  in  the  passage,  x. 
26-31  (which  is  much  stronger  than  the  pres- 
ent passage),  it  is  not  said  that  such  apostates 
are  never  brought  to  repentance,  but  only 
that  it  cannot  be  expected  they  ever  should  be. 
Both  passages  were  much  appealed  to  by  the 
Novatians,  and  some  have  thought  that  this 
was  the  cause  which  so  long  prevented  the 
Latin  Church  from  receiving  this  Epistle  into 
the  Canon. 

■^  i.  e.  have  experienced  the  fulfilment  of 
God's  promises. 

"  The  powei's  of  the  world  to  come  appear  to 
denote  the  miraculous  operations  of  the  spirit- 
ual gifts.  They  properly  belonged  to  the 
"  world  to  come." 

^  These  apostates  to  Judaism  crucified 
Christ  afresh,  inasmuch  as  they  virtually  gave 
their  approbation  to  His  crucifixion  by  join- 
ing His  crucifiers. 

1"  "  Labor  "  is  omitted  in  the  best  MSS. 

11  Compare  x.  32,  and  the  remarks,  p.  850. 
For  "  saints,"  see  note  on  1  Cor.  i.  2. 


8(54  THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL.  ciiap.  xxvj.i. 

vi. 

show  the  same  zeal,  to  secure  the  full  possession  ^  of  your  hope  unto  the 

12  end  ;  that  ye  be  not  slothful,  but  follow  the  example  of  them  who  through 

13  faith  and  steadfastness  inherit  the  promises.     For  God  when  He  made 
promise  to  Abraham,  because  He  could  swear  by  no  greater,  sware  by 

u  Himself,  saying,  "  ^txih,  Ijkssm0  J  foill  bkss  tl^n,  niitr  multiplg- 

15   ill0  J  foill  multrplu  lljtc;""  and  so,  having  steadfastly  endured,'  he 

It)   obtained   the   promise.     For   men,  indeed,  swear   by  the  greater;  and 

tlieir   oath   establisheth  *  their   word,  so   that   they   cannot   gainsay   it. 

17  Wherefore  God,  willing  more  abundantly  to  show  unto  the  heirs  of  the 
promise  the  immutability  of  His  counsel,  set  an  oath  between  himself 

18  and  them;**  that  by  two  immutable  things,  wherein  it  is  impossible  for 
God  to  lie,  we  that  have  fled  [to  Him]  for  refuge  might  have  a  strong 

19  encouragement®  to  hold  fast  the  hope  set  before  us.     Which  hope  we 
have  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul,  both  sure  and  steadfast,  and   entering 

20  within  the  veil ;  whither  Jesus,  our  forerunner,  is  for  us  entered,  being 

made  '*  a  Jig^  ^rhst  iaxtbtx  ufkx  lljc  ox^tx  ai  |0elcIjbeb£c" ' 

vii  1      For  this  Melchisedec,^  "  king  of  Sate,"  ^  *'  mmt  of  tin  The  prieat- 

j.r*T/»^>v»»9  hoodofChrlM 

in0SI    bW)  Qi>Ou,       who  met  Abraham  returning  from  the  (typified  by 

o   -v  o  '  "  the  Pnest- 

2  slaughter  of  the  kings  and  blessed  him,  to  whom  also  Abra-  chfaed/cfis' 

44         A        IX  I        r       xi  ft  ^  distinsjuished 

ham  gave      u  t^itljj  part  01  all;    '"  —  who  is  first,  by  inter-  ^°/^j\^„?^^;^ 
pretation.  King  op  Righteousness,"  and,  secondly,  king  of  eterniiVu^a- 

3  Salem,^^  which  is  King  of  Peace  —  without  father,  without  cacy. 
mother,  without  table  of  descent "  —  having  ^*  neither  beginning  of  days 

1  Such  appears  the  meaning  of  the  word  Heb.  xii.  5,  and  xiii.  22;    also  Heb.  i>.  14) 

here.      The   English  word  satisfaction,  in  its  than  the  A.  V. 
different  uses,  bears  a  close  analogy  to  it.  "^  Ps.  ex.  4,  quoted  above,  verse  6  &nd  vene 

^  Gen.  xxii.  17  (LXX.,  except  that  "  thee"  10,  and  three  times  in  the  next  chapter, 
is  put  for  "  thy  seed  ").  *  The  following  passage  cannot  be  rightly 

'  Abraham's  "  steadfast  endurance  "  was  understood,  unless  we  bear  in  mind  through- 
shown  just  before  he  obtained  this  promise,  in  out  that  Mclchisedec  is  here  spoken  of,  not  as 
the  offering  up  of  Isaac.  an  historical  personage,  but  as  a  type  of  Christ. 

*  JAlar&Wy ,  tlieir  oath  is  to  them  an  end  of  all  ^  Gen.  xiv.  18  (LXX.). 
gainsai/ing,  unto  e^tiiblishment  [of  their  word.]                i"  Gen.  xiv.  20  (LXX.). 

*  The  verb  means  to  intei-pose  between  two  ii  This  is  the  translation  of  his  Hebriw 
parties.  Bleek  gives  instances  of  its  use,  both  name.  ^-  Sale}n  in  Hebrew  means  pea^e, 
transitively  and  intransitively.  The  literal  i^  « "Without  table  of  descent."  This  ex- 
English  of  the  whole  phrase  is.  He  interposed  plains  the  two  preceding  words ;  the  mean- 
with  an  oath  between  the  two  parties.  The  "  two  ing  is,  that  the  priesthood  of  Melchisedec  was 
immutable  things "  are  God's  promise  and  His  not,  like  the  Levitical  priesthood,  dependent 
oath.  on  his  descent,  through  his  parents,  from  a  par- 

•*  This  construction  of  the  words  seems  to      ticular  family,  but  was  a  personal  office, 
agree  better  with  the  ordinary  meaning  (see  i*  Here,  as  in  the  previous  "  without  father  " 


CHAP,  xxvra.  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS.  866 

m 

nor  end  of  life,  but  made  like  unto  the  Son  of  God  —  remainetk  a  priest 

forever. 

Now  consider  how  great  this  man  was,  to  whom  even  Abraham  the     4 
patriarch  gave  a  tenth  of  the  choicest  ^  spoil.     And  truly  those  among     5 
the  sons  of  Levi  who  receive  the  office  of  the  priesthood   have  a  com- 
mandment to  take  tithes  according  to  the  Law  from  the  People,  that  is, 
from  their  brethren,  though  they  come  out  of  the  loins  of  Abraham. 
But   he,  whose  descent  is   not  counted  from  them,  taketh   tithes  from     6 
Abraham,  and  blesseth  ^  the  possessor  of  the  promises.     Now  without  all     7 
contradiction,  the  less  is  blessed  by  the  greater.^     And  here,  tithes  are     8 
received  by  men  that  die  ;  but  there,  by  him  of  whom  it  is  testified  *  that     9 
he  liveth.     And  Levi  also,  the  receiver  of  tithes,  hath  paid  tithes  (so  to 
speak)  by  ^  Abraham  ;  for  he  was  yet  in  the  loins  of  his  father  when  Mel-  10 
chisedec  met  him. 

Now  if  all  things^  were  perfected  by  the  Levitical  priesthood  (since   11 
under  it '  the  people  hath  received  the  Law)  ,^  what  further  need  was 
there  that  another  priest  should  rise  *'  nfUx  H^t  OX^tX  oi  '^dt^\Bti3tt" 
and  not  be  called  "  after  the  order  of  Aaron  "  ?     For  the  priesthood   12 
being  changed,  there  is  made  of  necessity  a  change  also  of  the  Law.' 
For  He  •"  of  whom  these  things  are  spoken  belongeth  to  another  tribe,  of  IS 
which  no  man  giveth  attendance  "  at  the  altar ;  it  being  evident  that  our   14 
Lord  hath  arisen  ^^  out  of  Judah,  of  which  tribe  Moses  spake  nothing  con- 
cerning priesthood.     And  this  is  far  more  evident  when  ^^  another  priest  16 
ariseth  after  the  likeness  of  Melchisedec ;  who  is  made  not  under  the  law   16 
of  a  carnal  commandment,  but  with  the  power  of  an  imperishable  life ; 

for  it  is  testified  ^^  of  Him,  '*  ^pn  uxi  a  i^xmt  i§^€B€'g  RfitX  17 

and  "  without  mother,"  the  silence  of  Scripture  to  bring  a  thing  to  the  fulness  of  its  designed  deod- 

is  interpreted  allegorically.    Scripture  mentions  opment.     Compare  vii.  19,  and  note  on  ii.  10. 
neither  the  father  nor  mother,  neither  the  birth  "^   Under  its  conditions  and  ordinances.    Com- 

nor  death,  of  Melchisedec.  pare  viii.  6. 

1  Such  is  the  sense  of  the  word  used  here.  *  Sucli  is  the  tense  according  to  the  reail- 

2  The  verbs  are  present-perfect.  ing  of  the  best  MSS. 

3  The  same  word  as  in  i.  4.  »  The  word  used  (as  often)  without  the  ar- 
*  Viii.  testified  in  Ps.  ex.  4.     "  Thou   art  tide  for  the  law.     Cf.  note  on  Rom.  iii.  20. 

a  priest  forever."  w  Viz.  the  Messiah,  predicted  in  Ps.  ex.  4. 

'"  "  Bt/,"  not  "  in  "  (A.  V.).  n  The  verbs  are  present-perfect. 

"  The  term  here  used,  a  word  of  very  fre-  ^^  Hath  arisen.      Compare  the  passage  of 
quent  occurrence  and  great  significance  in  this      Isaiah  quoted  Matt.  iv.  16. 

Epistle,  is  not  fully  represented  by  the  English  i^  If  here  meaning  if,  as  is  the  case. 

"perfection."    The  corresponding  verb  denotes,  i*  The  best  MSS.  have  the  pasaive. 
55 


866 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXVtU , 


Tn. 

18  il^t  axlatX  nf  gt^Irl^bitr^."     On  the  one  hand,^  an  old  commandment  is 

19  annulled,  because  it  was  weak  and  profitless  (for  the  Law  perfected^ 
nothing)  ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  a  better  hope  is  brought  in,  whereby 
we  draw  near  unto  God. 

20  And  inasmuch  as  this  Priesthood  hath  the  confirmation  of  an  oath  — 

21  (for  those  priests  are  made  without  an  oath,  but  He  with  an  oath,  by 

22  Him  that  said  unto  Him,  "  C^C  Jortr  stoar^,  KXtii  kill  Xiot  Xtl^tXli,  ^^OU 
art  a  prhsl  iaxtbtX  ")  ^ — insomuch  Jesus  is*  surety  of  a  better  covenant. 

23  And   they,  indeed,  are*  many  priests  [one   succeeding   to   another's 

24  ofl&ce] ,  because  death  hindereth  their  continuance.     But  He,  because  He 

25  remaineth  forever,  hath  no  successor  in  His  priesthood.®  Wherefore  also 
He  is  able  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that  come  unto  God  by  Him, 
seeing  He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them. 

26  For  such  a  High  Priest  became  us,  who  is  holy,  harmless,  undefiled, 

27  separate '  from  sinners,  and  ascended  above  the  heavens.  Who  needeth 
not  daily ,^  as  those  High  Priests,^  to  ofier  up  sacrifice,  first  for  His  own 
sins,  and  then  for  the  People's ;  for  this  He  did  once,  when  He  oSered  up 

28  Himself.  For  the  Law  maketh  men  High  Priests,  who  have  infirmity ; 
but  the  word  of  the  oath  which  was  since  the  Law,^"  maketh  the  Son,  who 
is  consecrated  ^^  forevermore. 


^  The  particles  in  the  Greek  express  this 
contrast  The  overlooking  of  this  caused  the 
error  in  the  A.  V. 

^  Compare  note  on  verse  11. 

'  In  this  quotation  (again  repeated)  from 
Ps.  ex.  4,  the  words  "  after  the  order  of  Mel- 
chisedec  "  are  not  found  here  in  the  best  MSS. 

*  Not  "tvas  made"  (A.  V.),  but  has  become 
or  18. 

^  Are,  or  have  become,  not  "  were"  (A.  V.) ; 
an  important  mistranslation,  as  the  present  tense 
shows  that  the  Lcvitical  priesthood  was  still 
enduring  while  this  Epistle  was  written. 

®  Not  passing  on  to  another. 

''  This  seems  to  refer  to  the  separation 
from  all  contact  with  the  unclean,  which  was 
required  of  the  high  priest;  who  (according  to 
the  Talmud)  abstained  from  intercourse  even 
with  his  own  family,  for  seven  days  before  the 
day  of  Atonement. 

"  This  "  daili/  "  has  occasioned  much  per- 
plexity, for  the  High  Priest  only  offered  the 
sin-offerings  here  referred  to  once  a  year,  on 
tlie  day  of  Atonement.    (Levit.  xvi.  and  Exod. 


XXX.  7-10.)  We  must  either  suppose  (with 
Tholuck)  that  it  is  used  for  peipetually,  i.  e. 
year  after  year;  or  we  must  suppose  a  ref- 
erence to  the  High  Priest  as  taking  part  in  the 
occasional  sacrifices  made  by  all  the  Priests, 
for  sins  of  ignorance  (Levit.  iv.) ;  or  we  must 
suppose  that  the  regular  acts  of  the  Priesthood 
are  attributed  to  the  High  Priests,  as  represen- 
tatives and  heads  of  the  whole  order ;  or,  final- 
ly, we  must  take  "  High  Priests,"  as  at  Matt 
ii.  4,  Acts  V.  24,  and  other  places,  for  the  heads 
of  the  twenty-four  classes  into  which  the  Priests 
were  divided,  who  officiated  in  turn.  This  lat- 
ter view  is  perhaps  the  most  natural.  The 
Priests  sacrificed  a  lamb  every  morning  and 
evening,  and  offered  an  offering  of  flour,  and 
wine  besides.  Philo  regard*  the  lambs  as  of- 
fered by  the  Priests  _/br  the  people,  and  the  flour 
for  themselves.  He  also  says  the  High  Priest 
offered  prayers  and  sacrifices  every  day. 

3  Literally,  the  [ordinary]  Uigh  Priests. 

1*  Viz.,  the  oath  in  Ps.  ex.  4,  so  often  referred 
to  in  this  Epistle. 

^  Compare  ii.  10. 


cnAT.xxvra.  EPISTLE  TO   THE  HEBEEWS.  867 

viiL 
The  Mosaic  ^^w  this  is  the  sum  of  our  words.^     We  have  such  a  High     1 

Temprel  hie-*    PriBst,  who  hath  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of 

rarchj',  and 

saorihces  was  i\^q  Maiestv  iu  the  heavens;  a  minister  of  the  sanctuary/  and     2 

an  imperfect  o        J  '  "  ' 

bettlr'^ove-^^^  of  the  truc  tabcmacle,  which  the  Lord  pitched,  and  not  man. 

iiant,  and  the  ,  i    •        -x  ■>  rv  •/>  j  •/?  n 

availing  atone-  For  cverv  Hmh  Priest  IS  ordained  ■'  to  ofiFer  gilts  and  sacrifices  ;     3 

tncnt,  of  •'  ° 

Qhrist.  wherefore  this  High  Priest  also  must  have  somewhat  *  to  offer. 

Now*  if  He  were  on  earth,  He  would  not  be  a  Priest  at  all,®  since  the     4 
Priests  are  they  that  make  the  offerings  according  to  the   Law;'  who     5 
minister  to  that  which  is  a  figure*  and  shadow  of  heavenly  things,  as 
Moses  is  admonished'  by  God,  when  he  is  about  to  make  the  tabernacle  ; 

for  '*  ^tt"  saith  He,  "  tijat  lljou  malu  all  lljtngs  atcortriitg  to  i\t 

palttrn  sljotoctr  ihn  in  llje  mount."  ^°     But  now  He  hath  obtained  a     6 
higher  ministry,  by  so  much  as  He  is  the  mediator  ^^  of  a  better  covenant, 
which  is  enacted  ^^  under  better  promises. 

For  if  that  first  covenant  were  faultless,  no  place  would  be  sought "  for     7 
a  second  ;  whereas  He  findeth  fault,^*  and  saith  unto  them,  **  ^cfjoltr,  tijt     8 

:&ags  roim,  saillj  i\n  l^ortr,  tofjcn  |  tolll  accomplblj  ^^  far  lljc  Ijausc 
of  Israel  anb  for  lljt  Ijousi  of  Jubalj  a  ntixr  cotrcnant.  got  atcortr-  9 
ing  to  llje  fobcnant  toiyiclj  |  0abx  ^^  unto  iljcrr  fatljcrs,  in  Ifjc  ban 
koljm  I  took  i\nxi  bij  tfjc  l^anb  to  kab  tijcm  out  of  tlj^  lanb  of 
(^^npt ;  kf aus^  thn  rontinucb  not  in  mn  fobcnant,  anb  |  also 
imxita  mn  faa  from  i\m,  saitlj  tijf  f  orb.    Jfor  tijts  is  tlj£  rob^-  lo 

1  Literally,  the  things  which  are  being  sjwken.  ^'  Here  A.  V.  is  not  quite  correct. 

2  Sanctuary.     Compare  ix.  12,  Holy  Place,  "  "  Findeth  fault  "  refers  to  the  preceding 
where  the  Greek  word  is  the  same.                           "  faultless."      The  pronoun  should  be  joined 

8  The  same  thing  is  said  v.  1.  with  "  saith." 

*  What  the  sacrifice  was  is  not  said  here,  ^°  Here  another  verb  is  substituted  for  that 

but  had  been  just  before  mentioned,  vii.  27.  found  in  the  LXX.     The  preposition  denotes 

6  Now  (not  for)  is  according  to  the  reading  "  for,"  not  "  with  "  (A.  V.). 

of  the  best  MSS.  ^®  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Greek 

6  "Not  a  Priest  at  all."     The  translation  word   does   not  (like    the    English  covenant) 

in  A.  V.  is  hardly  strong  enough.  imply  reciprocity.     It  properly  means  a  legal 

T  Our  Lord,  being  of  the  tribe  of   Judah,  disposition,  and  would  perhaps  be  better  trans- 

oauld  not  have  been  one  of  the  Levitical  Priest-  latcd  dispensation  here.     A  covenant  between 

hood.     So  it  was  said  before,  vii.  14.  two  parties  is  expressed  by  a  different  terra. 

»  Viz.  the  Temple  ritual.  The  new  dispensation  is  a  gift  from  God  rath- 

»  Compare  Acts  x.  22,  and  Heb.  xi.  7.  er  than  a  covenant  between  God  and  man  (see 

w  Exod.  XXV.  40  (LXX.).  Gal.  iii.    15-20).      Hence  perhaps   the  other 

n  Moses  was  called  by  the  Jews  the  Media-  alteration  of  verb  here,  as  well  as  that  men- 
tor of  the  law.     See  Gal.  iii.  19,  and  note.  tioned  in  the  preceding  note. 

^  Compare  vii.  11,  not  "  toas  establishe*' " 
(A.  v.),  but  hath  been  or  is 


868 


THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES  OE  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  xxvm. 


TIU. 


nmxt  fcoljirlj  |f  toill  malu  unto  %  Ipxx^t  ai  ^BXRtl  after  ilpBt  bags, 
saitfj  t^t  i^orb :  J  toill  gib^^  mn  laixrs  unln  tijijir  miitb,  aub  torite 
t^^nx  upait  tijctr  harts ;   aitb   |  Ml  ht  ia  il^mx  a  60b,  anb 

11  tljcjT  shall  ht  ia  me  a  pco^k.  §.nb  tfjcw  sljall  not  t^arfj  tbmx 
mait  Ijis  iTcigljWr^  anb  i^berg  man  Ijrs  Ijrntljir,  sajjmrj,  |iaoto  tlje 
i^orb;  for  all  sljall  luToto  me,  from  tlje  kast  unto  tlje  greatest. 

12  Jfor  I  tolll  ht  mijrriful  to  ti^m  uixrigljteousmss,  aab  tijeir  sins  anb 
18  tijeir  iniqitttres  fotll  J  ri^m^mkr  no  mor^.""*     In  that  He  saith 

**  %>  ntbj  robenant/'  He  hath  made  the  first  old  ;  and  that  which  is  old* 

and  stricken  in  years  is  ready  to  vanish  away. 
ix.  1       Now  the  first  covenant  also  had  ordinances  of  worship,  and  its  Holy 
2   Place  was  in  this  world.^   For  a  tabernacle  was  made  [in  two  portions]  ;  the 

first  (wherein  was  the  candlestick,^  and  the  table,^  and  the  showbread),' 
8  which  is  called  the  *  sanctuary ;  and,  behind  the  second  veil,  the  taber- 
4  nacle  called  the  Holy  of  Holies,  having  the  golden  altar  of  incense,^"  and 

the  ark  of  the  covenant  overlaid  round  about  with  gold,"  wherein  ^^  was  the 


1  "  Give,"  not  " put "  (A.  Y.). 

'  The  best  MSS.  read  citizen  instead  of 
neighbor,  which  does  not,  however,  alter  the 
Bcnse. 

*  Jer.  xxxi.  31-34  (LXX.  with  the  above- 
mentioned  variations). 

*  The  first  refers  to  time  {growing  out  of 
date),  the  second  to  the  weakness  of  old  age. 

^  "  The  sanctuary,"  not  "  A  sanctuary " 
(A.  V.)  J  and  observe  the  order  of  the  words, 
showing  that  "  in  this  world  "  is  the  predicate. 

•  Exod.  XXV.  31,  and  xxxvii.  17. 
'  Exod.  XXV.  23,  and  xxxvii.  10. 

'  Exod.  XXV.  30,  and  Levit.  xxiv.  5. 

•  See  the  note  on  ix.  24. 

^^  "Altar  of  incense."  This  has  given 
rise  to  much  perplexity.  According  to  Exod. 
XXX.  6,  the  Incense  altar  was  not  in  the  Holy 
of  Holies,  but  on  the  outer  side  of  the  veil 
which  separated  the  Holy  of  Holies  from  the 
rest  of  the  Tabernacle.  Several  methods  of 
evading  the  difficulty  have  been  suggested ; 
amongst  others,  to  translate  the  word  by  censer, 
and  understand  it  of  the  censer  which  the  High 
Priest  brought  into  tlie  Holy  of  Holies  once  a 
year;  but  this  was  not  kept  in  the  Holy  of 
Holies.  Moreover,  the  term  is  used  for  the 
Incense-altar   b^'  Philo   and  Josephus.      The 


best  explanation  of  the  discrepancy  is  to  con- 
sider that  the  Incense  altar,  though  not  ivith- 
in  the  Holy  of  Holies,  was  closely  connected 
therewith,  and  was  sprinkled  on  the  day  of 
Atonement  with  the  same  blood  with  which  the 
High  Priest  made  atonement  in  the  Holy  of 
Holies.  See  Exod.  xxx.  6-10,  and  Levit.  xvi. 
11,  &c.  "  Exod.  XXV.  11. 

1"^  Here  we  have  another  difficulty ;  for  the 
pot  of  manna  and  Aaron's  rod  were  not  kept 
in  the  Ark  in  Solomon's  time,  when  it  con- 
tained nothing  but  the  tables  of  the  Law.  See 
1  Kings  viii.  9,  2  Chron.  v.  10.  It  is,  however, 
probable  that  these  were  originally  kejjt  in  the 
Ark.  Compare  Exod.  xvi.  33,  and  Numbers 
xvii.  10,  where  they  are  directed  to  be  laid  up 
"  before  the  Lord,"  and  "  before  the  testimony  " 
\i.  e.  the  tables  of  the  Law],  which  indicates,  at 
least,  a  close  juxtaposition  to  the  Ark.  More 
generally,  we  should  observe  that  the  intention 
of  the  present  passage  is  not  to  give  us  a  mi- 
nute and  accurate  description  of  the  furniture  of 
the  Tabernacle,  but  to  allude  to  it  rhetorically  : 
the  only  point  insisted  upon  in  the  application 
of  the  description  (see  verse  8)  is  the  symboli- 
cal character  of  the  Holy  of  Holies.  Hence  the 
extreme  anxiety  of  commentators  to  explain 
away  every  minute  inaccuracy  is  superfluous. 


:uAP.  xxym. 


EPISTLE   TO   THE  HEBREWS. 


869 


IX. 


J  Exod.  xvi.  32,  &c. 

2  Num.  xvii.  10. 

8  Exod.  xxT.  16.  *  Exod.  xxv.  18. 

*  Exod.  xxv.  17.  This  is  the  word  used  in 
the  LXX.  for  Mercy-seat. 

^  The  writer  of  the  Epistle  here  appears  to 
speak  as  if  the  Tabernacle  were  still  standing. 
Commentators  have  here  again  found  or  made 
a  difficulty,  because  the  Temple  of  Ilcrod  was 
in  niai.y  respects  different  from  the  Tabernacle, 
and  especially  because  its  Holy  of  Holies  did 
not  contain  either  the  Ark,  the  Tables  of  the 
Law,  the  Cherubim,  or  the  Mercy-seat  (all  of 
which  had  been  burnt  by  Nebuchadnezzar  with 
Solomon's  Temple),  but  was  empty.  See 
above,  p.  632.  Of  course,  however,  there  was 
no  danger  that  the  original  readers  of  this 
Epistle  should  imagine  that  its  writer  spoke  of 
the  Tabernacle  as  still  standing,  or  that  he  was 
ignorant  of  the  loss  of  its  most  precious  con- 
tents. Manifestly  he  is  speaking  of  the  sane- 
tuary  of  the  First  Covenant  (see  ix.  1)  as  origi- 
nally designed.  And  he  goes  on  to  speak  of  the 
existing  Temple-worship  as  the  continuation 
of  the  Tabernacle-worship,  which,  in  all  essen- 
tial points,  it  was.  The  translators  of  the  Au- 
thorized Version  (perhaps  in  consequence  of  this 
difficulty)  have  mistranslated  many  verbs  in  the 
following  passage,  which  are  in  i\iQ present  tense, 
as  though  they  were  in  the  past  tense.  Thus 
we  have  "  loent,"  "  offered,"  "  ivere  offered," 
"they  offered"  (x.  1),  &c.  The  English  read- 
er is  thus  led  to  suppose  that  the  Epistle  was 
written  after  the  cessation  of  the  Temple-wor- 
ship. '  Plural,  not  singular,  as  in  A.  V. 


'  "  Errors."     Compare  v.  2,  and  the  note. 

'  On  the  mistranslation  in  A.  V.  see  note  6 
on  this  page.  It  may  be  asked,  How  could  it  be 
said,  after  Christ's  ascension,  that  the  ivay  into 
the  Holy  place  was  not  made  fully  manifest  ?  The 
explanation  is,  that  while  the  Temple-woi-ship, 
with  its  exclusion  of  all  but  the  High  Priest 
from  the  Holy  of  Holies,  still  existed,  the  way 
of  salvation  would  not  be  fully  manifest  to 
those  who  adhered  to  the  outward  and  typical 
obser\-ances,  instead  of  being  thereby  led  to 
the  Antitype. 

I''  t.  e.  while  the  inner  is  separate  irom  the 
outer  tabernacle.  That  "  first "  has  this  mean- 
ing here  is  evident  from  ix.  2. 

"  The  A.  V.  here  interpolates  "  then "  in 
order  to  make  this  correspond  with  the  mis- 
translated tenses  already  referred  to. 

12  According  to  which  figure.  This  follows 
the  reading  of  the  best  MSS.,  and  adopted  by 
Griesbach,  Lachmann,  and  Tischendorfs  lei 
edition ;  it  suits  the  preposition  better  than 
the  other  reading,  to  which  Tischendorf  has 
returned  in  his  2d  edition. 

13  Perfect  the  worshipper,  according  to  the  con- 
science. This  is  explained,  x.  2,  as  equivalent 
to  "  the  worshippers,  once  purified,  would  have 
had  no  more  conscience  of  sin."  The  meaning 
here  is  to  bring  him  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
end  of  his  worship,  viz.  remission  of  sins.  It  is 
not  adequately  represented  by  to  make  perfect, 
as  we  have  before  remarked;  to  consummate 
would  be  again  the  best  translation,  if  it  were 
less  unusual. 

1*  The  reading  of  this  rerse  is  very  doubtful, 


gulden  pot^  that  had  the  manna,  and  Aaron's  rod^  that  budded,  ani  the 
tables  ^  of  the  covenant ;  and  over  it  the  cherubims  *  of  glory  shadowing 
the  Mercy-seat.*  Whereof  we  cannot  now  speak  particularly.  Now 
these  things  being  thus  ordered,  unto  the  first  tabernacle  the  priests  go* 
in  continually,  accomplishing  the  offices''  of  their  worship.  But  into  the 
second  goeth  the  High  Priest  alone,  once  a  year,  not  without  blood,  which 
he  olTereth  for  himself  and  for  the  errors  ^  of  the  people.  Whereby  the 
Holy  Spirit  signifieth  that  the  way  into  the  Holy  Place  is  not  yet  made 
fully  manifest,^  while  still  the  outer  ^^  tabernacle  standeth.  But  it  is  a 
figure  for  the  present  time,"  under  '^  which  gifts  and  sacrifices  are  offered 
that  cannot  perfect  the  purpose  of  the  worshipper,  according  to  the  con- 
science ;  ^'  being  carnal  ordinances,  commanding  meats  and  drinks,  and  10 
diverse  washings,  imposed  until  a  time  of  reformation." 


8, 


9 


S70 


THE   LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PATJI 


CHAP.  XX vm. 


IX. 

11  But  when  Christ  appeared,  as  High  Priest  of  the  good  things  to  come, 
He  oassed  through  the  greater  and  more  perfect  tabernacle  ^  not  made 

12  with  hands  (that  is,  not  of  man's  building) ,2  and  entered,  not  by  the 
blood  of  goats  and  calves,  but  by  His  own  blood,  once  for  all,  into  the 

13  Holy  Place,  having  obtained  an  everlasting  redemption.'  For  if  the  blood 
of  bulls  and  goats,  and  the  ashes  of  a  heifer*  sprinkling  the  unclean, 

14  sanctifieth  to  the  purification  of  the  flesh,  how  much  more  shall  the 
blood  of  Christ,  who  through  the  eternal  Spirit  offered  Himself  without 
spot  to  God,  purify  our^  conscience  from  dead  works,  that  we  may 
worship  the  living  God ! 

15  And  for  this  cause  He  is  the  mediator  of  a  new  testament ;  that,  when 
death  had  ^  made  redemption  for  the  transgressions  under  the  first  testa- 
ment,' they  that  are  called   might  receive   the   promise  of  the  eternal 

16  inheritance.     For  where  a  testament  is,  the  death  of  the  testator  must  be 

17  declared ;  *  because  a  testament  is  made  valid  by  death,  for  it  hath  no 
force  at  all  during  the  lifetime  of  the  testator. 

18  Wherefore '  the  first  testament  also  hath  its  dedication  ^"  not  without 

19  blood.     For  when   Moses   had  spoken  to  all   the  people  every  precept 


Tischendorf  in  his  2d  edition  returns  to  the 
reading  of  the  T.  R.,  which  is  also  defended 
by  De  Wette.  But  Griesbach  and  Lachmann 
adopi  •^he  other  reading,  which  is  followed  in 
our  trans'ation.  The  construction  is  literally, 
imposed  with  conditions  of  meats,  Sec,  until  a  time 
of  reformation. 

1  This  greater  tabernacle  is  the  visible  heav- 
ens, which  are  here  regarded  as  the  outer 
sanctuary. 

2  Literally,  this  building.  This  parenthesis 
has  very  much  the  appearance  of  having  been 
originally  a  marginal  gloss  upon  the  preced- 
ing phrase. 

8  There  is  nothing  in  the  Greek  correspond- 
ing to  the  words  "for  us"  (A.  V.). 

••  The  uncleanness  contracted  by  touching 
a  corpse  was  purified  by  sprinkling  the  un- 
clean person  with  the  water  of  sprinkling,  which 
was  made  with  the  ashes  of  a  red  heifer.  Sec 
Numbers  xix.  (LXX.) 

5  «  Qyr  "  (not  "  your  ")  is  the  reading  of 
the  best  MSS. 

^  Literally,  after  death  had  occurred  for  the 
redemption  of,  &c.  The  words  must  be  thus 
taken  together. 

'  The  Authorized   Version  is  correct    In 


translating  testament  in  this  passage.  The  at- 
tempts which  have  been  made  to  avoid  this 
meaning  are  irreconcilable  with  any  natural 
explanation  of  testator.  The  simple  and  obvi- 
ous translation  should  not  be  departed  from 
in  order  to  avoid  a  difficulty;  and  the  diffi- 
culty vanishes  when  we  consider  the  rhetorical 
character  of  the  Epistle.  The  statement  in 
this  verse  is  not  meant  as  a  logical  ar;.;ument, 
but  as  a  rhetorical  illustration,  which  is  sug- 
gested to  the  writer  by  the  ambiguity  of  the 
word  for  "  testament "  or  "  covenant." 

8  Declared  is  omitted  in  A.  V.  The  legal 
maxim  is  the  same  as  that  of  English  Law, 
Nemo  est  hcrres  rnventis. 

^  This  "  wherefore "  does  not  refer  to  the 
preceding  illustration  concerning  the  death  of 
the  testator,  but  to  the  reasoning  from  which 
that  was  only  a  momentary  digression.  Com- 
pare verse  18  with  verses  12-14. 

1"  The  verb  means  to  dedicate  in  the  sense 
of  to  iitaugurate ;  cf.  Heb.  x.  20 ;  ?o  the  feast 
commemorating  the  opening  or  inauguration  of 
the  Tcmi)le  by  Judas  Maccabseus  (after  its 
pollution  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes)  was  called 
"  the  dedication."     (John  x.  22.) 


c,^p.  xx\ui.  EPISTLE   TO  THE   HEBREWS.  871 

according  to  the  Law,  he  took  ^  the  blood  of  the  calves  and  goats,  with 
water  and  scarlet  wool  and  hyssop,  and  sprinkled  both  the  book  itself '^ 
and  all  the  people,  saying,  "  Cl^tS  IS  tiji  Woob  of  tIjlJ  t^slam^nt  fco^k^   20 
dotr  ^atlj  UlXJomctr  unia  gOU."  ^     Moreover  he  sprinkled  with  blood  the   21 
tabernacle  *  also,  and  all  the  vessels  of  the  ministry,  in  like  manner.    And   22 
according  to  the  Law,  almost  all  things  are  purified  with  blood,  and  with- 
out shedding  of  blood  is  no  remission.     It  was,  therefore,  necessary  that  23 
the  patterns  of  heavenly  things  should  thus  be  purified,  but  the  heavenly 
things  themselves  with  better  sacrifices  than  these.     For  Christ  entered   24 
not  into  the  sanctuary '  made  with  hands,  which  is  a  figure  of  the  true, 
but  into  heaven  itself,  now  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God  for  us.     Nor   25 
yet  that  He  should  offer  Himself  often,  as  the  High  Priest  entereth  the 
sanctuary  every  year  with  blood  of  others  ;  for  then  must  He  often  have  26 
suffered  since  the  foundation  of  the  world  :  but  now  once,  in  the  end  ®  of 
the  ages,  hath  He  appeared,'  to  do  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself.* 
And  as  it  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  but  after  this  the  judgment,   27 
so  Christ  was  once  ofiered  "  to  htnx  %  SmS  oi  maitg/'  ^  and  unto  28 
them  that  look  for  Him  shall  He  appear  a  second  time,  without  sin,*" 
unto  salvation. 

For  the  Law,  having  a  shadow  of  the  "  good  things  to  come,  and  not  the  x.  1 
very  image  of  the  reality,*^  by  the  unchanging  sacrifices  which  year  by  2 
year  they  ofier  continually  "  can  never  perfect  ^*  the  purpose  of  the  ofFer- 

1  See  Exod.  xxiv.  3-8.  The  sacrifice  of  ^  "  The  end  of  the  ages "  means  the  termi- 
goats  (besides  the  cattle)  and  the  sprinkling  nation  of  the  period  preceding  Christ's  com- 
of  the  book  are  not  in  the  Mosaic  account.  It  ing.  It  is  a  phrase  frequent  in  St.  Matthew, 
should  be  remembered  that  the  Old  Testa-  with  "  age,"  instead  of  "  ages,"  but  not  occur- 
ment  is  usually  referred  to  memorlter  by  the  ring  elsewhere.  The  A.  "V.  translates  two 
writers  of  the  New  Testament.  Moreover,  different  terms  here  by  the  same  word, 
the  advocates  of  verbal  inspiration  would  be  "  world." 

justified  in  maintaining  that  these  circumstan-  ''  Literally,  He  hath  been  made  manifest  to  the 

ces  actually   occurred,   though   they   are  not  sight  of  men. 

mentioned  in  the  books  of  Moses.     See,  how-  ^  The  A.  V.  is  retained  here,  being  justi- 

ever,  p.  199,  note  2.  fied  by  offered  Himself,  verse  14. 

2  Itself  is  omitted  in  A.  V.  ®  Isaiah  liii.  12  (LXX.),  He  bare  the  ains  of 
8  Exod.  xxiv.  8  (LXX.,  but  with  a  change  many. 

of  verb).  ^**  Tholuck  compares  separate  from  sinners 

*  Apparently  referring  to  Levit.  viii.,  verses  (vii.  26).     The  thought  is  the  same  as  Bom. 

19,  24,  and  30.  vi.  10. 

5  Not  "  the  holy  places  "  ( A.  V.),  but  the  holy  "  The  definite  article  is  omitted  in  A.  V 

place  or  sanctuary.     Compare  viii.  2,  ix.  2,  ix.  ^^  The  real  things. 

25,  xiii.  11.     It  is  without  the  article  here,  as  ^^  The  same  is  omitted  in  A.  V. 

18  often  the  case  with  words  similarly  used.  i*  Compare  ix.  9,  and  note.     The  "  perfec- 


872  THE  LIFE  AJSTD  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xxnu, 

X. 

ers.'     For  then  would  they  not  have  ceased  to  be  offered  ?  because  the 
worshippers,  once  purified,  would  have  had  no  more  conscience  of  sins. 

3  But  in  these  sacrifices  there  is  a  remembrance  of  sins  made  every  year. 

4  For  it  is  not  possible  that  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats  should  take  away 

5  sins.     Wherefore,  when  He  cometh  into  the  world.  He  saith,  "  Sittnfic^ 

aiib  0fcin0  tlpn  bsanhz^i  nai,  hxxt  k  bobu  Ijust  i\pn  prtjpar^b  mc.^ 

6  Jix  hmnt-oQmixQB  mxla  sacrifias  for  slit  tlpix  Ijast  Ijair  na  pkas- 

7  lire.    CIj^ii  saib  J,  '§a,  J  roim  (m  il^z  bolumc  of  tlj^  Ijnoli  it  is 

8  torittm  of  \m)  to  ba  lljg  toill,  ^  (§0b."  ^     When  He  liad  said  before, 

''  Satrrfia  mxti  offering  mxin  Ijitrnt-offcrincjs  anb  sitrri€xijs  for  siit 
t^ou  fajoiilbcst  not,  mrtljfir  Ijabst  pkaswr^  tljtr^iix "  (which  are  offered 

9  under  the  law),  *'  Cljm"  (saith*  He),  "  "go,  |  tomt  to  jHO  iljg  bill, 
^  (Sob."     He  taketh  away  the  first,'  that  He  may  establish  the  second. 

10  And  in  ®  that  "  feill "  we  are  sanctified,  by  the  offering  of  the  **  bobg  "  ^ 
of  Jesus  Christ,  once  for  all. 

11  And  every  priest  ^  Stan deth  daily  ministering,  and  offering  oftentimes 

12  the  same  sacrifices  which  can  never  take  away  sins.     But  HE,  after  He 
had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins,  forever  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of 

13  God  ;  from  henceforth  expecting  '*  till  Ijis  enemies  ht  mnUt  Ijis  foot- 

14  stool."  ^    For  by  one  offering  He  hath  perfected  '"  forever  the  purification 

15  of  them  whom  He  sanctifieth.     Whereof  the  Holy  Spirit  also  is  a  witness 

16  to  us.     For  after  He  had  said  before,  "'  Cljis  XS  tlj^  rohinattt  lljat  <| 

tion  "  of  the  worshippers  was  entire  purification  •  In  the  will  of  God,  Christians  are  already 
from  sin :  this  they  could  not  attain  under  the  sanctified  as  well  as  justified,  and  even  glorijied 
Law,  as  was  manifest  by  the  perpetual  itera-  (see  Rom.  viii.  30) ;  /.  e.  God  wills  their  sanc- 
tion of  the  self-same  sacrifices  required  of  them.  tification,  and  has  done  His  part  to  insure  it. 
1  Literally,  those  who  come  to  offer.  7  "  Bod]j,"  alluding  to  the  "hodif  hast  thou 
^  In  the   Hebrew  original  the  words  are,  prepared  me  "  of  the  above  quotation. 
"thou  hast  opened  [or  pierced]  my  ears."     The            ^  The  MSS.  are  divided  between  "priest" 
LXX.  (which  is  here  quoted)  translates  this  and  "high  priest ;"  if   the  latter  reading   be 
"  a  l>odi/  hast  thou  prepared  me."     Perhaps  the  correct,  the  same  explanation  must  be  given 
reading  of  the   Hebrew  may  formerly  have  as  in  the  note  on  vii.  27. 
been  different  from  what  it  now  is;  or  per-            ®  Ps.  ex.  1  (LXX.),  quoted  above,  i.  13. 
haps  the  body  may  have  been  an  error  for  ear,  (See  note  there.) 
which  is  the  reading  of  some  MSS.                               i"  Literally,  lie  hath  consummated  them  that 

*  Ps.  xl.  6-8  (LXX.  with  some  slight  varia-  are  beinc/  sanctified.     The  verb  to  perfect  does 
tions).  not,   by   itself,   rejiresent   the    original   word. 

*  Not  "said  He"  (A.  V.),  but  He  hath  See   notes  on   x.  1,  ix.  10,  and  ii.  10.     We 
mid,  or  saith  He.  should  also  observe,  that  "being  sanctified  "  is 

^  fits  first,  viz.  the  sacrifices ;  the  second,       not  equivalent  to  "  having  been  sanctified." 
viz.  the  will  of  God. 


ciiAP.  xxvnr. 


EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 


873 


z. 


talll  mnht  ixriilj  llj^m  ate  t^ioBt  bags,  saillj  lljx  Jorb  :  J  toil!  Qibz 
im  S^atos  up0ix  ti^^ir  ^^arts,  aitij  )conh  iljcnx  wpoix  tijeir  miiiirs."  ^ 
He  saith  also,  "  Clj^ir  siiTS  anb  tIjHr  iniquitus  ixrill  J  um^mkr  na  17 

ntCjrc."'^     Now,  where  remission  of  these  is,  there  is  no  more  ofifering  fdr  18 
sin. 

Renewed  Having  therefore,  brethren,  boldness  to  enter  the  holy  place   19 

a^MMt  apoB-    |.|^j.Q^g|j  ^Y\Q  blood  of  Josus,^  by  a  new  and  living  way  which  20 
He  hath  opened*  for  us,  through  the  veil  (that  is  to  say,  His  flesh),* 
and  having  a  High  Priest^  over  the  house  of  God,  let  us  draw  near21,2J 
with  a  true  heart,  in  full  assurance  of  faith ;  as  our  hearts  have  been 
*'  SDnithUb**'  from  the  stain  of  an  evil  conscience,  and  our  bodies  have 
been  washed  with  pure  water.     Let  us  hold  fast  the  confession  of  our  23 
hope,^  without  wavering ;  for  faithful  is  He  that  gave  the  promise.     And  24 
let  us  consider  the  example  ^  one  of  another,  that  we  may  be  provoked 
unto  love  and  to  good  works.     Let  us  not  forsake  the  assembling^"  of  25 
ourselves   together,  as  the  custom  of  some  is,  but  let  us  exhort  one 
another ;  and  so  much  the  more,  as  ye  see  The  Day  approaching."     For  26 
if  we  sin  wilfully ,^^  after  we  have  received  the  knowledge  ^^  of  the  truth, 


1  Jer.  xxxi.  34  (LXX.)-  The  part  of  the 
quotation  here  omitted  is  given  abore,  viii. 
10-12.  It  appears,  from  the  slight  variations 
between  the  present  quotation  and  the  quota- 
tion of  the  same  passage  in  chap,  viii.,  that 
the  writer  is  quoting  from  memory. 

■^  Jer.  xxxi.  34  (LXX.),  being  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  passage  quoted  before,  viii.  12. 
The  omission  of  "  He  saith  "  with  the  "  and  " 
which  joins  the  two  detached  portions  of  the 
quotation,  though  abrupt,  is  not  unexampled ; 
compare  1  Tim.  v.  18. 

^  Compare  ix.  25. 

*  See  note  on  ix.  18 

*  The  meaning  of  this  is,  that  the  flesh  (or 
manhood)  of  Christ  was  a  veil  which  hid  His 
true  nature ;  this  veil  He  rent  when  He  gave 
up  His  body  to  death ;  and  through  His  incar- 
nation, thus  revealed  under  its  true  aspect,  we 
must  pass,  if  we  would  enter  into  the  presence 
of  God.  We  can  have  no  real  knowledge  of 
God  but  through  His  incarnation. 

^'  Literally,  "Great  Priest."  The  same 
expression  is  used  for  High  Priest  by  Philo 
and  LXX. 

'  "  Sprinkled  "  (alluding  to  ix.  13  and  21), 


viz.  with  the  blood  of  Christ ;  compare  "  blood 
of  sprinkling,"  xii.  24.  Observe  the  force  of 
the  perfect  participle  in  this  and  "  washed  ;  " 
both  referring  to  accomplished  facts.     See  x.  2. 

8  "  Hope,"  not  "faith."     (A.  V.) 

^  This  is  Chrysostom's  interpretation,  which 
agrees  with  the  use  of  the  verb,  iii.  1 . 

1°  It  was  very  natural  that  the  more  timid 
members  of  the  Church  should  shrink  from 
frequenting  the  assembly  of  the  congregation 
for  worship,  in  a  time  of  persecution. 

^  "  The  Day  "  of  Christ's  coming  was  seen 
approaching  at  this  time  by  the  threatening 
prelude  of  the  great  Jewish  war,  wherein  He 
came  to  judge  that  nation. 

12  <<  Wilfully."  This  is  opposed  to  the  "  if 
a  man  sin  not  wilfully  "  (Levit.  iv.  2,  LXX.), 
the  involuntary  sins  for  which  provision  was 
made  under  the  Law.  The  particular  sin 
here  spoken  of  is  that  of  apostasy  from  the 
Christian  faith,  to  which  these  Hebrew  Chris- 
tians were  particularly  tempted.  See  the 
whole  of  this  passage  from  x.  26  to  xii.  29. 

13  "  Knowledge."  Compare  Eom.  x.  2, 
Phil.  i.  9,  &.C. 


874 


THE   LIFE   AND   EPISTLES    OP   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XXVUI, 


27  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins,  but  a  certain  fearful  looking- 
for  of  judgment,  and  "  R  foralljful  fir^  tijat  sljall  bcbour  lljc  abtrer- 

28  sarics."  ^      He   that   hath  despised   the   Law  of  Moses  dieth'^  without 

29  mercy,  upon  the  testimony  of  two  or  three  witnesses.  Of  how  much 
sorer  punishment,  suppose  ye,  shall  he  be  thought  worthy,  who  hath 
trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  hath  counted  the  blood  of  the 
covenant,  wherewith  he  was  sanctified,  an  unholy  thing,  and  hath  done 

30  despite  unto  the   Spirit  of  Grace  ?     For  we  know  Him  that  hath  said, 

''  Bm^mna  m  mhtij,  J  toill  npag,  saillj  tlj£  |^0rtr ;  "  ^  and  again, 

31  ''CIji  forb  Sljall  jutrg^  f  b  ^eopk"*  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  living  God.* 

32  But  call  to  remembrance  the  former  days,  in  which,  after  and  exhorta- 

tion not  to  let 
ye  were  illuminated,  ye  endured  ^  a  great  fight  of  afflictions ;  ^'''f^^^^°^' 

33  for  not  only  were  ye  made  a  gazing-stock  by  reproaches  and  ^®*'"* 
tribulations,  but  ye  took  part  also  in  the  sufferings  of  others  who  bore 

34  the  like.  For  ye  showed  compassion  to  the  prisoners,'  and  took  joyfully 
the  spoiling  of  your  goods,  knowing  that  ye  have  *  in  heaven  a  better  and 

36   an  enduring  substance.    Cast  not  away,  therefore,  your  confidence,  which 


^  Is.  xxvi.  11.  Quoted  generally  from 
the  LXX.  Those  who  look  for  this  quotation 
in  A.  V.  will  be  disappointed;  for  the  A.  V., 
the  Hebrew,  and  the  LXX.,  all  differ. 

^  The  present,  translated  as  past  in  A.  V. 
The  reference  is  to  Deut.  xvii.  2-7,  which  pre- 
scribes that  an  idolater  should  be  put  to  death 
on  the  testimony  of  two  or  three  witnesses. 
The  writer  of  the  Epistle  does  not  mean  that 
idolatry  was  actually  thus  punished  at  the  time 
he  wrote  (for  though  tlie  Sanhedrin  was  al- 
lowed to  judge  charges  of  a  religious  nature, 
they  could  not  inflict  death  without  permis- 
sion of  the  Roman  Procurator,  which  would 
probaI)ly  have  been  refused,  except  under  very 
peculiar  circumstances,  to  an  enforcement  of 
this  part  of  the  Law) ;  but  he  speaks  of  the 
punishment  prescribed  by  the  Law. 

^  Deut.  xxxii.  35.  This  quotation  is  not 
exactly  according  to  LXX.  or  Hebrew,  but  is 
exactly  in  the  words  in  which  it  is  quoted  by 
St.  Paul,  Rom.  xii.  19. 

*  Deut.  xxxii.  36  (LXX.), 

^  The  preceding  passage  (from  verse  26), 
aud  the  similar  passage,  vi.  4-6,  have  proved 
perplexing  to  many  readers ;  and  were  such 


a  stumbling-block  to  Luther,  that  they  caused 
him  even  to  deny  the  canonical  authority  of 
the  Epistle.  Yet  neither  passage  asserts  the 
impossibility  of  an  apostate's  repentance.  What 
is  said  amounts  to  this  —  that  for  the  conver- 
sion of  a  deliberate  apostate,  God  has  (accord- 
ing to  the  ordinary  laws  of  His  working)  no 
further  means  in  store  than  those  which  have 
been  already  tried  in  vain.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered, also,  that  the  parties  addressed  are  not 
those  who  had  already  apostatized,  but  those 
who  were  in  danger  of  so  doing,  and  who 
needed  the  most  earnest  warning. 

^  If  this  Epistle  was  addressed  to  the 
Church  of  Jerusalem,  the  afflictions  referred 
to  would  be  the  persecutions  of  the  Sanhedrin 
(when  Stephen  was  killed),  of  Herod  Agrippa 
(when  James  the  Greater  was  put  to  death), 
and  again  the  more  recent  outbreak  of  Ana- 
nus,  when  James  the  Less  was  slain.  But  see 
the  preceding  remarks,  p.  849. 

"  "  The  bondsmen  "  (not  "  my  bonds")  is 
the  reading  of  all  the  best  MSS. 

*  Not  "knowing  in  yourselves"  (A.  V.). 
The  reading  of  the  best  MSS.  is,  that  ye  hav< 
yourselves,  or  for  yourselves,  i.  e.  as  your  own. 


CHAP.xxvui.  EPISTLE   TO   THE  HEBREWS.  875 

X. 

hath  great  recompense  of  reward.  For  ye  have  need  of  steadfastness,  36 
that,  after  ye  have  done  the  will  of  God,  ye  may  receive  the  promise.  For  37 
yet  a  little  while  and  ''|5^  lljat  rnmtt^;  sljltll  ht  tomt,  atlb  sljall  HOt 

farrn." '  Now  "  gg  faitlj  sljall  tlj^  ngljtcous  libc ; "'  and  "  |f  ^^«  38 
brato  bark  iljroitcffj  fjcar,  mn  soul  Ijatlj  no  jjlBasur^  iix  Ijim."  *    But  39 

we  are  not  men  of  fear  mito  perdition,  but  of  faith  unto  salvation.' 

Faith  defined        Now  faith  is  the  substance  ®  of  thing^s  hoped  for,  the  evidence  xi.  1 

as  that  prin-  o  i  7 

clfabi^'me'^n     °^  thiugs  uot  sccn.     For  therein  the  elders  obtained  a  good  re-     2 

to  prefer  7 

things  itni  si-       pOil. 
ble  to  things 

visible.  By  faith  we  understand  that  the  universe  *  is  framed  *  by     8 

the  word  of  God,  so  that  the  world  which  we  beliold  *"  springs  not  from 
things  that  can  be  seen. 
Its  operation        By  faith  Abcl  offered  unto  God  a  more  excellent  sacrifice     4 

historically 

excmpiijied.  than  Cain,  whereby  he  obtained  testimony  that  he  was  right- 
eous, for  God  testified "  unto  his  gifts ;  and  by  it  he  being  dead  yet 
speaketh.^^ 

By  faith  Enoch  was  translated,  that  he  should  not  see  death,  and  **  ht     i 
toas  not  fouixb,  bcraus^  C^otr  translatrilr  Ijim."  ^^    For  before  his  trans- 
lation he  had  this  testimony,  that  *'ht  ^UvtBtiJi  ^ob^ ;  "^*  but  without     6 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  Him  ;  for  whosoever  cometh  unto  God  must 
have  faith  ^'  that  God  is,  and  that  He  rewardeth  them  that  diligently  seek 
Him. 

By  faith  Noah,  being  warned  by  God  concerning  things  not  seen  as     7 

1  Habak.  ii.  3  (LXX.).    Not  folly  translat-  «  "  The  worlds : "  so  i.  2. 

ed  in  A.  V.  '  Observe  that  the  tenses  are  perfects,  not 

^  Habak.  ii.  4  (LXX.),  quoted  also  Kom.  aorists. 
i.  17,  and  Gal.  iii.  11.  i*^  The  best  MSS.  have  the  participle  in  the 

8  The  "  any  man  "  of  A.  V.  is  not  in  the  singular.    The  doctrine  negatived  is  that  which 

Greek.    The  Greek  verb  is  exactly  the  English  teaches  that  each  successive  condition  of  the 

flinch.  universe  is  generated  from  a  preceding  condi- 

*  Ilabak.  ii.  4  (LXX.).  But  this  passage  tion  (as  the  plant  from  the  seed)  by  a  mere 
in  the  original  precedes  the  last  quotation,  material  development,  which  had  no  beginning 
which  it  here  follows.  in  a  Creator's  will. 

5  Properly j^ajn/n^^o/ <Aeso!</, and thusequiv-  ^^  Gen.  iv.  4.     The  Jewish  tradition  was, 

alent  to  salvation.  that  fire  from  heaven  consumed  Abel's  ofiFering. 

*  For  the  meaning  of  this  word,  see  note  on  ^^  This  has  been  supposed  (compare  xii. 
iii.  14.  24)  to  refer  to  Gen.  iv.  10,  but  it  may  be  taken 

■^  "  Obtained  a  good  report,"  cf.  Acts  vi.  3.  more  generally. 
This  verse  is  explained  by  the  remainder  of  ^^  Gen.  v.  24  (LXX.). 

the  chapter.    The  faith  of  the  Patriarchs  was  a  "  Ibid. 

type  of  Christian  faith,  because  it  was  fixed  ^^   Without  faith  —  must  have  faith.     The 

upon  a  future  and  unseen  good.  original  has  this  verbal  connection. 


876  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL.  chap,  xxrai. 

xi. 

yet,  through  fear  of  God  ^  prepared  an  ark,  to  the  saving  of  his  house. 

"Whereby  he  condemned  the  world,  and  became  heir  of  the  righteousness 
of  faith 

8  By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  called,^  obeyed  the  command  to  go 
forth  into  a  place  ^  which  he  should  afterward  receive  for  an  inheritance ; 

9  and  he  went  forth,  not  knowing  whither  he  went.     By  faith  he  sojourned 
in  the  land  of  promise  as  in  a  strange  country,  dwelling  in  tents,  with 

10  Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  heirs  with  him  of  the  same  promise.  For  he  looked 
for  the  city  which  hath  sure  *  foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is 
God. 

11  By  faith  also  Sarah  herself  received  power  to  conceive  seed,  even 
when^  she  was   past   age,  because   she  judged  Him  faithful  who  had 

12  promised.    Therefore  sprang  there  of  one,  and  him  as  good  as  dead,  *'  S0 

maixg  as  il^t  stars  of  il^t  sku  in  mnliitniiz"  ^  and  as  the  sand  which 

is  by  the  seashore '  innumerable. 

13  These  all  died  in  faith,  not  having  received  the  promises,  but  having 
seen  them  afar  off,  and  embraced  them,®  and  confessed  that  they  were 

14  strangers  and  pilgrims  upon  earth.     For  they  that  say  such  things  declare 

15  plainly  that  they  seek  a  country.  And  truly,  if  they  speak  ^  of  that  coun- 
try from  whence  they  came  forth,  they  might  have  opportunity  to  return ; 

16  but  now  they  desire  a  better  country,  that  is,  a  heavenly.  Wherefore 
God  is  not  ashamed  to  be  called  their  God ;  for  He  hath  prepared  for 
them  a  city. 

17  By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  tried,  offered  ^^  up  Isaac,  and  he  that 

18  had  believed "  the  promises  offered  up  his  only-begotten  son,  though  it 


^  Compare  Heb.  v.  7.  •  Speak.    The  verb  is  the  same  in  verse  22. 

*  If  we  follow  some  of  the  best  MSS.,  the  The   meaning  is,  "If,   in  calling  themselves 

translation  will  be,  "  He  that  was  called  Abru-  strangers  and  pilgrims,  they  refer  to  the  fiict  of 

ham  [instead  of  Abram]."  their  having  left  their  native  land."    In  other 

8  Some  of   the  best  MSS.   read   "place"  words,  if  Christians   regret  the   world  which 

without  the  article.  *  Cf.  xii.  28.  they  have  renounced,  there  is  nothing  to  pre- 

^   Was  delivered  is  not  in  the  best  MSS. ,  vent  their  returning  to  its  enjoyments.    Here 

^  Exod.  xxxii.  13  (LXX.).  again  we  trace  a  reference  to  those  who  were 

^  The  same  comparison  is  found  Is.  x.  22,  tempted  to  apostatize.    Such  is  the  meaning  of 

quoted  Rom.  ix.  27.  the  imperfect. 

"  Persuadfid  is  an  interpolation  not  found  ^'^  Literally,  hath  offered. 

in  the  best  MSS.     It  was  originally  a  margi-  "  The  word  means  move  than  "  received." 

nal  j^loss  on  embraced.    The  latter  woi'd  cannot  (A.  V.)     His  belief  in  the  promises  to  his  pos 

he  adequately  translated  in  English,  so  as  to  terity  enhanced  the  sacrifice  which  he  manf 
retain  the  full  beauty  of  the  metaphor. 


CHAP.xxvni,  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  877 

zL 

was  said  uuto^  him,  **  Jn  Jsaar  sljall  iljg  S££tr  tr^  ralltb  ;  "^  account-   19 

ing  that  God  was  able  to  raise  him  up,  even  from  the  dead  ;  from  whence 

also  (in  a  figure)  he  received  him. 

By  faith  Isaac  blessed  Jacob  and  Esau  concerning  things  to  come.        20 
By  faith  Jacob,  when  he  was  dying,  blessed  both  the  sons  of  Joseph  ;  21 

and  ''  g£  toorsljippcb,  Isanhiig  n^mx  %  lop  of  |^b  sla£"^ 

By  faith  Joseph,  in  the  hour  op  his  death,  spake  *  of  the  departing  22 
of  the  sons  of  Israel ;  and  gave  commandment  concerning  his  bones. 

By  faith  Moses,  when  he  was  born,  was  hid  three  months  by  his  parents,   23 
because  "  t^^g  Sttfaj  lljat  tl^C  t§ilb  fajas  potrlg  ;  "^  and  they  were  not 
afraid  of  the  king's  commandment. 

By  faith  Moses,  "  fajIj^H  \t  fajES  ZQXat  lo  g^ars,"  *  refused  to  be  called  24 
the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,  clioosiug  rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  25 
people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season  ;  esteeming  26 
the  reproach  of  Christ '  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of  Egypt ;  for 
he  looked  beyond^  unto  the  reward.**     By  faith  he  forsook^"  Egypt,  not  27 
fearing  the  wrath  of  the  king;  for  he  endured,  as  seeing  Him  who  is 
invisible.      By  faith  he  hath  established  "  the  passover,  and  the  sprin-  28 
kliug  of  blood,  that  the   destroyer  of  the   first-born   might   not   touch 
the  children  of  Israel.^^ 

By  faith  they  passed  through  the  Red  Sea  as  through  dry  land ;  which  29 
the  Egyptians  tried  to  pass,  and  were  swallowed  up. 

By  faith  the  walls  of  Jericho  fell  down,  after  they  were  compassed  30 
about  for  seven  days. 

By  faith  the  harlot  Rahab  perislied  not  with  the  disobedient,"  because   31 
she  had  received  the  spies  with  peace. 

^"  Unto,"  not    "of."     (A.  V.)        "Unto  »  Exod.  ii.  2  (LXX.).    " They  seeing  that 

whom"  is  eqaivalent  to  "though  unto  him."  he  was  goodly."    The  Hebrew  speaks  of  his 

2  Gen.  xxi.  12  (LXX.),  quoted  also  Rom.  mother  only.  ^  Exod.  ii.  11  (LXX.). 

X.  7.  ■?  The  reproach  of  Christ's  people  is  here 

8  Gen.  xlvii.  31  (LXX.).     The  present  He-  called  the  reproach  of  Christ.    Compare  Col.  » 

brew  text  means,  not  the  top  of  his  staff,  but  the  i.  24,, and  2  Cor.  i.  5 ;  also  sec  1  Cor.  x.  4. 
head  of  his  bed;  but  the  LXX.  followed  a  differ-  ^  Literally,  he  looked  away  from  that  which 

ent  reading.     The  "  faith  "  of  Jacob  consisted  was  before  his  eyes.  ®  Compare  verse  6. 

in  fixing  his  hopes  upon  future  blessings,  and  i"  See  Exod.  ii.  15.  ^^  Perfect. 

worshipping  God,  even  in  tlie  hour  of  death.  ^^  Them,  i.  e.  the  children  of  Israel. 

*  Spake.     See  verse  15.     Joseph's  "  faith  "  ^^  Not  "them    that  believed  not."     (A.  V.) 

relied  on  the  promise  that  the  seed  of  Abraham  They  had  heard  the  miracles  wrought  in  favor    ' 

should  return  to  the  promised  land.    (Gen.  xv.  of  the  Israelites  (Josh.  ii.  10),  and  yet  refused 

16.)  obedience. 


878 


THE  UUFE  AJSB  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  XZTm. 


32  Aud  what  shall  I  more  say?  for  the  time  would  fail  me  to  tell  of 
Gideon,  and  of  Barak,  of  Samson  and  of  Jephthae,  of  David,  and  Samuel, 

33  and  the  prophets ;  who  through  faith  subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  right- 

34  eousness,  obtained  promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,^  quenched  the 
violence  of  fire,^  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  out  of  weakness '  were 
made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned  to  flight  the  armies  of  the 

35  aliens.  Women  *  received  their  dead  raised  to  life  again  ;  and  others  were 
tortured,^  not  accepting  deliverance,  that  they  might  obtain  a  better^ 

36  resurrection.     Others  also  had  trial  of  cruel  mockings '  and  scourgings, 

37  with  chains  also  and  imprisonment.  They  were  stoned,^  were  sawn' 
asunder,  were  tempted,^®  were  slain  with  the  sword.  They  wandered 
about  in  sheep-skins  and  goat-skins,  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tormented. 

38  They  wandered  in  deserts,  and  in  mountains,  and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the 
earth ;  of  whom  "  the  world  was  not  worthy. 

39  And  these  all,  having  obtained  a  good  report  through  faith,  received 

40  not  the  promise ;  God  having  provided  some  better  thing  for  us,  that 
they,  without  us,  should  not  be  made  perfect.*^ 


1  Referring  to  Daniel.     (Dan.  vi.  17.) 

2  Referring  to  Dan.  iii.  27. 

'  This  and  the  two  following  clauses  may 
be  most  naturally  referred  to  the  Maccabees. 

*  Referring  to  the  widow  of  Sarepta  (1 
Kings  xvii.)  and  the  Shunamite  (2  Kings 
iv.). 

&  This  refers  both  to  Eleazar  (2  Mace,  ri.), 
and  to  the  seven  brothers,  whose  torture  is 
described,  2  Mace.  vii.  The  verb  irvfinavla- 
Oriaav  points  especially  to  Eleazar,  who  was 
bound  to  the  TVfnravov,  an  instrument  to  which 
those  who  were  to  be  tortured  by  scourging 
were  bound.  (2  Mace.  vi.  19.)  The  "not 
accepting  deliverance "  refers  to  the  mother 
of  the  seven  brothers  and  her  youngest  son 
(2  Mace.  vii.). 

6  Better,  viz.  than  that  of  those  who  (like 
the  Shunamite's  son)  were  only  raised  to 
return  to  this  life.  This  reference  is  plain  in 
the  Greek,  but  cannot  be  rendered  equally  ob- 
vious in  English,  because  we  cannot  translate 
the  first  avaaTuaeug  in  this  verse  by  resurrec- 
tion. 

■^  Mockings.  Still  referring  to  the  seven 
brothers,  concerning  whose  torments  this  word 
is  used.     (2  Mace.  vii.  7.) 


^  Zechariah,  the  son  of  Jehoiadah,  was 
stoned.  (2  Chron.  xxiv.  20.)  But  it  is  not 
necessary  (nor  indeed  possible)  to  fix  each 
kind  of  death  here  mentioned  on  some  person 
in  the  Old  Testament.  It  is  more  probable 
that  the  Epistle  here  speaks  of  the  general 
persecution  under  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 

'  According  to  Jewish  tradition,  this  was 
the  death  of  Isaiah;  but  see  the  preceding 
note. 

1"  The  Received  Text  is  here  retained ; 
but  it  seems  very  probable  that  the  reading 
should  be  (as  has  been  conjectured),  they  were 
burned.  This  was  the  death  of  the  seven 
brothers. 

11  Literally,  they  of  whom  the  world  was  not 
woithy,  wandering  in  deserts  and  in  mountains, 
Sfc. ;  i.  e.  they,  for  whom  all  that  the  world 
could  give  would  have  been  too  little,  had  not 
even  a  home  wherein  to  lay  their  head. 

i'^  Made  perfect.  See  notes  on  ii.  10,  vii.  1 1, 
ix.  9;  literally,  attain  their  consummation,  in- 
cluding the  attainment  of  the  full  maturity  of 
their  being,  and  the  attainmtmt  of  the  full  accom- 
plishment of  their  faith ;  which  are  indeed  identi- 
cal. They  were  not  to  attain  this  unthout  us, 
i.  e.  not  until  we  came  to  join  them. 


ijuAP.  xxvm. 


EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 


879 


Exhortation 
to  imitate 
such  exam- 
ples, and  to 
follow  Jesus 
in  steadfast 
endurance  of 
suffering. 


Wherefore,  seeing  we  are  compassed  about  with  so  great  a 
cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us  ^  also  lay  aside  every  weight,  and 
the  sin  which  clingeth  closely  round  us,^  and  run  with  cour- 
age '  the  race  that  is  set  before  us ;  looking  onward  *  unto 
Jesus,  the  forerunner'  and  the  finisher  of  our  faith  ;  who,  for  the  joy  that 
was  set  before  Him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set 
down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God.  Yea,  consider  Him  that 
endured  such  contradiction  of  sinners  against  Himself,  lest  ye  be  wearied 
and  faint  in  your  minds.  Ye  have  not  yet  resisted  unto  blood,®  in  your 
conflict  against  sin  ;  and  ye  have  forgotten  the  exhortation  which  reason- 
eth'  with  you  as  with  sons,  saying,  *'  ||tn  SaiT,  bcspisc  not  lljOU  i^t 

r^ast^miig  a{  Ifje  ^orb,  nor  faint  teljtn  tijou  art  rebulub  of  ^im. 
Jfor  toljom  Ifje  ^orb  lobctlj  ^t  rljast^nctlj,  anb  scourgctlj  tbmr  son 

toljonx  ^t  rtccibttlj."  *  If  ye  endure  chastisement,^  God  dealeth  with 
you  as  with  sons  ;  for  where  is  the  son  that  is  not  chastened  by  his 
father  ?  but  if  ye  be  without  chastisement,  whereof  all  [God's  children] 
have  been  ^"  partakers,  then  are  ye  bastards,  and  not  sons.  Moreover,  we 
were  chastened  "  by  the  fathers  of  our  flesh,  and  gave  them  reverence  ; 
shall  we  not  much  rather  submit  ourselves  to  the  Father  of  our  ^"^  spirits. 


xu. 
1 


^  Let  us,  as  they  did.  The  Agonistic  meta- 
phor here  would  be  more  naturally  addressed 
to  the  Church  of  Alexandria  than  to  that  of 
Jerusalem. 

2  This  word  occurs  nowhere  else.  Sin 
seems  here  to  be  described  under  the  metaphor 
of  a  garment  fitting  closely  to  the  limbs,  which 
must  be  cast  off  if  the  race  is  to  be  won.  A 
garment  would  be  called  by  the  term  in  ques- 
tion, which  Jitted  well  all  round. 

8  The  original  (as  it  has  been  before  re- 
marked) is  not  accurately  represented  by  "pa- 
tience; "  it  means  steadfast  endurance,  or  /orti- 
tude. 

*  •'  Looking  onward."  Compare  "  looked 
beyon'l"  (xi.  26). 

^  hiteraWy,  foremost  leader.  Compare  ii.  10. 
Compare  also  the  similar  phrase  in  vi.  20. 

^  If  this  Epistle  was  addressed  to  the 
Christians  of  Jerusalem,  the  writer  speaks 
here  only  of  the  existing  generation ;  for  the 
Church  of  Jerusalem  had  "  resisted  unto 
blood  "  formerly,  in  the  persons  of  Stephen, 
James  the  Greater,  and  James  the  Less.  But 
see  introductory  remarks,  p.  850. 


'  This  is  the  meaning  of  the  Greek  word. 

'  Prov.  iii.  11-12.  (LXX.  nearly  verbar 
tim.)  Philo  quotes  the  passage  to  the  same 
purpose  as  this  Epistle. 

8  Throughout  this  passage  it  appears  that 
the  Church  addressed  was  exposed  to  perse- 
cution. The  intense  feeling  of  Jewish  nation- 
ality called  forth  by  the  commencing  struggle 
with  Rome,  which  produced  the  triumph 
of  the  zealot  party,  would  amply  account 
for  a  persecution  of  the  Christians  at  Jerusa- 
lem at  this  period,  as  is  argued  by  those  who 
suppose  the  Epistle  addressed  to  them.  But 
the  same  cause  would  produce  the  same  effect 
in  the  great  Jewish  population  of  Alexandria. 

1"  Observe  the  perfect,  referring  to  the  ex- 
amples of  God's  children  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  chapter. 

11  "  YVe  had  our  fathers  to  chasten  us." 
The  A.  V.  does  not  render  the  articie  cor 
rectly. 

12  '<  Our  "  is  understood  (without  repetition) 
from  the  parallel  "our  flesh." 


880 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  xxvm. 


10  and  live  ?  For  they,  indeed,  for  a  few  days  chastened  us,  after  their  own 
pleasure  ;  but  He  for  our  profit,  that  we  might  be  partakers  of  His  holi- 

11  ness.  Now  no  chastisement  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be  joyous,  but 
grievous ;  nevertheless,  afterward,  unto  them  that  are  exercised  thereby, 
it  yieldeth  the  fruit  of  righteousness  in  peace. ^ 

12  Wherefore  '*  Jift  xtp  tlj£  Ijaitbs  toljxclj  Ijaiig  trototx,  mxii  llje  itMt 

13  kmts/'  ^  and  *'  malu  tbm  pal^S  fax  gOUr  fni  ;  "  ^  that  the  halting 
limb  be  not  lamed,*  but  rather  healed. 

14  Follow  peace  with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without  which  no  warning 

against  scnso- 

15  man  shall  see  the  Lord.     And  look  diligently  lest  any  man  auty. 

fall  *  short  of  the  grace  of  God  ;  ''  Imt  aitg  XOot  of  bltt^rmSS   Sprill0- 

16  xxiQ  wn  IrUuM^  U^Vif"  ^  ^^^^  thereby  many  be  defiled ;  lest  there  be  any 
fornicator,  or  profane  person,  as  Esau,  who  for  a  single  meal  sold   his 

17  birthright ;  for  ye  know  that  afterward,  when  he  desired  to  inherit  the 
blessing,  he  was  rejected  ;  finding  no  room  for  repentance,  though  ho 
sought  it ''  earnestly  with  tears. 

18  For  ye  are  not  come  to  a  mountain  that  may  be  touched,*  toSuSrf" 
and  that  burneth  with  fire,  nor  to  ''  MarklT^SS  UUii  trarkmSS  Sei' 


ority  of  the 
lover 


^  Peaceful  fruit  of  righteousness.  God's 
chastisements  lead  men  to  conformity  to  the 
will  of  God  (which  is  righteousness) ;  and  this 
effect  {fruit)  of  suffering  is  (peaceful)  full  of 
peace.  There  can  be  no  peace  like  that  which 
follows  upon  the  submission  of  the  soul  to 
the  chastisement  of  our  heavenly  Father,  if 
we  receive  it  as  inflicted  by  infinite  wisdom 
and  perfect  love. 

^  This  quotation  is  from  Is.  xxxv.  3,  from 
LXX.  (as  appears  by  two  of  the  Greek 
words),  but  quoted  from  memory,  and  not  ver- 
batim. The  quotation  here  approaches  more 
nearly  than  this  to  the  Hebrew  original,  and 
might  therefore  (if  not  quoted  memoriter)  be 
considered  an  exception  to  the  rule,  which 
otherwise  is  universal  throughout  this  Epistle, 
of  adhering  to  the  LXX.  in  preference  to  the 
Hebrew. 

^  ProT.  iv.  26  (LXX.  nearly  verbatim). 

*  Or  be  dislocated.  The  meaning  of  this 
exhortation  seems  to  be,  that  they  should 
abandon  all  appearance  of  Judaizing  practices, 
which  might  lead  the  weaker  brethren  into 
apostasy. 


*  The  most  natural  construction  hero  it 
similar  to  that  in  verse  16. 

^  Deut.  xxix.  18.  This  quotation  is  a 
strong  instance  in  favor  of  Bleek's  view,  that 
the  writer  of  this  Epistle  used  the  Alexan- 
drian text  of  the  LXX.  For  the  Codex  Alex- 
andrinus  (which,  however,  is  corrupt  here)  cor- 
responds with  the  Epistle,  while  the  Codex 
Vaticanus  corresponds  more  closely  with  the 
Hebrew. 

■^  Although,  with  Chrysostom  and  De 
Wette,  we  refer  "  it "  grammatically  to  "  re- 
pentance," yet  we  think  the  view  of  Bleek 
substantially  correct  in  referring  it  to  "  bless- 
ing." That  is,  in  saying  that  Esau  sought  re- 
pentance with  tears,  the  writer  obviously  means 
that  he  sought  to  reverse  the  consequences  of  his 
faidt,  and  obtain  the  blessing.  If  we  refer  to 
Genesis,  we  find  that  it  was,  in  fact,  Jacob's 
blessing  (the  Greek  word  is  the  same,  Gen. 
xxvii.  35-38,  LXX.)  which  Esau  sought  with 
tears. 

^  The  first  is  the  present  participle;  the 
second  the  perfect  participle  (not  as  A.  V. ).  For 
the  particulars  here  mentioned,  see  Exod.  xix. 


CIlAl'.  XXVIU. 


EPISTLE  TO   THE  HEBliEWS. 


881 


li^the  dnSer  31X1)  ttmi^zd,"  ^  and  '*  gonnb  0f  ixummi,"  *  and  "  horn  of  19 

of  despising  <      >»" 

it.  toOrJbS    *"  —  the  hearers  whereoi  entreated  that  no  more  might 

be  spoken  unto  them ;  *  for  they  could  not  bear  that  which  was   com-  20 

nianded.*    (*'  %nh  if  S0  mudj  as  a  kast  tam)^  t^t  mounlam,  it 
S^all  Ij£  ston^b  ;  "  ^  and  so  terrible  was  the  sight,  that  Moses  said,  **  J   21 
Ji^a^bhtglll  fjDar  antr  quah^."  0     But  ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Sion,  22 
and  to  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,*  and  to  myri- 
ads ^  of  angels  in  full  assembly,  and  to  the  congregation  of  the  first-born  '*  23 
whose  names  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to  God  "  the  judge  of  all,  and  to 
the  spirits  of  just  men  ^^  made  perfect,^^  and  to  Jesus  the  mediator  of  a  24 
new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,"  which  speaketh  better 
things  than  that  of  Abel.^^ 

See  that  ye  reject  ^^  not  Him  that  speaketh.     For  if  they  escaped  not  25 
who  rejected  him  that  spake"  on  earth,  much  more  shall  not  we  escape 
if  we  turn  away  from  Him  that  speaketh  from   heaven.     Whose  voice  26 
then  shook  the  earth ;  but  now  He  hath  promised,  saying,  **  jBti  OXltt 


1  Deut.  iv.  11,  the  same  Greek  words 
(LXX.). 

^  Exod.  xix.   16,  again  the  same  Greek 

words  (LXX.). 

8  Deut.  iv.  12  (LXX.) 

*  Deut.  V.  2.5  (LXX.),  where  one  of  the 
Greek  words  accounts  for  what  we  read  here. 

*  We  put  a  full  stop  after  commanded,  be- 
cause that  which  the  Israelites  "could  not 
bear  "  was  not  the  order  for  killing  the  beasts, 
but  the  utterance  of  the  commandments  of 
God.     See  Ex.  xx.  19. 

«  Quoted  from  Ex.  xix.  12  (LXX.,  but  not 
verbatim).  The  words  "or  thrust  through 
with  a  dart"  of  the  Received  Text  have  been 
here  interpolated  from  the  Old  Testament, 
and  are  not  in  any  of  the  uncial  MSS. 

'  Deut.  ix.  19  (LXX.).  This  is  the  pas- 
sage in  the  Old  Testament,  which  comes  near- 
est to  the  present.  It  was  the  remembrance  of 
that  terrible  sight  which  caused  Moses  to  say 
this ;  much  more  must  he  have  been  terrified 
by  the  reality. 

8  This  is  (see  Gal.  iv.  26)  the  Church  of 
God,  which  has  its  metropolis  in  heaven,  though 
some  of  its  citizens  are  still  pilgrims  and 
strangers  upon  earth. 

^  We  take  myriads  of  angels  ^ith  full  assem- 
Ujf.  The  latter  phrase  properly  means  a  /e»- 
66 


tire  assembly,  which  reminds  as  of  "  the  mar- 
''iage-supper  of  the  Lamb." 

i"*  First-born.  These  appear  to  be  the  Chris- 
tians already  dead  and  entered  into  their  rest ; 
"  written  "  means  registered  or  earolled.  Cf. 
Lake  ii.  1,  and  Phil.  iv.  5. 

^^  The  order  of  the  Greek  would  lead  ns 
more  naturally  to  translate  to  a  judge,  who  ia 
God  of  all;  but  we  have  retained  the  A.  V.  in 
deference  to  the  opinion  of  Chrysostom. 

^  These yus<  men  (being  distinguished  from 
the  first-born  above)  are  probably  the  worthiea 
of  the  ancient  dispensation,  commemorated 
chap.  xi. 

18  Literally,  who  have  attained  their  consum- 
mation. This  they  had  not  done  until  Christ'a 
coming.     See  xi.  40. 

1*  Contrasted  with  the  water  of  sprinkling  of 
Numbers  xix.  (LXX.)  Compare  ix.  13-14, 
and  X.  22. 

16  Or,  if  we  read  with  the  best  MSS.,  "bet- 
ter than  Abel."  The  voice  of  Abel  cried  for 
vengeance  (Gen.  iv.  10).  Compare  xi.  4  ;  the 
blood  of  Christ  called  down  forgiveness. 

1^  It  is  impossible  to  translate  this  verb  by 
the  same  English  word  here  and  in  verse  19th ; 
hence  the  reference  of  the  one  passage  to  the 
other  is  less  plain  than  in  the  original. 

1^  Literally,  "  that  spake  oracularly." 


882  THE  LIFE  AKD  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL.  chap,  ixvin. 

xii. 

inaxt  anh '  ioHI  J  sljake  ^  not  i^t  i^artlj  aloit^,  hni  uka  ^tvibzn" ' 

27  And  this  "  git  OlXtZ  lUaxt  OuIq  "  sigiiifieth  the  removal  of  those  things 
that  are  shaken,  as   being   perishable,*  that  the  things  unshaken  may 

28  remain  immovable.     Wherefore,  since  we  receive  a  kingdom  that  can- 
not be  shaken,  let  us  be  filled  with  thankfulness,**  whereby  we  may  offer 

29  acceptable  worship  unto  God  with  reverence  and  godly  fear.     For  **  aux 
^oir  xs  a  coiisummig  fin." " 

xiii.l      Let  brotherly  love  continue.     Be  not  forgetful  to  entertain  Exhortation 

to  several 

2  strangrers,   for   thereby   some'   have   entertamed   angels    un-  moral  duties, 

O         '  •'  "  eapecially  to 

3  awares.     Remember  the  prisoners,  as  though  ye  shared  their  prof;sl'ion*of 
prison  :  and  the  afflicted,  as  being  yourselves  also  in  the  body,  obedknce  to 

r  ^  ^  o  J  .'       the  leaders  of 

4  Let  marriage  be  held  honorable  ^  in  all  things,  and  let  the  ^^  church, 
marriage-bed  be  undefiled ;  for  ®  whoremongers  and  adulterers  God  will 

5  judge.  Let  your  conduct  be  free  from  covetousness,  and  be  content  with 
what  ye  have  ;  for  HE  hath  said,  "  J  fajill  IXtbtX  imht  il^tt  nor  faxmkt 

6  i\l&L"  ^°    So  that  we  may  boldly  say,  **  ^\^t  |?0rtr  XS  mil  l^d^tX,  UVLtJ  J 

fajxU  not  imx.    Wl^iRi  ran  man  b0  xinto  im  ? "  " 

7  Remember  them  that  were  your  leaders,^^  who  spoke  to  you  the  word 
of  God ;  look  upon  "  the  end  of  their  life,  and  follow  the  example  of  their 
faith. 

8, 0       Jesus  Christ "  is  the  same  yesterday  and  to-day  and  forever.     Be  not 


1  Once,  and  once  only.    Cf.  ix.  26  and  x.  2.  Moses.    In  Josh.  i.  5  (LXX.),  we  find  a  direct 

'  "  "Will  I  shake "  is  the  reading  of  the  promise  from  God,  almost  in  the  same  words, 

best  MSS.  addressed  to  Joshua.     The  citation  here,  being 

'  Hagg.  ii.  6  (LXX.,  but  not  verbatim).  not  verbatim,  may  be  derived  from  either  of 

*  Used  here  as  made  with  hands  is  (ix.  11,  these  places.     Philo  cites  the  same  words  as 
ix.  24),  and  as  we  often  use  "things  created"  the  text. 

as  equivalent  to  thing  perishable.  ^  Ps.  cxviii.  6  (LXX.). 

6  "Filled   with   thankfulness."      Compare  ^^  Not  rulers,  but  leaders.     Compare  Acts 

Luke  xvii.  9.     If  the  meaning  were,  "  Let  us  xv.  22,  where  the  word   is   the  same.     It  is 

hold  fast  [the]  grace  [which  we  have  received],"  here  (cf.   verses   17   and   24)   applied  to   the 

the  Greek  verb  would  be  different.  presbyters  or  bishops  of  the  Church.     See  p. 

*  Deut.  iv.  24  (LXX.,  nearly  verbatim).  379,  note  6. 

T  Viz.  Abraham  and  Lot.  ^^  A  very  graphic  word,  not  to  be  fully  ren- 

»  This  must  be  taken  imperatively  on  the  dered  by  any  English  term      The  meaning  is, 

same  ground  as  what  immediately  follows,  at  "  contemplate  the  Jirnl  scene  [perltaps  martijrdom] 

the  beginning  of  the  5th  verse.  tohich  closed  their  life  ami  laJms." 

»  The  MSS.  A,  D,  and  some  others,  read  "  The  A.  V.  here  gives  an  English  reader 

for  here,  which  is  adopted  by  Lachmann  and  the  very    erroneous   impression   that  '  Jesus 

Bleek,  Christ "  is  in  the  objective  case,  and  in  apposi- 

w  Deut.  xxxi.  6  (LXX.).     This  is  said  by  tion  to  "the  end  of  their  conversation." 


-    -    rxvm.  EPISTLE  TO  THE   HEBREWS.  883 

sdii. 

carried  away  '  with  manifold  and  strange  doctrines.     For  it  is  good  that 

the  heart  be  established  by  grace  ;  not  by  meats,^  which  profited  not 
them  that  were  occupied  therein.     We  have  an  altar  whereof  they  that   10 
minister  unto  the  tabernacle  have  no  right  to  eat.     For  ^  the  bodies  of  11 
those  beasts  whose  blood  the  High  Priest  bringeth  *  into  the  Holy  Place  * 
are   burned  **  toitljout  tiji  rnmp."  ®     Wherefore   Jesus   also,  that   He   12 
might  sanctify  the  People  by  His  own  blood,  suffered  without  the  gate. 
Therefore  let  us  go  forth  unto  Him  *'  toilljoul  tIjC  tamp/'  bearing  His    13 
reproach.    For  here  we  have  no  continuing  city,  but  we  seek  one  to  come. ^   14 

By  Him   therefore   let  us  offer  unto  God  continually  a  sacrifice   of  15 
praise,^  that  is,  *'  llj^  fruit  of  OUr  lips/'  ^  making  confession  unto  His 
name.     And  be  not  unmindful  of  benevolence  and  liberality,  for  such   16 
are  the  sacrifices  which  are  acceptable  unto  God. 

Render  unto  them  that  are  your  leaders  obedience  and  submission ;  for   17 
they  on  their  part  ^^  watch  for  the  good  of  your  souls,  as  those  that  must 
give  account ;  that  they  may  keep  their  watch  with  joy,  and  not  with 
lamentation  ;  for  that  would  be  unprofitable  for  you. 

The  writer  Pray  for  me  ;  for  I  trust "  that  I  have  a  good  conscience,   18 

prayers,  gives  dcsiring  iu  all  mv  conduct  to  live  rightly.     But  I  the  rather   19 

them  his  own,  o  ./  o       j 

^teXfoi^  beseech  you  to  do  this,  that  I  may  be  restored  to  you  the 

tion  from  ,„ 

Italy.  sooner." 

1  "  Carried  away,"  not  "  carried  about,"  is  camp  of  the  Israelites  was  afterwards  represent- 
the  reading  of  the  best  MSS.  ed  by  the  Holy  City ;   so  that  the  bodies  of 

2  Not  by  meats.  The  connection  here  is  very  these  victims  were  burnt  outside  the  gates  of 
difficult.     The   reference  seems  to  be,  in  the  Jerusalem.     See  above,  p.  636,  note  6. 

first  place,  to  Judaizing  doctrines  concerning  ''  Literally,  the  city  which  is  to  come.     Com 

clean    and    unclean    meats;    but  thence   the  pare  x.   34,  and  the   kingdom    tJiat   cainot  be 

thought  passes  on  to  the  sacrificial  meats,  on  shaken,  xii.  28. 

which  the  priests  were  partly  supported.    Some  *  The  Christian  sacrifice  is  "  a  sacrifice  of 

think  this  verse  addressed  to  those  who  had  praise  and  thanksgiving,"  contrasted  with  the 

themselves  been  priests,  which  would  be  an  ar-  propitiatory  sacrifices  of  the  old  law,  which 

gument  for  supposing  the  Epistle  addressed  to  were  forever  consummated  by  Christ.     See  x. 

the  Church  at  Jerusalem.     ( Compare  Acts  vi.  4-14. 

7.)  9  Hosea    xiv.   2.    (LXX.)      (The    present 

*  The  connection  seems  to  be,  that  the  vie-  Hebrew  text  is  diSerent.) 

tims  sacrificed  on  the  day  of  Atonement  were  i°  The  pronoun  is  emphatic. 

commanded  (Levit.  xvi.  27)  to  be  wholly  burned,  ^^  This  seems  to  be  addressed  to  a  party 

and  therefore  not  eaten.  amongst  these  Hebrew  Christians  who  had  tak- 

*  Viz.  on  the  day  of  Atonement.      Com-  en  offence  at  something  in  the  writer's  conduct. 
pare  chaps,  ix.  and  x.  ^  We  have  already  observed  that  this  im- 

^  The  words  "  for  sin "  are  omitted  in  the      plies   that  a  personal   connection   existed  be- 
best  MSS.  tween  the  writer  and  the  readers  of  this  Epistle. 

*  Levit.   xvi.   27    (LXX.  verbatim).     The       The  opinion  of  Ebrard,  that  this  verse  is  writ- 


884 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OP  ST.   PAUL. 


CHAP.  ZXTin. 


XBl. 


20  Now  the  God  of  peace,  who  raised  up'  from  the  dead  the  great 
"  Sljcpljcrir  ai  il^t  sljcep/'  ^  even  our  Lord  Jesus,  through  the  blood 

21  of  an  everlasting  covenant, —  make  you  perfect  in  every  good  work  to  do 
His  will,  working  in  you  that  which  is  well  pleasing  in  His  sight,  by 
Jesus  Christ.     To  whom  be  glory  forever.'     Amen. 

22  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  to  bear  with  these  words  of  exhortation ;  for  I 
have  written  shortly.* 

23  Know  that  our  brother  Timotheus  is  set  at  liberty ;  and  with  him,  if 
he  come  speedily,  I  will  see  you. 

24  Salute  all  them  that  are  your  leaders,  and  all  the  saints. 

26       They  of  Italy '  salute  you.     Grace  be  with  you  all.     Amen. 


ENGAAE  KEl 
TAI  ^ATCTESA 


^  JfOJ>W 


Here  lies  Fanstbia.    In  peace.* 


«en  by  St.  Lnke  in  St.  Paul's  person,  and  verse 
23d  in  his  own  person,  appears  quite  untena- 
ble; no  intimation  of  a  change  of  person  is 
given  (compare  Rom.  xvi.  22) ;  nor  is  there 
any  inconsistency  in  asking  prayers  for  a  pros- 
perous journey,  and  afterwards  expressing  a 
positive  intention  of  making  the  journey. 

1  This  denotes  not  to  bring  again  (A.  V.), 
but  to  bring  up  from  below,  to  raise  up.  (Rom. 
X.  7.) 

^  This  is  an  allusion  to  a  passage  in  Isaiah 
(Is.  Ixiii.  11,  LXX.),  where  God  is  described 
as  "  lie  who  brought  up  from  the  sea  the  shepherd 
of  the  sheep  "  [viz.  Moses\. 

*  "  And  ever  "  is  probably  to  be  omitted 
both  here  and  Rom.  xi.  36,  and  xvi.  27. 

*  They  are  asked  to  excuse  the  apparent 
lunhnesi  of  some  portions  of  the  letter,  on  the 


ground  that  the  writer  had  not  time  for  dream- 
locution. 

*  "  They  q/"  Italy."  We  agree  with  Winer 
in  thinking  that  this  "  of"  may  be  most  natu- 
rally understood  as  used  from  the  position  of  the 
readers.  This  was  the  view  of  the  earlier  inter- 
preters, and  is  agreeable  to  Greek  analogy.  In 
fact,  if  we  consider  the  origin  in  most  lan- 
guages of  the  gentilitial  prepositions  (von,  de,of, 
&c.),  we  shall  see  that  they  conform  to  the 
same  analogy.  Hence  we  infer  from  this  pas- 
sage that  the  writer  was  in  Italy. 

^  A  Christian  tomb  with  the  three  lan- 
guages, from  Maitland's  Church  in  the  Cata- 
combs, p.  77.  The  name  is  Latin,  the  inscrip- 
tion Greek,  and  the  word  Shalom  or  "  peace  " 
is  in  HAreM.     See  p.  28. 


APPENDICES. 


APPENDIX    L 

ON  THE  TIME  OF  THE  VISIT  TO  JERUSALEM  MENTIONED  I^  ^ALA- 

TIANS  (Chap,  ii.).* 

TO  avoid  circumlocution,  we  shall  call  the  visit  mentioned  in  Galatians  ii.  1  the  Gala- 
Han  Visit;  and  we  shall  designate  the  visit  mentioned  in  Acts  ix.  as  visit  (1),  that 
in  Acts  xi.  and  xii.  as  visit  (2),  that  in  Acts  xv.  as  visit  (3),  that  in  Acts  xviii.  as  rw; 
(4),  that  in  Acts  xxi.  as  viiit  (5). 

L  The  Galatian  Visit  was  not  the  same  with  visit  (1),  because  it  is  mentioued  as  sub- 
sequent by  St.  Paul.* 

n.  Was  the  Galatian  Visit  the  same  with  visit  (2)  ? '  The  first  impression  from  read- 
ing the  end  of  Gal.  i.  and  beginning  of  Gal.  ii.  would  be  that  it  was ;  for  St.  Paul  seems 
to  imply  that  there  had  been  no  intermediate  visit  between  the  one  mentioned  in  Gal  i. 
18,  which  was  insit  (1),  and  that  in  Gal.  ii.  1,  which  we  have  called  the  Galatian  Visii- 
On  the  other  side,  however,  we  must  observe  that  St.  Paul's  object  in  this  passage  is  not 
to  enumerate  aU  his  visits  to  Jerusalem.  His  opijonents  had  told  his  converts  that  Paul 
was  no  true  Apostle ;  that  he  was  only  a  Christian  teacher  authorized  by  the  Judsean 
Apostles ;  that  he  derived  his  authority  and  his  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  from  Peter, 
James,  and  the  rest  of  "  the  twelve."  St.  Paul's  object  is  to  refute  this  statement.  This 
he  does  by  declaring,  firstly,  that  his  commission  was  not  from  men,  but  from  God ;  sec- 
ondly, that  he  had  taught  Christianity  for  three  years  without  seeing  any  of  "the  twelve" 
at  all ;  thirdly,  that,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  he  had  only  spent  one  fortnight  at  Jerusalem 
with  Peter  and  James,  and  then  had  gone  to  Cilicia  and  remained  personally  unknown  to 
the  Judaean  Christians ;  fourthly,  that,  fourteen  years  afterwards,  he  had  undertaken  a 
journey  to  Jerusalem,  and  that  he  then  obtained  an  acknowledgment  of  his  independent 
mission  from  the  chief  Apostles.     Thus  we  see  that  his  object  is,  not  to  enumerate  tvery 

1  This  question  is  one  of  the  most  important,  both  *  We  must  certainly  acknowledge  that  St.  Pau] 

chronologically  and  historically,  in  the  life  of  St.  appears  to  say  this ;  and  some  commentators  have 

Paul.    Perhaps  its  discussion  more  properly  belongs  aToided  the  difficulty  by  supposing,  that  althongb 

to  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  than  to  this  place;  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  commissioned  to  convey 

but  it  has  been  given  here  as  a  justification  of  the  the  alms  from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem,  yet  that  St. 

view  taken  in  Ch.  VH.  Paul  was  prevented  (by  some  circumstances  not 

>  Gal.  ii.  1.  mentioned)  from  going  the  whole  way  to  Jerusalem. 

«  To  support  this  view,  either  the   conversion  For  example,  it  might  be  too  hazardous  for  him  tu 

must  be  placed  much  earUer  than  we  think  probable,  appear  within  the  walls  of  the  city  at  such  a  time  of 

or  "  fourteen,"  in  Gal.  ii.  1,  mast  be  altf-red  Into  persecution. 


'  four.' 


A8fi 


886  THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL. 

occasion  where  he  might  possibly  have  been  instructed  by  "  the  twelve,"  but  to  assert  (an 
assertion  which  he  confirms  by  oath,  Gal.  i.  20)  that  his  knowledge  of  Christianity  was 
not  derived  from  their  instruction.  A  short  visit  to  Jerusalem  which  produced  no  im- 
portant results  he  might  naturally  pass  over,  and  especially  if  he  saw  none  of  "  the 
twelve  "  at  Jerusalem  when  he  visited  it.  Now,  this  was  probably  the  case  at  visit  (2), 
because  it  was  just  at  the  tune  of  Herod  Agrippa's  persecution,  which  would  naturally 
disperse  the  Apostles  from  Jerusalem,  as  the  persecution  at  Stephen's  death  did.  With 
reganl  to  St.  Peter,  it  is  expressly  said,  that,  after  his  miraculous  escape  from  prison,  he 
quitted  Jerusalem.*  This  supposition  is  confirmed  by  finding  that  Barnabas  and  Saul 
were  sent  to  the  Elders  of  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  and  not  to  the  Apostles. 

A  further  objection  to  supposing  the  Galatian  Visit  identical  with  visit  (2)  is,  that,  at 
the  time  of  the  Galatian  Visit,  Paul  and  Barnabas  are  described  as  having  been  already 
extensively  useful  as  missionaries  to  the  Heathen ;  but  this  they  had  not  been  in  the  time 
of  visit  (2). 

Again :  St.  Paul  could  not  have  been,  at  so  early  a  period,  considered  on  a  footing  of 
equality  with  St.  Peter ;  yet  this  he  was  at  the  time  of  the  Galatian  Visit.* 

Again  :  visit  (2)  could  not  have  been  so  long  as  fourteen  years '  after  visit  (1).  For 
visit  (2)  was  certainly  not  later  than  45  a.d.  ;  and,  if  it  was  the  same  as  the  Galatian 
Visit,  visit  (1)  must  have  been  not  later  than  from  31  to  33  a.d.  (allowing  the  inclusive 
Jewish  mode  of  reckoning  to  be  possibly  employed).  But  Aretas  (as  we  have  seen  p.  76) 
was  not  in  possession  of  Damascus  till  about  37. 

Again :  if  visit  (2)  were  fourteen  years  after  visit  (1),  we  must  suppose  nearly  all  this 
time  spent  by  St.  Paul  at  Tarsus,  and  yet  that  all  his  long  residence  there  is  unrecorded 
by  St.  Luke,  who  merely  says  that  he  went  to  Tarsus,  and  from  thence  to  Antioch.* 

HI.  The  Galatian  Visit  not  being  identical  with  (1)  or  (2),  was  it  identical  with  (3), 
(4),  or  (5)  ?  We  may  put  (5)  at  once  out  of  the  question,  because  St.  Paul  did  not  re- 
turn to  Antioch  after  (5),  whereas  he  did  retm-n  after  the  Galatian  Visit.  There  remain, 
therefore,  (3)  and  (4)  to  be  considered.     We  shall  take  (4)  first. 

IV.  Wieseler  has  lately  argued  very  ingeniously  that  the  Galatian  Visit  was  the  same 
with  (4).  His  reasons  are,  firstly,  that,  at  the  Galatian  Visit,  the  Apostles  allowed  un- 
limited freedom  to  the  Gentile  converts ;  i.e.,  imposed  no  conditions  upon  them,  such  as 
those  in  the  decrees  of  the  Council  passed  at  visit  (3).  This,  however,  is  an  inference  not 
wamnted  by  St.  Paul's  statement,  which  speaks  of  the  acknowledgment  of  his  personal 
independence,  but  does  not  touch  the  question  of  the  converts.  Secondly,  Wieseler  urges, 
that,  till  the  time  of  visit  (4),  St.  Paul's  position  could  not  have  been  so  far  on  a  level  with 
St.  Peter's  as  it  was  at  the  Galatian  Visit.  Thirdly,  he  thinks,  that  the  condition  of  mak- 
ing a  collection  for  the  poor  Christians  in  Jerusalem,  which  St.  Paul  says  *  he  had  been 
forward  to  fulfil,  must  have  been  fulfilled  in  that  great  collection  which  we  know  that  St. 
Paul  set  on  foot  immediately  after  visit  (4),  because  we  read  of  no  other  collection  made 
by  St.  Paul  lor  tliis  purpose."  Fourthly,  Wieseler  argues  that  St.  Paul  would  not  have 
been  likely  to  take  an  uncircumcised  Gentile,  like  Titus,  with  him  to  Jerusalem  at  a  period 
earlier  than  visit  (4).  And,  moreover,  he  conceives  Titus  to  be  the  same  with  the  Corin- 
thian Justus,'  who  is  not  mentioned  as  one  of  St.  Paul's  companions  till  Acts  xviii.  7 ; 
that  is,  not  till  after  visit  (3). 

>  ActH  xU.  17.  »  Bee  Gal.  11.  9.  •  The  collection  carried  up  to  Jerusalem  at  viHt 

*  On  this  fourteen  yean,  see  note  2,  p.  891,  and  (2)  might,  however,  be  cited  as  an  exception  to  thl« 
the  note  B  on  the  Chronolo^cal  Table  in  Appendix  remark ;  for  (although  nut  expressly  stated)  it  is 
^-  most  probable  that  St.  Paul  was  active  in  forwarding 

*  Acts  Ix.  30,  and  xl.  26.    See  what  Prof.  Bnrton  It,  einre  he  was  selected  to  carry  it  to  Jerusalem. 
Myi  on  this  interval.  j  Many  of  the  most  ancient  MS8.  and  version* 

*  Gal.  11. 10.  read  Titus  Justiis  In  AcU  xviU.  7. 


APPENDIX  ON  THE   CHRONOLOGY   OF   GAIi.   II. 


887 


It  is  evident  that  these  arguments  are  not  conclusive  in  favor  of  visit  (4),  even  if  there 
were  nothing  on  the  other  side  ;  but  there  are,  moreover,  the  following  objections  against 
supposing  the  Galatian  Visit  identical  with  (4).  Firstly,  Barnabas  was  St.  Paul's  com- 
panion in  the  Galatian  Visit:  he  is  not  mentioned  as  being  with  him  at  visit  (4).  Sec- 
ondly, had  so  important  a  conference  between  St.  Paul  and  the  other  Apostles  taken  place 
at  visit  (4),  it  would  not  have  been  altogether  passed  over  by  St.  Luke,  who  dwells  so  fully 
upon  the  council  held  at  the  time  of  visit  (3),  the  decrees  of  which  (on  Wieseler's  view) 
were  inferior  in  unportance  to  the  concordat  between  St.  Paul  and  the  other  Apostles 
which  he  supposes  to  have  been  made  at  visit  (4).  Thirdly,  the  whole  tone  of  the  second 
chapter  of  Galatians  is  against  Wieseler's  hypothesis  :  for,  in  that  chapter,  St.  Paul  plainly 
seems  to  speak  of  the  first  conference  which  he  had  held,  after  his  success  among  the 
Heathen,  with  the  chief  apostles  at  Jerusalem  ;  and  he  had  certainly  seen  and  conferred 
with  them  during  visit  (3). 

V.  We  have  seen,  therefore,  that,  if  the  Galatian  Visit  be  mentioned  at  all  in  the  Acts, 
it  must  be  identical  with  visit  (3),  at  which  the  (so-called)  Council  of  Jerusalem  took 
place.  We  will  now  consider  the  objections  against  the  identity  of  these  two  visits  nrged 
by  Paley  and  others,  and  then  the  arguments  in  favor  of  the  identity. 


Objections  to  the  identity  of  the  Galatian 
Visit  with  Visit  (3). 
1.  St.  Paul,  in  Gal.  (ii.  1),  mentions  this 
journey  as  if  it  had  been  the  next  visit  to 
Jerusalem  after  the  time  which  he  spent 
there  on  his  return  from  Damascus :  he 
does  not  say  any  thing  of  any  intermediate 
visit.  This  looks  as  if  he  were  speaking  of 
the  journey  which  he  took  with  Barnabas 
to  Jerusalem  (Acts  xi.  30)  to  convey  alms 
to  the  Jewish  Christians  in  the  famine. 


Answers  to  the  Objections. 

1.  This  objection  is  answered  above,  p. 
886. 


2.  In  the  Galatians,  the  journey  is  said 
to  have  taken  ])lace  "by  revelation"  (Gal. 
ii.  2)  ;  but  in  Acts  xv.  2-4,  6-12,  a  pubUc 
mission  is  mentioned. 


2.  The  journey  may  have  taken  place 
in  consequence  of  a  revelation,  and  yet 
may  also  have  been  agreed  to  by  a  vote 
of  the  church  at  Antioch.  Thus,  in  St, 
Paul's  departure  from  Jerusalem  (Acts  ix. 
29,  30),  he  is  said  to  have  been  sent  by 
the  brethren  in  consequence  of  danger 
feared;  and  yet  (Acts  xxii.  17-21)  he  says 
that  he  had  taken  his  departure  in  conse- 
quence of  a  vision  on  the  very  same  occa- 
sion (see  pp.  186,  187). 


8.  In  the  Galatians,  Barnabas  and  Titus 
arc  spoken  of  as  St.  Paul's  companions  ;  in 
the  Acts,  Barnabas  and  others  (Acts  xv. 
2)  :  but  Titus  is  not  mentioned. 


3.  This  argument  is  merely  ex  silentio, 
and  therefore  inconclusive.  In  the  Acts, 
Paul  and  Barnabas  are  naturally  men- 
tioned, as  being  prominent  characters  in 
the  history ;  whereas,  in  the  Epistle,  Titus 
would  naturally  be  mentioned  by  St.  Paul 
as  a  personal  friend  of  his  own,  and  ahio 
because  of  his  reiiisal  to  circumcise  him. 


888 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


4.  The  object  of  the  visit  in  Acts  xv.  is 
different  from  that  of  the  Galatian  Visit. 
The  object  in  Acts  xv.  was  to  seek  relief 
from  the  imposition  of  the  Mosaic  Law : 
that  of  the  Galatian  Visit  was  to  obtain  the 
recognition  of  St.  Paul's  independent  apos- 
tleship. 


6.  In  Acts  XV.,  a  public  assembly  of  the 
Church  in  Jerusalem  is  described ;  while,  in 
the  Galatians,  only  private  interviews  with 
the  leading  Apostles  are  spoken  of. 


6.  The  narrative  in  the  Epistle  says  noth- 
ing of  the  decision  of  the  Council  of  Jeru- 
salem, as  it  is  commonly  called,  mentioned 
Acts  XV.  Now,  this  decision  was  conclu- 
sive of  the  very  point  disputed  by  the  Ju- 
daizing  teachers  in  Galatia,  and  siu-ely, 
therefore,  would  not  have  been  omitted  by 
St.  Paul  in  an  argument  involving  the  ques- 
tion, had  he  been  relating  the  circumstan- 
ces which  happened  at  Jerusalem  when 
that  decision  was  made. 


4.  Both  these  objects  are  implied  in 
each  narrative.  The  recognition  of  St. 
Paul's  apostleship  is  implied  in  Acts  xv. 
25 ;  and  the  relief  from  the  imposition  of 
the  Mosaic  Law  is  implied.  Gal.  ii.  7,  where 
the  word  "  uncircumcision  "  shows  that  the 
Apostles  at  the  time  of  St.  Paul's  visit  to 
Jerusalem,  mentioned  in  the  Epistle,  ac- 
knowledged that  the  uncircumcised  might 
partake  of  "  the  gospel."  The  same  thing 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  circumcision 
of  Titus  was  not  insisted  on.  We  must  re- 
member, also,  that  the  transactions  recorded 
are  looked  upon  from  different  points  of 
view  in  the  Acts  and  in  the  Epistle:  for 
Acts  XV.  contains  a  narrative  of  a  great 
transaction  in  the  history  of  the  Church ; 
while  St.  Paul,  in  the  Epistle,  alludes  to 
this  transaction  with  the  object  of  prov- 
ing the  recognition  of  his  independent 
authority. 

5.  The  private  interviews  spoken  of  in 
the  Epistle  do  not  exclude  the  supposition 
of  public  meetings  having  also  taken  place  • 
and  a  communication  to  the  whole  Church 
(Gal.  ii.  2)  is  expressly  mentioned. 

6.  The  narrative  in  Galatians  gives  & 
statement  intended  to  prove  the  recogni- 
tion of  St.  Paul's  independent  authority, 
which  is  sufficient  to  account  for  this  omis- 
sion. Moreover,  if  St.  Paul's  omission  of 
reference  to  the  decision  of  the  Coimcil 
proved  that  the  journey  he  speaks  of  was 
prior  to  the  Council,  it  must  equally  prove 
that  the  whole  Epistle  was  written  before 
the  Council  of  Jerusalem  ;  yet  it  is  gener- 
ally acknowledged  to  have  been  written 
long  after  the  Council.  The  probable  rea- 
son why  St.  Paul  does  not  refer  to  the  de- 
cision of  the  Council  is  this,  —  that  the 
Judaizing  teachers  did  not  absolutely  dis- 
pute that  decision  :  they  probably  did  not 
declare  the  absolute  necessity  of  circumcis- 
ion, but  spoke  of  it  as  admitting  to  greater 
privileges  and  a  fuller  covenant  with  God. 
The  Council  had  only  decided  that  Gentile 
Christians  need  not  observe  the  Law.  The 
Judaizing  party  might  still  contend  tJiat 


APPENDIX  ON  THE   OHKONOLOGY   OF   GAL.   II. 


889 


Jewish  Christians  ought  to  observe  it  (aa 
we  know  they  did  observe  it  till  long  after- 
wards). And  also  the  decrees  of  the  Coun- 
cil left  Gentile  Christians  subject  to  the 
same  restrictions  with  the  Proselytes  of 
the  Gate.  Therefore  the  Judaizing  partj 
would  naturally  argue,  that  they  were  stUl 
not  more  fully  within  the  pale  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  than  the  Proselytes  of  the 
Gate  were  within  that  of  the  Jewish 
Church.  Hence  they  would  urge  them  to 
submit  to  circumcision,  by  way  of  placing 
themselves  in  full  membership  with  the 
Church  ;  just  as  they  would  have  urged  a 
Proselyte  of  the  Gate  to  become  a  Proselyte 
of  Righteousness.  Also  St.  Paul  might  as- 
same  that  the  decision  of  the  Council  was 
well  known  to  the  Churches  in  Galatia; 
for  Paul  and  Silas  had  carried  it  with  them 
there. 


7.  It  b  inconsistent  to  suppose,  that, 
after  the  decision  of  the  CouncU  of  Jeru- 
salem, St.  Peter  could  have  behaved  as  he 
b  described  doing  (Gal.  ii.  12);  for  how 
could  he  reftise  to  eat  with  the  uncircum- 
cised  Christians,  aft«r  having  advocated 
in  the  Council  their  right  of  admission  to 
Christian  fellowship? 


7.  This  objection  is  founded  on  a  mis- 
understanding of  St.  Peter's  conduct.  His 
withdrawal  from  eating  at  the  same  table 
with  the  uncircumcised  Christians  did  not 
amount  to  a  denial  of  the  decision  of  the 
Council.  His  conduct  showed  a  weak  fear 
of  offending  the  Judaizing  Christians  who 
came  from  Jerusalem ;  and  the  practical 
efiect  of  such  conduct  would  have  been,  if 
persisted  in,  to  separate  the  Church  into 
two  divisions.  Peter's  conduct  was  still 
more  inconsistent  with  the  consent  which 
he  had  certainly  given  previously  (Gal.  ii. 
7-9)  to  the  "  gospel "  of  Paul,  and  with 
his  previous  conduct  in  the  case  of  Corne- 
lius (see  end  of  Chap.  VH.).  We  may 
add,  that  whatever  difficulty  may  be  felt 
in  St.  Paul's  not  alluding  to  the  decrees  of 
the  Council  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Galatians 
must  also  be  felt  in  his  total  silence  con- 
cerning them  when  he  treats  of  the  ques- 
tion of  "  things  sacrificed  to  idols  "  in  the 
Epistles  to  Corinth  and  Rome;  for  that 
question  had  been  explicitly  decided  by 
the  Council.  The  fact  is,  that  the  Decrees 
of  the  Council  were  not  designed  as  of  per- 
manent authority,  but  only  as  a  temporary 
and  provisional  measure ;  and  their  author 
ity  was  superseded  as  the  Church  gradually 
advanced  towards  true  Christian  freedom. 


890 


THE  LITE  AND  EPISTLES   OF   ST.   PAUL. 


8.  The  Epistle  mentions  St.  Paul  as 
conferring  with  James,  Peter,  and  John ; 
whereas,  in  Acts  xv.,  John  is  not  men- 
tioned at  all ;  and  it  seems  strange  that 
80  distinguished  a  person,  if  present  at  the 
Council,  should  not  have  been  mentioned. 

9.  Since,  in  the  Galatians,  St.  Paul  men- 
tions James,  Peter,  and  John,  it  seems  most 
natural  to  suppose  that  he  speaks  of  the 
well-known  apostolic  triumvirate  so  often 
classed  together  in  the  Gospels.  But  if  so, 
the  James  mentioned  must  be  James  the 
Greater ;  and  hence  the  journey  mentioned 
in  the  Galatians  must  have  been  before 
the  death  of  James  the  Greater,  and  there- 
fore before  the  Comicil  of  Jerusalem. 


8.  This  argument  is  only  ex  sUentio,  and 
obviously  inconclusive. 


9.  This  objection  proceeds  on  the  mer« 
assumption,  that,  because  James  is  men- 
tioned first,  he  must  be  James  the  Greater ; 
whereas  James  the  Less  became  even  a 
more  conspicuous  leader  of  the  Church  at 
Jerusalem  than  James  the  Greater  had 
previously  been,  as  we  see  from  Acts  xv. : 
hence  he  mijrht  be  very  well  mentioned 
with  Peter  and  John.  And  the  fact  of 
his  name  coming  first  in  St.  Paul's  nar- 
rative agrees  better  with  this  supposition; 
for  James  the  Greater  is  never  mentioned 
the  first  in  the  apostolic  triumvirate,  the 
order  of  which  is  Peter,  James,  and  John  : 
but  James  the  Less  would  naturally  be 
mentioned  first,  if  the  Council  at  Jerusa- 
lem was  mentioned,  since  we  find  fi:om 
Acts  XV.  that  he  took  the  part  of  presi- 
dent in  that  Council. 


10.  St.  Paid's  refusal  to  circiuncise  Titus 
(Gal.  ii.),  and  volimtary  circiuncising  of 
Timothy  (Acts  xvi.  3),  so  soon  afterwards. 


10.  Timothy's  mother  was  a  Jewess,  and 
he  had  been  brought  up  a  Jew ;  ^  whereaa 
Titus  was  a  Gentile.  The  circumstances 
of  Timothy's  circumcision  were  fully  dis- 
cussed in  pp.  228-231. 


Thus  we  see  that  the  objections  against  the  identity  ef  the  Galatian  Visit  with  visit 
(3)  are  inconclusive ;  consequently,  we  might  at  once  conclude  (from  the  obvious  circum- 
stances of  identity  between  the  two  visits)  that  they  were  actually  identical.  But  this 
conclusion  is  fiirther  strengthened  by  the  following  arguments :  — 

1.  The  Galatian  Visit  could  not  have  happened  before  visit  (3) ;  because,  if  so,  the 
Apostles  at  Jerusalem  had  already  granted  to  Paul  and  Barnabas'  the  liberty  which  was 
sought  for  the  "  gospel  of  the  uncircumcision : "  therefore  there  would  have  been  no  need 
for  the  Church  to  send  them  again  t«  Jerusalem  upon  the  same  cause.  And  again  :  the 
Galatian  Visit  could  not  have  happened  after  visit  (3)  ;  because,  almost  immediately  alter 
that  period,  Paul  and  Barnabas  ceased  to  work  together  as  missionaries  to  the  Gentiles ; 
whereas,  up  to  the  time  of  the  Galatian  Visit,  they  had  been  working  together.* 

2.  The  chronolor/Jj  of  St.  Paul's  life  (so  far  as  it  can  be  ascertained)  agrees  better  with 
the  supposition  that  the  Galatian  Visit  was  visit  (3)  than  with  any  other  supposition. 

ReckonintT  backwards  from  the  ascertained  epoch  of  60  a.d.,  when  St.  Paul  was  sent 


1  See  2  Tim.  iii.  15.  We  may  remark  that  this 
difficulty  (which  1b  urged  by  Wieseler)  is  quite  aa 
great  on  his  own  hypothesis ;  for,  according  to  him, 


the  refusal  happened  only  about  two  years  »fter  the 
consent. 

>  Gal.  U.  3-6.  *  Gal  ii.1.9 


APPENDIX  ON  THE   CHIiONOLOGY    OP   GAL.   II. 


891 


to  Bome,  we  find  that  he  must  have  begun  his  second  missionary  journey  in  51  and  that, 
therefore,  the  Council  (i.e.,  visit  (3)  )  must  have  been  either  in  60  or  51.  This  calculaticm 
ii  based  upon  the  history  in  the  Acts.  Now,  turning  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  w« 
find  the  following  epochs  :  — 

A.  —  Conversion. 

B.  —  3  years'  interval  (probably  JudaicaUy  reckoned  =  2  years).* 

C.  —  Flight  from  Damascus,  and  tnsit  (1). 

D.  — 14'  years'  interval  (probably  JudaicaUy  reckoned  =  IS  years).* 

E.  —  Galatian  Visit. 

And  since  Aretas  was  supreme  at  Damascus  *  at  the  time  of  the  flight,  and  his  su- 
premacy there  probably  began  about  37  (see  pp.  76  and  93),  we  could  not  put  the  flight 
at  a  more  probable  date  than  38.  If  we  assume  this  to  have  been  the  case,  then  the  Ga- 
latian Visit  was  38  + 13  =  51 ;  which  agrees  with  the  time  of  the  Council  (i.e.  visit  (3)  ) 
as  above. 

VI.  Hence  we  need  not  further  consider  the  views  of  those  writers  who  (like  Paley 
and  Schrader)  have  resorted  to  the  hjT)othesis,  that  the  Galatian  Visit  is  some  supposed 
joiu^ey  not  recorded  in  the  Acts  at  all ;  for  we  have  proved  that  the  supposition  of  ita 
identity  with  the  third  visit  there  recorded  satisfies  every  necessary  condition.  Schrader'a 
notion  is,  that  the  Galatian  Visit  was  between  visit  (4)  and  vitit  (5).  Paley  places  it  be- 
tween visit  (3)  and  visit  (4).  A  third  view  is  ably  advocated  in  a  discussion  of  the  subject 
(not  published)  which  has  been  kindly  commimicated  to  us.  The  principal  points  in  this 
hypothesis  are,  that  the  Galatians  were  converted  in  thejirst  missionary  journey ;  that  the 
Galatian  Visit  took  place  between  vmt  (2)  and  visit  (3)  ;  and  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Ga- 
latians was  written  after  the  Galatian  Visit,  and  before  visit  (3).  This  hypothesis  cer 
tainly  obviates  some  difficulties,*  and  it  is  quite  possible  (see  p.  212,  n.  2)  that  the  Grala 
tian  chiu-ches  might  have  been  formed  at  the  time  supposed ;  but  we  are  strongly  of 
opinion  that  a  much  later  date  must  be  assigned  to  the  Epistle.* 


^  On  tUs  Jndaical  reckonlog,  see  note  B  on  th« 
Chronological  Table  in  Appendix  m. 

*  The  reading  "  fourteen  "  (Gal.  11.  1)  is  on- 
doubtedly  to  be  retained.  It  is  in  all  the  ancient 
1£SS.  which  contain  the  passage.  The  reading 
"four  "has  probably  arisen  from  the  words  "  four 
years,"  which  relate  to  a  different  subject,  In  the 
sentence  below.  The  preposition  "  after,"  denoting 
"  after  an  interval  of,"  may  be  used,  according  to 
the  Jewish  way  of  reckoning  time,  inclusively.  The 
fourteen  years  must  be  reckoned /ram  the  epoch  last 
mentioned,  which  la  the  viait  (1)  to  Jernsalem,  and 


not  the  Conversion :  at  least,  this  Is  the  most  natnnl 
way;  although  the  other  Interpretation  might  b« 
Justified,  If  required  by  the  other  oiroumstancea  of 
the  case. 

»  2  Cor.  xl.  32. 

*  Especially  the  difficulties  which  relate  to  the 
apparent  discrepancies  between  the  Galatian  VisU 
and  visit  (3),  and  to  the  circumstance  that  the 
Apostle  does  not  allude  to  the  ConncU  In  his  argn- 
ment  with  the  Galatians  on  the  subject  of  clroiii»- 
eision. 

•  Bee  note  on  Spistle  to  the  OalatiAoa. 


APPENDIX    a 


ON  THE  DATE  OF  THE  PASTORAL  EPISTLES. 

BEFOBE  we  can  fix  the  time  at  which  these  Epistles  were  written,  we  most  take  th« 
following  data  into  account :  — 

1.  The  three  Epistles  were  nearly  contemporaneous  with  one  another.  This  is  proTed 
by  their  resembling  each  other  in  language,  matter,  and  style  of  composition,  and  in  the 
state  of  the  Christian  Church  which  they  describe ;  and  by  their  diflFering  in  all  these  three 
points  from  all  the  other  Epistles  of  St.  Paul.  Of  course,  the  full  force  of  this  argument 
cannot  be  appreciated  by  those  who  have  not  carefully  studied  these  Epistles ;  but  it  is 
now  almost  universally  admitted  by  all  *  who  have  done  so,  both  by  the  defenders  and  im- 
pugners  of  the  authenticity  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles.  Hence,  if  we  fix  the  date  of  one  of 
the  three,  we  fix  approximately  the  date  of  all. 

2.  They  were  written  after  St.  Paul  became  acquainted  with  Apollos,  and  therefore  after 
St.  Paul's  first  visit  to  Ephesus.     (See  Acts  xviii.  24,  and  Titus  iii.  13.) 

3.  Hence  they  could  not  have  been  written  till  after  the  conclusion  of  that  portion  of 
his  life  which  is  related  in  the  Acts ;  because  there  is  no  part  of  his  history,  between  his 
first  visit  to  Ephesus  and  his  Roman  imprisonment,  which  satisfies  the  historical  condi- 
tions implied  in  the  statements  of  any  one  of  these  Epistles.  Various  attempts  have  been 
made,  with  different  degrees  of  ingenuity,  to  place  the  Epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus  at 
different  points  in  this  interval  of  time ;  but  all  have  failed  even  to  satisfy  the  conditions 
required  for  placing  any  single  Epistle  correctly.^  And  no  one  has  ever  attempted  to 
place  all  three  together  at  any  period  of  St.  Paul's  life  before  the  end  of  his  first  Eomaa 
imprisonment ;  yet  this  contemporaneousness  of  the  three  Epistles  is  a  necessary  condition 
of  the  problem. 

4.  The  Pastoral  Epistles  were  written  not  merely  ajier  St.  Paul's  first  Roman  impris- 
onment, but  considerably  after  it.  This  is  evident  from  the  marked  difference  in  their 
style  fi:om  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  which  was  the  last  written  during  that  imprison- 
ment. So  great  a  change  of  style  (a  change  not  merely  in  the  use  of  single  words,  but  in 
phrases,  in  modes  of  thought,  and  in  method  of  composition)  must  require  an  interval  of 
certainly  not  less  than  four  or  five  years  to  account  for  it.  And  even  that  interval  might 
seem  too  short,  unless  accompanied  by  circumstances  which  should  further  explain  the 
alteration.  Yet  five  years  of  exhausting  labor,  great  physical  and  moral  sufferings,  and 
bitter  experience  of  human  nature,  might  suflice  to  account  for  the  change. 

»  We  have  noticed  Dr.  Davidson's  contrary  opin-  alphabetical  list  of  the  words  and  phrases  x>«<!QU*r 

Ion  before ;  and  we  should  add  that  Wieseler  may  bo  to  the  Pastoral  Epistles. 

considered  another  exception,  only  that  he  does  not  *  Wieseler's  is  the  most  ingenious  theory  whlcb 

attempt  to  reply  to  the  grounds  stated  by  other  has  been  suggested  for  getting  over  this  difficulty; 

critics  for  the  contemporaneousness  of  the    three  but  it  has  been  shown  by  Huther  that  none  of  the 

Epistles,  but   altogether  Ignores   the    question   of  three  Epistles  can  be  placed  as  Wieseler  places  them 

internal  evidence  from  style  and  Church  organiza-  without  involving  some  contradiction  of  th«  &oU 

tlon,  which  is  the  conclusive  evidence  here.    Sub-  mentioned  In  them  respectively, 
joined  to  this  Appendix  in  the  larger  editions  is  an 
892 


DATE   OF  THE  PASTORAL  EPISTLES.  893 

5.  The  development  of  Church  organization  implied  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles  leads  to 
the  same  conclusion  as  to  the  lateness  of  their  date.  The  detailed  rules  for  the  choice  of 
presbyters  and  deacons,  implying  numerous  candidates  for  these  offices;  the  exclusion 
of  new  converts  (neophytes ')  from  the  presbyterate ;  the  regular  catalogue  of  Church 
widows  (1  Tim.  v.  9),  —  are  all  examples  of  this. 

6.  The  heresies  condemned  in  all  three  Epistles  are  likewise  of  a  nature  which  forbids 
the  supposition  of  an  early  date.  They  are  of  the  same  class  as  those  attacked  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  but  appear  under  a  more  matured  form.  They  are  apparently 
the  same  heresies  which  we  find  condemned  in  other  portions  of  Scripture  written  in  the 
later  part  of  the  apostolic  age ;  as,  for  example,  the  Epistles  of  Peter  and  Jude.  We  trace 
distinctly  the  beginnings  of  the  Gnostic  Heresy,  which  broke  out  with  such  destructive 
power  in  the  second  century,  and  of  which  we  have  already  seen  the  germ  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Colossians. 

7.  The  preceding  conditions  might  lead  us  to  place  the  Pastoral  Epistles  at  any  point 
after  a.d.  66  (see  condition  4,  above)  ;  i.e.,  in  the  last  thirty-three  years  of  the  first  cen- 
tury. But  we  have  a  limit  assigned  us  in  this  direction  by  a  fact  mentioned  in  the  Epistles 
to  Timothy;  viz.,  that  Timotheus  was  still  a  young  man  (1  Tim.  iv.  12,  2  Tim.  ii.  22) 
when  they  were  written.  We  must,  of  course,  imderstand  this  statement  relatively  to  the 
circumstances  under  which  it  is  used.  Timotheus  was  young  for  the  authority  intrusted  to 
him ;  he  was  young  to  exercise  supreme  jurisdiction  over  all  the  Presbyters  (many  of  them 
old  men)  of  the  Churches  of  Asia.  According  even  to  modern  notions  (and  much  more 
according  to  the  feelings  of  antiquity  on  the  subject),  he  would  still  have  been  very  young 
for  such  a  position  at  the  age  of  thirty-five.  Now,  Timotheus  was  (as  we  have  seen,  pp. 
1 75  and  228)  a  youth  still  living  with  his  parents  when  St.  Paul  first  took  him  in  a.d.  51 
(Acts  xvi.  1-3)  as  his  companion.  From  the  way  in  which  he  is  then  mentioned  (Acts 
xvi.  1-3,  compare  2  Tim.  i.  4),  we  cannot  imagine  him  to  have  been  more  than  seventeen 
or  eighteen  at  the  most.  Nor,  again,  could  he  be  much  younger  than  this,  considering  the 
part  he  soon  afterwards  took  in  the  conversion  of  Macedonia  (2  Cor.  i.  19).  Hence  we 
may  suppose  him  to  have  been  eighteen  years  old  in  A.D.  51.  Consequently,  in  68  (the 
last  year  of  Nero),  he  would  be  thirty-five  ^  years  old. 

8.  If  we  are  to  believe  the  universal  tradition  of  the  early  Church,  St.  Paul's  martyr- 
lom  occurred  in  the  reign  of  Nero.^  Hence  we  have  another  limit  for  the  date  of  the 
Pastoral  Epistles ;  viz.,  that  it  could  not  have  been  later  than  a.d.  68 :  and  this  agrees 
very  well  with  the  preceding  datum. 

It  will  be  observed  that  all  the  above  conditions  are  satisfied  by  the  hypothesis  adopted 
in  Chap.  XXVH.,  —  that  the  Pastoral  Epistles  were  written,  the  two  first  just  before,  and 
the  last  during,  St.  Paul's  final  imprisonment  at  Rome.* 

»  1  Tim.  m.  6.  *  At  tMB  point,  in  the  larger  editions,  1b  a  detailed 

*  No  objection  against  the  genuineness  of  the  dlscnssion  of  the  argnments  of  those,  who,  during 

Pastoral  Epistles  has  been  more  insisted  on  than  the  present  century,  have  denied  the  genuineness  of 

that   furnished   by  the  reference  to  the  youth  of  these  three  Epistles.    This  was  written  before  the 

Timotheus  In  the  two  passages  above  mentioned.  appearance  of  Dr.  Davidson's  third  volume.    The 

How  groundless  such  objections  are,  we  may  beet  reader  who  is  acquainted  with  that  valuable  work 

realize  by  considering  the  parallel  case  of  those  will  perceive  that  we  differ  from  Dr.  Davidson  on 

young  Colonial  bishops  who  are  almost  annually  eouie  material  points;    nor,  after  considering  his 

leaving  our  shores.    Several  of  these  have  been  not  arguments,  do  we  see  reason  to  change  our  conclu 

more  than  thirty-four  or  thirty-five  years  of  age  at  sions.    But  this  difference  does  not  prevent  us  from 

the  time  of  their  appointment ;  and  how  naturally  appreciating  the  candor  and  ability  with  which  he 

might  they  be  addressed  by  an  elderly  friend  In  the  states  the  arguments  on  both  sides.     "We  would 

very  language  which  St.  Paul  here    addressed  to  especially  refer  our  readers  to  his  statement  of  th» 

Timotheus  i  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  hypothesis  that  theM 

"  See  the  authorities  for  this  statement  above,  Epistles  were  forged. 
p.  S46. 


894  THE  liTFE  A2TD  EPISTLES  OF   ST.   PAUL. 

We  come  now  to  consider  the  order  of  the  three  Epistles  among  themselves :  — 

1.  1  Tim.  —  In  this  we  find  that  St.  Paul  had  left  Ephesus  for  Macedonia  (1  Tim.  i.  8). 
and  had  left  Timothy  at  Ephesus  to  counteract  the  erroneous  teaching  of  -he  heretics 
(iii.  4) ;  and  that  he  hoped  soon  to  return  to  Ephesus  (iii.  14). 

2.  Tixns.  —  Here  we  find  that  St.  Paul  had  lately  left  Crete  (i.  3),  and  that  he  wa« 
now  about  to  proceed  (iii.  12)  to  Nicopolis  in  Epirus,  where  he  meant  to  spend  the  ap- 
proaching winter ;  whereas,  in  1  Tim.,  he  meant  soon  to  be  back  at  Ephesus ;  and  he  waa 
afterwards  at  Miletus  and  Corinth  between  1  Tim.  and  2  Tim.  (otherwise  2  Tim.  iv.  20 
would  be  unintelligibfe).     Hence  Titus  ^  must  have  been  written  later  than  1  Tim. 

3.  2  Tim.  —  We  have  seen  that  this  Epistle  could  not  (from  the  internal  evidence  of 
its  style,  and  close  resemblance  to  the  other  Pastorals)  have  been  written  in  the  first  Ro- 
man imprisonment.  The  same  conclusion  may  be  drawn  also  on  historical  grounds,  aa 
Huther  has  well  shown  where  he  proves  that  it  could  neither  have  been  written  before  the 
Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  nor  after  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  during  that  imprison- 
ment. The  internal  evidence  from  style  and  matter,  however,  is  so  conclusive,  that  it  is 
needless  to  do  more  than  allude  to  this  quasi-external  evidence.  In  this  Epistle,  we  find 
St.  Paul  a  prisoner  in  Rome  (i.  17):  he  has  lately  been  at  Corinth  (iv.  20)  ;  and,  since  he 
left  Timothy  (at  Ephesus),  he  has  been  at  Miletus  (iv.  20).  Also  he  has  been,  not  long 
before,  at  Troas  (iv.  13). 

The  facts  thus  mentioned  can  be  best  explained  by  supposing,  (1)  that,  after  writing 
1  Tim.  from  Macedonia,  St.  Paul  did,  as  he  intended,  return  to  Ephesus  by  way  of  Troa$, 
where  he  left  the  books,  &c.,  mentioned  2  Tim.  iv.  13,  with  Carpus ;  (2)  that  from  Ephe- 
sus he  made  a  short  expedition  to  Crete  and  back,  and  on  his  return  wrote  to  Titus  ;  (3) 
that,  immediately  after  despatching  this  letter,  he  went  by  MUetva  to  Corinth^  and  thence 
to  Nicopolis ;  whence  he  proceeded  to  Rome. 

^  Had  1  Tim.  been  written  after  Titos,  8t.  Paul       (on  that  hypotheala)  would  b«  taitMdlof  t*  wfalcv 
eoold  not  have  hoped  to  be  back  aoon  at  Bpheaiu,       at  th*  dlatamt  NioopoUa. 
1  Tim.  IIL 14;  for  h«  had  only  Jnat  left  ^hMoa,  iid4 


APPENDIX    m. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


37 


38 


39 
40 
41 


42 
43 


44 

45 

46 
47 
48 

49 


(?)  St.  Paul's  conversion  [supposing  the 
8  years  of  Gal.  i.  18  Judaically  reck- 
oned]. See  p.  891,  and  note  (B)  be- 
low. 

(?)  At  Damascus. 

(?)  Flight  from  Damascus  [see  p.  891] 
to  Jerusalem,  and  thence  to  Tarsus. 


During  these  years,  St.  Paul  preach- 
es in  Syria  and  Cilicia,  making 
Tarsus  his  head-quarters;  and 
probably  undergoes  most  of  the 
ghfferings  mentioned  at  2  Cor. 
xi.  24-26 ;  viz.,  two  of  the  Ro- 
man and  the  five  Jewish  scour- 
gings,  and  three  shipwrecks.  See 
pp.  98  and  109,  and  note  on 
2  Cor.  xi.  25. 


He  is  brought  from  Tarsus  to  Antioch 
(Acts  xi.  26),  and  stays  there  a  year 
before  the  famine. 

He  visits  Jerusalem  with  Barnabas  to 
relieve  the  famine. 

At  Antioch. 

At  Antioch. 

His  "  First  Missionary  Journey,"  from 
Antioch  to 

Cyprus,  Antioch  in  Fisidia,  Iconium, 
Lystra,  Derbe, 

and  back  through  the  same  places  to 
Antioch. 


Death  of  Tiberius,  and  accession  of 
CAI.IOULA  (March  16). 


Death  of  Caligula,  and  accession  of 
Claudius  (Jan.  25).  Judaea  and 
Samaria  given  to  Herod  Agrippa  I. 

Invasion  of  Britain  by  Aulus  Plautius. 


Death  of  Herod  Agrippa  L  (Acts  xii.) 
[see  note  (A)  below.] 

Cuspius  Fadus  (as  procurator)  suc- 
ceeds to  the  government  of  Judsea. 


Tiberius  Alexander  made  procurator 
of  Judaea  (about  this  time). 


Agrippa  H.  (Acts  xxv.)  made  king  of 
Chdcis ; 

Cumanus  made  procurator  of  Judaea 
(about  this  time). 

696 


896 


THE  LIFE  AND  EPISTLES   OF  ST.  PAUL. 


Appendix  HI.  —  continued. 


A.D. 


Biography  or  St.  Paui.. 


COMTEMFORABT  EVENTS. 


50 


51 


52 


53 


54 


55 
56 
57 


58 

59 
60 

61 


St.  Paul  and  Barnabas  attend  the  "  Coun- 
cil of  Jerusalem." 
[See  p.  191,  &c.;  and  note  (B)  below.] 

His  "  Second  Missionary  Journey,"  from 
Antioch  to 
Cilicia,  Lycaonia, 
Galatia, 

Troas, 

Philippi,  Thessalonica,  Beroea, 

Athens,  and 

Corinth. — Writes  1  Thess. 

At  Corinth. — Writes  2  Thess. 


(  Spring) — He  leaves  Corinth,  and  reaches 
(Summer)  — Jerusalem  at  Pentecost,  and 

thence  goes  to  Antioch. 
(Autumn)  —  His     "  Third    Missionaiy 

Journey."  —  He  goes 
To  Ephesus. 

At  Ephesus. 

At  Ephesus. 

(Spring)  —  He  writes  1  Cor. 

(Summer)  —  Leaves  Ephesus  for  Mace- 
donia, 

(Autumn)  — Where  he  writes  2  Cor. ;  and 
thence 

(AVinter)  —  To  Corinth,  where  he  writes 
Galatians. 

(Spring)  —  He  writes  Bamans,  and  leaves 
Corinth,  going  by  Philippi  and  JMiletus 

(Summer)  —  To  Jerusalem  (Pentecost), 
where  he  is  arrested,  and  sent  to  Caes- 
area. 

At  CiESAREA. 

(Autumn)  —  Sent  to  Rome  by  Festus 

(about  August). 
(Winter)  —  Shipwrecked  at  Malta. 

(Spring)  —  He  arrives  at  Rome. 


Caractacus  captured  by  the  Romans 

in  Britain ; 
Cogidunus  (father  of  Claudia  [?],  2  Tim. 

iv.  21)  assists  the  Romans  in  Britain. 


Claudius  expels  the  Jews  from  Rome 
(Acta  xviii.  2). 


The  tetrarchy  of  Trachonitis  given  to 

Agrippa  n. ; 
Felix  made  procurator  of  Judaea.  [See 

note  (C)  below.] 

Death  of  Claudius,  and  accession  of 
Nero  (Oct  IS). 


Nero  murders  Agrippina. 

Felix  is  recalled,  and  succeeded  by 
Festus  [see  note  (C)  below]. 


Embassy  from  Jerusalem  to  Rome  to 
petition  about  the  wall  [see  note  (C) 
below]. 


CHKONOLOGICAL  TABLE. 


897 


Afpknoix  HL  —  eontinxted. 


A-D. 

BlOORAPHT  OF  BT.  FAXJh. 

COIfTEMPORART  EVEMTB. 

62 

63 

64 

65 

66 
67 

68 

At  Rome.               (  Philemon, 
(Spring)  — Writes  J.  Colossians, 
(  Ephesians. 
(Autumn)  — Writes  Philippians. 

(Spring)  —  He  is  acquitted,  and  goes  to 
Macedonia  (Phil.  ii.  24)  and 
Asia  Minor  (Philem.  22). 

(?)  He  goes  to  Spain.     [For  this  and 
the  subsequent  statements,  see  Chap. 
XX  VH.] 

(?)  In  Spain. 

(Slimmer)  —  From   Sptdn  (?)   to  Asia 
Minor  (1  Tim.  i.  3). 

(Summer)  —Writes  1  Tim.  from  Mace- 
donia. 
(Autumn)  — Writes  Titiis  from  EphesuB. 
(Winter)  —  At  Nicopolis. 

(Spring)  —  In  prison  at  Rome.     Writes 

2  Tim. 
(Summer)  —  Executed  (May  or  June). 

Bumis  dies ; 

Albinus  succeeds  Festus  as  procurator ; 

Nero  marries  Poppaea ; 

Octavia  executed ; 

Pallas  put  to  death. 

Poppaea's  daughter  Clandia  bom. 

Great  fire  at  Rome  (July  19),  followed 
by  persecution  of  Roman  Christians ; 

Gressius   Florus   made    procurator   of 
Judsaa. 

Conspiracy  of  Piso,  and  deaih  of  S«neca. 

The  Jewish  war  b^ins. 

Death  of  Nero  in  Uie  mlddlB  of  June. 

if 


NOTES  ON  THE  CHRONOLOGIOAL  TABLEa 


Nora  (A.)  —  Date  of  the  Famine  in  Acts  xL  28. 

Wk  find  in  Acts  zi.  28  that  Agabus  prophesied  the  occurrence  of  a  famine,  and  that 
his  prophecy  was  fiilfilled  in  the  reign  of  Claudius  ;  also  that  the  Christians  of  Antioch 
resolved  to  send  relief  to  their  poor  brethren  in  Judaea,  and  that  this  resolution  was  car- 
ried into  effect  by  the  hands  of  Barnabas  and  Saul.  After  relating  this,  St.  Luke  digress- 
es fixim  his  narrative  to  describe  the  then  state  ("  about  that  time ")  of  the  Church  at 
Jerusalem,  immediately  before  and  after  the  death  of  Herod  Agrippa  (which  is  fully  de- 
scribed Acts  xii.  1-24).  He  then  resumes  the  narrative  which  he  had  interrupted,  and 
tells  us  how  Barnabas  and  Saul  returned  to  Antioch  after  ftdfilling  their  commission  to 
Jerusalem  (Acts  xii.  25). 

From  this  it  would  appear  that  Barnabas  and  Saul  went  up  to  Jerusalem,  to  relieve  the 
Bufferers  by  famine,  soon  after  the  death  of  Herod  Agrippa  I. 

Now,  Josephus  enables  us  to  fix  Agrippa's  death  very  accurately:  for  he  tells  us  (^AnL 
xix.  9,  2),  that,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  he  had  reigned  three  full  years  over  the  whole  of 
Judaea;  and  also  (^Ant.  xix.  6,  1),  that,  early  in  the  first  year  of  Claudius  (41  A.D.),  the 
sovereignty  of  Judaea  was  conferred  on  him.     Hence  his  death  was  in  a.d.  44.^ 

The  famine  appears  to  have  begim  in  the  year  afier  his  death  ;  for  (1)  Josephus  speaks 
of  it  as  having  occurred  during  the  government  of  Cuspius  Fadus  and  Tiberius  Alexander 
(^Ant.  XX.  5,  2).  Now,  Cuspius  Fadus  was  sent  as  Procurator  from  Rome  on  the  death  of 
Agrippa  I.,  and  was  succeeded  by  Tiberius  Alexander ;  and  both  their  Procuratorships 
together  only  lasted  firom  a.d.  45  to  a.d.  50,  when  Cumanus  succeeded.  (2)  We  find 
fix>m  Josephus  (Ant.  xx.  2,  6,  compare  xx.  6,  2),  that,  about  the  time  of  the  beginning  of 
Fadus's  government,  Helena,  Queen  of  Adiabene,  a  Jewish  proselyte,  sent  com  to  the  re- 
lief of  the  Jews  in  the  famine.  (3)  At  the  time  of  Herod  Agrippa's  death,  it  would  seem 
fi:t)m  Acts  xii.  20  that  the  famine  could  not  have  begun ;  for  the  motive  of  the  Phoenicians 
in  making  peace  was  that  their  country  was  supplied  with  food  fi"om  Judaea,  —  a  motive 
which  could  not  have  acted  while  Judaea  itself  was  perishing  of  famine. 

Hence  we  conclude  that  the  journey  of  Barnabas  and  Saul  to  Jerusalem  with  alms  took 
place  in  A.D.  45. 

Note  (B.) 

In  p.  891,  we  have  remarked  that  the  interval  of  14  years  (Gal.  iL  1)  between  the 
flight  from  Damascus  and  the  Council  of  Jerusalem  might  be  supposed  to  be  either  14  fiill 
years,  or  13,  or  even  12  years,  Judaically  reckoned.  It  must  not  be  imagined  that  the 
Jews  arbitrarily  called  the  same  interval  of  time  14,  13,  or  12  years;  but  the  denomination 
of  the  interval  depended  on  the  time  when  it  began  and  ended,  as  follows :  If  it  began  on 
Sept  1,  A.D.  38,  and  ended  Oct.  1,  A.D.  50,  it  would  be  called  14  years,  though  really 

1  Additional  anthoritiet  for  this  are  giveii  by  Wieselw. 
8M 


NOTES  ON  THE  CHBONOLOGICAL  TABLES.  899 

onlj  12  years  and  one  month,  because  it  began  before  the  Ist  of  Tisri,  and  ended  after 
the  Iflt  of  Tisri;  and,  as  the  Jewish  civil  year  began  on  the  1st  of  Tisri,  the  interval  was 
contained  in  14  different  civil  years.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  began  Oct.  1,  a.d.  38,  and 
ended  Sept.  1,  a.d.  50,  it  would  only  be  called  12  years,  although  really  only  two  months 
less  than  the  former  interval  which  was  called  14  years.  Hence,  as  we  do  not  know  the 
month  of  the  flight  from  Damascus,  nor  of  the  Council  of  Jerusalem,  we  are  at  liberty  to 
suppose  that  the  interval  between  them  was  only  a  few  weeks  more  than  12  years,  and 
therefore  to  suppose  the  flight  in  a.d.  S8,  and  the  Council  in  aj>.  50. 


NoTK  (C.)  —  Onihe  Date  of  the  Recall  of  Felix. 

We  have  seen  that  St  Paul  arrived  in  Borne  in  spring,  afler  wintering  at  Malta ;  and 
that  he  sailed  from  Judaea  at  the  beginning  of  the  preceding  autumn,  and  was  at  Fair  Har 
Tens  in  Crete  in  October,  soon  after  "the  Fast,"  which  was  on  the  10th  of  Tisri  (Acts 
xxvii.  9).  He  was  sent  to  Rome  by  Festus,  upon  his  appeal  to  Cassar ;  and  his  hearing 
before  Festus  had  taken  place  about  a  fortnight  (see  Acts  xxiv.  27  to  xxv.  1)  aft«r  the 
arrival  of  Festus  in  the  province.  Hence  the  arrival  of  Festus  (and  consequently  the 
departure  of  Felix)  took  place  in  the  summer  preceding  St.  Paul's  voyage. 

This  is  confirmed  by  Acts  xxiv.  27,  which  tells  us  that  Paul  had  been  in  prison  tuxt 
complete  years  at  the  time  of  Felix's  departure :  for  he  was  imprisoned  at  a  Pentecost ; 
therefore  Felix's  departure  was  just  afl«r  a  Pentecost. 

We  know,  then,  the  season  of  Felix's  recall ;  viz.,  the  summer :  and  we  must  determine 
the  date  of  the  year. 

(a)  At  the  beginning  of  St.  Paul's  imprisonment  at  Csesarea  (i.e.,  two  years  befora 
Felix's  recall),  FeUx  had  been  already  '•'■for  many  years  Procurator  ofJudcea  "  (Acts  xxiv. 
10).  "  Many  years"  could  not  be  less  than  6  years :  therefore  Felix  had  governed  Judaea 
at  least  (5  -f-  2  =)  7  years  at  the  time  of  his  recall.  Now,  Felix  was  appointed  Procura- 
tor in  the  beginning  of  the  13th  year  of  Claudius*  (Joseph.  Ant,  xx.  7, 1,  twelfth  year  com- 
plete) ;  that  is,  early  in  the  year  a.d.  68.  Therefore  Felix's  recall  could  not  have  occurred 
before  a.d.  (53  +  7  =)  60. 

(fl)  But  we  can  also  show  that  it  could  not  have  occiured  after  a.d.  60,  by  the  follow- 
ing  arguments :  — 

1.  Felix  was  followed  to  Borne  by  Jewish  ambassadors,  who  impeached  him  of  misgov- 
emment.  He  was  saved  from  punishment  by  the  intercession  of  his  brother  Pallas,  at  a 
time  when  PaUas  was*  in  special  favor  with  Nero  (Joseph.  Ant.  xx.  8,  9).  Now,  Pallas 
was  put  to  death  by  Nero  in  the  year  a.d.  62;  and  it  is  improbable,  that,  at  any  part 
of  that  or  the  preceding  year,  he  should  have  had  much  influence  with  Nero.  Hence 
Felix's  recall  was  certainly  not  afler  a.d.  62,  a,nd  probably  not  after  a.d.  60. 

2.  Burrus  was  living  (Joseph.  Ant.,  quoted  by  Wieseler)  at  the  time  when  Felix's  Jew- 
ish accusers  were  at  Rome.  Now,  Burrus  died  not  later  than  February,  a.d.  62.  And 
the  Jewish  ambassadors  could  not  have  reached  Rome  during  the  season  of  the  Mare 
Clausum :  therefore  they  (and  consequently  Felix)  must  have  come  to  Rome  not  after 
the  autumn  of  a.d.  61. 

8.  Paul,  on  arriving  at  Rome,  was  delivered  (Acts  xxviiL  16)  to  the  prefect  (not  the  pre- 

*  Tacitna  places  the  appointment  of  Felix  earlier  too  mach  on  hla  faTor,  he  excited  the  (lugriut  of 
than  thla;  bat,  on  euch  a  qaeetion,  Ms  anUioritjr  la  Kero  at  the  very  beginning  of  hla  reign  (a.  d.  64). 
not  to  be  compared  with  that  of  Josephus.  In  a.  d.  65  he  waa  accoaed  of  treason,  bat  acquitted; 

*  Pallas  had  been  mainly  Instrumental  in  obtain-  and,  after  this  acquittal,  be  aeema  to  have  regain«4 
lug  Kero's  adoption  by  Claudius ;  but,  by  presuming  his  favor  at  court. 


900  THE  LIFE  AND   EPISTLES   OF   ST.    PAUL. 

fects)  :  *  hence  there  was  a  single  prefect  in  command  of  the  praetorians  at  that  time.  But 
this  was  not  the  case  after  the  death  of  Burrus,  when  Rufus  and  Tigellinus  were  made 
joint  prefects.  Hence  (as  above)  Paul  could  not  have  arrived  in  Rome  before  a.d.  61, 
and  therefore  Felix's  recall  (which  was  in  the  year  before  Paul's  arrival  at  Rome)  could 
not  have  been  after  a.d.  60. 

Therefore  Felix's  recall  has  been  proved  to  be  neither  after  a.d.  60,  nor  before  a.d. 
60 :  consequently,  it  was  in  a.d.  60. 

(j)  This  conclusion  is  confirmed  by  the  following  considerations :  — 

1.  Festus  died  in  Judaea,  and  was  succeeded  by  Albinus.  We  are  not  informed  of  the 
(Juration  of  Festus's  government ;  but  we  have  proved  (a)  that  it  did  not  begin  before 
A.D.  60  :  and  we  know  that  Albinus  was  in  office  in  Judaea  in  the  autumn  of  a.d.  62  (at 
the  Feast  of  Tabernacles),  and  perhaps  considerably  before  that  time.  Hence  Festus's 
arrival  (and  Felix's  recall)  must  have  been  either  in  60  or  61.  Now,  if  we  suppose  it  in 
61,  we  must  crowd  into  a  space  of  fifteen  months  the  following  events :  (a)  Festus  repress- 
es disturbances,  {b)  Agrippa  H.  builds  his  palace  overlooking  the  temple,  (c)  The 
Jews  build  their  wall,  intercepting  his  view,  {d)  They  send  a  deputation  to  Rome  to  ob- 
tain leave  to  keep  their  wall,  (e)  They  gain  their  suit  at  Rome  by  the  intercession  of 
Poppaea.  (/)  They  return  to  Jerusalem,  leaving  the  high  priest  Ishmael  as  hostage  at 
Rome,  (jr)  Agrippa,  on  their  return,  nominates  a  new  high  priest  (Joseph),  the  length 
of  whose  tenure  of  office  we  are  not  told,  (h)  Joseph  is  succeeded  in  the  high  priesthood 
by  Ananus,  who  holds  the  office  three  months,  and  is  displaced  just  before  the  arrival  of  Al- 
binus. This  succession  of  events  could  not  have  occurred  between  the  summer  of  a.d.  61 
and  the  autumn  of  a.d.  62 ;  because  the  double  voyage  of  the  Jewish  embassy,  with 
their  residence  in  Rome,  would  alone  have  occupied  twelve  months.  Hence  we  conclude 
that  from  the  arrival  of  Festus  to  that  of  Albinus  was  a  period  of  not  less  than  two  yeari 
and  consequently  that  Festus  arrived  a.d.  60. 

2.  The  Procurators  of  Judaea  were  generally  changed  when  the  Propraetors  of  Syria 
were  changed.  Now,  Quadratus  was  succeeded  by  Corbulo  in  Syria  a.d.  60 :  hence  we 
Diight  naturally  expect  Felix  to  be  recalled  in  that  year. 

3.  Paul  was  indulgently  treated  (Acts  xxviii.  31)  at  Rome  for  two  years  after  his  arrival 
there.  Now,  he  certainly  would  not  have  been  treated  indulgently  after  the  Roman  fire 
(in  July,  64).  Hence  his  arrival  was,  at  latest,  not  after  (64  —  2=)  a.d.  62.  Conse- 
quently, Felix's  recall  was  certainly  not  after  61. 

4.  After  Nero's  accession  (Oct.  13,  a.d.  64),  Josephus  *  mentions  the  following  consec- 
utive events  as  having  occiu-red  in  Judaea  :  (a)  Capture  of  the  great  bandit  Eleazar  by 
Felix,  (h)  Rise  of  the  Sicarii.  (c)  Murder  of  Jonathan  unpunished,  {d)  Many  pre- 
tenders to  Inspiration  or  Messiahship  lead  followers  into  the  wilderness,  (e)  These  are 
dispersed  by  the  Roman  troops.  (/)  An  Egyptian  rebel,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  Sicarii, 
excites  the  most  dangerous  of  all  these  insurrections :  his  followers  are  defeated  ;  but  he 
himself  escapes.  TTiis  series  of  events  could  not  well  have  occupied  less  than  three  years ; 
and  we  should  therefore  fix  the  insurrection  of  the  Egyptian  not  before  a.d.  67.  Now, 
when  St.  Paul  w;is  arrested  in  the  Temple,  he  was  at  first  mistaken  for  this  rebel  Egyptian, 
who  is  mentioned  as  "  the  Egyptian  who  before  these  days  made  an  uproar  "  (Acts  xxL 
88),  —  an  expression  which  would  very  naturally  be  used  if  the  Egyptian's  insurrection 
had  occurred  in  the  preceding  year.  This  would  again  agree  with  supposing  the  date  of 
St.  Paul's  arrest  to  be  a.d.  68,  and  therefore  Felix's  recall  a.d.  60. 

»  The  official  phrase  was  In  the  plural,  when  •  The  referenoei  »re  flTea  by  WIbhIt. 

there  was  more  than  one  prefect.  Bo  TriOan  writes, 
"  VmctuB  mlttl  ad  prce/ectos  prtetorli  mei  debet." — 
rUn.  Ep.  z.  S6 


NOTES   ON   TUB   OHKONOLOQICAIi  TABLES.  901 

5.  St.  Paul  (Acts  xviii.  2)  finds  Aquila  and  Priscilla  just  arrived  at  Corinth  from 
Rome,  whence  they  were  banished  by  a  decree  of  the  Emperor  Claudius.  We  do  not 
know  the  date  of  this  decree ;  but  it  could  not,  at  the  latest,  have  been  later  than  a.d.  54, 
in  which  year  Claudius  died.  Now,  the  Acts  gives  us  distinct  information,  that  between 
this  first  arrival  at  Corinth,  and  St.  Paul's  arrest  at  Jerusalem,  there  were  the  following  in- 
tervals of  time :  viz.,  from  arriving  at  Corinth  to  reaching  Antioch,  1 1  years ;  from  reach- 
ing Ephesus  to  leaving  Ephesus,  2^  years ;  from  leaving  Ephesus  to  reaching  Jerusalem, 
1  year.  (See  Acts  xviii.,  xix.,  and  xx.)  These  make  together  6^  years ;  but  to  this 
must  be  added  the  time  spent  at  Antioch,  and  between  Antioch  and  Ephesus,  which  is 
not  mentioned,  but  which  may  reasonably  be  estimated  at  |  year.  Thus  we  have  6| 
years  for  the  total  interval.  Therefore  the  arrest  of  St.  Paul  at  Jerusalem  was  probably 
not  later  than  (54  -j-  5  J  =)  a.d.  59,  and  may  have  been  earlier ;  which  agrees  with  th6 
result  independently  arrived  at,  —  that  it  was  actually  in  a.d.  58. 

It  is  impossible  for  any  candid  mind  to  go  through  such  investigations  as  these  with- 
out seeing  how  strongly  they  confirm  (by  innumerable  coincidences)  the  histxtrical  aoco* 
racy  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostlei. 


INDEX 


"  Abba,"  remarks  on  tbe  use  of  die  word, 

631  n. 
Acamas,  promontory  o^  142. 
Acco,  614. 
Achaia,  273 ;  harbors  o^  360 ;  proTinoe  o^ 

under  the  Romans,  362. 
Acre,  St.  Jean  d',  614. 
Acrocorinthus,  the,  359;  its  importance, 

(&. ;  views  from  its  summit,  tb. 
Acropolis,  the,  300,  305 ;  view  of  the,  re- 
stored, 326. 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  121. 
Adana,  220  n.,  223  n. 
AdramTttium,  240,  686. 
Mgx,  220  71. 
^gina,  Island  o^  299. 
Agabus  the  prophet,  117,  615. 
Agora,  the,  of  Athens,  306. 
Agricola,  14. 
Agrippa,  Herod,  grandson  of  Hearod  the 

Great,  103;  his  death,  119. 
Agrippa  11.,  652. 
'A/co^,  meaning  of^  670  n. 
Ak-Sher,  233. 
Alban  Mount,  781. 
Albinus,  667  n. 
Alcibiades,  character  o^  815 ;  fintifications 

oi^  at  Cos,  605. 
Alexander  the  coppersmith,  472,  474. 
Alexander  the  Great,  6,  7 ;  at  Pamphjlia, 

144. 
Alexandria,  eminence  o^  684. 
Alexandria  Troas,  241 ;  harbor  o^  242, 691. 
Almalee  in  Lycia,  149. 


Almi^Ting  amongst  the  Jews,  61. 

*"  Altar  of  the  Twelve  Gods  "  at  Atheai, 
807 ;  to  the  "  Unknown  God,**  816. 

Amphipolis,  275. 

Amphitheatres  in  Asia  Minor,  587. 

Amplias,  581. 

Amyntas,  King  of  Galatia,  21. 

Ananias,  87. 

Ananias,  the  Jewish  merchant,  117* 

Ancyra,  description  o^  212  n.,  284. 

Andriace,  608,  691. 

Androclus,  founder  of  Ephesus,  462. 

Andronicus,  "  kinsman  "  of  St.  Pan],  5S1. 

Anemurium,  clififs  of,  142. 

Annseus  Novatus.  —  See  GaUio. 

'A^vdvnaroc,  the  word  as  translated  in  the 
A.  v.,  131  n. 

"  Antinomian,"  the  term  as  applied  to  tibe 
«all  things  lawful"  party  at  Corinth, 
539  n. 

Antinomianism,  Corinthian,  589. 

Antinomians,  422. 

Antinous,  the  favorite  of  Hadrian,  birth- 
place of,  208  n. 

Antioch,  101 ;  Jewish  Christians  in,  109; 
description  and  history  of  the  city,  112 
et  seq. ;  earthquake  and  £umne  in,  117 ; 
a  revelation  at,  122. 

Antioch  in  Pisidia,  150 ;  identified  with  the 
modem  town  of  Jalobateh,  151 ;  its 
foundation,  ib. ;  called  CsBsarea  by  An> 
gustus,  152. 

'AvTwxeioi  Tvxn,  statue  of  the,  116,  n.  4. 

Antiochus  Epiphanes,  coins  o^  24;  his 
adoption  of  Roman  fashions,  26. 

Antiochus  Soter,  211. 

003 


904 


INDEX. 


Antigonia  Troas.  —  See  Alexandria  Troas. 

Anti-Taiunis,  the,  224  n. 

Antipas,  son  of  Herod  the  Great,  26. 

Antipater,  26. 

Antipatris,  650. 

Antonia,  the  Fortress,  683. 

Antonine  Itinerary,  274. 

Antoninus  Pius,  584  «• 

Anxur,  728,  730. 

Aorist,  St.  Paul's  constant  use  of  the,  for 
the  perfect,  496  n.;  532  «.;  552  n. 

Apamea  in  Asia  Minor,  114. 

Apelles,  605. 

Apollo  Patrons,  Temple  of,  307. 

Apollonia  on  the  Adriatic,  description  of, 
277. 

Apollos,  390 ;  406  et  seq. ;  followers  o^  422. 

Apostles,  Acts  of  the,  47 ;  their  office  in  the 
Primitive  Church,  376. 

Apostles  and  Elders,  letters  of  the,  to  the 
Christians  of  Antioch,  197. 

Apostolic  Church,  the,  60. 

Appellatio,  the  Roman  right  o^  669  n. 

Appendices :  —  I.  On  the  time  of  the  visit 
to  Jerusalem  mentioned  in  Galatians 
(chap,  ii.),  885.  11.  On  the  date  of  the 
Pastoral  Epistles,  892.  HL  Chronolo- 
gical Table,  895. 

Appian  Way,  727. 

Appii  Forum,  730. 

Aquila,  336,  357,  367. 

Aquila,  the  translator  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment into  Greek,  336. 

Arabia,  the  word  as  used  by  the  ancients, 
89. 

Aram,  33. 

Aramaean  Jews,  S3. 

Aratus,  the  Greek  poet  of  Cilicia,  328  n. 

Araunah,  threshing-floor  of,  629. 

Archelaus,  son  of  Herod,  his  banishment, 
51. 

Archelaus,  last  king  of  Cappadocia,  214. 

Archippus,  413. 

Areopagus,  300,  806 ;  description  of  the, 
325. 

Aretas,  the  Arab  royal  title  o^  76  n. ;  coins 
of,  100  n. 

Arethusa,  Pass  ofj  277. 

Argseus,  Moimt,  166. 

Aricia,  town  of,  781. 


Aristarchus,  687. 

Aristobidus,  the,  mentioned  in  Bom.  xtL  lOi, 

582. 

Aristotle,  810. 

Artemio,  128. 

Artemisian  festival,  471. 

Asia,  the  word  as  used  by  the  ancients,  205 
et  seq. 

Asia  Minor,  robbers  in,  145;  **  water- 
floods  "  of,  145 ;  caravans  in,  148 ;  table- 
lands of,  149;  political  divisions  o^ 
204  n. 

'Aaiapxai,  translation  o^  471,  n.  2. 

Asiarchs,  the,  471. 

Aspendus,  143. 

"  Assemblies  of  the  Wise,"  65. 

Assize-towns  of  the  Bomans,  470. 

Assos,  240 ;  notice  of,  594. 

Astrology,  passion  of  the  Antiochseans  fotf 
115;  amongst  the  Orientals,  188. 

Asyncritus,  582. 

Athenian  religion,  notice  of  the,  314. 

Athenodorus,  98. 

Athens,  scenery  around,  301 ;  description 
of  the  city  of,  301  et  seq. ;  its  "  careful- 
ness in  religion,"  314 ;  paganism  of,  con- 
trasted with  Christianity,  331 ;  compared 
with  Corinth,  333. 

Athos,  Mount,  243,  247,  272,  297. 

Attaleia,  Bay  of,  141 ;  town  o^  142 ;  hii^ 
tory  and  description  of,  177. 

Attains  Philadelphus,  148. 

Attains  in.,  King  of  Pergamus,  206. 

Attica,  description  of,  300. 

"  Augustan  Band,"  the,  26  n. 

Augustine,  St.,  on  the  names  of  "  Saolus  " 
and  "  Paulus,"  137. 

Anion,  Pass  of,  276. 

Avrdc  iyu,  meaning  o^  in  Bom.  tO.  28^ 
561  n. 

Avemus  Lacus,  728. 

Azius  Biver,  272. 


B. 

Balae,  220n.;  724. 
Balaamites,  or  Nicolaitans,  898. 
"  Barbarian,"  use  of  the  word  in  the  N.  T., 
7n. 


INDEX. 


906 


Barjesus  the  sorcerer,  133. 

Barnabas  at  Antioch,  96, 110 ;  accompanies 
St.  Paul  to  Jerusalem  with  contribution- 
money  in  time  of  famine,  117;  becomes 
one  of  the  teachers  at  Antioch,  1 20 ; 
departs  for  Cyprus,  1 23 ;  arrives  at  Se- 
leucia,  126;  at  Salamis,  127;  and  at 
Paphos,  128;  brought  before  Sergius 
Paulus,  133;  visits  Pamphylia,  141; 
arrives  at  Perga,  143 ;  and  at  the  table- 
land of  Asia  Minor,  149  ;  reaches  An- 
tioch in  Pisidia,  155;  accompanies  St. 
Paul  to  the  synagogue  there,  155 ;  ex- 
pelled from  the  city,  162 ;  journeys 
towards  Lycaonia,  162 ;  reaches  Iconi- 
um,  162 ;  flies  from  a  conspiracy  of  the 
Iconians  to  destroy  him,  164 ;  reaches 
Lystra,  167;  goes  to  Derbe,  175;  turns 
back,  and  revisits  Lystra,  Iconium,  and 
Antioch,  176;  reaches  Perga,  176;  ac- 
companies St.  Paul  to  Jerusalem,  187; 
arrives  there,  189;  his  address  to  the 
Christian  conference  at  Jerusalem,  190  ; 
returns  to  Antioch,  196;  quarrels  with 
and  separates  from  St.  Paul,  217,  218; 
his  subsequent  life,  218. 

Basil,  St.,  322. 

Basilica,  the  Roman,  786. 

BasUides,  the  Gnostic,  399  n. 

Baptism,  infant,  255. 

Baris,  633. 

Baulos-Dagh,  the,  238  n. 

Behistoun,  rock-inscriptions  o^  2S5  n. 

Beilan  Pass,  the,  220. 

Bfifia,  the,  364  n. ;  634. 

Benjamin,  lot  of,  41 ;  the  youngest  and 
most  honored  of  the  patriarchs,  41. 

Berenice,  23,  213,  652,  671. 

Beroea,  description  of,  292. 

Bethesda,  Pool  of,  634. 

Bethsaida,  city  of,  62. 

Bin-Bir-Kilisseh,  166  n. 

Bishop,  office  of,  in  the  Primitive  Chorcli, 
378. 

Bithynia,  description  o^  207. 

Bovillae,  732. 

Buldur,  marble  road  at,  148;  Lake  o^ 
150. 

Burning  bush,  the,  66. 

Burrus,  the  praetorian  prefect,  784. 


«'  Cabala,"  meaning  of  the  word,  896  «. 

Capua,  727. 

Caesar,  J.,  133. 

Caesarea,  25, 107  ;  its  theatre,  118 ;  dew:ri|>> 
tion  of  the  city,  658. 

Caesarea  Stratonis,  city  o^  97  n, 

Caius,  or  Gains,  349. 

Caligula,  76,  102. 

Cambunian  Hills,  the,  272  n. 

Cameniata,  Joh.,  history  o£,  280  M. 

Campagna  of  Rome,  731. 

Campanian  Way,  726. 

Candace,  Queen,  18. 

Cappadocia,  description  o^  214. 

Capreae,  Island  of,  722. 

Casilinum,  728. 

Casius,  Mount,  126. 

Catarrhactes  River,  142. 

Cayster  River,  410. 

Caystrian  Meadows,  461. 

"  Cemetery,"  Christian  use  of  Uie  weed, 
69  n. 

Cenchreae,  302 ;  notice  of;  867 ;  its  geo- 
graphical position,  584  n, 

Cephas,  the  name,  426  n. 

Cephisus  River,  303,  311. 

Ceramicus,  the,  at  Athens,  806. 

Cercinitus,  the  Lake,  276. 

Ceres,  Temple  of,  at  Athens,  806. 

Cestrus  River,  142. 

Charity  amongst  the  early  ChriBdan%  IM. 

«  Chiefs  of  Asia,"  470. 

Chios,  410,  597. 

Chittim,  139. 

«  Chittim,  isles  of,"  189  ». 

Chloe,  family  of,  421. 

Chrestus,  335. 

Chrysorrhoas  River,  81. 

Chrysostom,  John,  170,  23b. 

Christianity  and  Judaism,  29,  80. 

Christianity,  dissemination  of,  in  Antioch 
in  Pisidia,  161 ;  compared  with  Greek 
philosophy,  319;  foimdation  of,  in 
Achaia,  409  ;  in  Rome,  founder  oi^  not 
known,  543. 

"  Christians,"  the  name,  when  first  used, 
111. 

Chrysippus  the  Stoic,  his  birthplace,  20  «. 


906 


INDEX. 


Churcli,  the  Apostolic,  60 ;  charity  of  its 
members,  61 ;  first  aspect  of  the,  62 ; 
formation  of  the  first,  of  united  Jews 
and  Gentiles,  161 ;  controversy  in  the, 
179;  great  conference  of  the  apostles 
and  elders  of  the,  at  Jerusalem,  190 ; 
its  decree,  192;  foundation  of  the,  in 
Macedonia,  255 ;  constitution  of  the 
primitive,  376  et  seq.  ;  ordinances  of  the, 
882;  festivals  of  the,  385;  divisions  in 
the,  387 ;  heresies  in  the,  390. 

Church  of  Philippi,  480 ;  veneration  of,  for 
St.  Paul,  480 ;  its  liberality  to  the  Apos- 
tle, 481,  512. 

Church  of  Tyre,  612. 

Church,  the  Roman,  739. 

Cibyra,  "  the  Birmingham  of  Asia  Minor," 
149. 

Cicero,  13, 14;  as  governor  of  Cilicia,  22; 
at  Athens,  311,  312  n, 

Cilician  churches,  foundation  of  the,  98- 

"Cilician  Gates,"  176,  220  n.;  222  n. 

Cilicia,  13,  18 ;  Rough  Cilicia,  19 ;  Flat 
CUicia,  20 ;  moimtain-wall  of,  20 ;  as  a 
Roman  province,  22 ;  under  Cicero,  22 ; 
description  of,  214. 

«  Cilicium"  tents,  45,  150. 

Cimon  of  Athens,  statue  of,  306 ;  his  vic- 
tory over  the  Persians  at  Flatsea  and 
Salamis,  143. 

Cithaeron,  hills  of,  300. 

Citiiun,  Phoenician  colony  oi^  139  n. 

Claudia,  835,  844  n. 

Claudius  Lysias,  636 ;  letter  of,  to  Felix, 
650. 

Claudius,  the  Emperor,  104,  105  ;  his  edict 
banishing  the  Jews  firom  Rome,  335. 

Cleanthes  the  Stoic,  hymn  o^  6  n. 

Cnidus,  notice  of,  605.  692. 

Colonia,  observations  on  the  constitatdon 
of  a,  252. 

Colonna,  Cape,  299. 

Colossae,  234  n. ;  description  o^  752  n. 

Colossians,  Epistle  to  the,  752. 

Colossus  at  Rhodes,  the,  607, 

Colony,  constitution  of  a  Roman,  252. 

Commerce,  Roman,  682. 

Conference,  great,  of  the  apostles  and 
elders  at  Jeioisalem,  190. 

Constantia,  128. 


Consular  "Way,  727, 

Contributions  for  poor  Jewish  Christaans, 

509,  542. 
"  Conventus,"  use  of  the  word,  471  n. 
Coracesium,  clifiFs  of,  142. 
Coressus  mountains,  462. 
Corinth,  333,  334 ;  its  early  history,  361 ; 

imder  the  Romans,  362  ;  its  destruction 

by  Mummius,  362;  re-establishment  of 

its  importance  under  Julius  Cassar,  362 ; 

tumult  at,  365. 
Corinthian  Church,  state  of,  in  time  of  St. 

Paul,   541 ;    its   subsequent  character, 

642. 
Corinthians,  First    Epistle    to    the,  424; 

Second,  485. 
Corinthians,  licentiousness  of  the,  419. 
Cornelius,  99, 106  ;  conversion  o^  107, 108. 
Corn-vessels  of  Egypt,  685. 
Cos,  Island  of,  604. 
Cotyaeum,  238  n. 
Council-house  of  Athens,  807. 
Cragus,  Mount,  608. 
Crassus,  133. 
,  Crescens,  828. 

Crispus,  **  ruler  of  the  synagogue,"  860. 
Cross,  meaning  of  the  expression,  "to  boMt 

in  the  cross,"  537  n. 
Croesus  and  the  "  Ephesian  Letters,"  418. 
Cumae,  723. 
Cuspius  Fadus,  635. 
Cydnus,  the  River,  20,  45. 
Cybistra,  225  n. 
Cyprus,  16, 109, 123 ;  as  a  Roman  provisoes 

129;  history  oi^  139. 
Cyrene,  16. 

0. 

Dalmatia,  515. 

Damaris,  the  female  convert  at  Athens,  830. 

Damascus,  76 ;  roads  from,  to  Jerusalem, 

78  ;  history  of,  80. 
Daphne,  116. 
Delos,  slave-trade  of,  19. 
Demas,  747. 

Demetrius  and  the  silver-smiths,  4758. 
Demoniac  slave,  the,  at  Philippi,  260. 
Demoniacs,  the,  of  'the  New  Testament 

258. 


INDEX. 


907 


Demosthenes,  statue  o^  807. 

Demus,  the,  of  Thessalonica,  289. 

Denarius,  silver,  2. 

Derbe,  city  of,  166,  175,  222,  225;  site  o^ 

225. 
•«  Devil,"  and  «  demon,"  259. 
Diana,  Temple  of,  at  Perga,  143 ;  statue  oi^ 

by  Praxiteles,  308. 
Diana  of  Ephesus,  worship  of,  413 ;  Temple 

of  Ephesus,  464  ;  worship  o^  466. 
Dicaearchia,  724. 
Diogenes,  tomb  of,  584  n. 
Dionysius,  the  convert  at  AthenB,  880. 
Dium,  296. 
Drachma,  the,  416  n. 
Drepanum,  promontory  o^  14S. 
Drusilla,  wife  of  Felix,  664. 
Dyrrhachium,  278  n. 


Earnest-money,  487. 

Easter,  385. 

Edessa,  292  n. 

'Hyefidv,  meaning  of  the  term,  181 «. 

Egnatia,  Via,  274. 

Egyptian  corn-vessels,  685. 

"  Elder,"  the  name,  378. 

Elogiiun,  the  docmnent  so  called,  8  n. 

Elymas  Baijesus,  133. 

Epaenetus,  ''the  first>-fruits  of  Achaia,"  681. 

Epaphras,  413,  747,  753. 

Epaphroditus,  785. 

'Enapxla,  meaning  of,  130  n.,  214  n. 

«  Ephesian  Letters,"  418. 

Ephesian  magic,  413. 

Ephesians,  Epistle  to  the,  766  ;  parallelism 
between  it  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Colos- 
sians,  765. 

Ephesus,  its  geographical  position,  410; 
description  of,  461 ;  its  natiural  advan- 
tages, 462  ;  foundation  of  the  city,  t6. ; 
its  present  appearance,  463 ;  its  cele- 
brated temple,  464 ;  political  constitu- 
tion of,  469  ;  tumult  in  the  city,  473  ; 
speech  of  the  town-clerk,  475. 

Ephraim,  hills  of,  648. 

Epictetus,  philosophy  of,  321. 

Epicureans,  their  philosophy,  819. 


Epicurus,  garden  of,  320 ;  notice  of  him 
319  n. 

Epimenides  of  Crete,  824  n. 

Epipolae,  721. 

'EniaKonog,  office  of,  378,  602  n. 

Epistles  of  St.  Paul :  —  First  Epistle  to  the 
Thessalonians,  340 ;  Second  Epistle  to 
the  Thessalonians,  352;  First  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians,  424  ;  Second  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians,  485  ;  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians,  523  ;  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
544  ;  Epistle  to  Philemon,  749  ;  to  the 
Colossians,  752 ;  to  the  Ephesians, 
766 ;  to  the  Philippians,  786 ;  First 
Epistle  to  Timotheus,  811 ;  Second  to 
Timotheus,  836 ;  Epistle  to  the  H^ 
brews,  855. 

Epistles,  Pastoral,  on  the  date  of  the,  892 ; 
peculiar  words  and  phrases  in  the, 
894. 

Epiphanius,  Bishop  of  Salamis,  153,  218. 

Eponymi,  the,  307. 

"Epavog,  the  entertainment  so  called,  446  n, 

Erastus,  421,  583. 

Erectheium,  the,  309. 

Eski-Karahissar,  238. 

Essenes,  the,  32. 

Etesian  winds,  682. 

Euboea,  Island  of,  299. 

Eunice,  mother  of  Timotheus,  175. 

"  Euroclydon,"  the,  700 ;  etymology  of  tlM 
word,  700  n. 

Eurymedon,  River,  142. 

Eutychus,  restored  to  life  by  St.  Paul, 
593. 

"  Evangelist,"  the  term,  616  n. 

Exorcists,  Jewish,  416. 

Eyerdir,  Lake  o^  150. 


F. 


Fair  ELavens,  694. 

Famagousta,  127. 

Felix,  651 ;  summoned  to  Bome,  667. 

Festivals  of  the  Primitive  Church,  88S. 

Festus,  667. 

Formiae,  729. 

Fundi,  plain  o:^  729. 

Furies,  sanctuary  of  the,  807. 


908 


INDEX. 


G. 

Gadarenes,  demoniacs  of  the  oonntrj  of  the, 

260. 
Gaggitas  River,  254. 
Gaius,  or  Caius,  521,  583. 
Galatae  and  Keltae,  210. 
Galatia,  description  of,  209 ;  foandation  o^ 

211. 
Galatian  Church,  state  of  the,  521. 
Galatians,  Epistle  to  the,  523. 
Galen,  131. 

Gallesus,  precipices  of,  461. 
Galli,  the,  of  Galatia,  235. 
GaUIo,  originally  called  Annaetu  Noratos, 

proconsul  of  Achaia,  363. 
Gamaliel,  53,  54  ;  prayer  of,  54  n. 
Games  of  Asia  and  Ephesus,  471. 
Gate  of  St.  Stephen,  68. 
Gauls,  settlement  of  the,  in  Asia,  210. 
Gazith,  or  "  the  Stone  Chamber,"  65. 
Grenealogies,  the,  mentioned  in  the  Pastoral 

Epistles,  394. 
Gentiles  at  the  synagogue  of  Antioch  in 

Pisidia,  160 ;    addressed  by  St.  Paul, 

160 ;  their  reception  of  the  Word  of 

God,  161 ;  religiously  and  socially  sepa- 
rated from  the  Jews,  181. 
Gibea,  50. 
Gilboa,  Mount,  50. 
Gnosticism,  751. 
Gnostics,  399  n. 
Gophna,  648. 
Grordium,  212  n. 

Gospel  first  preached  in  Europe,  255. 
"  Grace  before  meat,"  the,  as  used  in  the 

Primitive  Church,  816  n. 
Tpafifiarevg,  the,  of  Acts  xix.  35,  469. 
•*  Grecians,"  34. 
Greek  tongue,  9 ;  a  theological  language,  9 ; 

its  imiversal  spread  among  the  educated 

classes,  15. 
Greeks,  the,  7 ;  social  condition  o^  10 ;  their 

science  and  commerce,  11. 
Grego,  Cape,  127. 
Gregory  Nazianzene,  St.,  322. 
Grotius    on    the    names    "  Saulus "    and 

"Paulus,"  137. 
Gymnasium,  the,  in  ancient  Gireek  cities, 

586  n. 


H. 

Hsemns,  Monnt,  610. 

Haliacmon  River,  29S. 

Hannibal  in  the  fleet  of  Antiochiu,  148. 

Harmodius    and  Aristogeiton,  statues  o^ 

307. 
Hebrews,  Epistle  to  the,  its  authorship, 

848,  852  ;  its  readers,  849 ;   its  object, 

855  ;  text  of  Epistle,  855. 
Helena,  mother  of  King  Izates,  117. 
Hellenist  Jews,  33. 
Heresies  in  the  Primitive  Church,  895 ;  ia 

the  later  Apostolic  Church,  893. 
Hermas,  582. 
Hermes,  582. 
Hermon,  Mount,  79. 
Hermus  River,  239. 
Herod  Agrippa  I.,  26, 104. 
Herod  Agrippa  H.,  652. 
Herod  Antipas,  76. 
Herodians,  the,  32. 
Herodion,  582. 
Herod,  King  of  Chalcis,  658. 
Herod  the  Great,  24 ;  interview  with  Ab- 

gustus,  25 ;  death  of,  51. 
Herod's  theatre  and  amphitheatre,  118. 
Herostratus,  464. 
Hierarchy,  the  Greek,  467. 
HUlel,  Jewish  school  of,  53. 
Hospitality,  Christian,  256,  257. 
Hymettus,  Mount,  300. 


Iconium  (now  Eonieh),  162;  its  Ustoacj, 

163. 
Ida,  Gulf  of,  240  n. 
"  Idols,  dumb,"  recent  discovery  o^  at  Tai^ 

8US,  221  n. 
Hissus  River,  303. 
Hium,  New,  242  n. 
Imbros,  Island  of,  247. 
Ulyricum,  273  ;  Greek,  614 ;  B(unan,  614. 
Informers  at  Rome,  831. 
Isauria,  19. 
Isbarta,  146  n. 
Isthmian  games,  586 ;  Stadium,  note  on  thfl^ 

585. 


i:ndex. 


909 


Islihmus,  notice  of  the,  357. 

« Italian  Band,"  the,  26. 

"Italian  Cohort,"  the,  of  Cornelius,  108. 

Italy,  misery  of,  during  Eome's  splendor, 

12. 
Izates,  King  of  Adiabene,  117. 


J. 

Jacob's  WeU,  79. 

James  the  Just,  191 ;  his  address  to  the 
conference  of  Christians  at  Jerusalem, 
192,  621. 

James,  St.,  118. 

Jason,  287,  583. 

Jebel-el-Akrab,  126. 

Jerusalem,  state  of^  under  the  Romans,  51 ; 
conference  at,  between  the  Christians 
and  the  Pharisaic  Christians,  190. 

Jewish  dispersion,  the,  15,  17  n. 

Jewish  exorcists,  415. 

Jewish  mode  of  teaching,  54. 

Jewish  names,  history  of,  135. 

Jewish  spii'itual  pride  and  exclusive  bigot- 
ry, 160. 

Jews,  languages  spoken  by,  at  the  period 
of  the  Apostles,  2  ;  religious  civilization 
of  the,  3  ;  influence  of,  on  the  heathen 
world,  6  ;  dispersion  of,  15  ;  colony  of, 
in  Babylonia,  16 ;  in  Lydia  and  Phry- 
gia,  16  ;  in  Africa,  16  ;  in  Alexandria, 
17;  in  Europe,  1 7  ;  in  Rome,  1 7 ;  prose- 
lytes of,  1 7  ;  forcibly  incorporated  with 
aliens,  18  ;  Jews  in  Arabia,  18  ;  in  the 
east  of  the  Mediterranean,  18 ;  Jewish 
sects,  30 ;  Jews  not  unfrequently  Ro- 
man citizens,  43  ;  state  of  the  Jews 
after  the  death  of  Herod,  52 ;  mode 
of  teaching  amongst,  54  ;  almsgiving 
amongst,  61 ;  numerous  in  Salamis,  128 ; 
insurrection  of,  at  Salamis,  128 ;  syna- 
gogue of,  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  155  ; 
spiritual  pride  and  exclusive  bigotry  of, 
160;  intrigues  of  Judaizers  at  Antioch, 
162  ;  influential  position  of,  at  Thessa- 
lonica,  280  ;  colony  of,  at  Beroea,  293  ; 
in  Athens,  313  ;  in  gieat  numbers  in 
Athens,  335  ;  banished  from  Rome  by 
command  of  the  Emperor  Claudius,  335 ; 
colonies  of,  in  Asia  Minor,  336  ;  charges 


of  the,  against  St.  Paul  at  Corinth,  364 ; 
Jews  at  Ephesus,  368  ;  irritation  of  the, 
at  the  progress  of  Christianity,  588 ; 
conspiracy  of,  to  take  the  life  of  St.  Paul 
in  the  Isthmus,  589  ;  hatred  of,  of  the 
Roman  soldiers  at  Jerusalem,  635  ;  in- 
dignation of,  at  the  appearance  of  St. 
Paul  in  the  Temple,  627  ;  slaughter  of^ 
in  the  streets  of  Caesarea,  660  ;  Jews  in 
Rome,  738. 

John  the  Baptist,  406  ;  disciples  of,  411. 

John,  St.,  118  ;  his  meeting  vdth  St.  Paul, 
195. 

John,  "whose  surname  was  Mark,"  119, 
124 ;  leaves  St.  Paul  and  Barnabas,  and 
returns  to  Jerusalem,  144,  196,  218. 

Jonathan  the  high  priest,  654. 

Joses,  the  Levite  of  Cyprus,  109. 

Judaizers  generally,  390. 

Judaea,  history  of,  652 ;  geographical  posi- 
tion of,  6;  notices  of^  18;  political 
changes  in,  25 ;  state  of,  51. 

Judas,  197. 

Julia,  582. 

JuUus,  city  of,  52. 

Juliopolis,  Tarsus  so  called,  43  n. 

Junius,  "  kinsman  "  of  St.  Paul,  581. 

Jus  Italicum,  remarks  on  the,  242  n» 


K. 

Eara-Dagh,  or  Black  Mountain,  166 ; 

of,  225. 
Keltae  and  Galatae,  210. 
"Keys,  The,"  129. 
Kiutaya.  —  See  Cotyaeum. 
Konieh.  —  See  Iconium. 


Ladik,  233. 

Laodicea  Combusta,  284. 
Laodicea,  Church  of,  76ft, 
Lasaia,  696. 
Latmus,  Mount,  604. 
Lebanon,  19. 
Lectum,  Cape,  594. 
Legions,  Roman,  655. 
Lemnos,  246. 


910 


INDEX. 


Leoni,  Port  (the  Piraeus),  302. 

Leontopolis,  Temple  of  Onias  at,  86  n. 

Libertines,  synagogue  of  the,  62. 

Limyi'a,  Greek  tablets  at,  148. 

Linus,  835. 

Liris,  River,  729. 

Lissus,  the  modem  Alessis,  273  n. 

Lois,  grandmother  of  Timotheus,  176. 

Longinus,  Governor  of  Syria,  635. 

"  Long  Legs  "  of  Athens,  the,  303  n. 

"  Long  Walls"  of  Athens,  303. 

Lucius  of  Gyrene,  121,  122. 

Lucrine  Lake,  oyster-beds  of,  723. 

Luke,  St.,  his  meeting  with  St.  Paul,  Silas, 
and  Timotheus,  at  Alexandria  Troas, 
244  ;  they  sail  from  Troas,  246  ;  arrive 
at  Samothrace,  247 ;  reach  Philippi,  250 ; 
left  behind  at  Philippi,  269 ;  visited  by 
St.  Paul  at  Philippi,  590  ;  they  both  sail 
from  Philippi,  and  arrive  at  Troas,  591. 
Leaves  Troas,  and  arrives  at  Assos,  595 ; 
at  Miletus,  599;  at  Patara,  610;  at 
Tyre,  611 ;  at  Caesarea,  615;  at  Jeru- 
salem, 619 ;  writes  his  Gospel,  665  ;  ac- 
companies St.  Paul  from  Caesarea  to 
Rome,  687  ;  remains  with  him  till  St. 
Paul's  death,  687,  835. 

Lycabettus,  300. 

Lycaonia,  165  ;  drought  o^  225  n. 

Lyceiun,  the,  311. 

Lydia,  1 75 ;  her  profession  of  faith  and 
baptism,  255. 

Lystra,  city  of;  166 ;  visited  by  St  Paul, 
167. 


M. 


Maccabean  shekels,  2. 

Maccabees,  Second  Book  o^  autihorBliip  o^ 

16,  17  n. 
Macedonia  Pruna,  272 ;    Quarta,  273  n.; 

Secunda,  273;  Tertia,  273  «. 
Macedonia,  coins  of,  245. 
Macedonians,  liberaUty  of  the,  511. 
I^Iaeander,  Valley  of  the,  461 ;  River,  601  ». 
Magicians,  Oriental,  132  ct  seq. 
Mdjof,  good  and  bad  senses  in  which  it  was 

used,  133,  n.  9. 
Mahometan  school,  description  of;  47  n. 
Malea,  Cape,  360. 


Manaen,  foster-brother  of  Herod  Antipaa, 

121,  122. 
Maran-atha,  meaning  of  the  word,  459  n. 
Marathon,  299. 
Marius,  133. 
Marriages  between  the  Jews  and  Greeka^ 

228. 
Mary,  41. 

Massicus  Hills,  728. 
Meals,  customs  of  Greek  and  Roman,  267  n.; 

466  n. 
Megabyzi,  or  priests  of  Diana,  467. 
Melissae,  the  priestesses  so  called,  467, 
Melita,  715,  719. 
Mercurius  Propylaeus,  308. 
Messogis,  461. 
Milestone,  the  Golden,  807. 
Miletus,  410,  598. 
Minerva  Promachus,  802,  805;   statne  0^ 

309. 
Minerva  Hygieia,  statue  of,  808. 
Mintumae,  728. 

Mithridates,  King  of  Pontua,  218. 
Mitylene,  notice  of,  596. 
"Mnason  of  Cyprus,"  109,  617. 
Mopsuestia,  220  n. 
Mummius,  362. 

Munychia,  height  of  the,  803  n. 
Musemn  of  Athens,  the,  800. 
Mycale,  598. 
Myra,  690. 
Mysia,  description  o^  287 ;  remarks  on  tibe 

history  o^  287  n. 


N. 


Nablous,  or  Neapolis,  78. 

Narcissus,  the,  mentioned  in  Bom.  xvL  11, 

582. 

Navigation  of  the  ancients,  677  et  $eq. 

"Nazarenes,"  111. 

Nazarites,  the,  367;  the  four,  628;  vow  oC 
625,  626. 

Neapolis,  or  Nablous,  78. 

Neapolis  of  Macedonia,  248. 

Nereus,  582. 

Nero,  his  marriage  with  Poppsea,  784  ;  con- 
verts in  the  household  of,  795 ;  his  char 
acter,  805 ;  St.  Paul  brought  before.  80."^ 


INDEX. 


911 


Neptune,  statue  of,  at  Athens,  805. 

Nestor,  tutor  of  Tiberius,  99. 

"Nicholas  of  Antioch,"  18. 

Nicholas,  St.,  691. 

Nicolaitans,  or  Balaamites,  898. 

Nicomedes  III.,  King  of  Bithyiiia,  207. 

Nicopolis,  516. 

Nicopolis  in  Epirus,  827. 

Nicosia,  127. 

SdfW(,  meaning  o^  648,  n.  1. 


o. 


Olives,  Mount  o^  682. 

Olympas,  582. 

Olympus,  Mount,  272,  298. 

Onesimus,  the  slave,  748 ;  meaning  of  the 

name,  750  n. 
Onesiphorus,  835. 
Orontes,  Valley  of  the,  18 ;  the  River,  114 ; 

description  of  the,  124. 
Ortygia,  721. 
Overseer,  office  of,  in  the  FrimitiTe  Church, 

878. 


P. 


Pactyas,  Mount,  461. 

«  Painted  Porch,"  the,  817. 

Palatine,  the,  781. 

Pallas,  death  of,  785. 

Pamphylia,  208 ;  Sea  o^  142 ;  descripdoB 

of,  208. 
Pangseus,  Mount,  248. 
Paoli,  village  of,  in  Fisidia,  146  n. 
Paphos,  147 ;  New,  history  o^  140  et  seq.; 

Old,  140. 
Pames,  hills  of,  800,  301. 
Paroreia  in  Phrygia,  150. 
Participles,  accumulation  o^  in  Acts  xvL  6, 

7,  237  n.;  used  substantively,  584  n. 
Parthenon,  the,  at  Athens,  309. 
"  Paschal  Lamb  is  Christ,  who  was  slain  for 

us,"  remarks  on  the  passage,  483  n. 
Patara,  harbor  of,  608. 
Patrobas,  582. 
Paul,  St.,  a  Pharisee,  31 ;   language  of  his 

infancy,  37 ;    his  childhood  at  Tarsus, 

89 ;  his  descent  from  Benjamin,  40,  41 ; 


Paul,  St.,  continued :  — 

his  early  education,  42 ;  period  of  his 
birth,  42 ;  his  station  in  life,  46  ;  his  boy- 
hood, 48 ;  sent  to  Jerusalem,  49 ;  his 
study  there,  58 ;  his  early  manhood,  59  ; 
his  taste  for  Greek  literature,  60 ;  his 
presence  at  the  death  of  St.  Stephen, 
69 ;  his  persecution  of  the  Christians, 
72 ;  his  journey  to  Damascus,  75 ;  im- 
portance of  his  conversion,  88  ;  vision 
of  Jesus  Christ,  84 ;  his  call,  85  ;  his 
blindness,  86  ;  his  recovery  of  sight,  88; 
his  baptism,  89 ;  his  journey  into  Arabia 
Petraea,  90 ;  his  return  to  Damascus, 
98 ;  conspiracy  to  assassinate  him,  93 ; 
his  escape,  94  ;  his  return  to  Jerusalem, 
94  ;  his  meeting  with  the  apostles,  96  ; 
he  withdraws  to  Syria  and  Cilicia,  98  ; 
travels  with  Barnabas  to  Antioch,  110  ; 
carries  the  contribution-money  from  An- 
tioch to  Jemsalem  in  time  of  famine, 
117;  departs  for  Cyprus,  123;  arrives 
at  Seleucia,  126;  at  Salamis,  127;  at 
Paphos,  129;  his  denunciation  of  Ely- 
mas  Barjesus,  134;  his  name  changed 
to  Paul,  135;  visits  Pamphylia,  141; 
arrives  at  Perga,  143 ;  journeys  to  the 
table-land  of  Asia  Minor,  149  ;  reaches 
Antioch  in  Pisidia,  155 ;  his  address  to 
the  Jews  in  the  synagogue  there,  156 
impression  made  on  his  hearers,  159 
scene  on  the  following  sabbath,  160 
expelled  from  the  synagogue,  161 ;  turns 
from  the  Jews,  and  preaches  to  the 
Gentiles,  161  ;  joimieys  towards  Lyca- 
onia,  162;  arrives  at  Iconium,  163  ;  es- 
capes from  a  conspiracy  to  crush  him, 
164;  reaches  Lystra,  167;  his  miracle 
there,  169  ;  worship  offered  to  him,  1 70 ; 
his  address  to  the  Lystrians,  171;  stoned 
in  the  city,  173;  recovers  from  appar^ 
ent  death,  1 73 ;  travels  to  Derbe,  1 75 ; 
revisits  Lystra,  Iconimn,  and  Antioch, 
176;  reaches  Perga,  176;  travels  to 
Jerusalem,  187  ;  his  companions  on  the 
journey,  187;  his  arrival  at  the  Holy 
City,  189 ;  his  address  to  the  confer- 
ence of  Christians  in  Jerusalem,  191 ; 
public  recognition  of  his  mission  to  the 
heathen,  194 ;  his  meeting  with  St.  John, 


912 


INDEX. 


Paul,  St.,  continued :  — 

195;  returns  to  Antioch,  196;  rebukes 
St.  Peter  for  his  weak  conduct,  199  ;  St. 
Paul's  personal  appearance,  200 ;  St. 
Peter's  reconciliation  with  him,  201 ;  he 
proposes  to  Barnabas  to  visit  the  church- 
es, 215 ;  quarrels  with  and  separates 
from  Barnabas,  216,  217;  takes  Silas 
with  him  into  Cilicia,  218 ;  takes  Timo- 
theus  into  companionship,  227  ;  reaches 
Iconium,  231 ;  journeys  through  Phry- 
gia,  233 ;  arrives  at  Galatia,  235 ;  his 
sickness,  235  ;  his  reception  there,  236  ; 
journeys  to  the  ^gean,  238  ;  arrives  at 
Alexandria  Troas,  241  ;  is  joined  by  St. 
Luke  at  Troas,  246;  they  sail  from 
Troas,  246  ;  arrive  at  Samothrace,  247; 
reach  Philippi,  250 ;  St.  Paul  preaches 
the  gospel  for  the  first  time  in  Europe, 
255  ;  the  demoniac  slave,  260 ;  St.  Paul 
scourged,  and  cast  into  prison,  262 ;  his 
conversion  of  the  jailer,  267;  released 
from  prison,  269;  leaves  Philippi,  271  ; 
arrives  at  Thessalonica,  277  ;  visits  the 
synagogue  at  Thessalonica,  281 ;  sub- 
jects of  his  preaching,  281  ;  his  own  la- 
bor for  the  means  of  support,  284 ; 
leaves  Thessalonica  for  Beroea,  292 : 
arrives  there,  293  ;  leaves  the  city,  295 ; 
his  arrival  on  the  coast  of  Attica,  300  ; 
lands  at  Athens,  303 ;  his  reflections 
amidst  the  idolatry  at  Athens,  312; 
"lefk  in  Athens  alone,"  318;  addresses 
the  Athenians  in  the  Agora,  322 ;  goes 
np  to  the  hill  of  the  Areopagus,  324  ; 
his  speech  to  the  Athenians,  326  ;  de- 
parts from  Athens,  331 ;  takes  up  his 
abode  at  Corinth,  331 ;  his  address  to 
the  Jews  in  the  synagogue  there,  338  ; 
rejoined  by  Silas  and  Timotheus,  338  n. ; 
writes  his  First  Epistle  to  the  Thessa- 
louians,  340 ;  he  turns  from  the  Jews  to 
the  GentUes,  348 ;  his  vision,  350 ; 
writes  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Thessa- 
lonians,  352 ;  continues  to  reside  in 
Corinth,  356  ;  brought  by  the  Jews  be- 
fore Gallio,  proconsul  of  Achaia,  364 ; 
who  refuses  to  hear  the  charges,  365 ; 
departs  from  Achaia,  366 ;  takes  his 
farewell  of  the  Church  of  Corinth,  366  ; 


Paul,  St.,  continued:  — 

sails  from  Cenchreae  by  Ephesus  to 
Caesarea,  367;  visits  the  sjniagogue  at 
Ephesus,  368 ;  reaches  Cassarea,  369 ; 
leaves  Caesarea  for  Jerusalem,  369 ;  visits 
Antioch  for  the  last  time,  370  ;  departs 
from  Antioch,  403  ;  arrives  at  Ephesus, 
411;  the  magicians  of  Ephesus,  414; 
burning  of  the  mystic  books,  416  ;  the 
Apostle  pays  a  short  visit  to  Corinth, 
418  ;  returns  to  Ephesus,  420  ;  writes 
the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
424 ;  his  future  plans,  459 ;  Demetrius 
and  the  silver-smiths,  472;  Caius  and 
Aristarchus  seized  by  the  mob,  473; 
tumult  in  Ephesus,  4  74 ;  St.  Paul  bids 
farewell  to  the  Christians  of  Ephesus, 
476;  departs  from  the  city,  4 76;  arrives 
at  Alexandria  Troas,  479  ;  preaches  the 
gospel  there,  480;  sails  from  Troas  to 
Macedonia,  480 ;  lands  at  Neapolis,  480 ; 
proceeds  to  PhiUppi,  480 ;  his  love  for 
the  Philippian  Christians,  480  ;  passes 
over  to  Macedonia,  482 ;  state  of  his 
bodily  health,  482 ;  rejoined  by  Titus, 
483 ;  writes  his  Second  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  485 ;  he  collects  contribu- 
tions for  the  poor  Christians  in  Judaea, 
509  ;  he  journeys  southward,  517;  his 
feelings  on  approaching  Corinth,  518 
state  of  the  Galatlan  Church,  521 
writes  his  Epistle  to  the  Galacians,  523 
convinces  the  Christians  ot  his  apostle- 
ship,  540 ;  he  punishes  the  disobedient 
by  publicly  casting  them  out  of  the 
Church,  540 ;  sends  a  letter  by  Phoebe 
to  the  Roman  Church,  542  ;  his  Epistle 
to  the  Romans,  544  ;  conspiracy  of  the 
Jews  to  take  his  life,  589 ;  flies  from 
Corinth  to  Macedonia,  589 ;  visits  St. 
Luke  at  Philippi,  589  ;  they  leave  there 
together,  591 ;  arrive  at  Troas,  591 ;  St. 
Paul  restores  the  life  of  Eutyehus,  593 ; 
leaves  Troas,  and  arrives  at  Assos,  595 ; 
at  JMiletus,  599  ;  his  sj^-eech  to  the  Ephe- 
sian  presbyters  there,  601 ;  he  departs 
from  Miletus,  604 ;  arrives  at  Patara, 
610;  sails  for  Phoenicia,  610;  arrives 
at  Tyre,  612 ;  leaves  Tyre,  613 ;  arrives 
at  Caesarea.  61^  ;  meets  with  PhiUp  the 


INDEX. 


913 


Paul,  St.,  continued :  — 

Evangelist,  615  ;  warned  by  Agabus  of 
danger  to  be  apprehended  at  Jerusalem, 
615;   sets  out  for  Jerusalem,  617 ;  his 
receptionby  the  presbyters,  620;  advice 
of  the  Christians  of  Jerusalem  to  St. 
Paul,  623  ;  the  four  Nazarites,  623  ;  St. 
Paul  seized  at  the  festival  of  Pentecost, 
627;  beaten  by  the  mob,  636;  rescued 
by  Claudius  Lysias,  637  ;  his  conversa- 
tion with  Lysias,  637  ;  the  Apostle  ad- 
dresses the  multitude  from  the  stairs, 
637;  their  rage,  640 ;  sentenced  by  Ly- 
sias to  "  receive  the  lashes,"  640 ;  as- 
serts his  rights  as  a  Roman  citizen,  641 ; 
taken  before  the  Sanhedrin,  642  ;  struck 
by  order  of  the  high  priest  Ananias, 
642 ;  tumult  in  the  judgment-hall,  643 ; 
the  Apostle  taken  back  to  the  fortress, 
644 ;  conspiracy  to  assassinate  him,  645 ; 
the  plot  discovered,  646 ;  removed  by 
Lysias  to  Caesarea  to  be  judged  by 
Felix,   647 ;    ordered    to    be  kept  in 
Herod's  prsetorium,  651 ;  siunmoned  be- 
fore Felix,  660 ;  charges  brought  against 
him,  660 ;  his  speech  before  Felix,  661 ; 
remanded,  663;  brought  up  again  be. 
fore    the    governor,   664 ;    imprisoned 
again,  664 ;  brought  before  Festus,  668 ; 
his  "  appeal  unto  Caesar,"  669 ;  brought 
before  Herod    Agrippa  H.,   671;    his 
speech  to  the  king,  672;  departs  from 
Caesarea  for  Rome,  686  ;  puts  into  Sidon, 
687;  reaches  Myra,  690;  Cnidus,  692; 
anchors  at  Fair  Havens,  695 ;  saUs  from 
Fair  Havens,   699;    the    storm,    700; 
leaky  state  of  the  vessel,  706  ;  St.  Paul's 
vision,  707;  his  address  to  the  sailors, 
708 ;  they  anchor  for  the  night,  709 ; 
wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Melita,  715 ; 
his  miracles  at  Malta,  718;  sails  from 
Malta,  720;  puts  into  Syracuse,  720; 
visits  Rhegium,  721 ;   reaches  Puteoli, 
721 ;  journey  from  Puteoli  toward  Rome, 
726 ;  reaches  Rome,  733 ;  his  interview 
with  the  Jews  there,  741 ;  his  occupations 
dming  his  imprisonment  at  Rome,  747 ; 
Onesimus,  748 ;  the  Apostle  writes  his 
Epistle  to  Philemon,  749;    writes  his 
EpistlD  to  the  Colossians,  752;  writes 

68 


Paul,  St.,  continued:  — 

his  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  768 ;  ■yitii' 
ed  by  Epaphroditua,  788;  writes  his 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  786;  he 
makes  many  converts  in  Nero's  house- 
hold, 795  ;  his  trial  before  Nero,  804 ; 
charges  brought  against  him,  806 ;  ac- 
quitted, 808  ;  he  goes  to  Asia  and  Spain, 
809 ;  writes  his  First  Epistle  to  Timo- 
theus,  811 ;  writes  his  Epistle  to  Titus, 
823  ;  his  second  imprisonment  at  Rome, 
828 ;  first  stage  of  his  final  trial,  833 ; 
is  remanded  to  prison,  834  ;  writes  his 
Second  Epistle  to  Timotheus,  836  ;  his 
death,  847. 
Pausanius,  his  visit  to  and  description  of 

Athens,  305. 
Pedalium,  the,   of   Strabo    and  Ptolemy, 

127. 
Pediseus  River,  127 
PeUa,  272. 
Pentecost,  feast  o^  at  JeroBalem,  <Sft> 

Perga,  142. 

Pericles,  statae  of^  at  Athena,  8081 

Peripatetics,  the,  311. 

Persis,  582. 

Pessinus,  235. 

Peter,  St.,  63,  107;  in  captivity,  118;  h]f 
address  to  the  conference  of  Christianf 
at  Jeruscdem,  190;  his  weak  conduct  at 
Antioch,  198;  openly  rebuked  by  St 
Paul,  199 ;  St.  Peter's  personal  appear- 
ance, 200;  his  reconciliation  with  St. 
Paul,  201. 

Persecution  of  Nero,  830. 

Pessinus,  capital  of  the  Tolistaboii,  213  ii. 

Petra,  origin  of  the  Arab  city  o^  76  n. 

Petronius,  104. 

Phaleric  Wall,  the,  804. 

Pharisaic  Christians  at  Jerusalem,  622. 

Pharisees,  the,  30 ;  in  Jerusalem,  189. 

Phaselis,  promontory  o^  148  n. ;  battles  ot, 
143. 

Philemon,  413 ;  Epistle  to,  749. 

Philip,  son  of  Herod  the  Great,  26. 

Philip,  Tetrarch  of  Gaulonitis,  62. 

Philip  the  Asiarch,  474  n. 

Philip  the  Evangelist,  the  companion  of 
Stephen,  74,  615 ;  his  family,  615. 

Philippi,  description  o^  250 


914 


INDEX. 


Fhllippians,  Epistle  to  the,  786. 

Fhilologxu,  582. 

Fbdlomelium,  city  o^  151 ;  identified  with 

Ak-Sher,  151,  2S3,  234. 
Philosophy,  Greek,  notice  of  the  older,  816 ; 

later  schools,  321 ;  spread  of,  821. 
Phlegon,  682. 
Phoebe  of  CenchresB,  542. 
Phoenicians,  the,  8. 
Phoenix,  harbor  of^  697. 
Physicians  among  the  ancients,  270,  271. 
Picric  Valley,  the,  275  n. 
PirsBus,  the,  800,  302. 
Rsidia,  145 ;  robbers  of,  145 ;  violence  of 

its  flooded  rivers,  146 ;  mountain-scenery 

of;  147,  149. 
Platsea,  battle  o^  143. 
Plato,  philosophy  of,  316,  317. 
niny  on  the   Conventus,  or  assize-town, 

470. 
Fynx,  the,  300,  306  n.,  808. 
Polemo  n.,  King  of  Pontus,  22,  28,  218. 
Politarchs,  the,  of  Thessalonica,  290. 
Polycarp,  martyrdom  o^  474  n. 
Pompeiopolis,  19. 
Pompey  the  Great,  19 ;  in  Damascus,  24 ; 

at  Jemisalem,  24. 
Pomptine  marshes,  729. 
Pontus,  last  king  of,  28  n. 
Pontus,  description  of,  218. 
**  Pontus,"  origin  of  the  name,  818  n. 
Pontus  Galaticus,  218  n. 
Poppsea,  784,  808. 
Foflidonium  at  the  Isthmus   of  Corinth, 

588. 
Posts  established  by  Augustus,  781. 
Praetorian  guards,  655. 
PrsBtorium,  780. 
Praxiteles,  308. 

«  Presidents  of  the  Games,"  471. 
Priam,  Palace  of,  692. 
Prion,  Mount,  462,  472. 
Priscilla,  336  n.,  337,  368,  411,  425  n. 
Proconsuls,  129. 
Proprsetors,  129  et  aeq. 
Proselytes,  Jewish,  17. 
Proselytes,  female,  at  Damascus,  18,  152 ; 

at  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  161. 
Proseucha  at  Lystra,  175  ;  the  word,  258. 
Ftolemais,  618. 


Fudens,  885. 

Puteoli,  721,  723. 

Pydna,  296. 

Pythagoras,  philosophy  o^  816. 


Quadratns,  Governor  of  Syria,  6M. 
(^uartus,  588. 


*♦  Babbinism,"  56. 

Resurrection  of  the  body,  466  n.  et  teq. 

Rhegium,  721. 

Rhodes,  notice  o^  605. 

Rhodian  fleet  at  Phaselis,  148. 

Rhyndacus  River,  239. 

Roman  Church,  739 ;  name  of  founder  not 
known,  740. 

Roman  amphitheatre,  12;  army,  the,  655; 
commerce,  683 ;  fleet  at  Phaselis,  143 ; 
power  in  the  East,  11 ;  growth  and  gov- 
ernment of,  12. 

"  Roman,"  meaning  of  the  word  in  tlie  New 
Testament,  251  n. 

Rome,  description  o^  783. 

Rufiis,  784. 


Sadducees,  the,  80,  68. 

St.  John  at  Ephesus,  476. 

St.  Paul's  Bay,  view  of,  716. 

Salamis,  124,  i27 ;  copper-mines  at,  128; 

destroyed,  128 ;  sea-fight  at,  128 ;  battle 

of,  143,  301. 
Salonica,  Gulf  of,  297. 
Samaria,  649. 
Samaritans,  the,  33,  78. 
Samian  ship-builders,  861. 
Samos,  271  n. 
Samothrace,  243,  244,  247. 
Sangarius  River,  238. 
Sanhedrin,  the,  52,  64,  65 ;  its  power  avet 

foreign  synagogues,  76. 
Saronic  Gulf,  299. 
Sarus  River,  224. 
Sav,  village  of,  146  n. 


INDEX. 


915 


Sav-Sou  River,  146  n. 

Saul.  —  See  Paul,  St, «  Saul,"  and  «  Paul," 
the  words,  43,  44. 

Sceva,  sons  of,  the  exorcists,  415 ;  rebuked 
b7  the  demons,  416. 

Schools,  Jewish,  56;  customs  in,  57;  St. 
Paul  an  eager  student  in,  57. 

Schammai,  Jewish  school  o^  53. 

Schoenus,  port  of,  860. 

Scio,  597. 

Secundus  of  Thessalonica,  290. 

Seleucia,  foimdation  of,  112,  125;  immense 
excavation  at,  125;  its  excellent  har- 
bor, 126. 

Seleucus  Nicator,  114. 

Selge,  146. 

Seneca  the  philosopher,  S6S;  brother  of 
Gallio,  363. 

Sergius  Paulus,  129,  131. 

"  Seven  Capes,"  the,  608. 

Sharon,  Plain  o^  649. 

Sheba,  Queen  of^  1 7. 

Ship-builders  of  Samos,  361. 

Ships  of  the  ancients,  677  etseq.;  rudders 
similar  to  those  of  the  earlj  Northmen, 
679;  differences  between  and  those  of 
the  modems,  681. 

Side,  143. 

Sidon,  notice  o^  688. 

Silas,  196,  198;  accompanies  St.  Paul  to 
Cilicia,  219;  scourged  and  cast  into 
prison  at  Philippi,  262 ;  released  fix>m 
prison,  269 ;  leaves  Philippi,  269 ;  visits 
the  synagogue  at  Thessalonica,  281 ; 
accompanies  St.  Paul  to  Beroea,  292; 
left  behind  with  Timotheus  at  Beroea, 
295 ;  joins  St.  Paul  at  Corinth,  338  ;  ac- 
companies the  Apostle  to  Ephesus, 
Csesarea,  and  Jerusalem,  368-370;  re- 
mains at  Jerusalem,  403. 

Silversmiths  of  Ephesus,  472 ;  their  shrines 
of  Diana,  472 ;  their  fiuy  against  St. 
Paul,  473;  pacified  hj  the  town-clerk, 
475. 

Simeon,  father  of  Gamaliel,  58. 

Simeon,  son  of  Gamaliel,  54  n, 

Simeon,  sumamed  Niger,  121. 

Simon  Magus,  415  n. 

Sinuessa,  728. 

Slave-trade  of  Delos,  19. 


Smyrna,  410. 

Socrates,  character  of^  816. 

Soli,  town  of,  19. 

Solomon,  Temple  o^  628. 

Solon,  statue  of^  307. 

Sopater  of  Beroea,  290. 

Sorcery,  Jewish,  415. 

Sosipater,  583  n.,  589. 

Sosthenes,  chief  of  the  Corinthian  Jewish 

synagogue,  865;  beaten  by  the  Greek 

mob,  365. 
Stachys,  581. 
Stadium,  enclosure  of  the,  463 ;  Isthmian, 

note  on  the,  584. 
Stadia  in  Asia  Minor,  587  n. 
Stagirus,  277 ;  the  birthplace  of  Aristotle, 

277. 
Stephen,  St.,  61,  63,  64,  66 ;  his  trial,  67 ; 

his  martyrdom,  68 ;  his  prayer,  69 ;  his 

burial,  72. 
Stephen,  St.,  Gate  o^  68  n. ;  identity  of 

with  the  Damascus  Gate,  68  n. 
StoaPoecile,the,311. 
Stocks,  the,  263. 

Stoics,  311;  theur  philosophy,  817,  818. 
Strato's  Tower,  658. 
Stromboli,  722. 
Strymon  River,  272. 
Students,  Jewish,  68. 
Sulla  at  Athens,  304. 
«  Sultan  Tareek  "  Road,  15a 
Sunium,  Cape  of,  300. 
Sychar,  city  o^  74  n. 
"Synagogue  of  the  Libertanes,**  56;  iho 

first,  56 ;  number  of,  in  Jerusalem,  56 ; 

in  Salamis,  128 ;  in  Antioch  in  Pisidia, 

152;    ancient  and  modem,  153,  160; 

the,  at  Thessalonica,  281 ;  at  Athens, 

314 ;  at  Corinth,  338. 
Synnada,  232. 
Syntyche,  786. 
Syracuse,  720. 
"  Syrian  Gates,"  the,  220. 
Syrophoenician  woman,  interview  of  Christ 

with,  74. 

T. 

Tallith,  the,  154. 
Talmud,  the,  55. 
Tarsus,  20 ;  coin  o^  20 ;  named  **  Metropo- 


916 


INDEX 


lis,"  20 ;  condition  of,  under  the  Romans, 
21 ;  not  a  mimicipiimi,  42  ;  scenery  of, 
45. 

Tanrus,  Mount,  19,  222. 

«  Taverns,  the  Three,"  731. 

Tavium,  capital  of  the  Eastern  Galatians, 
212  n. 

Tectosages,  the,  211. 

Temple,  position  of  the,  628 ;  Temple  of 
Solomon,  628  ;  that  of  Zerubbabel,  629  ; 
that  of  Herod,  629;  the  Outer  Court, 
629;  "Porch  of  Solomon,"  630;  the 
"Beautiful  Gate,"  630;  the  sanctuary, 
631 ;  "  Court  of  the  Women,"  631 ;  the 
Treasury,  631 ;  the  Coui-t  of  Israel,  631 ; 
the  Court  of  the  Priests,  631 ;  the  Hall 
Gazith,  631 ;  the  Altar,  632 ;  the  Vesti- 
bule, 632;  the  Holy  Place,  632;  the 
Holy  of  Holies,  632 ;  connection  of  the 
Temple  with  the  Fortress  Antonia, 
634. 

Tertullus,  660. 

Tetrapolis,  the,  114. 

Teucer,  kingdom  of,  127. 

Thais,  tomb  of,  584  n. 

Thales,  philosophy  of^  816, 

Thamna,  649. 

Thasos,  248. 

Theatre,  the,  of  Athens,  307 ;  consecrated 
to  Bacchus,  307. 

Thecla,  St.,  of  Iconium,  164  n. 

Themistocles,  tomb  of,  303 ;  his  fortification 
of  the  Piraeus,  303. 

Therapeutae,  the,  32. 

Thermopylae,  299. 

Thessalonian  Letters,  the,  285. 

Thessalonians,  First  Epistle  to  the,  840 ; 
Second,  352. 

Thessalonica,  277  ;  description  of,  278  ;  the 
most  populous  town  in  Macedonia, 
278. 

Tiberias,  26 ;  city  of,  52 ;  sea  of,  77. 

Tiberius,  103,  133. 

Tiberius  Alexander,  635  n. 

Tigranes,  125. 

Timotheus,  174,  175,  226;  birthplace  of, 
227  n.;  becomes  the  companion  of  St. 
Paul,  227  ;  his  circumcision,  230 ;  reach- 
es Iconimn,  231 ;  accompanies  St.  Paul 
to  Galatia  and  to  the  .^gean,  236,  239  ; 


sails  from  Troas,  246;  arrives  at  Samcv* 
thrace,  247 ;  at  Philippi,  250 ;  left  behind 
at  Philippi,  269 ;  again  with  St.  Paul 
at  Bercea,  293 ;  left  behind  at  Bercea, 
296 ;  joins  St.  Paid  at  Corinth,  338 ; 
accompanies  St.  Paul  in  his  subsequent 
journeys,  367  etseq. ;  despatched  by  St. 
Paul  from  Ephesus  to  Macedonia,  421 ; 
First  Epistle  to,  811 ;  Second  Epistle  to, 
836. 

Titus,  187,  189,  190;  visits  St.  Paul  at 
Philippi,  483 ;  his  account  of  the  state 
of  the  Church  at  Corinth,  483  ;  directed 
by  St.  Paul  to  return  to  Corinth,  484  ; 
his  character,  513 ;  St.  Paul's  Epistle 
to,  823. 

Tongues,  gift  of,  remarks  on  the,  459  n. 

"  Town-clerk,"  the,  of  the  Authorized  Ver- 
sion of  the  Bible,  469. 

Triopium,  the  modern  Cape  Crio,  promon- 
tory of,  605. 

Troas,  description  of^  591.  —  See  Alexanr 
dria  Troas. 

Trogyllium,  598. 

Trophimus,  479,  499  n. 

Tryphena,  582. 

Tryphosa,  582. 

«  Tullianum,"  the,  268. 

Tyana,  222. 

Tychicus,  479,  748,  768. 

Tyrannus,  412. 

Tyre,  612,  618. 


D. 


Unchaste  behavior  condemned,  485  n. 

Unknown  gods,  altars  of  the,  815 ;  origin 
of  the,  315  n. 

Urbanus,  581. 

Urbs  libera,  constitution  oi,  288 ;  its  privi- 
leges, 288. 

V. 

Valentinus  the  Gnostic,  899  n. 
Ventidius  Cumanus,  635. 
Venus,  worship  of,  139. 
Vestments,  the  sacred,  635. 
Via  Appia,  726;  Egnatia,  274. 


INDEX. 


917 


Vltellius,  76. 
Vulturnus  Blver,  728. 


W. 


«*  Walls,  Long,"  of  Athens,  803. 

Women,  influence  of,  over  the  religions 
opinions  of  the  ancients,  161 ;  their  holy 
influence  in  early  Christianity,  256. 

Writing-materials  employed  by  St.  Paul, 
783  n. 


Xanthns,  Valley  of  the,  147. 


Zabeans,  the,  406  t>. 

Zealot,  the  term,  525  n. 

Zealots,  the,  32. 

Zeno,  school  of^  311 ;  his  philosophy)  317. 

ZerubbabeU  Temple  o^  629. 


Whole   Numbeb   of  Faoks,  inchjdino  Pbkfack,  Iwtkoduction,  CoNTKEm, 

PSKUMINABT  DiSSEBTATION,  MaPS   AND   FUIX-PAGB   SNGBATINaS,    1016. 


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